Deuteronomy 6:1-5 December 31, 2000

A Single Resolution from a Single Confession

With New Year’s Eve upon us and, despite all the hubbub last year, the close of the millennium at hand and the dawn of a new one in a few short hours, I want to talk about New Year’s Resolutions. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines "resolution" first, as: "The act or process of reducing to simpler form; as the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones." But it is the sixth definition which most people think about at a time like this, "something that is resolved, firmness to resolve." On New Year's, many people resolve to make the new year more profitable by giving up things in their lives that are negative or unproductive. It is common for many to give up things such as overeating, drinking too much, procrastinating, etc. Polling firm Rasmussen Research found that the top resolution was to spend more time with family and friends while 66% said they would resolve to save more money, live more within their budget, lose weight, or get in better shape. (Religion Today, 1/12/99)

If I were to ask you to take a moment and write down a resolution for this next year, a goal you wish to achieve, a change you desire to make, what would it be? Forget the long list, just one...boil it down to the essential. You may want to make an overarching statement such as, "Don’t mess up like this year!"

It’s helpful to boil things down. There are so many things we’ve got to keep track of, it is easy to forget them all. We face the same problem when we encounter God’s demands on our lives. How do we juggle all His laws? Throughout this past fall we’ve examined the condensed version of God’s demands on our lives when we looked at the Ten Commandments. In an effort to teach our kids and remind each other, we learned simple hand gestures so we would not forget. But, like New Year’s Resolutions, we can vow to remember, but we’ll often forget. Boiling the 613 laws in the Pentateuch down to 10 helps, but most of us are rather slow. Can we boil those 10 down to one?

That is the question asked of Jesus in Mark 12: "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus’s response was not a surprise to His audience, for it was the response of the great Jewish prayer, the Shema. Observant Jews said this prayer trice daily; today they place this prayer in a mezuzah, a small container on the front door of their home, to be a constant reminder of their faith.

This prayer simply stating God’s absolute supremacy and reducing His law to love is the resolution of the whole book of Deuteronomy. It is to be central in our lives, as well. The command to love boils down all the laws, all the commands. Too often we view the Law as a cold, harsh set of demands and that love counteracts the Law. That is, we may mess up in the area of obedience, but as long as we love, we’re all right. We make the mistake of viewing love and obedience as two very different concepts. But in Deuteronomy 6 we see how they cannot be separated. The simplest form of God’s law is the command to love. The most comprehensive command is a command to love. The most complicated command to keep is to love.

1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,

2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

 

What does this passage resolve that we must do?

We must resolve to obey

There are covenantal benefits to obedience

It is important to remember the context in which these laws are given. The children of Israel are about to cross the Jordan and enter Canaan. Forty years earlier they were slaves in Egypt and God rescued them from that plight. For the past generation they have wandered in the desert because of their unbelief, but God has remained faithful and is bringing them into the Promised land.

The context in which these laws are given is God’s watchful care of His people. The commands outlined in the Decalogue and enumerated in the various laws are an expression of God’s character to God’s people. The covenant forms the foundation for all of this. God made a promise to undeserving people and God is fulfilling that promise to each generation.

These laws are for generations to come.

I don’t think you would have much trouble convincing these people that God works through generations. Those who were about to enter Canaan were the second generation. They knew little of slavery in Egypt, they certainly knew nothing of their ancestor Abraham’s life but what they were told. Nevertheless, God was at work in them despite constant failures.

We often work with such tunnel vision when it comes to our obedience toward God. We often can only see our lives, but God wants us to not forget that He works through generation after generation.

What does this obedience look like?

The first term used may seem odd, especially in light of the command to love in verse 5. What is meant by fear is not the irrational fear that God’s love would turn to hatred or that He would withdraw His love from His children. Fear in the Old Testament is a positive quality of reverence, of knowing the distinction between creature and Creator. The term "reverence" may suit, but only if we do not soften it by denying the positive fear expressed here. To fear God is to know that He is the center of the universe and not we ourselves, no less me, myself.

John Owen, the great Puritan preacher and Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell in the 17^th century, said: "That fear which keeps from sin and excites the soul to cleave more firmly to God, ... is no servile fear, but a holy fear and due reverence unto God and His word."

Only when we see God for who He is, do we then respond out of worship and gratitude which is evidence in our obedience to what God commands us to do. It is a pity that we have lost phrase from our vocabulary when we speak of someone as a God-fearing man or woman.

