5. Love the Lord, Your God - Amazon Web...

Lesson#5

LovetheLord,yourGod

(6:1-25)

1LovetheLord,YourGod

Lesson#4beganMoses’2ndDiscourse,whichsprawlsacrossDeuteronomy4:44–29:1,aexpansivebodyofteachingthatformsthecoreofDeuteronomy.Aswelearned,torahisnotsimplythePentateuch,orthefivebooksofMoses,butratherGod’scomprehensive,allencompassingteaching,ateachingthat—iffollowed—enablesGod’scovenantpeopletolivelifefullyandabundantlyinthePromisedLand.

WealsolearnedthatifIsraeladheressteadfastlytotorah,shewillbea“lighttothenaNons,”amodeloffulfilledhumanpotenNalforallpeople.

TheDecalogue,ortheTenCommandments,comprisetheheartoftorah,and

wefoundthatDeuteronomystressesthe4thcommandment—toobservetheSabbathdayandkeepitholy.ByrigorouslyobservingtheSabbath—weekaTerweek,monthaTermonth,yearaTeryear—eachIsraelitewouldremaincenteredinGodandexperience“rest,”aprofoundsenseofcompletenessandhumanfulfillment.


Deuteronomy6-11introducestheexpansivebodyofstatutesandordinancescontainedinchapters12-26,anditdoessobyreemphasizingandexpandinguponthe1stcommandment,thatYHWHaloneisIsrael’sGod,aGodwhoinvitesIsraelintoaninNmate,covenantrelaNonshipwithhimself.

Asacovenantpeople,itfollows,then,thatIsraelistolovetheLordtheirGodwithalltheirheart,beingandstrength.

Deuteronomy6:4-9—tradiNonallycalledthe“Shema”—isIsrael’s

foundaNonalstatementoffaith,itscredo.Jesuscallsit“thegreatestandthefirstcommandment,”containingwithinitselfthewholelawofGod(Ma\hew22:37-38).

InLesson#5weexaminetheShemaclosely,andwelearnitsimplicaNons.


InDeuteronomy6:1-3MosesintroducesIsrael’sgreatstatementoffaith,theShema.

HedoessobyremindingtheIsraelitesofthetencommandmentsjustgiventothem,andoftheirobligaNontoobeythosecommandmentsandtoteachthemtotheirchildrenandgrandchildren,generaNonaTergeneraNon.

OnlybydoingsowilltheIsraeliteslivealongandprosperouslifeinthelandtheyareabouttopossess.



“This then is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances, which the Lord, your God, has commanded that you be taught to observe in the land you are about to cross into to possess, so that you, that is, you, your child, and your grandchild, may fear the Lord, your God, by keeping, as long as you live, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly; for the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.”

(6: 1-3)

Deuteronomyrepeatedlystresses

thecausallinkbetweenfidelityto

Godandprosperingintheland.Thislinkisthedrivingprinciple

behindScripture’sunderstanding

ofhistory.

IfIsraelobeysGod,theywill

prosper;iftheydon’t,theywon’t.


LoveforGodshouldbeourmoNve

forobeyinghiscommands,statutes

andordinances,yetMosesremindstheIsraelitesto“feartheLord”if

theywishto“havealonglife”and

prosperintheland.

ThisisnotthefirstNmewe’veread

aboutthe“fearoftheLord,”sowe

needtotakeacloselookatthe

phrase.


TheHebrewwordtranslated“fear”is

yare[yah-ray’].Itoccurs422Nmesin

373versesoftheHebrewScriptures,anditsuserangeswidely.

Whenusedinthephraseasanoun,

“fearoftheLord,”orasaverb,“fearGod,”ithasaspecificmeaning,one

associatedwiththenuminous,aword

coinedbytheGermantheologian

RudolfO\oinTheIdeaoftheHoly

(1917).

