Out of Context: The Shema
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Intro
Intro
A Mantra
A Life saying
Kieth Crosby’s is one crisis at a time
My grandpa would always say why pay someone else to do what you can do yourself
My dads I’m pretty sure was were you raised in a barn?
I’m not sure I’ve lived long enough to develop one
We all have these sayings for some of us its a verse for others just a quick quote for our favorite author or such
The bible has a saying that we should repeat in fact this what the mishna requires of orthodox Jews to repeat this phrase every morning and night
The Shema
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. 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.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Some context the word Deuteronomy “the Second Law” this is the Moses summary of the Law
Its a reminder of what God has commanded
As they look across the river about to cross into the promise land Moses takes this time his final time to teach
He uses it to remind them of what yahweh commands
And after he gives the ten commandments he takes time out to remind these people of the greatest commandment
This what the Jewish people describe as the shema
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.
This is the Shema
The greatest commandment
Jesus reminds of as such in Matthew 22:37-38
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.
All good Jews knew this by heart
The Jews were commanded to repeat this saying every morning and every night
So what is it about this that makes it so impactful???
It is a prescription for how we as people must live
It describes how we should view God
It is a command for how we ought to live our lives
The Shema instructs our view of God
The Shema instructs our view of God
Read Deuteronomy 6:4
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
This is a simple statement with profound implication
“Hear, O Isreal”
Listen up
You may have checked out during the repeating of the ten commandments but now listen up
Pay attention
What I’m about to say has the utmost importance
If you are taking notes get the pen ready
HEAR, O ISREAL ....
The prescription of who God is
“The LORD our God, The LORD is one”
This is the beginning of the statement that Moses wants isreal to hear
The LORD our God
He starts with a reminder that he is not above these people though God had appointed him to lead
This LORD YAHWEH is our God
He is the God of Moses and the God of Israel
This also harkens back to the God of Abraham, Issac, and Joseph
This God who had proven faithful time and time again
This God who still had promises to fulfill to the Nation of Isreal
This is the LORD who Moses is reminding them
This LORD is one
Some folks will say that this statement does away with the idea of a trinitarian God but they would be wrong
Really if anything this should highlight for us how unique the trinitarian God head is
That the father son and holy spirit are one
ONE GOD
This is a reminder to the Jewish people to hold this fast in their Minds that the LORD God is one
you may already have some weird thoughts about God or others gods
you may want to go to some synchronicitic view of god
sure God is the God but there are probably some other gods
but we know this to be false and we must hold fast to this that God is one
once you Israel go into to posses this land you will be tempted to bring in other god DONT
many times in the remainder of this book Moses will warn them about following after other Gods
only To tell Moses at the end that Israel will do just that
A command of how ought to live
A command of how ought to live
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
We should love with all our HEART
The core of who we are the very center for where the Love comes from
God must be the very being that our hearts desire
he must be number one of who we love the one we forsake all others for
we should love with all our Soul
the essence of who we are
this must be be the everything that we love the lord with
our obsession with the Lord should be all consuming
our very being should be consumed with the Lord
all our might
or strength
this is the outward practicing version
how we work out our love giving to God
How do we do that
How do we do that
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.
keep this commands by keeping his word
obedience
knowing his word