Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The time of the Israel’s wandering was drawing to a close, and with it the leadership of Moses was about to be passed to Joshua. The 40 years in the desert was not a time of being lost but rather a time of refining and preparation. The Lord was still leading the people, the times when they settled and the times when they moved were still being ordered by the Lord and the preparation for the holy land was being made.
As Moses was instructed by the Lord, so Moses instructed the people. The promises of blessing for faithfulness or destruction for rebellion were not idle threats or false promises, the Lord made it very clear what His expectations entailed. There were to be no other God’s among them. They were to be set apart as a people of God’s own making and the declaration was the beginning of a great conquest.
The Shema was not just a declaration, it was a reminder of whom they serve. To recite the Shema was to announce a pledge of loyalty to God who stands alone as sovereign over all creation.
As the Lord prepared His people, the nation itself became the physical representation of God’s ordained strength. When Israel marched into the land, they became a reminder to the pagan nations that the Lord is God and He will not share His glory with another. As a result of the pledge, there was an expectation on the people to remain holy, to remind themselves of who it was that established them and will continue to keep them. The way they lived, the reminders they placed, and the manner of worship was to echo throughout the earth…the Lord is God…there is no other.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Shema literally means hear, or listen in the Hebrew. Even today Orthodox Jews recite the Shema morning and night. It remains relevant to both Jew and Gentile, for all to whom the Lord is God, the household who holds these truths as evidence of their faith recognizes no other gods before them.
When the shout goes forth…”Hear O’ Israel”, the reminder is for the people to stop what you’re doing and listen. When God speaks, woe to those who do not hear, for His words are always true.
Adonai Eloheinu–The Lord is our God.
God’s people serve Him and Him alone. There is nothing that deserves God’s praise other than Him. For millennia people have worshipped things fashioned by hands, things in creation, and even people have claimed to be deity. The declaration of who we worship remains clear, the Lord is our God and none other.
Adonai Echad—The Lord is One
The Lord is one God, not three God’s but one alone. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one. Orthodox Jews have missed the mark in their understanding of God, He made it very clear to them and yet they cannot see beyond the tradition. Jesus has proven that He was and is the Messiah. Jesus has demonstrated His care and concern for His people since the beginning and He continues so today. The Spirit of God is alive in His people and continues to lead them in His anointing each day. The Father sits in power and authority.
V’ahavta–You Shall love the Lord your God
To love the Lord is the least that we can do. Considering all that He has done, all that He has given, all that He has shown us..our love for Him should be the expectation. Loving God is to reflect that love with all that we are, every ounce of our heart, soul, and might.
Our hearts are given to the One who calls. Our souls reflect our minds and all that we dwell upon. Our might includes all of our strength. Wise is the man or woman who understands and practices these things.
Can we discern the things of God? Is our relationship such that we are tied to Him in all that we do? Surrender that which you’ve been holding back and give Him everything…He above all else is trustworthy.
Keep the Shema in your heart. Teach them to your children and grandchildren. When you sit and when you rise may these words go with you.
Deuteronomy 6:8-9 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Is your house consecrated unto the Lord? Are your thoughts filled with the ways you can honor Him in your household? Are you a christian before others and an angry ogre at home?
Living the Shema is God’s expectation for His people. Being a “Christian” is not in name only, it isn’t an indication of being a conservative, a republican, or any other political entity. Being a Christian is to be completely devoted to Christ.
When people see you may they see Christ in you.
U.T. 