Learning to Listen
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Intro: (Play clip of Jewish call to prayer if available).
-The Bible is filled with calls and pleas to listen to God, to really hear what He says and to respond appropriately. Jews know this passage as the Shema, which is the Hebrew word for Hear. So we could call it “The Hear” or “The Big Listen.” The Shema evolved into 3 parts made up of our text as the first part, Dt. 11:13-21 as the 2nd part, and Numbers 15:37-41 as the 3rd part. Devout Jews recite the Shema each day in their morning and evening prayers. The greatest commandment (Acc. to Jesus) is found in the Shema. So it would do us good to really listen to what God wants to say to us today. Revelation 2:11 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
1. Listen
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
-What is it we are to listen to? In this context Israel was being called on to hear that the LORD, Israel’s Elohim, is one. What does that mean? Does it mean one in the sense of solitary singleness or aloneness? Does it mean that He is the only God there is? We certainly believe that He is the only real God, but I’m not sure that is what Moses or the Holy Spirit intended by using this word. A different Hebrew word yachid is used to mean one and only. This word, echad, is often used to refer to complex unity (such as between a husband and wife – 2 become 1 flesh, Gen. 2:24). I find myself still grasping for the implications of this unity. I’m tempted to interpret the meaning in light of the 3 members of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Tri-Unity), and perhaps there is some merit to this, although there is no evidence that Moses or any of the recipients of his words would have understood it this way. Is it possible that this idea of unity, using the same word for the oneness between a husband and wife is a reference to how God binds Himself to His people? God is complete in Himself, but He made a covenant with Israel to be their God, and they were to cling to Him, finding their identity, purpose, provision, and protection in Him! Yahweh and His people would be unified.
-This idea of God being united with Israel is very Biblical and fits this context well, since the very next verse of the Shema contains the language of wholehearted intimacy between Israel and the Lord. God would be one with His people through the exchange of love. He would love them, bless and provide for them, and they would love Him in return, carefully obeying the things He had told them to do.
-So, listen to who God is! The LORD our God is one in the sense that He is purely and sufficiently Himself, as opposed to all the other pagan gods out there that people had invented. Pagan gods took on different character traits depending on where they were located because people were making them up! But God said, “Don’t make Me up! Don’t carve idols or speak anything about Me that I have not revealed.” God is consistently Himself and will always be. He does not masquerade or pretend or change. He is not someone’s invention, but reveals Himself in flawless unity as the Almighty Creator of all that is. And this perfect, magnificent, awesome Ruler of the Universe actually takes notice of us and wants us to connect with Him in a relationship of love that involves every part of who we are. How amazing is that! And that leads us to the second thought. First, hear who God is. Second…
2. Love
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
-Jesus Himself quoted and identified this verse as the single most important commandment: Mark 12:28-34 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
-Loving God is more than just sentiment. It requires everything we are that is spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical. It is more than words, more than songs we sing, more than any single limited expression we might have made it. Yes, tell Him that you love Him, but show Him. Do not worship only out of a sense of obligation or duty. That may leave the heart and soul out of worship. The word for soul actually may be rendered as life. And strength is not just muscle, but has been translated as substance and possessions (Christopher Wright, NIBC, Deut.). God created us in His image with a mind so we can understand things about Him and come to know who He really is. He also gave us emotions so we can respond to Him with heart and feeling. He also gave us a will so we can make a choice to love Him with all we’ve got!
-How are you doing at loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength? His love for you never changes. God is always loving you fully and completely. He looks at you with patient and loving eyes, giving encouragement and strength as you call out to Him. Are you returning His love?
-I can remember the first few weeks of Zoe’s life outside the womb. I would hold her and look down at her and just feel the emotions of love well up inside of me. But I also remember wondering how long it would be until she could return my love. And would she return my love? One pastor shared with us that for the first year or so of his daughter’s life, she would scream and cry every time he came into the room and he couldn’t even get close to her. He wept tears over his inability to simply hold his baby girl and bond with her. The first several weeks with Zoe I remember longing for interaction with her. I wanted to hear her laugh and giggle and talk and play and crawl and walk. I was completely smitten by this little ball of flesh, even though she could not return my love.
-I truly believe that parenthood is a picture of God’s love for us. At first we cannot return His love, but He keeps on loving us, nurturing us, taking care of our every need. Then at some point, we have the ability to either respond or not respond to His love. Imagine the child that never ever responded to the love of a parent. What heartache that would bring to the parent. What if the child just kept receiving the love and care as if they deserved it, but never bothered to return a smile. And what if that child grew into an adult who acted the same way, even doubting the parent’s existence?
