The Greatest Commandment

Ben Swapp

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Introduction

The Lord has been laying on my heart, the importance of giving your full dedication to the LORD.

You know who Jesus is that is good. This is the first step in salvation. Head-knowledge of Jesus. James tells us

(ESV)

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

There is more to Christianity than a little prayer with no life change—there has got to be a full dedication to the LORD when you come to know Him.

The Greatest Commandment

Deuteronomy 6:

(ESV)

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Do you think this commandment was important to God when he said it?

Lets find out— lets Exegesis this passage

Exegesis: Critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture. (google search).

EIsegesis: is the process of interpreting text in such a way as to introduce one’s own presuppositions, agendas or biases. (this is where cults, heresies come from)

I heard somebody say recently, “we should always read at least ten versus in front of a passage, and ten versus past the passage that is being taught to get some context.”

Now we don’t have the time in here to exegesis every verse we go over, but you do on your own time. Also, if you love the Lord and honor His word, you have an obligation to study what is being taught to you if you haven't already studied it out before. Meaning if it is a new idea does God’s word really say this?

In most instances we don’t have the time in here to exegesis every verse we go over, but you do on your own time. Also, if you love the Lord and honor His word, you have an obligation to study what is being taught to you if you haven't already studied it out before. Meaning if it is a new idea does God’s word really say this?

(ESV)

Paul and Silas in Berea

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

God willing we will begin to Exegesis this passage of Deuteronomy, and I pray that through His Holy Spirit, lives will be changed.

The people of Isreal had just came back to the border of the promise land. Those people that had refused to go into the land and fight and take possession of it 40 years earlier were all dead except for Caleb, Joshua, and Moses. Moses had been told he would not be entering into the promise land because of his rebellion at Meribah.

In Chapter 4 Moses commands Obedience

(ESV)

Moses Commands Obedience

4 “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

He goes on to tell about the time the ten commandments were given to the people and how the people are to pass this on from generation to generation.

Moses starts out talking about when the commandments where given. This is important! hear this get this God is the same today tomorrow and yesterday—forever. Look at what Moses says and think about yourselves and what God has done for you if you are saved.

(ESV)

Moses had summoned all Israel Hear, O Israel

9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 10 how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

(ESV)

Moses goes on to talk about Idolatry and how it is strictly forbidden. Reminding the people that they saw no form on the day that they recieved the ten commandments. He warns them in verses 23-24.

(ESV)

23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Moses then moves into The LORD alone being God

(ESV)

35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. 36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.

In Chapter 5 we see the ten commandments laid out.

no other gods 6. You shall not murder

2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

In our time today it could say

The Lord our God made a covenant with us. Not with our fathers did He make this covenant, but with me (make this personal) and I am alive today. The Lord spoke to me face to face, out of the midst of fire, and Jesus stood between the Lords consuming fire at that time, to declare to me the word of the Lord. Because I was afraid. Jesus saved me. And Jesus brought me out of the house of slavery.

Moses was a picture of Jesus— Moses was the man that stood between the sinful men of Israel, not that he took that sin from the people but he was there mediator between God and man.

When Jesus went to the cross, and the full wrath of God was pored out on Him, and He cried out, “it is finished!” He took that wrath of God upon Himself so that I did not have to have it

no carved imagages 7. Do not commit Adultery.

And know because of the salvation of my Lord

v. 7 I will have no other gods

don’t take the LORD your God’s name in vain 8. Do not steal.

v.8 I will not make any carved images...

Keep the Sabbath day holy 9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

down through the ten commandments we go.

Honor your father and Mother. 10.Do not covet anything anyone else has.

Does this mean that we as Christians must keep all of the ten commandments, to please the Lord— or to be saved.

Starting in verse 22 look at what is said.

No! We are already God’s people, and how did we become God’s people— we trusted in our Lord Jesus— this pleased God and saved us.

(ESV)

22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

We then come to our passage of the Greatest commandment

(ESV)

Look at what God tells Israel through Moses,

22 For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

25 “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

So important are these commandments that God tells the people through Moses

(ESV)

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We know the story, Israel violated these commandments, and they were cast out of the land of promise.

10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

We know the story, Israel violated these commandments, and they were cast out of the land of promise.

What about us?

I said in the introduction that we can not just say a little prayer and not have full dedication to the Lord.

what does this look like? Is full dedication to the Lord keeping all of the ten commandments. If that is what you are thinking, you wont be able to do it. You will on some of them—how are you doing on coveting?

