Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 NASB
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Dominion and domination are very similar words in construction but neither word is commonly used today. Hearing “dominate” be used in public reporting this last disturbing week was startling. That made the other uncommon word “dominion” stand out when I read it as a Verse of the Day from 1 Chronicles in the same week.
Dominion is a descriptive noun used to identify God’s complete sovereignty and power to partner with His people to protect and preserve His creation. “And God blessed them. “And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 ESV
Domination is an action verb the Bible uses to indicate an exercise of power. A very simple word sturdya of “domination” resulted in two conclusions: 1)The most important one was it was never God who was dominating and 2) God’s displeasure at Israel’s opposition to His dominion was clear and the natural consequence of their rebellion was domination.
In some places it’s “domination to, of or by” that represents God’s action to move Israel “to” repentance. In other places the references were “delivered from domination” that represented God’s repeated rescue for Israel “from” those who would destroy them. In all those places the Word reveals the same timeless truth of 1 Chronicles: God is still prepared to respond to repentance and deliver His people from the domination of an enemy.
“Yours is the dominion, O Lord,
and You exalt Yourself as head over all. “
Yet today’s attitudes tend more towards the domination idea. Domination has undertones of manipulation, coercion, and force. Bending the earth to our will, rather than working in a state of collaboration and cooperation. Extracting what we want at the expense of others. Not caring about the broader impacts of our actions…” currentcoach.com
There are only two choices: Dominion or Domination
Commentary
-Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
-Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
-Luke 10:27…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.
These three New Testament Scripture passages all quote Jesus speaking words that would have been familiar to his Jewish hearers, the Shema. They’re words still used repeatedly in Jewish prayers. They all include loving God with your heart and soul which seems obvious. The inclusion of mind and/or strength is the variant that got my attention. I understand the access to mind and strength more than I do heart and soul.
This is the age-old debate: Is it strength of commitment or the exercise of the mind that fills the heart and soul? How do we figure out what’s required of us to prove our sincerity? It would seem even these Bible authors had their own opinion on that. Mind and strength? Mind? Strength? Do I have to choose one or the other?
Hillel was a famous religious leader in Jewish history. He was asked to recite the whole law for a dedicated student who would prove his sincerity and his physical strength by listening to it all while standing on one leg. That’s a funny mind picture isn’t it? Hillel’s short answer was probably pretty welcome to him; “What thou hatest for thyself, do not to thy neighbour. This is the whole law, the rest is commentary. Go and learn.”
This is the whole law…“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” Now go find a comfortable spot, read, study and think. God will begin to write his whole commentary in your mind and on your heart to strengthen your soul
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Posted in Luke, Mark, Matthew, Wednesday
Tagged Access, Choose, Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength, Whole Commentary