The Shema‘
– the First Testament declaration of faith (4)

André H. Roosma
28 February 2012

 

So far we looked at the first line of the Shema‘ from the creed of Israel in Deuteronomy 6.
Now it is time for the next line: Deuteronomy 6 verse 5 – a line, cited by Jesus (Matthew 22: 35-40) when a scribe asked Him which was the most important commandment in the Torah:

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶי

בְּכָל־לְבָבְ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶ

Or, in the older manuscripts:1

ואהבת את YaHUaH in Paleo-Hebrew אלהיך
בכל לבבך ובכל נפשׁך ובכל מאד

“You shall love YaHUaH, your God,
with all your heart, and with all your soul (being) and with all your enthusiasm (fire, might, power).”

The first word is important here: ואהבת - Ve-áhabhtá - ‘And you will love’.

That follows on that previous verse: “Hear, o Israel, YaHUaH our God, YaHUaH is One!”, which we studied in the previous parts of this series.
Something happens when we start to listen or look up to the glorious Name and recognize that YaHUaH represents that He is The One Who gives us real life – life in joyful belonging and in wonder and worship – and Who wants to be with us always. And when we appreciate that He, YaHUaH our God, Himself is One – forever the Same, and bringing and keeping everything together.
Yes, then something happens to us...
He just doesn’t leave you cold or indifferent...

The first consequence is that He becomes valuable to you, above all. You start to love Him.
Not because you have to. No, from the inside out. That appears also from the form of the verb áhabhtá; it is not formulated as an order (though, by the prefixed Ve-, it does connect with the call in the “Hear, Israel...”), but a perfect tense. God sees that it just will happen!
And not just a little, on the outside, for the show. No, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your enthusiasm.

I will walk along these three words for a moment. The first, heart, is in Hebrew לבב - lebhábh (pronounce: leváv), based on the root in the old pictographic script:2 lam: shepherds' staff: leaderbaitu: tent/house, body, 'in' – the leader inside / the leader of your body. The second, soul, is נפשׁ / nun: sprouting seedpu: mouth, windshad: breast(s), source - nephesh – what comes forth from the Source of Life blowing into one’s breast (compare Genesis 2: 7 - God blew life into man and so he became a living being - a living soul). The third, enthusiasm / power / fire, is מאד / mu: water, abundancealp: ox head, firstdalt: door, to open/enter/move - meód, from אוד / alp: ox head, firstwawu: tent pin, connectiondalt: door, to open/enter/move - u(w)d – the first stick going up [in fire]: fire, or: the first [linking/hinging] pin of the door, that holds the door powerfully. In meód, the mu: water, abundance - abundance, has been added as prefix: much fire, much power.

What strikes me is that these three all have clearly been given by God and have to be under His leadership, if the full love is to emerge well.

We cannot work ourselves up to that total, full love. It is given to us by God, when we – in our own powerlessness – look up and listen to Him Who – in His grace – gives us His life and everything.

In this the First Testament in fact does not differ even a millimeter from the Second. In both the heart of the matter is that we surrender our self-determination, surrender to God YaHUaH and His Salvation - His YeShU‘aH. That we celebrate that He, YaHUaH is also Immanuel: God with us, in us, giving us Life. Not as a one time conversion (only), but daily. When we are weak and turn to Him, He will work it out in us, what we cannot do ourselves.

I have seen books full being written about the discussion whether it is or isn’t possible and desirable to keep the instructions of the Torah. Jesus said it simply: what is impossible with men, is possible with God!

Even in Deuteronomy it is told most clearly, where the source of this love is to be found – even when people strayed away from God, because they thought: “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,...” (from Deuteronomy 29:19).

... and when you... return to YaHUaH your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you this day, with all your heart and with all your soul; then YaHUaH your God will restore your fortunes, and have compassion upon you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where YaHUaH your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there YaHUaH your God will gather you, and from there he will fetch you; and YaHUaH your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, that you may possess it; and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And YaHUaH your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love YaHUaH your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Deuteronomy 30: 2-6
(cf. Deuteronomy 10: 16; Mattit-Yahu (Matthew) 9: 12-13; 19: 26; Luke 5: 30-32; 18: 27; Acts 7: 51; Romans 2: 29; 2 Corinthians 12: 10)

God Himself wants to circumcise our heart, such that we love Him with all our heart, all our soul and all our enthusiasm.
There is only one way to come there: to turn around, look up to Him and to listen, every day again.

Hallelu YaH !


Notes

1 In old manuscripts from the last centuries before Christ (as found in Qumran) the glorious Name of God was written in the old Paleo-Hebrew script. This is the script that developed gradually from the original, pictographic script that we call old Semitic. Only in the fifth century before Christ, the Jews replaced the Paleo-Hebrew script by the Hebrew square script, which was actually a variant of the Imperial Aramaic (Babylonian) script.
For more background information on the glorious Name of God, see:
André H. Roosma, ‘The wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who will be there.pdf document, extensive Accede! / Hallelu-YaH! study, July 2009.
2 The word explanations given here are based in part on an extensive study of the oldest pictographic Bible script. See: André H. Roosma, ‘The Written Language of Abraham, Moses and David – A study of the pictographic roots and basic notions in the underlying fabric of the earliest Biblical script.pdf document, Hallelu-YaH Draft Research Report, 1st English version: 18 April 2011 (1st Dutch original: January 2011).

In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus uses for ‘to love’ the Greek form: αγαπησεις (indicative, active, future): ‘you will love’ in the sense of: ‘it is going to happen’.
For the Greek thinking people Jesus still adds: ‘with all your mind’; in the Hebrew original that was already included in ‘heart’.
Jesus also uses an (at that time) common rabbinic way of dealing with God’s Word, by coupling two passages that have an equal beginning. In this case Jesus couples a line from Leviticus 19: 18 to one from Deuteronomy 6: 5. Both start with that word Ve-áhabhtá - you will love. In full, in Leviticus 19: 18 God said the following:

You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against (or: be reserved, alert towards) the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YaHUaH.

Note those last three words: God is YaHUaH - He Who gives life and all and Who is there. Without Him it was not possible. With and in Him it was.

At YouTube a brotherWes sings about that one word Ve-áhabhtá: Ve-Ahavta


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This is a sequel to: The Shema‘ – the First Testament declaration of faith (1), Part (2), and Part (3).

Next article: Part (5).
 


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