Parallel to the resultant fear of the Lord is a promise at the end of verse 2: "so that you may enjoy long life" and in verse 3 "so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly." The proper reverence for God, the obedience to God’s commands, results in God’s blessings.

Later in Deuteronomy Moses lists the blessings and cursings from God to those who obey or disobey God’s commands. We’ll examine them another time. But the principle laid out here is that where God’s people worship God properly, conform their lives to His Law, there is a benefit. The benefit is temporal here, not eternal, but we also do not want to fall into the trap of believing God is obligated to give us good things because of our righteousness; the understanding is that there is a benefit to obedience. When we toe the line, when we conform our lives to God’s demands, we do not suffer the negative repercussion that come where there is disobedience.

We can see this on a natural level as well. When people disregard the laws of the land and are caught, there are penalties to be paid. There may be a loss of face, of money or even of one’s freedom. Just because we obey the laws of the United States and Wisconsin does not mean we will become rich, but it does ensure that we can have a good life with respect to our standing in the community.

Some of us participated in Project Angel Tree where we purchased gifts for children of parents who were in prison. We received a letter from a father thanking us for giving his kids gifts in his name. He described how he has been incarcerated for the past seven years and his time away from his family shows on the face of his eight year old son. His letter communicated an acknowledgment that his disobedience came with a tremendous price. He was unable to enjoy life; it was not going well with him.

Reverence and obedience will not necessarily lead to our economic prosperity but they will always work for our spiritual enrichment. We may not be wealthier people because we honor God but we shall certainly be richer ones.

The benefit of obedience is described as a land flowing with milk and honey.

This term was common in the ancient world to describe the richness of the land. The term may also refer to a concoction of fermented milk sweetened with honey, an elixir which I would not want to try, but was said to offer that warm feeling of contentment. That is what God promised.

We resolve to obey by what we confess

We must confess God’s absolute authority

In verse 4 we come to the crux of the passage. It is one thing to state that it is important to obey God, that there are benefits for obedience. It is another to know how we can do this. Throughout this part of Deuteronomy 6 we have a list of imperatives, of commands, to hear and obey. But in verse 4 we have the command to hear and then a statement, a confession which forms the basis of ancient Judaism as well as the Christian faith. This verse resolves faith; it reduces a complex concept to a simpler form.

This is called the Shema, taken from the first word "Hear! The rabbis taught that this should be recited three times a day as a reminder of the fundamental truth regarding the nature of God, that He is one as well as the fundamental duty of love which He requires of His children.

What does this mean? Why is this so important?

This pronouncement stresses the uniqueness or exclusivity of Yahweh as Israel’s God. To say that the Lord is one is to confess His uniqueness. Since He is unique, He must be obeyed. We have no other options. The oneness of Yahweh implies a unity of will and purpose. Yahweh is not inwardly divided, but consistent, faithful, and true within.

The idea here would be the same as when we say of a particular individual, "There is only one Fred." We imply he is not two-faced or inconsistent; you can rely on Fred to be the same whatever happens. Likewise, to say "Yahweh is one" is to affirm unchangeableness and consistency. There is no divine schizophrenia. The harmony of God’s purpose for the world and His people is grounded in the ultimate unity of God’s own being.

But the use of the word "one" here is very important.

In the English language, we only have one word for "one". It can be used in many different forms and can mean a single "one" or a "one" made up of a plurality. We talk of being "one" nation, but we are made up of millions of people. In Hebrew, there are two words for "one". The first word, yahid always represents an absolute "one".

However, the word Moses used in the Shema was not yahid, but echad which indicates a complexity of oneness, a unity, or "togetherness."

In Genesis 1:5, we read "....And there was evening and there was morning, one (echad) day." The "day" was actually broken up into two parts, morning and evening, yet constituted "one" day. Again in Genesis 2:24, echad describes the "one flesh" aspect of marriage between Adam and Eve. Later, when Moses sent the twelve spies into Canaan, they returned bearing a large cluster of grapes. In Ezra 2:64, echad is used again: "the whole congregation as one (echad) numbered 42,360." One congregation, many members.       (wwjdpagetext.homestead.com/shema.html)

So since the word for "one" in verse 4 refers to unity amid diversity, it should come as no surprise that when Moses refers to God he uses a plural, "The Lord our God – Elohim."

This name of God is most often found in the plural form. Some have suggested that the plural form speaks of God’s majesty, like the Queen of England, when speaking of herself, uses the plural: "We are not amused!" But while that is used in English it was not used by the Hebrews. So to the reader of the Hebrew, there is raised the obvious question: "Why is there a plural form used when the confession stresses unity?"

