5. love the lord, your god - amazon web...
TRANSCRIPT
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.
2LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
3LovetheLord,YourGod
InDeuteronomy6:1-3MosesintroducesIsrael’sgreatstatementoffaith,theShema.
HedoessobyremindingtheIsraelitesofthetencommandmentsjustgiventothem,andoftheirobligaNontoobeythosecommandmentsandtoteachthemtotheirchildrenandgrandchildren,generaNonaTergeneraNon.
OnlybydoingsowilltheIsraeliteslivealongandprosperouslifeinthelandtheyareabouttopossess.
4LovetheLord,YourGod
5LovetheLord,YourGod
“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.
6LovetheLord,YourGod
LoveforGodshouldbeourmoNve
forobeyinghiscommands,statutes
andordinances,yetMosesremindstheIsraelitesto“feartheLord”if
theywishto“havealonglife”and
prosperintheland.
ThisisnotthefirstNmewe’veread
aboutthe“fearoftheLord,”sowe
needtotakeacloselookatthe
phrase.
7LovetheLord,YourGod
TheHebrewwordtranslated“fear”is
yare[yah-ray’].Itoccurs422Nmesin
373versesoftheHebrewScriptures,anditsuserangeswidely.
Whenusedinthephraseasanoun,
“fearoftheLord,”orasaverb,“fearGod,”ithasaspecificmeaning,one
associatedwiththenuminous,aword
coinedbytheGermantheologian
RudolfO\oinTheIdeaoftheHoly
(1917).
C.S.Lewisdescribesitbest:
8LovetheLord,YourGod
“Supposeyouweretoldtherewasa
Ngerinthenextroom:youwould
knowthatyouwereindangerandwouldprobablyfeelfear.Butifyou
weretold‘Thereisaghostinthenext
room,’andbelievedit,youwould
feel,indeed,whatisoTencalledfear,
butofadifferentkind....Itis‘uncanny’ratherthandangerous,and
thespecialkindoffearitexcitesmay
becalledDread.WiththeUncanny
onehasreachedthefringesofthe
Numinous...
9LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
10LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
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13LovetheLord,YourGod
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!
14LovetheLord,YourGod
ScribeswhoproducebeauNfulmanuscriptsoftheHebrewScripturesoTen“frame”theShema’sopeningversebyenlargingtwole\ersinthefirstandlastwordsoftheverse:
Splicingthetwoenlargedle\erstogetherformstheHebrewwordfor“tesNmony”or“witness.”TheShemaisawitnesstothefundamentalnatureofGodandofIsrael’srelaNonshiptohim.
15LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
16LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
17LovetheLord,YourGod
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)
18LovetheLord,YourGod
God’snamewillreigninoneland,
withonepeople,whowillworship
inoneplace;inJosiah’sdayandinpost-BabylonianIsrael,thatone
placeistheTempleinJerusalem.
AndbecauseGodisoneandhasassembledhispeopletogetheras
onecommunity;becauseofthe
“wholeness”ofGod:
“YoushalllovetheLord,yourGod,with
yourwholeheart,andwithyourwhole
being,andwithyourwholestrength.”
(6:5)
19LovetheLord,YourGod
• ThisnewinjuncNonto“lovetheLord,yourGod,”istheproperresponsetoGodenteringintoaninNmate,exclusiverelaNonshipwithIsrael,toGod“betrothing”her.
• AndthatloveistobeexpressedwithIsrael’s:
• wholeheart—theseatofbothunderstandingandemoNonsinbiblicalphysiology;• wholebeing—theHebrewnefesh,the“life-breath”;and• wholestrength—allyourmight.
20LovetheLord,YourGod
Likethreeconcentriccircles,“heart,”“being”and“strength”builduponeachotherandresultinanabsolute,all-consumingandsingulardevoNontoGod.
Thesewordsmustneverbe
forgo\en:
“KeeprepeaNngthemtoyourchildren.
Recitethemwhenyouareathomeand
whenyouareaway,whenyouliedown
andwhenyougetup.”
(6:5)
21LovetheLord,YourGod
• AsRobertAlterobserves,theHebrewwordtranslated“keeprepeaNng”isshinen,avariantofshanah,“torepeat”;elsewhereintheHebrewScripturesitcarriesthesenseof“sharp.”4
Perhapshereitmightberenderednicelyas“teachincisively”or“rehearsewithincisiveeffect.”
• IntradiNonalJewishhomes,onceachildbeginstospeak,hisorherparentsteachthem,inHebrew,theShema,onewordataNme.
4TheFiveBooksofMoses,p.912.
22LovetheLord,YourGod
Notme.
LovetheLord,YourGod
Nowthat’s
funny!
StevenL.CookpointsoutthattheolderNewAmericanBible(NAB)translaNonreads“drilltheminto
yourchildren,”commenNngwrylythat“drill”sharesthesameHebrewrootas“tooth”!
23
24LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
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26LovetheLord,YourGod
AnIDFsoldierwearing
phylacterieswhilepraying.
Vellumscrollinsideatefillah.
TheShemaiswri\enonit.
27LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
28LovetheLord,YourGod
“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.
29LovetheLord,YourGod
30LovetheLord,YourGod
MezuzahontheJaffaGateoftheOldCity,Jerusalem.
LimitedediNonMarcChigallmezzuah—
VERYEXPENSIVE!
Asweobserved,Deuteronomy
repeatedlystressesthecausallink
betweenfidelitytoGodandprosperingintheland.
IfIsraelobeysGod,theywill
prosper;ifthedon’t,theywon’t.
Butwithprosperitycomes
complacency,agravedangerfor
theIsraelites—orforanyoneelse,forthatma\er!
31LovetheLord,YourGod
32LovetheLord,YourGod
“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.
33LovetheLord,YourGod
34LovetheLord,YourGod
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)
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37LovetheLord,YourGod
Notme.
LovetheLord,YourGod
Actually,hehates8.
InMalachi1:3,GodsayshehatesEsau,
too!
Well,I’llbedarned!Ididn’tknowthatGod
hatedanything!Itturnsouthehates7things!
38
39LovetheLord,YourGod
40LovetheLord,YourGod
“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).
41LovetheLord,YourGod
BartoloméEstebanMurillo.MosesStrikingtheRock(oiloncanvas),c.1666.
PrivatecollecNon,anonymous(soldataucNonatChrisNe’s,London,August2,1968,Lot36).
42LovetheLord,YourGod
FortheIsraelites,“tesNng”Godnegatesthe“oneness”ofGod,inwhichalloflifecoherestogetherinasingleunifiedwhole:God,peopleandland.
Demandingtolivelifeonourownterms—“tesNngGod”—disconnectsusfromthislargerintegratedreality,muchlikealeafonatreedemandingtoliveapartfromthetree.
Tolivelifefully,toachieveourhumanpotenNalasGod’ssonsanddaughters,meansbeingfullyintegratedintothe“oneness”ofGod,toparNcipaNnginhislife,tohonoringothercommunitymembersandtoresponsiblestewardshipoftheland.
43LovetheLord,YourGod
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.
45LovetheLord,YourGod
46LovetheLord,YourGod
“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?
47LovetheLord,YourGod
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48LovetheLord,YourGod