LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Today's readings are from the historical prologue in Moses' first speech (Deuteronomy 4) and the general stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 5-8). There is a lot of reading today! There is actually so much good material worth commenting on that it almost hurts not to address so much of it. For an easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.
The Shema. According to GotQuestions.org, the Shema (Hebrew for the word "hear") is the beginning of the most important daily prayer in Judaism, and it is found in Deuteronomy 6:4. It says "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Jesus referred to this passage as the greatest commandment of the Law in Mark 12:28-30. Here we see a call to worship ("Hear"), a taking on of identity as God's people ("O Israel"), a recognition of God as he truly is ("the LORD our God, the LORD is one"), a response to God's revelation of Himself ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"), a command to make God's identity and prescribed way of living the center of our own lives ("And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart"), and then finally a command to continually remember and pass these things down ("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...").
We are not the point. God says that Israel should not think that they were somehow good enough for God to rescue them. Moses says "It was not because you were more in number than any other people... for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Then when it comes to their own success in Deuteronomy 8, the people have to be told, "Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). We like to think that our success and our relationship with God are due to our own efforts. In reality, we have these things because of God's saving, effective, unmerited, unconditional love.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? These are just a few scrambled thoughts--each day, I am conscious that I am only ever touching on a tiny sliver of what could be said about the assigned readings. In our worship, we see a mix of healthy fear of God (Deuteronomy 4-5) mixed with the grace of God that I mentioned above. If we tend to focus on God's holiness and justice, then we likely need a bigger picture of God's grace. And if we tend to major on God's giving and kindness, then we need to remember God as a powerful king who holds not the sword in his hands in vain. Both lead us nearer to God out of respect and gratitude. In our attitudes the Shema is a call to meditate and think upon the nature of God, and to consider him in our waking up and lying down. Maybe we can even build things into our day to help with this: one of my best spiritual seasons was a point where I had to walk 30 minutes to work early in the morning every day, and so I would pray and talk and thing and sing songs as the sun came up, every day for 8 months. Maybe just by ditching the car we could improve both our physical and spiritual health. In our actions -- well, I think I may have suggested a possible action in the last point. Got ahead of myself.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?
Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "Father, you are so amazing that I could ponder your nature and your goodness forever. Do not let me grow to be self-centered, but instead give me the grace to allow myself to become small, and to focus on you, so that you would be magnified in my life."
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