The Constitution of the Old Testament – Part 2

The Constitution of the Old Testament – Part 2 December 4, 2016

This is the second in a series on The Shema (Deut 6.4-9)

 וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃

5 And you [sing] shall love YHWH your [sing] God with all your heart [includes the mind] and with all your soul/life/physical existence, and with all your strength/material possessions

The Hebrew word for “heart” (levavka) is very different from the English word.  We tend to think of feelings, while the Hebrews used the word to think primarily of the mind.  That’s why when Jesus quoted this commandment, he used the Greek word (in the  Greek NT) for “mind.”   The main point is, Love God with all your mind (which we will see explained in the next verse).

Then the Shema tells us we should be willing to lay down our physical lives for God (nephsheka), if we really love Him.

Finally, we are to surrender all of our material possessions (meodeka) to Him.    That does not mean a literal giving away, as he sometimes calls some to, such as the Rich Young Ruler, since that was his point of unwillingness, but for most of the rest of us it means that we should realize that all of our things are His, and we should be willing to part with them at any time.  At the very least, it means that we should cheerfully tithe all of our income.

Question: How in the world can I have that quality of love?  It seems impossible!

The answer comes in the next verse, 6, which we will discuss tomorrow.


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