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Deuteronomy 6 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Here in Deuteronomy 6, we find the “shema.” The word itself means “hear” or “listen” and begins in verse 4.
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 NASB
However, in the context of Hebrew life, the word meant much more than just listening. It conveyed an urgency to pay attention, kind of like putting an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. It could also mean a response to what you hear. For those who followed our writings through the series of Psalms, you know that many of them began with “Listen!” This is the same word (shema) that we find here in verse 4 of Deuteronomy. So, in this way, the Psalms were crying out to God not only to listen but to act or respond.
Interestingly, we also see shema translated obey, such as this passage of Exodus.
‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Exodus 19:5-6 NASB
God tells Israel that if they will shema shema (indeed obey) His voice and keep His covenant, then they will be His treasured possession. The double shema is used for emphasis.
The point of all this is that God views listening, hearing and obeying through the same lens! In many ways, hearing God’s voice and keeping the covenant are the same thing. In fact, within the Hebrew language, there is not a separate word for “obey.” Shema means “I hear what you say and I will do it.”
When you consider how many Christians today give God lip service, this is a fascinating discovery. Though we see listening and obeying as two different choices, the people of Israel would have viewed them as two sides of the same coin. To them, it would have been absolutely foolish to call yourself a follower of God but not live out His commandments.
This is why the prophets and Jesus Himself would say (to the Hebrew followers), “He who has ears, listen to what the Spirit is saying.” Obviously, Jesus doesn’t just mean we should listen but also take the words to heart and act upon them. Once you hear the truth, you are accountable to it. If you choose not to obey, you probably weren’t really listening in the first place, right?
So, ask yourself, are you hearing what the Lord is speaking to you through His Word? Do you only agree with the truth you are reading, or do you act upon it? Consider how ridiculous it would have been in the ancient world to hear and comprehend what God is speaking but never actually do anything about it. The same is true for us today. This is why the Christian church is full of hypocrites.
We have separated hearing from obedience and allowed ourselves to be deceived by focusing only on head knowledge. God’s desire is that you experience the fullness of His truth by allowing it to manifest a heart change within. If we say that we love the Lord will all our heart, all our soul, and all our might, do our actions fall in line with that statement?