C.S.Lewisdescribesitbest:


“Supposeyouweretoldtherewasa

Ngerinthenextroom:youwould

knowthatyouwereindangerandwouldprobablyfeelfear.Butifyou

weretold‘Thereisaghostinthenext

room,’andbelievedit,youwould

feel,indeed,whatisoTencalledfear,

butofadifferentkind....Itis‘uncanny’ratherthandangerous,and

thespecialkindoffearitexcitesmay

becalledDread.WiththeUncanny

onehasreachedthefringesofthe

Numinous...


C.S.Lewis(1898-1963)

ChrisNanApologistand

ProfessorofMedievalandRenaissanceLiterature,MagdaleneCollege,Cambridge.

Nowsupposethatyouweretoldsimply‘Thereisamightyspiritintheroom,’andbelievedit.Yourfeelingswouldthenbeevenlesslikethemerefearofdanger:butthedisturbancewouldbeprofound.Youwouldfeelwonderandacertainshrinking—asenseofinadequacytocopewithsuchavisitantandofprostraNonbeforeit—anemoNonwhichmightbeexpressedinShakespeare’swords‘Underitmygeniusisrebuked’.Thisfeelingmaybedescribedasawe,andtheobjectwhichexcitesitistheNuminous.”1

1TheProblemofPain(NewYork:HarperCollins

Ebooks,2009),pp.6-7.


C.S.Lewis(1898-1963)

ChrisNanApologistand

ProfessorofMedievalandRenaissanceLiterature,MagdaleneCollege,Cambridge.

Notme.

LovetheLord,YourGod

I’mgladofthat!

SomeonetriedtohitmewithasNckonce,andI

wasafraid.Ididn’tlikethatfeelingatall!

Sothe“fearofGod”isn’tsomethingtriggeredbydangerorthefearofpunishment;rather,itistriggeredbythenuminousandcharacterizedbyawe,wonder

andprofoundreverence.

11

So,abe\erunderstandingof

the“fearoftheLord”leadsustoabe\erunderstanding

ofthe“Shema,”Israel’sfoundaNonalstatementof

faith,itscredo.



The Shema

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord [is one]! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

(6: 4-9)

NoEnglishtranslaNoncancapturethestarkbeautyandprecisionoftheShema’sopeningverse.

InHebrewitisonly6wordslong:

Sh’maYisra’elYHWHEloheinuYHWHEhad.

Sh’ma Listen,hearanddoYisra’el Israel,inthesenseofthepeopleasa

covenantcommunity

YHWH YHWHisneverspoken;readAdonaiEloheinuplural,1stpersonpossessive,ourGod,

usasacovenantcommunityYHWH Adonai

Ehad thecardinalnumber“one”

NoNcethatnotevenaverbdistractsfromtheopeningverse’scrystal-clearring!


ScribeswhoproducebeauNfulmanuscriptsoftheHebrewScripturesoTen“frame”theShema’sopeningversebyenlargingtwole\ersinthefirstandlastwordsoftheverse:

Splicingthetwoenlargedle\erstogetherformstheHebrewwordfor“tesNmony”or“witness.”TheShemaisawitnesstothefundamentalnatureofGodandofIsrael’srelaNonshiptohim.


Read

ThekeyHebrewwordintheShemais‘ehad,“one.”

Sh’maYisra’elYHWHEloheinuYHWHEhad.

AsRobertAlterpointsout:

“Sometranslatorsrender‘ehad,‘one,’as‘alone,’buttheevidencethatthiscommon

Hebrewnumeraltermevermeantthatis

quesNonable.Thestatementstands,then,

asithasbeentradiNonallyconstrued,asa

ringingdeclaraNonofmonotheism.”2

2TheFiveBooksofMoses,aTranslaNonwith

Commentary(NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,2004),p.912.


AsStevenL.Cookobserves,tosay

thatGodis“one”speaksofhisall-

encompassing“wholeness,”ofhisdominioninwhicheachsphereof

existenceisintegraltothewholeof

life,instarkcontrasttothe

polytheismofIsrael’ssurrounding

cultures.3

3ReadingDeuteronomy,aLiteraryandTheological

Commentary.(Macon,Georgia:Smyth&HelwysPublishers,Inc.,2015),p.73.