Jesus was approached by a rich young man who asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

(ESV)

18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus even said that all of the commandments fall under this one and also loving your neighbor as your self.

(ESV)

The Great Commandment

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Full dedication to the Lord is Loving the Lord with all of your heart soul and might, but it is even more than that, it is acknowledging that the LORD our God is One.

That is what our passage says Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

The old dead dudes

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Bishop of Hippo

Fulgentius (467-532) The Bishop of Ruspe

Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary b. Yahweh Is Our God, Yahweh Is One (6:4–9)

This central confession of faith consists of only four words, Yahweh, our God, Yahweh, One. The expression has been variously understood. Possible translations are ‘Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one’, ‘Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one’. ‘Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone’. Whatever translation is chosen the essential meaning is clear. Yahweh was to be the sole object of Israel’s worship, allegiance and affection. The word ‘one’ or ‘alone’ implies monotheism,

Old Testament III: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy The Trinity Is One God (Augustine)

THE TRINITY IS ONE GOD. AUGUSTINE: That Trinity is one God. Not that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are identically the same. But the Father is Father, the Son is Son, and the Holy Spirit is Holy Spirit, and this Trinity is one God, as it is written: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God.” ON FAITH AND THE CREED 9.16.

“HEAR, O ISRAEL” IS SPOKEN OF THE TRINITY. AUGUSTINE: Consider now for a while the passages of Scripture which force us to confess that the Lord is one God, whether we are asked about the Father alone, or the Son alone, or the Holy Spirit alone, or about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together. Certainly it is written, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord.” Of whom do you think that this is said? If it is said only of the Father, then our Lord Jesus Christ is not God. Why did those words come to Thomas when he touched Christ and cried out, “My Lord and my God,” which Christ did not reprove but approved, saying, “Because you have seen, you have believed”?12 LETTER 238.

Old Testament III: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy The Trinity Is One God (Augustine)

ONE GOD IN THREE DISTINCT PERSONS. FULGENTIUS: Therefore, in whatever place you may be, because you know that you have been baptized in the one name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the rule promulgated by the command of our Savior, retain this rule with your whole heart, from the start and without hesitation: the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. This means the holy and ineffable Trinity is by nature one God, concerning whom it is said in Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God,” and “You shall adore the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve.” Indeed, … we have said that this one God who alone is true God by nature, is not the Father only, nor the Son only, nor the Holy Spirit only but is at one and the same time Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Thus] we must be wary that while we say in truth that as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, insofar as this is a unity of nature, we dare not say or believe something altogether blasphemous. [Such a blasphemous saying would be] that he who is the person of the Father is the same as either the Son or the Holy Spirit, or that he who is the person of the Son is the Father or the Holy Spirit. Or [it might be] that we dare to say or to believe that the person who is properly called the Holy Spirit in the confession of this Trinity is either the Father or the Son, something that is altogether wicked. TO PETER ON THE FAITH 1.3.15

After the acknowledgment of Jesus as not only our savior but our God as Tomas did, we must give Him our full allegiance. You want to honor the Father and love Him with all your heart soul and might. Honor the Son for who He is God in the flesh and love Him with all Heart mind soul and strength.

So, maybe you are sitting here today saying okay more knowledge just what I need.

How do I do this? How do I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and might?

Do I fake it, till I make it? No! that does you no good.

If you are sitting here today and you don’t feel the love for the Lord, you need to take it back to the root of yourself.

acknowledgement that you are not God, quit trying to be. His commandments and laws are good and righteous—you do not have a better way. If you think that you have a better way than that of God, than you think you are on the same playing field as God— making you equal in your mind.

Lets get something straight,I am not telling anybody here that they can follow the laws of God, but that does not mean that the laws of God are bad— they are good.

Then once you are broken, because you have acknowledged that you have been living a life in rebellion of God. Repent! Fall on your face before a loving God and tell Him you are sorry for thinking you knew better.

And then

God steps in, He has been there from the start, He has lead you to this point, His Spirit is working, but He is going to take that heart of stone from you and put a beating heart of flesh in its place— He is going to move you to love Him and to follow His commandments.

Yes we are going to mess up, But God is going to be there to pick you up and brush you off, because you are now his people.

You see Moses was a picture of Jesus

Listen to this passage in Deuteronomy 5

(ESV)

4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Do you see it! make it personal

The Lord spoke to me face to face out of the midst of the fire, and Jesus stood between the Lord and me at that time, to declare the word of the Lord. Because I was afraid of the all consuming fire.

But He said to me, “ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of slavery.

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