The answer, not clear here, is spelled out for us in the New Testament in the doctrine of the Trinity.

The term "trinity" is not itself a Scriptural term. It is not found in the Bible. It is a term that was first used by Tertullian to describe the Biblical doctrine of the three persons of the Godhead. For theology, it is not essential to limit oneself to the actual language of Scripture, so long as the doctrines of Scripture are strictly maintained. Such is the case here.

The Christian doctrine of the trinity does not contradict Hebraic monotheism, rather it enhances and enriches it. God is a unity, not a solitary unity, but a composite unity.

God in His essence is one, but the way He interacts within Himself is threefold. In the Godhead there is one being in three Persons. There is one overarching consciousness but three foci of consciousness. There is one will but three acts of implementing this will. There is one intelligence but three operations of intelligence.

Because God is a Trinity He is a living and loving God. God is not lifeless but active and creative. He is not static and immovable but dynamic and mobile, though ever constant in His inmost being and purpose.

Denial of the Trinity finally leads to deism, pantheism, polytheism. In deism God is remote and detached, a solitary being who remains aloof from the suffering and travail of the world. In pantheism God is identifiable with the world. The world is an emanation of the being of God or an expression or manifestation of His all-encompassing unity. In polytheism God is no longer one, nor is He supreme. Father, Son and Spirit become separate gods rather than one God. The Trinity is indeed incomprehensible to human reason, but by no means unintelligible. It can be defined though not fully explained.

When we say that there is only one God and this one God is three, we are not saying He is both one and three at the same time, for that would be a contradiction. Rather with this passage we confess that God is one in essence, in His being. God’s oneness of being is expressed in three persons. (God the Almighty, Bloesch, pp. 184-186)

While trying to understand the Trinity may seem confusing and needlessly esoteric, it is critical to this passage, for it helps us understand the command to love God. That is not a digression, but an explanation as to how we can fulfill the command to love. From eternity past God has loved. Before there was a created object to love, God the Father loved the Son and the Son loved the Father. God the Holy Spirit loved the Son and so forth. If you have no distinction in the Godhead, there can be no love. Love demands a lover and an object of affection.

So, now, we are called to love this God who from all eternity has loved. This love, like the God who loves, must be thorough, complete, and perfect.

It encompasses the heart, which, in the Old Testament was the seat of the intellect, equivalent to the mind or rational part of humankind. There is the soul, which refers to the invisible part of the individual, the will and sensibilities. The entire person is to love with a totality of strength; the word "strength" literally means with all your very muchness, your totality. There are those who think the Old Testament is tiresome with all its laws. They, on the other hand, see Jesus as a kinder, simpler Moses. All He demands is love, not obedience. But any parent knows that you can’t separate the two. Love is expressed by obedience. So with God.

Now if we were to end here with a resounding call to love God, to resolve today to try harder – then like so many New Year’s Resolutions, they will be nothing but vain attempts that have failed.

There were two men who lived in colonial America in the 17^th century. Both concentrated to change aspects of their lives which they considered substandard. They resolved to change.

Ben Franklin, as a young man, composed a master list of 12 resolutions, later taking on a killer 13th ("Imitate Jesus and Socrates"). He had particular difficulty, he notes in his Autobiography, with Resolution #2 ("Silence—Avoid trifling conversation"), #3 ("Order—Let all your things have their places") and #5 ("Frugality—Waste nothing"). He kept track of his performance in a small book in which he entered a black mark each day for each resolution broken. He had intended to reuse the little book, eventually erasing old black marks as his performance improved. It didn’t. So many black marks appeared on top of black marks that the little book developed holes. So he resorted to keeping his records on a piece of ivory, so that as the black marks accumulated he could mop them off with a wet sponge.

There was another man, born a few years before Franklin who also resolved to change. Among the resolutions he wrote were these:

"Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way...

"Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

"Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept."

Their difference is seen not so much in the list made, nor in the number kept. The difference is that for this man, the man God used in the Great Awakening, the preacher Jonathan Edwards began his resolutions by writing:

"Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake."

Edwards understood the relationship between confession and command, between resolution and obedience. The means by which we love flows from the confession of God’s perfect unity. He is the means by which we can love. As we resolve the law of God to the single command of love, we must also see that the means to obey is by God’s grace which we receive by faith.

Paul, in Galatians 5:7 reminds us that the centrality of love in our life can only take place when it is exercised through faith. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.