Chapter Six
The Shema
6:1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
In this chapter Moses begins to reveal the commandment (God’s law) with its statutes and rules (see Deuteronomy 5:31) by first reminding them again that they are to be adhered to, not just heard but followed. He also reminded them that their obedience is essential if they want to stay in the land. Plus, God will bless them with a good and pleasurable life and will be greatly multiplied in number.
6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
As mentioned above in the Introduction to Deuteronomy, The Greatest Commandment, the opening line of “The Shema,” is “šemǎ’ Yiś·rā·’ēl,”[1] calling the people of Israel to listen and obey. The Shema has several components beginning with a fundamental truth, YHWH is One. But what does that mean? One what? The Hebrew word ‘ě·ḥāḏ’[2] (also spelled ‘echad’), can mean one, first, once, or one of several of things. It can also express agreement or unity among others. While the meaning of the term in this verse is often the subject of debate, the context of the verse is clear. There is only one God and His name is YHWH, or stated another way, He and He alone is God. The idea of God being one can be a barrier for some hearing the gospel message as they may question if God the Father is God, Jesus the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, how can God be one? When does three equal one? Through the years Christians have come up with a number of ways to answer that paradox, but the truth is simply beyond mankind’s comprehension. While this verse could be translated, “the LORD is alone,” the Bible elsewhere teaches that there is only one true God.
6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
The second component of “The Shema” is the command to ‘love’ YHWH (Hebrew word ‘ā·hǎḇ·tā’[3]). But not love like one might love another, the command is to love YHWH with ‘all’ our hearts, soul, and might. The Hebrew word ‘ḵāl’,[4] refers to every, all, everything, the whole, the entire, in this context implying not a percentage of or some portion offered, but literally all! The Hebrew ‘lēḇāḇ’,[5] refers to the heart, mind or inner person, this word describes the entire disposition of the “inner person,” to be totally committed to God. The word ‘nǎpš’,[6] translated here as ‘soul’, can be translated in several ways, including breath, life, soul, spirit, psyche, etc.[7] The word ‘me’ō·ḏě’[8] refers to something great in power or might, implying the application of effort or energy.[9]
To understand this verse, it might be easier if we apply a modern analogy from the Information Technology industry. Our bodies are the ‘hardware’ (the physical) and our personalities, how we think, our brains, etc. are essentially the ‘software’. God is commanding that the people of Israel (and all Christians as Jesus referred to this verse as being the most important),[10] to love God with all their physical being and with all their thoughts. God is not simply to be just another aspect, something to consider, or just a vague notion in our minds, He is to be the priority in everything in life, yes, everything, in both body and mind with our full energy applied. This includes how we think. Many are influenced by worldly thinking, which embrace only naturalistic explanations regarding the universe and the existence of life. Some Christians have either ignored or have completely rejected some basic Biblical teachings, believing that those concepts cannot hold up to critical thinking. If one is unwilling to recognize the hand of God in creation, or to acknowledge that He is not influenced or restricted by physical laws, their faith is incomplete.[11] We are to accept the whole Word of God as being true, and since the Bible is indeed the truth it can certainly ‘stand up’ to any level of critical thinking. Trusting that Jesus will provide salvation includes the knowledge that He has the ability to do as He promised.
Some have difficulty with the concept of love being ‘commanded’, since love is an emotional state of mind that produces affection and therefore cannot be ‘commanded’. It has been argued that in this context, the love that is being referenced is not so much an emotion, but as a behavior that is “becoming to love,” referring to loyalty and obedience. The truth is, God offered “His all” for “their all,” and He is asking that they fully trust and have faith in Him, as He would handle all their other concerns in life. In the same way, Jesus desires believers to love Him and have trust and faith in Him in all aspects of their lives. The songwriter and singer Michael Card summarizes this nicely, when he sang referring to Jesus, “He cannot love more and will not love less!”[12] How does one respond to a love like that? The apostle John would remind us that, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). Therefore, it’s not as much a command as it is a desire.
6:6 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.
The third component of “The Shema,” could be described as the application of this and all the other commands being taught. The words are to be on their hearts (same Hebrew word used in verse five, meaning “inner person”), another way of interpreting this could be that they are to essentially be made of God’s Word. These words are so important that it is imperative that they diligently teach them to their children, not just include them in some form of curricula during schooltime, but during the day when walking with them, during the night when they lie down to sleep, and in the morning when they rise from bed (in other words, all day).
6:8 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.
