There are 613 commandments in the Pentateuch. One teacher of the Law asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (Mark 12:28). Jesus’ answer came from the passage in today’s reading.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 is called the Shema, the Hebrew pronunciation of the first word of verse 4: “Hear!” These verses affirm the uniqueness of the God of Israel (v. 4). They also voice the implications of this belief. We are to “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (v. 5). This means to love God wholly and completely.

“Heart” in Hebrew does not refer only to your emotions, but to your thinking and reasoning. It is a call to love God with your whole inner being. “Soul” in Hebrew does not refer to an immaterial part of you. Rather, “soul” means your whole self, including your body. “Strength” is an unusual word in Hebrew. It is normally translated as “very” and used to modify other words. For example, after Creation when God stepped back to reflect on His work, he declared that it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). The word “very” is the word translated “strength” here. One helpful way to think about this word is to translate it as “resources.” We should love God with all our capacities, including physical strength, relationships, and material possessions.

As one commentator put it, this verse is a call to love God from the inside out. Love God with our thoughts and feelings, with our bodies, and with all our resources. Our relationship with God is not simply about believing certain truths about God, although it includes that. Rather, it is about showing our love and devotion to Him with our whole self. We can show this kind of love because in Christ, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Donate to Today in the Word: https://give.todayintheword.org/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.