TosaythatGodis“one”declareshisoneineffable,unspeakablytranscendentname,YHWH—anamerepeatedtwiceinthesixwordsoftheShema’sopeningverse.

Andthatnamewilltoleratenorivals.WhentheIsraelitesentertheland,theyareto:

“DestroyenNrelyalltheplaceswherethenaNons

youaretodispossessservetheirgods,onthehigh

mountains,onthehills,andundereverygreen

tree.Teardowntheiraltars,smashtheirsacred

pillars,burnuptheirasherahs,andchopdownthe

idolsoftheirgods,thatyoumaydestroythevery

nameofthemfromthatplace.”

(12:2-3)


God’snamewillreigninoneland,

withonepeople,whowillworship

inoneplace;inJosiah’sdayandinpost-BabylonianIsrael,thatone

placeistheTempleinJerusalem.

AndbecauseGodisoneandhasassembledhispeopletogetheras

onecommunity;becauseofthe

“wholeness”ofGod:

“YoushalllovetheLord,yourGod,with

yourwholeheart,andwithyourwhole

being,andwithyourwholestrength.”

(6:5)


• ThisnewinjuncNonto“lovetheLord,yourGod,”istheproperresponsetoGodenteringintoaninNmate,exclusiverelaNonshipwithIsrael,toGod“betrothing”her.

• AndthatloveistobeexpressedwithIsrael’s:

• wholeheart—theseatofbothunderstandingandemoNonsinbiblicalphysiology;• wholebeing—theHebrewnefesh,the“life-breath”;and• wholestrength—allyourmight.


Likethreeconcentriccircles,“heart,”“being”and“strength”builduponeachotherandresultinanabsolute,all-consumingandsingulardevoNontoGod.

Thesewordsmustneverbe

forgo\en:

“KeeprepeaNngthemtoyourchildren.

Recitethemwhenyouareathomeand

whenyouareaway,whenyouliedown

andwhenyougetup.”

(6:5)


• AsRobertAlterobserves,theHebrewwordtranslated“keeprepeaNng”isshinen,avariantofshanah,“torepeat”;elsewhereintheHebrewScripturesitcarriesthesenseof“sharp.”4

Perhapshereitmightberenderednicelyas“teachincisively”or“rehearsewithincisiveeffect.”

• IntradiNonalJewishhomes,onceachildbeginstospeak,hisorherparentsteachthem,inHebrew,theShema,onewordataNme.

4TheFiveBooksofMoses,p.912.


Notme.

LovetheLord,YourGod

Nowthat’s

funny!

StevenL.CookpointsoutthattheolderNewAmericanBible(NAB)translaNonreads“drilltheminto

yourchildren,”commenNngwrylythat“drill”sharesthesameHebrewrootas“tooth”!

23


Ha,ha,ha!

Jewsarealsocommandedto“bindthem

onyourarmasasignandletthembeasa

pendantonyourforehead.Writethemon

thedoorpostsofyourhousesandonyour

gates”(6:8-9).

ThewordsarefiguraNve,ofcourse,butJewishtradiNonhasmadethemliteral.

InRomanNmes—andtoday—Jewishmenwear“phylacteries”(ortefillin)duringmorningprayer,blackleatherboxesNedtotheirarmandforehead,boxescontainingNnyvellumorparchmentscrollswiththewordsoftheShemawri\enonthem.



AnIDFsoldierwearing

phylacterieswhilepraying.

Vellumscrollinsideatefillah.

TheShemaiswri\enonit.


InMa\hew’sgospel,Jesuslaunchesscathing

criNcismatthereligiousleadersinJerusalemwho“widentheirphylacteriesandlengthen

theirtassels”asashowofpompouspiety.“Alltheirworks,”hesays,“areperformedtobe

seen”(23:5).Hypocrites,all!