In addition to being taught, these words being presented were to be bound as a sign on their hand (Hebrew ‘ôṯ’,[13] meaning sign, signal, or mark, can also be a reference to a promise to remember), as frontlets between their eyes (Hebrew ‘ṭô·ṭā·pōṯ’,[14] referring to a headband, phylactery, or symbol),[15] and be written on their doorposts and on their gates. Believed to originally be considered figurative language to indicate complete dedication to YHWH and His ways, these commands were later taken literally to refer to actual physical objects, which became what is known as the practice of wearing ‘tefillin’ (a word that is not found in Scripture, unknown origin, also known as phylacteries, derived from Greek word ‘phulaktērion’[16] from the word ‘phulássō’[17] meaning to watch, guard, to keep, or preserve. During Jesus’ ministry the word ‘phulaktērion’ also carried the meaning of amulets or charms, to guard from evil). In the Septuagint the Hebrew word ‘ṭô·ṭā·pōṯ’ is translated into the Greek as ‘asaleutos’,[18] referring to something unshakable or immovable.
6:10 “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.
Moses reminds them that when YHWH brings them into the Promised Land, it will be a “read-to-occupy” land, complete with buildings and plantations, an enormous gift! With such a gift, one could easily forget how they received it and turn away from YHWH, or worse, embrace the worship of false gods. Moses then warns them that YHWH is a jealous God[19] and that if they turn away from Him, they will face His anger and He will destroy them.
6:16 “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.
Moses tells them that they are not to put YHWH, their God to the test. In other words, to doubt His intentions, His power, or to anger Him in any way, as they did at Massah. The location near Rephidim was named Massah after the people of Israel quarreled with God and Moses, questioning God’s intent for leading them out of Egypt as they had no water to drink. Soon afterward God provided an abundance of water out of the rock at Horeb (see Exodus 17:1-7). Moses then returns to the need to obey God and all His commandments, giving them the incentive that it if they do obey, that it will go well for them and they will be able to enter and take possession of the land by thrusting out (Hebrew ‘hǎḏōp’,[20] meaning to drive out), their enemies, the current occupants of the land.
6:20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’
Moses tells them that when their children ask at some point in the future what is the meaning of the testimonies (Hebrew ‘ē·ḏōṯ’,[21] referring to events or people that give witness) and the statutes (Hebrew ‘ḥǔg·qîm’, referring to regulations)[22] and the rules (Hebrew ‘miš·pā·ṭîm’, judgments or legal decisions),[23] that God has commanded them to do, they are to tell them what God did for them starting with when they were slaves in Egypt.
They are to say that YHWH brought them out of Egypt with a strong and mighty hand, with many signs and wonders giving witness to both the people of Israel and the world that He is God and that the people of Israel are His people. The demonstration of power included things that were great and wondrous, such as the crossing the Red Sea and water coming out of the rock at Horeb. But also, there were grievous and dreadful signs, such as the death of the firstborn children and the Egyptian army drowning. God brought them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, fulfilling the promise He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In response the people of Israel were to obey His law, if they remain obedient to God, He will remain with them and they could stay in the land. They are to do all these statutes and always fear YHWH for their good, so that God would keep them alive. Then Moses makes an interesting statement, “it will be righteousness for us.” This is the first time since Genesis where Moses uses the Hebrew word ‘ṣeḏā·qā(h)’,[24] which was first used to describe Abraham’s faith (see Genesis 15:6, see also Genesis 18:19; 30:33). Moses is relating the conditional aspect of the law to righteousness. If they were able to maintain the law, God would be with them, but once they failed, they would be out of the land. This is why Moses once again tells them to be careful and keep the commandments (all the law).
Considerations
In His Word, God has repeatedly emphasized the importance of parents teaching their children about God and His Word. For example: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) and “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4, see also Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9; 11:19; Psalms 78:4; 2 Timothy 3:15-16) That need is even more important today, as the Bible is not only not taught in most schools, it is often countered or ridiculed. Children are often embarrassed and humiliated for their beliefs in God, Jesus, or even Creation, as they are often ill equipped to give a response. Many churches offer Sunday School; however, this should not replace the parent’s responsibility in teaching their children about God, His Son Jesus, and the entire Bible, the whole counsel of God. Just think about the time comparison; in a standard school week, your child is taught the world’s perspective somewhere around 30-40 hours per week (approximately 6-8 hours per day) and only one hour or less on Sunday for God’s Word.
God said that a parent should be talking to their children about God morning, mid-day, and night (see verse seven). If a parent does not feel qualified to teach, that should not stop them from teaching, they can learn together!
Hands, Frontlets, Doorposts, and Gates
If God meant verses eight and nine to be figurative, what does He want His people to do? As mentioned above it is vital to know the entire Bible, just as it was imperative for the people of Israel to know all His law. The Hebrew word ‘ôṯ’ gives us a hint, it refers to a sign,[25] something that has a specific meaning or represents something (or someone) else. God is represented by His people in both the New and Old Testaments. In response to God’s love, if a person’s actions (hands) are guided by God’s Word; and their mind, thoughts, and motivations influenced by the Word of God (frontlets); they become a sign to others that YHWH is their God. The same is true for Christians, if they love Jesus, they will learn the Word of God and represent Him on earth (see 2 Corinthians 5:20).
