Love ADONAI [the LORD] your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5, TLV
LOVE THE LORD! Context is so important with today’s verse. Verse 5 begins with what is called the V’ahavta — which means “and you shall love.” The V’ahavta follows the Shema (see below) then continues with:
These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart. You are to teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (vss. 6-9, TLV)
Remember how we’ve talked about the whole purpose of the Law and prophets and writings were about relationship? These words that GOD commands us are so our hearts yearn for a relationship with our Heavenly Father, as He yearns for us.
Then we are to teach these words to our children. And not by pounding them into their hearts, but speak them naturally, lovingly, and honestly –morning, noon, and night. By the way, these truths will have no meaning to them without our living them.
The Jewish people took it a step further by following the LORD’s orders to bind them to their bodies and their homes. Making them different. Set apart.
Do we yearn for our Father? Yearn so much our children and others around us see and feel that love? See us as set apart? Then we will do anything He asks of us. Just as His Son did.
Yeshua [Jesus] answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31, TLV
Love GOD. Love each other. Our introduction to living a Biblical life. Everything else in the Bible shows us how to walk out these commandments. Even what is known as the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) can be divided into these two categories: love GOD and love each other.
Let’s begin there each morning. See how the Holy Spirit shows us how to live these words so they are engraved deeper — day by day — into our hearts. Amen?
