Love and Obey God

December 2, 2018 Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9 Lesson Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9 “Hear, O Israel: …”, or the declaration better known as the Shema, is the ultimate Jewish statement of faith. It was absolutely important that if one were to come to know the true and living God, they must know this about His divine nature: He is one. There is no council of “gods” or plurality of deities one should seek to worship. The idea of a “group” of gods is a pagan concept. To offer prayers to the god of the moon, the god of the sun, the god of plants, etc. is to not know the only true and living God. The Grecians, the Romans, the Egyptians and many other ancient cultures developed philosophies about religion and gods that led to man seeking favor from nature as though the ecosystem created by God could have life within itself. To bow down to angels, animals, or objects is to seek to worship the creation rather than the creator. It is possible that some may develop their own religion for the comfort of being in control and so that they would not be held accountable to another for their character or their conduct. To own one’s own religion is to become one’s own god. This was certainly the environment in Egypt at the time when the children of Israel were delivered from there by God. Pharaoh was a god in Egypt—in addition to the many other gods that were worshiped by the Egyptians and other inhabitants of Egypt. For four hundred years, many generations of Israelites had been immersed in the Egyptian culture and as a result, they were spiritually confused—even as the Egyptians were. Now that God had separated them from Egypt, they needed a true spiritual foundation to aid them is their relationship with God. What God was doing for Israel had nothing to do with the generation that was experiencing His grace. God was upholding His covenant that He made with their forefather, Abraham. God promised to bring Abraham’s offspring into the land of Canaan as an inheritance. Furthermore, God made promises about being their God and blessing and protecting them. However, those promises required a relationship between Israel and God that was of such a quality as the relationship that Abraham had with Him. In other words, just as Abraham had come to know God personally, so too must Abraham’s offspring have a similar relationship with God. Israel needed to know that what they had experienced in Egypt was manmade and not real. God is not in nature nor is God part of nature. God is spirit and the creator of all that is. There is only one true and living God. To know this is to have the opportunity to pledge all of one’s devotion and worship to the only One worthy to receive it. To know that God is one means there is no need for divided loyalty or worship. All can be directed at the one true and living God. One is free to express all of one’s devotion towards God with all that is within them. One is also free to seek directions from the one true and living God. The Shema provides the foundation needed for one to express love and obedience to God. Robert C. Hudson November 9, 2018