The Shema
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
By Carl Schultz, Ph.D.
Houghton College, Houghton, NY
I. Love
A. Defined by synonymns - serve, obey, observe, turn
B. Defined by genre - in Deuteronomy love is a covenant word. Relationship
between God and Israel is cast in the form of a Hittite Treaty - Suzerain
treaty - where a vassal pledges allegiance to his overlord the Hittite
suzerain. So there is "love" between vassal and suzerain - love
= compliance with the terms of the treaty
C. Defined by commandment - love for neighbor clearly not simply emotion
but service and assistance for a fellow vassal. This is demonstrated by
the parable of the good Samaritan
D. Defined by New Testament
1. Jesus -
- " if you love me you will keep my commandments" - John 14:15
- "no one can serve two masters; for a slave will either love the
one or hate the other, - or be devoted to the one and despise the other"
- Matthew 6:24
2. Paul -
- the commandments "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not
murder, you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and any other commandment,
are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
- Romans 12:9
II. Heart, Soul, Might
A. Deuteronomy Heart Soul Might
B. Other O.T. references
C. Synoptics Heart Soul Strength Mind
III. The Lord
A. Uniqueness - So NRSV "The Lord alone" again the exclusivity
of a Hittite treaty expressed in first commandment: "You shall have
no other God besides me"
B. Unity - Hebrew could be translated "God is one Lord" or
"The Lord is one." The Lord is not only to be the sole object
of worship and allegiance but, given his wholeness, he is to be loved with
the total capacity of our faculties.
IV. Recitation and Reason
1. God's commandments are to be recited. This section is called the
shema (Hebrew word for "hear"). It is written in the phylacteries
(a pair of small black boxes fastened by black straps to the upper left
arm and above the forehead) and mezuzah (a container affixed to
the door post). This text is to be recited twice daily. Such recitation
may (and probably does in some instances) indicate memory without thought
- known only by rote.
B. Take them to heart/talk about them
1. God's commandments are not simply to be recited but discussed, not
simply rote but also reasoning. The Hebrew word translated "recite"
here is used in Deuteronomy 32:41 in the sense of sharpening a sword and
is used figuratively in Pss 64:3 and 140:3 of "sharp" words.
Actually here in Deuteronomy 6:6 is the only instance where this word is
used in a teaching context. Obviously such sharpening calls for more than
parroting - it also calls for philosophizing
V. Heart
A. Hebrew word translated heart occurs 858 times in the Old Testament.
It is the commonest of all anthropological terms and is almost always used
of humans.
B. It never refers to the bloody pump found in the chest cavity. Possible
exception I Samuel 25:37 where it is said of Nabal that "His heart
died within him. He became like a stone." But the next verse indicated
that he died ten days later. Probably then he had a stroke with
some paralysis before his death. The brain, nerves, and lungs were not
known to ancient Israelite anatomy.
C. The heart is generally not the locus of emotions as it is with us.
There is some assignment of feelings and wish ascribed to heart but by
far the greatest number of cases refer to the intellect. This is seen in
the kind of literature in which it appears: 99 times in Proverbs; 42 times
in Ecclesiastes; 51 times in Deuteronomy - all didactic literature.
D. The heart designates a reasonable being. It is the seat of and has
the function of reason, includes everything we ascribe to the brain: power
of perception, reason, understanding, insight, consciousness, memory, knowledge,
reflection, judgment, discernment. Note the following passages:
Isaiah 6:10
- "Make the mind (heart) of this people dull, and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen
with their ears, and comprehend with their minds (hearts), and turn and
be healed."
I Kings 4:29-34
-"God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of
understanding (heart) as vast as the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's
wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the
wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,
and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout
all the surrounding nations. He composed three thousand proverbs, and his
songs numbered a thousand and five. He would speak of trees, from the cedar
that is in the Lebanon to the Hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak
of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish. People came from all the
nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of
the earth who had heard of his wisdom."
Matthew 9:4
- "But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil
in your hearts?"
Luke 2:19 -
"But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart"
Romans 1:21
- ". . . for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or
give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their
senseless minds (hearts) were darkened."
2 Corinthians
4:6 - "For it is God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,'
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 1:18
- ". . . so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may
know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of
his glorious inheritance among the saints . . ."
VI. Soul
A. Not only is the heart involved but the soul. The term "soul"
is difficult to define but it refers to the source of life and vitality
or even of one's being.
VII. Might
VIII. Composite emphasis - by the use of
these three terms it is clear that love of God
A. Combines rational and non-rational
B. Combines thoughts and actions
C. Bases reasoning on moral condition
IX. Conclusion - text then challenges us
to a comprehensive engagement with God with the total capacity of our faculties.
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