So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried the one year plan. You were faithful with the reading plan and then you came to Leviticus. You tried to read it but every time you picked up The Book it got heavier and heavier until you stopped picking it up. You gave yourself an out - not enough time, new schedule, lack of clarity in what you read and even an admission that this book didn’t seem all that helpful in your spiritual walk. All of which are understandable if this was an assignment from your High School English class to read Shakespere But this is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. Seriously, the Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
This week we move to the book of Deuteronomy. Israel had Egyptians to their south, Hittites farther north and a collection of small city states all around them called Canaan. All the groups worked under a common understanding that kings made the rules, established order and kept the peace by requiring subjects (and nations) to provide tribute or be punished.
Moses wrote the book around 1400 before Christ. The book describes a time in which the Israelites are waiting to move to the promised land. It’s a book with powerful stories. As the book of Numbers highlight God’s desire for us to be obedient, Deuteronomy is about the importance of fully devoting yourself to God.
The word devotion means: profound dedication, earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.
As you read the book this week, look for how God’s people dealt not only with hardship, testing and doubt but also promise, hope and trust. In other words, their devotion in a world that seemingly has an entirely different set of values.
Today, I’d like to focus on the concept of devotion by jumping into the SHEMA (Sha-Ma). You can find it in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 but I’ll begin reading in verse 3 and head to 8.
3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 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 on 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.
Let’s talk about the verse 3
3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
There is an interesting error by some suggesting God’s love is contingent on our behavior. It’s usually offered by leaders trying to manipulate people for their benefit. Maybe you had a parent or a spouse who used their love for you as a weapon. They made you feel that they’d only show you love when you did what they wanted.
Please hear this - God’s love for you is not contingent on your behavior or obedience. His covenant with humanity was made before we knew what was best. God is not trying to manipulate us into doing what he wants. He is trying to help us from falling prey to a worldview that will lead to destruction.
Consequences for our actions both positive and negative are real. As you read the scriptures, whenever you read of God’s blessings or curses, remember they were dependent on the people’s action in accordance with their prior agreement or covenant with God.
Let’s jump back to the next verse
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
A bible geek note before I begin with the SHEMA (SHA-MA). The Hebrew language does not have a word for “is.” There is a word for ‘was’ or ‘will be’ but no word for the present. When the Hebrew language wanted to communicate a present tense verb, they would have two nouns listed side by side.
The opening line, “Hear, O Israel,” does not simply mean to let sound waves enter your ears. Here, the word ‘shema’ means to allow the words to sink in, provide understanding, and generate a response. In Hebrew, hearing and doing are one and the same.
The next instruction in the prayer is to love the Lord your God. What we translate into English as “love” here is the Hebrew word ‘ahavah. (AH-VAH-HAH)’ ‘Ahavah’ is not about the warm, fuzzy, emotional energy we feel when we like someone. Much like listening, biblical love is about action. You ‘ahavah’ someone when you act in loyalty and faithfulness. For Israel, loving means faithful obedience to the terms of their covenant relationship with God.
For a Jew, obedience to these laws was not about legalism or trying to earn God’s favor—it is/was about love and active listening. If we love God, we can more easily listen and respond to his teachings and guidance. This is why the words “listen” and “love” are so tightly connected and repeated throughout Deuteronomy.
The words of this prayer take on an even deeper meaning when we look at the context of the ancient Israelites and see how countercultural it was for them to serve one God above all else.
The Israelites were steeped in cultures for generations where there were multiple Gods. From Canaan to Egypt, they had been surrounded by people worshiping many different gods.
Moses believed that loyalty, obedience, and love for one true God is the only way to eternal life and that one of the greatest threats to Israel’s future was dividing their allegiance between Jehovah and other gods. The words here communicate the uniqueness of God and as well as a unity with God. Hence the reason, the Shema was and is prayed daily to remind the people that there was but one true God.
Moses had seen the damaging effects. When they began to give into the culture around them, the people began to hear the voice of the snake in the garden - “Did he really say…” The effects were just as devastating as that first betrayal.
The prayer continues…
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Heart in this context means the whole human being and includes the mind or intellect. The soul by contrast refers to human desire or will.
If we return to our definition of devotion, “profound dedication, earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.” We can see why Jesus would reference these words 1400 years later.
When He was asked which was the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
It’s a call to total devotion to God and as such, to all of God’s greatest creation, mankind. As a Christ follower, it’s our purpose. When you give yourself to God, you are agreeing to integrate every aspect of your life for Him.
A tall order for sure. An almost impossible task? Yes, if you hope to attain it on your own. Not so difficult if you’re willing to let God guide you through the process by inviting in the Holy Spirit to fill your heart and soul. By surrounding yourself with like minded people to encourage, direct and hold us accountable, it becomes A lifelong process.
Hence the reason the rest of scriptures point to the value of passing on this learning lesson on to later generations to get an early start on the process and protect them from the tragic results of idolatry to other gods.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on 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.
That last sentence is a perfect object lesson for people who misunderstand scripture. It was a figure of speech back in the day, similar to “let me give you a hand” that some fundamental believing Jews haven taken literally. God requires more than outward allegiance. Full Devotion to God is a response to and an acceptance of God’s love for us.
Which is another reason why God’s people have been praying “the Shema” for millennia. They are simple words with the capacity to reshape the course of an entire people. Praying the Shema can keep God’s love and loyalty in the forefront of our minds and drive us toward obedience—not out of obligation or duty but out of love.
As Jesus reminds us in John’s gospel,
The one who has my commands and keeps them, that’s the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and I will reveal myself to him. John 14:21
Creative: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/Deuteronomy/
References: Quest Bible Overviews, https://bibleproject.com/blog/what-is-the-shema/, Dictionary.com,
Scot McKnight’s Book - The Shema
