Shema: Are We Listening?
Notes
Transcript
Review:
Review:
Turn to Deuteronomy chapter six.
So far, we have raised two questions in our study:
What does it mean to be Jewish?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
Our word “Christian” comes from the Greek word, Χριστιανούς.
Χριστιανούς: Χριστός + ανούς = “Christ” + “to belong to…to be of”
The people of Antioch saw how these believers lived and called them “Christians.” They were called Christians because they belonged to Christ; they were of Christ. More than anything else, Jesus Christ was their identity.
Introduction
Introduction
This evening we are going to consider a passage of Old Testament Scriptures that is one of the most important in Judaism. To make a comparison, what John 3:16 means to Christians is what Deuteronomy 6:4-9 means to the Jews.
We love John 3:16. It is probably the most well-known verse in the New Testament. Likewise, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 are among the most well-known verses to the Jews.
This passage of Scripture is part of what Jewish people call the Shema.
According to historical accounts, Jewish people sang or recited the Shema on their way to death camps and gas chambers during World War II. The Shema is inextricably tied to the soul of the Jew. - Dr. Craig Hartman, page 18
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Let’s consider this question:
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What is the Shema?
The Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, is the Jewish statement of faith. It is called the Shema because the first word in verse four is the Hebrew word, Shema, which means, “hear.” Jews have recited the Shema as early as the time of Christ.
Background information:
It includes Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41.
Observant Jews all across the world recite these passages as a prayer twice a day.
It forms one of the three key sections of the synagogue service.
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Shema: to hear, to listen and obey, to listen with a readiness to learn and understand.
What was Israel and what are we commanded to hear? The answer begins in verse four.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Think about that verse for a minute.
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What are some truths that Deuteronomy 6:4 teaches us about God?
This verse teaches us “that there is no other God but God. He is unique. Pagan gods are not God; idols are not God. Only God is God, and He alone is God. He is uniquely God.” - Dr. Craig Hartman, page 18
Application: our God is completely unlike any other god. The God of the Bible is not the same as the god of Islam. The God of the Bible is not the same as the god of the Catholics, the Hindus, the Mormons, or anybody else. Our God is altogether unique. Do not add anything in worship to Him and do not take away from who He is. He alone is God.
Growing up in church I remember being taught on these verses, but I always was left wondering what the difference was between the terms “heart”, “soul”, and “might.”
Heart - refers to your passion and emotional inner being. It means to love God with all of the internal passion and intensity that you can muster.
Soul - this Hebrew word is often translated “life” in the Old Testament. It means to love God with your whole life and every part of it.
Might - means to love God with all of your strength - to love Him very much. It means to love him with every once of energy that you have.
“Pastor Tim, that’s like saying the same thing three times.” Yes, it is. God was emphasizing it for us.
It means to “Love your God with your very life - everything that flows from your inner being: your heart, your whole life, your whole being. Love God with all your might.”
Application: what does loving God with all of your heart, life, and being look like from day-to-day? What does that look like to you?
Loving God is a full-time job. Being a Christian is a full-time job. You aren’t a Christian just when you’re at church. You don’t take a break from being a Christian when you get home.
Jesus referenced the Shema in Matthew 22:35-38.
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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. This is the first and great commandment.
What did Jesus say we must do if we love Him?
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
continue here Wednesday 11/15/23
Let’s look now at Deuteronomy 6:6. Notice what follows next in the Shema. First, we must love God - and love Him deeply. But that is not all. We must love something else also.
Read Deuteronomy 6:6.
In Deuteronomy chapter six, Moses was speaking to Israel. What did he mean when he said, “these words shall be in thine heart”? You must cherish the Word of God. It must be precious to you.
This idea can be seen even in our modern culture. You can buy necklaces with heart shaped lockets, or buy heart shaped jewelry with names or pictures engraved on it. What does it signify when someone wears that jewelry? It indicates that those words or the person that is pictured is close to their heart. They are cherished!
Application: Verse six means to cherish and love God’s Word and understand it for yourself.
Put that command in its historical context. There were some copies of the law, but I’m not aware of any indication that the average family had their own copy. It certainly was not as readily available as we have it. If they wanted the Word of God to be in their heart, on a practical level, they would have to remember it. They would have to remember what Moses taught.
The word “remember” is found fourteen times in the book of Deuteronomy.
To summarize verse six, Moses says,
Treasure these words in your heart. Meditate on this instruction to love God with every-thing. Have that instruction deeply rooted in your heart. Meditate on it. Allow the Word to enhance your love of God....cherish the Word, O Israel. - Dr. Craig Hartman, page 19
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Why did Moses tell the Israelites to cherish God’s Word?
Hint: look at verse seven. So they could teach it to their children.
The Hebrew word for diligently means "to sharpen." Another form of this word could be translated "to pierce through." In other words, "With the sharpness of a tool, implant into your children all the Word that you can. Teach them with intensity from what is planted within them. Talk about the Word and love God all the time: in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon, and when you're just walking around talking." - Dr. Craig Hartman, page 20
Application: We adults, particularly the men, have the responsibility to teach the next generation the Word of God. That responsibility is not fulfilled simply by bringing them to church.
When I was an assistant pastor, there was a young lady who turned 12 years old and joined our teengroup. Her dad came up to me and said, “Well, she’s all yours now.”
The parent’s responsibility of teaching their children is fulfilled by talking with them about the Scriptures and by teaching them Scripture throughout the normal activities of the day. The parent’s responsibility and privilege is to connect the dots between Scripture and day-to-day life in a way that a pastor and a teacher can never do. A pastor or teacher at church can teach Scripture and illustrate how to live it out at home, but that is not near as powerful as teaching a verse or principle of Scripture right in the moment that it happens.
That’s the specific application of this text, but now let’s think about the bigger picture of verses 6-7.
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Why should we know the Word of God for ourselves?
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Why should we know the Word of God for ourselves? So that we can teach others.
You see, the principle of making disciples is baked into verses 6-7. First, we are to make disciples of our own children. But beyond that, we are to make disciples of anyone else that will faithfully hear - anyone that will faithfully shema!
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And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Paul had taught Timothy. Now Timothy was to identify and teach faithful men. And what were those faithful men supposed to do? Teach others.
That’s the biblical pattern for every local church. That’s how Biblical Christianity has survived from the apostles to the present - faithful men and women identifying others who are faithful and then teaching them. I don’t have it all figured out, but I am convinced that this pattern must be the framework of our church ministry.
We must each choose for ourselves to love and know the Scriptures and purposefully identify others in our lives that we can teach what we know.
But to do that, we need to shema. We need to hear. We need to listen with a readiness to learn and understand.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
The Jews became very ritualistic in their attempts to remember the Scriptures.
Read Deuteronomy 6:8-9.
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They eventually started this practice of wearing tefillin, also called phylacteries. They were boxes with little pieces of Scripture in them.
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While we don’t want to take up the Jewish rituals, may we have a heart that is just as zealous in knowing and loving and teaching the Scriptures.