Shema love

“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And as for you, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” – The Shema

“Now this is the command; the statutes and the judgments (precepts) which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might do (follow, obey) them in the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess, so that you and your son and your grandson may fear and worship the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to keep [and actively do] all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged. Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy 6:1-3 AMP)

God commanded Moses to teach God’s people the rules of their covenant so that, when they moved into the Promised Land, they would follow the rules. These weren’t optional suggestions, or good ideas; these were the people’s part of the covenant agreement with God – if they kept their part of the promises, God would keep his. And if the covenant was kept, they would be richly blessed, they, their children, and their grandchildren.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]!” (Deuteronomy 6:4 AMP)

In the ancient Near East where most cultures worshipped many, many gods, this was a radical thought. My NIV Study Bible says, “All of Israel’s neighbors had to come to terms in their daily lives with scores of gods, each with its own sphere of influence, its own limitations, its own petty self-interests and its own morally erratic ways. But Israel could live serenely in the knowledge that all things and all times were under the rule of one divine King, whose ways are righteous and whose purpose with her and through her…is salvation for humankind.” (p. 270). Unlike the Canaanites, the Israelites did not have to make multiple gods happy in order to be at peace. In fact, the commandment that guided Israel’s (and our) relationship with God is really rather simple:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV)

Love the Lord your God – Jehovah – Yahweh – Creator, Sustainer – with all that you are.

Indeed, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 NIV) You may have noticed that Jesus seems to have added “mind” to his quotation of the Deuteronomy 6 passage. The Bible Recap notes for this reading pointed out that in the ancient Hebrew language, the word for “heart” also incorporates the idea of the mind, but the Aramaic that Jesus spoke and our English have separate words for “heart” and “mind.” Jesus wasn’t adding an idea that wasn’t already there; he was simply operating within the language of his day.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NIV)

It is interesting to me that ancient and modern Jews recited this passage as the “shema,” a daily prayer that reminded them of their God and their heritage. This prayer is one way in which the people could remember their covenantal promises with God. We humans tend to forget things if not regularly reminded. Maybe that’s why Moses says to the people (in my paraphrase): “When you go into the Promised Land and take over things you did not build, DON’T FORGET YOUR GOD who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. Fear and serve ONLY YOUR GOD, and do not put him to the test, because he is a jealous god. Keep his commands and do what is right so that he can bless you.

After all, when we remember to fully love God, he will honor us with his covenantal love.

“So the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear [and worship] the Lord our God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] for our good always and so that He might preserve us alive, as it is today.It will be [considered] righteousness for us [that is, right standing with God] if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God—just as He has commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:24-25 AMP)

God of Originating and Enduring Love,

The Lord our God is one. Help us to love you, the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Help us always to remember what you have done for us and the covenant relationship we are in with you. Help us to honor you and love you fully, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

“God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]” (1 John 4:8 AMP)

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

 “In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?”  tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” (Deuteronomy 6:10-25 NIV)

You are to love the Lord Yahweh, your God, with a passionate heart, from the depths of your soul, with your every thought, and with all your strength. This is the great and supreme commandment. And the second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself.’ You will never find a greater commandment than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 TPT)