-Folks, God loves us and wants us to share in His life and experience joy and bring Him joy through our love and obedience. Love Him back! With all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength!
3. Learn
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
-1 John 2:4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
-If we are loving God with all of our heart, then what He tells us will be on our heart. Obedience is the expression of our love for God. It is not enough to have affection for God and think nice thoughts about Him. Who He is requires all that we are – our love, obedience, and loyalty.
-Now, if something is to be upon our hearts, it also needs to be in our minds. So Moses is calling Israel to learn and live the commands God has given to them. In the previous chapter (Deut. 5), he has just listed the 10 commandments that God gave to them. Israel needed to listen up so they would know who God is, and they also needed to listen and learn His commands for them. They needed to learn what God expected from them so they would know how to please Him.
-Willful Ignorance is no excuse for disobedience to God. Folks, we have numerous opportunities to learn what God expects from us. Most of us have several Bibles in our homes. If you have a computer you have access to thousands of free websites containing numerous translations of the Bible. We have Sunday School classes and Bible Studies in nearly every church in town. And if that’s not enough, just ask someone to study the Bible with you so you can both learn and discover how to please God. But I encourage you not to view the Bible as a list of rules to follow so you’ll be good enough for God. That’s not how it works. When we come to God, trusting Him to forgive us and make us right with Him, based on what Jesus did for us through His death on the cross and resurrection, then we are good enough for God. Then, by His grace and power at work in us, we have the power to do the things He commands us to do in the Bible.
-Do you know what is important to God? If you don’t study His book, you won’t know how to please Him. Are the things that are important to God important to you? Do you care about what He cares about? Study His word. Learn His commands. And with His help obey what He says. But He doesn’t want us to keep it to ourselves. He wants us to pass these things on to our children and to all who will listen.
4. Lead
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-It’s not just about you! It’s not just about any single one of us. It is about everyone around us getting to know the God of the Bible because He is clearly visible in our lives.
-Start with your own family. Teach your kids about the things that are important to God. Teach them to love the LORD their God with all their heart, soul, and strength. When you are sitting at home, talk as a family about who God is and what He requires of us. Talk about the Lord when you go out for a walk or drive or go anywhere. When you put your kids to bed talk about the Lord. When you wake up in the morning talk about the Lord’s plan for our lives.
-Do whatever it takes to remind you how important the things of God are. Create symbols that will remind you who God is and what He wants to do in and through your life. Keep God’s truth prominent so you are always face to face with it. Jews have worn and some still do wear God’s commands on parchment inside a box tied on their hands and foreheads.
-They also fastened small boxes known as mezuzahs to their doorposts, with Scriptures on parchment. And the gates apparently refer to the city gates, not the gates on their picket fences, since they didn’t generally have personal gates. So, they were to be a community that understood who God was, and they loved Him wholeheartedly and treasured and obeyed His commands.
-I couldn’t help but notice that each person was to do this individually, but also pass it on to others. It’s pretty hard to share what you don’t have. So the Lord through Moses told them to do this on a personal level, but to pass it on to the next generation as well. Don’t be afraid to talk about the most important topic in the entire world – God and His love for us, and what He requires from us – our loving obedience as we do life with Him!
Conclusion: How is your hearing? Are you listening to God and His word, so you will know who He is? The LORD our God, the LORD is one. How’s your heart? Do you love God with all your heart, life, and strength? Are you actively involved in learning more about Him and what He asks of us? Finally, are you leading your family and others in your life closer to knowing who God is? Does God ever show up in your conversations at home or elsewhere? He should. Shouldn’t our thoughts be turned toward the One who made us, the One who is responsible for our existence?
-The sad fact today is that many of us fail to recognize who God is because we aren’t listening for Him, we aren’t loving Him with everything we are, we aren’t learning, or leading well. The good news is that God’s love is still being poured out on us because He is generous like that. It’s who He is. And He is still calling us to listen and respond to Him. He simply asks for repentance where we have failed Him, but He is more than willing to step in and help us become the people of God! Listen, love, learn, and lead! With God’s help we can! If you need God’s help today and want to begin to do life with Him, would you take a minute to express that to Him? He’d love to hear from you. Tell Him what’s on your heart and ask Him to teach you to listen and love as you learn more about Him.
