SHEH-MA YISRAEL
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4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
this was, to the Jewish people: An affirmation of God’s singularity and our response to God, its daily recitation is regarded by traditionally observant Jews as a biblical commandment.
In other words, they didn’t look at this as optional…but absolutely mandatory and necessary.
this was an agreement and a recognition to their God…in thankfulness and remembrance of the mighty delivering hand of the almighty God to the Jewish people.
this was a daily, and often many times a day, prayer, so they would not forget.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
this was not only for them to do in remembrance but to teach it unto their children.
and to talk about it....
in thine house
when thou walk in the way
when thou liest down
when thou riseth up.
this, to the Jewish believer, involved every moment of their day and life.
every moment of their existence and their very first priority.
they where to do this so that they wouldn’t forget....but, what was it that the ancient Israelites where not to forget?
10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
just like God delivered the Jewish people from the bondage of Egypt....God likewise has delivered us all from the bondage of sin unto certain death.
while God desires and does bless his people…there is also a warning amidst the blessings.
the warning is to not get so caught up in the blessings that we forget who delivered us from the pit we where in...
the bible says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
that is why this prayer is so necessary and all encompassing.
its a daily reminder of our deliverance…lest we forget.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
riches and blessing can potentially cause us to forget where those riches and blessings came from.
to forget where we came from
and to forget our God that blessed us in the first place.
we are reminded in Ecclesiastes chapter 6 that we are born poor and naked and thus we will return.....
the word of God is setting a precedent… all things in this world are temporary…therefor the focus is to be on God and his eternal kingdom and not on this world.
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
in our bible studies, we learned that “SHEMA” means to hear
So when God asks the people to Shema…he is meaning to LISTEN and OBEY.
the children of Israel where not to just hear with their ears, but to walk daily with their God and to show their love for him in both action and deeds.
everything in the bible is designed for a purpose..to lead us to not only hearing....but unto action
the bible says that faith without works is dead being alone
for our works are the evidence of the faith that is within us.
what is on the inside will manifest itself on the outside
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
we also learned how we, as believers are to love the LORD our God.
“with all our heart, soul and strength”
this is to say with every fiber of our being
firstly:
with all of our heart or “LEVAV” :
our heart must be pure and holy before God if we are to be led by the Holy Spirit
every day, God’s people are called to devote themselves to God in every way.
their whole body and mind
their feelings and their desires
their future and their failures
this is what it means to love God with all your heart.
Secondly:
with all of our Soul or “NEPHESH”:
even though “NEPHESH” was translated as soul…the Hebrew word really refers to the whole human as a Living, physical organism.
to love God with all of your “NEPHESH” means to devote your whole physical existence to your creator
Thirdly:
with all of our Strength or “ME'OD”
“ME’OD” doesn’t mean strength in terms of muscle power, but rather it means Very or Much..
Meaning: a word that comes alongside other words to augment their meaning.
to love God with all of our “ME’OD”, that is: with all of our “Muchness”
Loving God with your “ME’OD” means devoting every possibility, opportunity and capacity that you have to honoring God and loving your neighbor as yourself.
So the Shema prayer is not just words spoken....
but rather a call to obedience and action
that the God we serve is not a God of confusion but rather:
a singular God in spirit, purpose and intent
a God with a defined and particular purpose and design.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
the point is that every thing in a persons life, every moment and every opportunity, every ability and capacity offers a chance to honor and love the one who made us.
lastly:
our bible reading/studying, our prayer life our daily walk with God is to remind us of where God has brought each and every one of us.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.
God reached down from heaven for each and every one of us and pulled us out of the depths of sin.....
out of the miry clay
out of the tight grip of the devil unto certain death, and set us upon a rock…bringing spiritual stability to our existence, and a hope beyond this life.
the ability to have a personal and internal relationship with God
for God to be able to dwell within this fleshly building and not just a building made with hands.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
daily we remember where it is that God has brought us from and where it is that we are going....we remember his purpose in order to fulfill our purpose.
always keeping his purpose at the forefront of our actions and intentions
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit.
the word “iniquity” is “AVON” in ancient Hebrew meaning: crooked or bent
when the bible says to “blot out all my iniquity” it means:
to make all my crooked ways straight.....to cause me to observe Gods ways so that my crooked ways can be made straight or right again.
this Psalm was a cry from King David when he found that he had forgotten his God…that his ways had become crooked.
it was his cry for God to make his crooked ways straight…or to blot out his sin and make him right again before God.
this is what was accomplished on Calvary while we where yet sinners.
God took our crooked ways and made them straight again.
my prayer is that God never let my mind forget where he brought me from and what my true purpose and direction is.
but to always remember him and to always put him first
“By not forgetting where you came from, you ensure you never go backward. You ensure you always remain grateful and humble so you can keep doing what you love”
this is the true meaning and purpose for the “shema prayer”
to always put God first
and to never forget our deliverer and our source of power and strength.
To always walk humbly and obediently with our God.