Yet,amanofhisNme,JesusalsopracNced

suchreligiouscustoms.WheninMa\hew’sgospelthewomanwhohadbeenbleedingfor

twelveyearssawJesus,she“cameupbehind

himandtouchedthetasselonhiscloak.She

saidtoherself,‘IfIcantouchhiscloak,Ishall

becured”(9:22-23).

TheGreekwordtranslated“tassel”is

kravspedon [krah’-spe-don];theHebrewwordistzizit.


“WomanwithaHemorrhage,”TrèsRichesHeuresdeducdeBerry

(Temperaonvellum,Ms.65),c.1411-1416.

MuséeCondé,ChanNlly.

“Thetasselonhiscloak”(Ma\hew9:20).Thetzizitonthehemofatallit.

Jewsarealsocommandedto“writethem

onthedoorpostsofyourhousesandon

yourgates”(6:9),whichledtothecustomofa\achingamezuzahtoacitygateandtothedoorpostofahome.

Themezuzahisavelumscrollonwhichiswri\entheShema.Tobevalid,themezuzahmustbewri\enbyasofer,aspeciallytrainedscribe,anditisaffixedtotherightsideofthedoorpost,aboutshoulderheight,ataslightangle,withthetoppoinNnginward.

Thecasecontainingthemezuzahcanbequitesimpleorveryornate.



MezuzahontheJaffaGateoftheOldCity,Jerusalem.

LimitedediNonMarcChigallmezzuah—

VERYEXPENSIVE!

Asweobserved,Deuteronomy

repeatedlystressesthecausallink

betweenfidelitytoGodandprosperingintheland.

IfIsraelobeysGod,theywill

prosper;ifthedon’t,theywon’t.

Butwithprosperitycomes

complacency,agravedangerfor

theIsraelites—orforanyoneelse,forthatma\er!



“When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat and are satisfied, be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that house of slavery. The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear. You shall not go after other gods, any of the gods of the surrounding peoples—for the Lord, your God who is in your midst is a passionate God—lest the anger of the Lord, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from upon the land.” (6: 10-15)

WhentheIsraelitesconquerthelandofCanaan—the“PromisedLand,”theywillsuddenlyacquireconsiderablewealthandpropertytheyneverearned.

TheywillbewalkingintociNestheydidnotbuild,housestheydidnotbuyandgoodstheydidnotgarner;theywillse\leonlandtheydidnotfarm,witholivetreesandvineyardstheydidnotplantandcisternstheydidnotdig.

Oncese\ledintheland,theIsraelitesfacethegravedangerofforgevngGod,ofcoveNngtheirpossessionsandofbecomingarrogantandself-saNsfied.



Inthe“Lord’sPrayer,”Jesusunderstandsthis.Teachingustopray,hesays:

“Giveustodayourdailybread;

andforgiveusourdebts,

asweforgiveourdebtors;

Anddonotsubjectustothefinaltest,

butdeliverusfromtheevilone.”

(Ma\hew6:11-13)

Jesus’prayerechoesthesayingsofAgurinProverbs:

“Putfalsehoodandlyingfarfromme,

givemeneitherpovertynorriches;

providemeonlywiththefoodIneed;

Lest,beingfull,Idenyyou,

saying,‘WhoistheLord?’

Or,beinginwant,Isteal,

andprofanethenameofmyGod.”

(Proverbs30:8-9)

InIsaiah’sscathingcourtroomdrama(Isaiah1-35),GodpointsatIsraelinthedocketandthunders:

“ThedaughtersofZionarehaughty,

andwalkwithnecksoutstretched,

oglingandmincingastheygo,

theirankletsNnklingwitheverystep.”

(Isaiah3:16)

AndProverbstellsusthatGod“hates”seventhings:

“TherearesixthingstheLordhates,

yes,sevenareanabominaNontohim:

haughtyeyes,alyingtongue,

handsthatshedinnocentblood,

aheartthatplotswickedschemes,

feetthatarequicktoturntoevil,

thefalsewitnesswhoucerslies,

andtheonewhosowsdiscordamongkindred.”

