The English verb “keep” often translates the Hebrew shamar , “guard,” often used to describe the temple ministry of priests and Levites. Priests and Levites guarded the house of Yahweh, and also, literally, guarded the commandments, written on tablets and placed in the ark of the covenant.
When the OT speaks of “keeping commandments,” then, it is imagining the Israelite as priest, guarding the commandments in the heart of the temple and guarding the commandments taught in Israel. When the new covenant comes, the law is written on tablets of the human heart, and keeping commandments is another way of speaking of guarding the Spirit’s deposit in the treasure house at the heart of the human temple.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Moral Certitude and the Iran War
The current military engagement with Iran calls renewed attention to just war theory in the Catholic tradition.…
The Slow Death of England: New and Notable Books
The fate of England is much in the news as popular resistance to mass immigration grows, limits…
Ethics of Rhetoric in Times of War
What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times…
