So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:

    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
    they will be injured and snared and captured.  Isaiah 28:13

“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Isaiah 29:13

            Yes, the Bible is a rule book to discover God’s will for your life and find happiness.  Do this and don’t do that fill many of the pages.  However, it’s a book about love, specifically God’s love for us.

            Love has rules.  Love this and not that.  Do this and don’t do that.  We don’t look at them like “rules,” but principles to keep our hearts focused on love.   God wants our heart first then our obedience second.  Obedience always follows love, but if obedience precedes love, it’s about the rules and not the heart.