The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Hear” it comes from the Hebrew Word “shema” which means “hear, listen and obey.”
Moses gives Israel a single sentence that would become the most repeated declaration in their entire faith. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Deuteronomy 6.
Moses declares Israel’s most foundational statement of faith. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The Hebrew word for hear is “shema,” carrying the sense not just of listening, but of hearing and obeying, and this passage becomes known simply as the Shema, recited by faithful Israelites for thousands of years since.
Moses instructs that these words be kept in their hearts, taught diligently to their children, and talked about constantly, “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” He warns them specifically about the danger awaiting them once they enter a land already filled with good things they did not build or plant themselves, urging them not to forget the Lord who brought them out of Egyptian bondage once comfort and prosperity settle in.
Moses warns against following after the gods of the surrounding nations, since “the LORD thy God is a jealous God” among them, and instructs parents to answer their children’s future questions about the meaning of these statutes by retelling the story of their deliverance from Egypt and God’s ongoing faithfulness, so that “it shall be our righteousness” if they carefully observe all these commandments before the Lord.
The Shema wasn’t meant to be a formula recited once and forgotten. Moses envisioned it woven into every ordinary moment of daily life, walking, sitting, lying down, rising up. Love for God, according to this passage, was never meant to be confined to formal worship, but saturated into the rhythm of everyday, ordinary living.
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