Bible Verse: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Familiar words can be dangerous words—dangerous because they tend to lose their meaning.
The words of today’s verse are perhaps some of the most familiar to Bible readers. Jesus brings these words from Israel’s history into His present when asked what the greatest commandment is (Matthew 22:36-40).
Jesus used these words to end a conversation, silencing the battering of the Pharisees. But Moses, when he first spoke these words to the listening Israelites, was only beginning.
At the end of his time leading Israel, Moses gathered the people to give them their marching orders. Their marching orders were his magnum opus, the crowning of his time serving God and leading the descendants of Abraham.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
We may not be Israel, but God is still our God, and He is the same God. We would do well to hear the summons that Moses issues to the people.
Collectively, these verses form part of a Jewish prayer called the Shema. Shema is the first Hebrew word of the prayer; it’s translated as “Hear!”
But “hear” perhaps downplays the significance of this call. This call is not simply a summons to ensure your ears receive the sounds floating through the airwaves.
“Hear,” Shema, entails the idea of listening, not just hearing. If you have children, you understand this difference acutely.
But even hearing to understand is not all that is carried in Shema.
The Shema, from the lips of both Moses and Jesus, is a call to action. The Shema calls for the words to sink in and spark a response. In Hebrew thinking, to hear, to listen, implicitly expects the hearer to do something with what they’ve heard.
The call is to love the Lord with heart, soul, mind, and strength. This literary device is called a “merism” (describing the whole by mentioning the parts) and simply means that we love God with everything we are: words, thoughts, feelings, and deeds.
It is no wonder Jesus later calls this the first and greatest commandment. There could be nothing more basic and nothing higher than loving God with all our being.
Prayer: God, I understand the call to love You with all that I am. I know that I often fall short of that ideal. Thank You that Jesus is the example of what it means to love You with all that I am. Help me to hear and heed the call to love You. Help me to see those areas of my life that do not show love for You. Amen.
Reflection: As men, some demonstrations of love are more comfortable to express than others. It is not always the same for all of us, but there can be easier ways than others. Which area is easier for you to express love: heart, soul, mind, or strength? Which is more difficult? Why?
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