(6:16-19)




Notme.

LovetheLord,YourGod

Actually,hehates8.

InMalachi1:3,GodsayshehatesEsau,

too!

Well,I’llbedarned!Ididn’tknowthatGod

hatedanything!Itturnsouthehates7things!

38



“You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah. But keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the decrees and the statutes he has commanded you. Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and you may enter in and possess the good land which the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, driving all your enemies out of your way, as the Lord has promised.”

(6: 16-19)

“You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah . . .”

Verses16-19addressathreatcloselyrelatedtoself-sufficiency,thatofthehumancravingforcontrol,forlivinglifeonourownterms,ratherthanonGod’s.

TheHebrewword“test”isnacha[nah-saw’],anditmeansto“prove,”“test,”or“assay.”AttheflintyrocksofRephidimthepeopledesperatelyneededwater.GodtoldMosesto“speak”totherock,anditwouldprovidewater.Frustratedandangry,Mosesstrucktherocktwice,andwatergushedout.

We’retoldthat“Theplacewasnamed

Massah...becausetheIsraelites[andMoses]quarreledthereandtestedtheLord”

(Exodus17:1-7).


BartoloméEstebanMurillo.MosesStrikingtheRock(oiloncanvas),c.1666.

PrivatecollecNon,anonymous(soldataucNonatChrisNe’s,London,August2,1968,Lot36).


FortheIsraelites,“tesNng”Godnegatesthe“oneness”ofGod,inwhichalloflifecoherestogetherinasingleunifiedwhole:God,peopleandland.

Demandingtolivelifeonourownterms—“tesNngGod”—disconnectsusfromthislargerintegratedreality,muchlikealeafonatreedemandingtoliveapartfromthetree.

Tolivelifefully,toachieveourhumanpotenNalasGod’ssonsanddaughters,meansbeingfullyintegratedintothe“oneness”ofGod,toparNcipaNnginhislife,tohonoringothercommunitymembersandtoresponsiblestewardshipoftheland.


Notme.

LovetheLord,YourGod

Today,weliketodothings“ourway,”not“God’s

way!”

Thatcertainlyfliesinthefaceoftoday’sculture,whereweplacetheindividualabovethecommunity,ourownneeds

aboveothers,andoureconomicprosperityaboveresponsible

stewardshipoftheenvironment.

44

Chapter6concludesbyreturningtothethemeofteachingfuturegeneraNonswhatGodhasdoneforthem,teachingthemtorah,andintegraNngthemintoacommonsocietalstructureprescribedbyGod.

IndividualpeoplewithindividualidenNNes,individualvalues,andindividualprioriNesdonotconsNtuteasociety,evenless,acommunity.Tolivelifefully—asGodintended—theymustbeintegratedintoacommonvision,rootedinthepastandprojectedintothefuture.

Thistrajectory—thisvision—mustbetaughttoeachgeneraNon,forapeopleignorantorforgexulofthepast,hasbutatenuousholdonthefuture.



“Later on, when your son asks you, ‘What do these decrees and statutes and ordinances mean?’ which the Lord, our God, has enjoined on you, you shall say to your son, ‘We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders, great and dire, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his whole house. He brought us from there to bring us in and give us the land he had promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes in fear of the Lord, our God, that we may always have as good a life as we have today. This is our justice before the Lord, our God: to observe carefully this whole commandment he has enjoined on us.’”

(6: 20-25)

1.   WhatdoesScripturemeanby“fearoftheLord”?

2.   Howdowemovefrom“fearoftheLord”tolovingtheLordwithallyourheart,beingandstrength?

3.   Whatdoesitmeanwhenwereadthat“TheLordisour

God,theLordisone?”

4.   HowdoesanobservantJewliveouttheShemainday-

to-daylife?

5.   AccordingtoDeuteronomy,whatisthesinglegreatest

dangerofprosperity?


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