Obey and Keep

[Nyagali 0]

What do you think of when you hear "keep my commandments..."? I know in my past I thought immediately about what I had to do to keep the commandments. If you look in Strong’s Concordance you will see the root word of keep means "to watch, to guard, keeping the eye upon or hold fast". Doesn't that give you a different understanding? Think of it in this way. Your mom gives you a locket "to keep", do you do anything once you have possession of it? No, you guard it, you keep your eye on it and hold it fast. There is no action you need to take to keep the locket. This is what God meant when he said to "keep His commandments". Guard them closely, hold on to them. What a wonderful way to keep the commandments!

The other word that is very misunderstood is the word "obey". How often is the word obey used as a command or as a threat in your life from those in authority? Without fail, if you look at the prime root word of "obey" it means "to hear" in the Bible (Old and New).

Let me show you a few different ways obey is used and the root word of it in each context. For parents and children it means "to hear under (as a subordinate) to listen attentively". Peter says "if any of you obey not the word...", this one comes off of "willful disbelief or disobedient". Pretty much without fail all the OT words come out of a prime root word meaning "to hear intelligently, often with the implications of attention, obedience etc. or to consider, be content, discern, give ear."

The Bible uses this word a lot of times. The NIV uses it 223 times and the New KJV uses it 156 times. (One reason, among others, to show that the NIV is not a good translation and focuses more on our part than Jesus.) Hearing is listening to God and obeying is what we do when someone speaks. If you understand the root word of obey means to hear, you can see how it fits together, but how often has that been taught? I think I shared this in another place here: I used the example of parents and children. A child does not obey or do what the parent has said if they have not heard the parent speak first. Sometimes they don’t obey or hear because of their comprehension, sometimes they are willfully disobedient, but often, just like we are with God, we are so preoccupied in our own minds we can't hear Him speak. The crux of our relationship with God lies in hearing God, not in what we do for God. If we don’t know what he means when he speaks then we will always fall back on what we DO. To hear God is the very power to do (obey) what he says to us. This is the meaning of grace too: God's divine provision to enable us to fulfil HIS purpose in our lives.

Now when you read these two words in the Bible I trust the Lord speaks truth and understanding.
Your sister,
Joy

[hind'sfeet 1]

PRAISE YAH!! How freeing your word study is for me!! I wish the bible would clear this stuff up themselves. One Bible version I've come to really like is the Amplified Bible because it will put other like words in so we can get a better understanding of which sense the word is being used.

Joy, this is my Fav. stuff, it makes the Bible New and much clearer. For those who grew up in church, this is def. refreshing.

[Nyagali 0]

Isn't it refreshing?!! I know I have a lot to re-learn. When I shared this with my husband he said that it is interesting that the very center of a castle is also called the "keep". Everything of importance is kept there and it is almost impenetrable to the enemy! YAH!
Joy

[hind'sfeet 1]

Joy, that is THE reason I stopped going to church for a few years!! I felt brainwashed. I never doubted the Bible, God, Jesus and the cross, but I knew that I wasn't hearing everything correctly and traditions and holidays weren't questioned except for halloween. It was a gut feeling.

[Cholette 0]

This is the reason why we must ALWAYS study the Word of God for ourselves. Never, never, never take anybody's word to heart unless you see it in the Word of God for yourself.

This "obey and keep" came because you studied Joy. I would never say NOT to go to church, but I understand where you were coming from Hindsfeet because at one point, I was there as well. God had to take me out of where I was an place me in a church that was teaching JESUS. That's all I want to hear because that's what this life is all about.

Thank you for sharing this Joy. I love it when God sheds light on NEW STUFF!

[Halo 0]

Cholette, I am so glad you said what you said about..." God had to take me out of where I was an place me in a church that was teaching JESUS"..........I heard a preacher Sunday morning stand behind the pool-pit and say these words........"God will never led anybody away from there Church, there not serving the same God I'm serving"...........the whole Church and cheered and clapped there hands in agreement with excitement!!!!............Huummmm, Right after that statement, he stated "That's what's wrong with this Church, we tell the truth to much"..........Oh-My-Lord-God!!!!! Your kidding me!!!!! I say "get ahold of the Word and just maybe some folks will get right with God!!!! Sometimes one has to shake the dust under there feet for a testimony against them.
Again, thank you.

Sister Halo

[hind'sfeet 1]

Halo, what that preacher said made me sick! It's FULL of condemnation and bondage. It would feel down right horrible to be part of that church and then God leads you to another one but you feel trapped because of a preacher.

[Nyagali 0]

I agree Cholette, Sometimes for God to teach us we have to be taken away and retaught for a bit. It is so amazing to use the Strongs Concordance and find out what words come from....what is really the root word is. It can be so surprising. These 2 words have changed my life! You go from condemnation (and we are not supposed to live in condemnation) to knowing that Jesus produces our life and he is our life. Yes Halo, if the church doesn't preach Jesus there isn't much point in being there. If they don't preach Jesus you never get free because there will always be that little bit of performance you have to keep up with. When Jesus strips that away it is amazing how much JUNK is free to come out of us. I cried every single day that first year we stopped going to church. I couldn't believe it but I had so much in me that I held in and held back and when we stopped going it was like a waterfall that couldn't stop! It took several years to find a group that was in a place we felt Jesus taking us to. Not every home group is good either! We found that one out. It's not about the church or the home group it is about where the focus of the group is. I'd be lost without our home group though. I hate missing ONE week now. I love the people and the fellowship and the sharing that is focused on Jesus, not on what I have to do. If we really get to know that Jesus is our life, that he lives in us the focus on life becomes HIM, not me.
joy