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. (Deuteronomy 6: 6-9, TLV)

Remember how we’ve talked about the whole purpose of the Law and prophets and writings was 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.

Next our Family

Then we are to teach these words to our children. And not by pounding them into their hearts, but speak to them naturally, lovingly, and honestly –morning, noon, and night. By the way, these truths will have no meaning to them without our living them.

Binding 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

The Greatest Commandments

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?

Think More About It

How do you live the two greatest commandments?

Until tomorrow, may we live these commandments, my friend.

Praying for Israel

For the music director: a psalm of David the servant of ADONAI [the LORD]. He chanted the words of this song to ADONAI on the day ADONAI delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
He said, I love You, ADONAI my strength!
ADONAI is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.
My God is my rock, in Him I take refuge,
my shield, my horn of salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-3, TLV

Halleluyah! Imagine singing this psalm with David—soon to be King David. Now, let’s pray—or sing—this passage in anticipation of the great deliverance for Israel. Deliverance from the war, yes, but the great deliverance from sin to salvation. Amen? Shabbat Shalom and God bless!