Hear

Embedding the Bible is about listening to God. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Moses calls the people of Israel to hear God. The phrase is distinct. “Hear O Israel.” The Hebrew word for hear that is used in this passage is the word “shema.” This passage has become known in Judaism as “The Shema.” It is a call to hear what God is saying. It is an invitation to tune our ears to hear the words that God speaks and be changed. In the Shema, there are some very specific instructions about what it means to listen to God and be changed.

It starts with a description of God. God is One God. We can talk about monotheism, the worship of one God as opposed to the worship of many gods (polytheism), but I think that more important is the understanding that God is unique. God is unlike any other being that we know or come into contact with. God alone is supreme. He is the Creator of life and the shaper of the world. God has spoken the creation into existence with His words alone. God alone is worthy to be praised. Moses calls the Israelites to see God as the One true God that is faithful to care for His people.

This reminder speaks to our hearts today. In a world that call loudly in many voices, it is important to tune our ears to hear the voice of God. The one voice that can change us from the inside out. The one God who can heal our hurts and cure our sin sickness. God alone has the answers that we need. God alone is the authority for mankind.

Moses then goes on to tell the Israelites that they must love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds. It is a picture of surrender. God calls for us to give our whole selves to Him. Both then, and now. Walking with God is not simply going to church on Sundays. It is a lifestyle that touches every part of who we are. When we love God, we love with all our heart. The heart is the seat of how we feel. Loving God means we surrender our emotions to Him. His joys become our joys. His desires become our desires. God instructs us on how to be joyful and how to be angry. His heart shapes our hearts.

When we love God with all our minds we turn over control of our decisions to Him. God gets to decide what happens in my life and when it happens. God gets control over my schedule. He gets to decide what I watch on television or the movies I go to see. Giving God my mind means God gets a say in the websites I visit and the tweets that I post. God gets to be in charge of what I think and how I think. I am not guided by my heart or my gut. I am guided by the heart of God.

To love God with all my soul means that God gets the very core of who I am. God gets to lead my eternity. My spiritual thinking and acting become reflections of Gods nature and character. I am trusting God to lead me in a way that allows me to live with Him today and forever.

Moses goes on to show us how to give ourselves entirely to God. Moses describes talking about God with our children. Thinking about God when we walk along the roads or streets or when we lie in our beds to rest or sleep. When I am at home, I am God’s. When I travel, I belong to God. Giving myself to God, loving God, means allowing Him to have control of my eyes and my hands. There is nothing in my life that is outside of His control.

Hearing God is important. As I listen to God, I take to heart what His plans for me are. I surrender my life to following where He leads. It means embedding His word deep in my life.