Learning for most people requires diligent study and repetition. If something is studied or seen often enough, it will aid in learning and memory. The doorposts and gates could then represent locations both in and outside the home that can carry the message or verses from the Word of God. While perhaps meant figuratively, every man and woman of God should take every opportunity to study and learn the Bible.
Does That Answer Your Question?
Moses states that, “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’,” (verse 20) they are to give the response given in the following five verses. But like a good parent that answers any inquiry from a child they might in return ask, ‘Does that answer your question?’ When we read the response in verses 21 through 25, we might feel we are missing something. While the response would make perfect sense at that time (righteousness was understood to be works oriented), some Christians might wonder how the events of the Old Testament and the regulations of God’s law became the foundation of the Bible.
Before attempting to answer this question, it must be understood that throughout the history of man, people have tried to answer that question and the explanation that follows is not the ultimate answer, nor will it be an exhaustive answer-every-question response. With that disclaimer said, God’s actions and the presentation of the law all point to one thing and one person, the solution to the problem of sin, namely salvation through Jesus, the Messiah.
Throughout history man has pushed God into a dark corner and ignored His involvement in their lives, choosing to follow lusts instead of God. During Noah’s time the corruption got so bad that God destroyed everything and everyone except for eight people. After the flood people soon rejected God again. God chose one man to be the progenitor of a new nation and pulled him out of a pagan-worshiping nation. The story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob begins in Genesis chapter twelve and continues through the Old Testament and into the New Testament. When God heard His people in Egypt, He brought them out in such a way that the world had to take notice. So, the first answer to the question is that God’s signs and wonders were to give witness to both His people and the nations around them that there is one all-powerful God, and that the people of Israel were His. Sadly, many people won’t pay attention to amazing miracles, they need to be threatened, and that is why much of God’s “show of power” involved death and destruction.
But why the law? To begin with, the law establishes two very important aspects. First the shedding of innocent blood is required to cover sin, and second, it is impossible to keep the law (see “A Brief Introduction to God’s Law,” between Exodus chapters 19 and 20). The law helps us realize that the problem of sin is enormous, so big that humanity cannot save itself. Any chance of salvation must come from outside; it is only available from God.
The events throughout the Old Testament, surrounding the lives of the people of Israel, are not just lessons for the Israelites, nor did they expire years ago; the events reveal God’s eternal truth. For example, the same tenth plague that killed every firstborn in Egypt also introduced the concept of atonement through the sacrifice of innocent blood, as demonstrated in the first Passover. Something so deadly showed the way to life with God. Just as every detail of the Tabernacle pointed to the coming Messiah,[26] the Old Testament as a whole, not only reflects the nature of mankind, it also paves the way for the coming Savior, Jesus. Without the information and stories of the Old Testament it is difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand the New Testament. However, it is important that we remember that the people of Israel are more than just characters in God’s presentation, they are His chosen people, and He will never abandon them, even if they don’t do anything to deserve His love (although they, too, need to accept Jesus as their Savior). After Adam and Eve disobeyed, God could have just condemned all of mankind. Instead, God sent us a copy of the law that was violated so that we can see that we are sinners (disobedient to the law). Knowing that no one can keep the law in order to save themselves, God sent His Son Jesus to keep and fulfill the law (be without sin) and die on our behalf so that we can live with Him forever. Jesus did all the work for us, the price has been paid, we cannot add a thing, except love. We are to love God with all our heart, with all our souls, with all our might!
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8085 and 3478 respectively.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 259.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 157. See commentary under Genesis 22:1-2.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 3605.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 3824.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 5315.
[7] See commentaries under Genesis 1:26-27; 36:16-19; Exodus 31:14; Leviticus 26:3-13, 14-15, 16-20 and Considerations under Genesis 1:31.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 3966.
[9] See commentary under Exodus 9:1-3.
[10] See the Introduction to Deuteronomy.
[11] See Considerations under Genesis 1:1 regarding Modern Thinking.
[12] Card, Michael (1994), Chorus of Faith [Recorded by Michael Card]. Joy in the Journey: 10 Years of Greatest Hits [Vinyl, CD, Album]. Brentwood, Tennessee: Sparrow Records.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 226.
[14] Strong’s Hebrew 2903.
[15] See commentaries under Exodus 13:8-9 and 16.
[16] Strong’s Greek 5440.
[17] Strong’s Greek 5442.
[18] Strong’s Greek 761.
[19] See commentary under Genesis 26:14; 30:1-8 and Considerations under Genesis 35:9-15 regarding God being jealous.
[20] Strong’s Hebrew 1920.
[21] Strong’s Hebrew 5713.
[22] See commentary under Leviticus 27:34 and Deuteronomy 4:44-49.
[23] See commentaries under Exodus 21:1; 28:15; Leviticus 19:35-37; 27:34; Deuteronomy 4:44-49.
[24] Strong’s Hebrew 6666.
[25] See Considerations under Genesis 1:14-19.
[26] See Introduction to Exodus.