Shema

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week:http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

As a culture, we have a nearly obsessive desire to classify items and to rank them against one another. One Internet phenomenon, Buzzfeed (an organization that I don't particularly endorse), earned its spot as an app on many of our iPhones because of its self-proclaimed “definitive rankings” of anything and everything, from The Definitive Ranking of Ice Cream Truck Treats (fudge pops are towards the bottom while the Choco Taco reigns supreme) to The Definitive Ranking of Oreos (Tripple Double Neopolitan Creme Oreos are bad, apparently, while the Winter Oreos rank near the top). Aren't all Oreos just kind of...blah?

But we participate in this ranking thing almost compulsively, don't we? For example, I haven't ever eaten at a Culver's, but when I tell people that I'm thinking about giving it a try, they all weigh in with their rankings:

“The burgers are better than McDonald's, but the fries aren't as good.”

“The custards is way better than any ice cream you would get at other fast food chains.”

“The prices are a little higher than Wendy's or Arby's.”

We do the same with books in a series, TV show seasons, movie directors, grocery store brands, vehicle makers, and more. So we shouldn't be surprised to learn that people have been doing this for centuries. Mark 12 records the story of one of the teachers of the law asking Jesus to choose the most important command. Here's how Mark records the answer:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Mark 12:29) In his response, Jesus quotes one of the most familiar passages from Deuteronomy, one that every one of Jesus' listeners would have memorized. In Jesus' day they sang it in Hebrew, and Jews today still sing the Hebrew words: “Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad.” The larger context of Deuteronomy 6 provides important insight: the Lord has just rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and Deuteronomy 5 and 6 are instructions for how the Lord's people ought to live if they wish to “live and prosper and prolong [their] days in the land” (Deut. 5:33). The beginning of Deuteronomy 5 includes the 10 commandments, and over the course of these two chapters, God makes it abundantly clear that he wants good things for his people if they will only obey his laws. Deuteronomy 5:29 includes this message from God: “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever.”

That ancient word Sh'ma (or Shema), has deep implications. It means more than “to hear”; it means to obey the laws of God always, to love God unconditionally, to study his word faithfully, to talk about the work of the Lord continuously, and to tell our sons and daughters about the one true God with every word and action that we use. It's a command to obey, to be faithful in everything. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to live in sacrificial obedience, to live like Christ himself. God makes a promise in Deuteronomy 6, one that I want to claim for myself and my children, and it's one that I would hope that you would claim as well. When Moses returns from speaking with the Lord he issues this promise: “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, 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. Hear, 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 ancestors, promised you.” What a great reminder that God's laws and commandments are to bring us enjoyment rather than confinement.

[Kristin vanEyk attends Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. Find out more about Encounter at http://myencounterchurch.org/]