Hear, O Israel: The Great Commandment & Confession

Introduction

served as an extremely important text of Scripture in the Hebrew Bible.

It was recited by Israelites in their daily prayers and it was a reminder of the spiritual responsibilities of Israelites.

It is called the “Shema” because of the first Hebrew word “hear” in .

When Jesus was asked about the first and great commandment, He replied with this passage, to which the scribe agreed. In fact, the scribe agreed and Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom -

The nation of Israel and Jesus Himself considered this to be a great and important passage that had bearing on everything — the daily lives of disciples of God and Christ. Everything in their lives would have been filtered through this passage.

Everything Begins With God

Israel was called to “hear” and pay attention to all of the commandments they had been given () and the promise of the Canaan land ().

These commands and promises were being made by Yahweh, God Himself. Everything that the children of Israel had been given, their lives, their existence, the law that they followed, and the promises they hoped to achieve were all from God -

The LORD was indeed their God. He provided for them and He protected them.

Since the LORD was the only One who had provided for Israel, He alone was worthy of their worship and obedience.

Serving other gods was to be banned from Israel.

I do not think this passage is denying the other members of the Godhead. “Oneness” does not mean a singular one. It can involve a “unified one” - , the two become one flesh

Everything centered around God. Does everything in your life center around God?

This begins with spending time with God and His word.

It includes spending time with God in prayer and offering thanksgiving to God for what He has blessed us with and the hope that we have through Jesus.

Your life and existence is hidden and buried with Christ in God -

That has implications for your moral choices -

It requires a change in attitude and speech -

Giving praise to God -

Whatever it is that you do, you do it in the name of the Lord -

Everything in our live revolves around God.

The earth revolves around the sun; our live revolves around God.

God Requires Everything From Us

We see that the law of Moses was not merely outward and ceremonial. It was not merely a physical system of religion devoid of things that are “spiritual” or “internal.”

While we may sometimes think the law of Moses was only concerned with the physical and outward appearance, that is a misunderstanding. God has always been concerned about the heart of a person.

In fact, these verses were a reminder that the Lord required the inner man — a person’s heart! -

Just as the children of Israel under the old covenant were required to love God, so are we - ;

“Love” is a condition of the covenant and it means to obey. See Merrill below.

“Heart” is not a reference to the internal organ, but it refers to the mind, will, and center of the intellect.

“Soul” is a description of the true person with all of its desires and longings.

“Strength” refers to human activity and what one does.

The law of Moses required obedience from the heart. Jesus requires that of us as well.

Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy Commentary

The command to love (that is, in covenant terms, to obey)

Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy Commentary

Thus, the command is to be obedient to God with fullness of being and totality of effort.

“Soul” is a description of the true person with all of its desires and longings.

“Strength” refers to human activity and what one does.

Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy Commentary

The New Testament variations on this formula (cf. Matt 22:37–39; Mark 12:29–30; Luke 10:27) agree on the fundamental truths being propounded; the differences in wording may be explained by explanatory glosses in the Septuagint (Bock 1996:1025), made necessary in a more Hellenistic environment.

God requires a lot from us. In fact, He requires “all” that we have -

“All” is repeated 3 times in this verse. The verse does not read that we love the LORD with “some of our heart, some of your soul, and some of your might.”

God is not merely pleased with effort.

He expects complete devotion.

When the scribe quotes this verse in he makes a contrast between the “all/whole” burnt offering and sacrifice with what God requires of us — the whole person.

Paul says that we are to be living sacrifices. We cannot give part of ourself to God. We give all of ourselves to God -

Everyone Should Know God

People will come to know God when they are taught His commandments and the words He has spoken -

Family - ; ;

Public - , “on your gates” public business, courts, and markets were typically at the city gates and entrance into the city

People will come to know God when they are taught His commandments and the words He has spoken -

“These words…”- v 6

“…You shall teach them” - v 7

Israelites were expected to teach others about God and His works of saving Israel from the land of Egypt. Israelites were to live and thrive on their knowledge of God.

This knowledge began in the home and in the family through conversation - ; ; ;

Teaching your children ensures that the future generation will know about God.

Yet Israel did not follow this teaching. Time and again they failed to follow God’s law and failed to teach their children to keep God’s law -

God’s people were destroyed for lack of knowledge — and it wasn’t God’s fault

They rejected knowledge

Since they failed to follow God’s law and teach their children with each passing generation, God was going to forget them.

God expects His children and His chosen ones to be diligent about teaching their families -

It’s not the Bible class teacher’s job.

It’s not the church’s job (elders, preacher, elder’s wives).

It’s certainly not the school’s job to provide spiritual education.

It begins with mother and father — that’s whose responsibility it is to teach your children.

Evangelism begins in the home with your family!

Even non-family members and non-Israelites (the alien) were to be taught the words of the Lord -

Evangelism begins in the home, but it should not be restricted to your family.

All people should know the Lord - ;

Conclusion

Israelites would quote on a daily basis as a prayer and confession to God.

They accepted that God was the One who had provided everything for them: their law, their land, their homes, their families, and they accepted all of these blessings and were dedicating their very heart and souls to serving God.

God has provided us with every spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ. He has given us a law (the gospel). He has given us a family (the the church).

Have you accepted these blessings from God? If not, you can.

Have you turned away the blessings from God and not been loving Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might? You can come back.