The Bible in 90 Days
Day 13: Numbers 32:20 – Deuteronomy 7:26 || Read the CEB online.
Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord! Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol. Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 CEB)
Deuteronomy: Second Law, in Latin. We might say, “Recapitulation.” Moses re-tells the story of God’s gracious and mighty acts as his farewell address at the edge of the Promised Land which he will not enter. That this new generation of God’s faithful people will go where he is not able makes his warnings all the more pointed and poignant. And that’s at least one of the goals of Deuteronomy: warning. Don’t forget, Moses says at the end of chapter 6. Remember…not just passively, but actively put what God is doing for us and future generations in front of you all the time.
In Hebrew, this is called the Shema: “Hear.” I like how strongly the CEB states it: “Israel, listen!” This is important! I’m given to understand that this passage is the closest thing Judaism has to a creed, and it forms the daily liturgy at the center of Jewish faith and life. Put reminders, calls-to-action everywhere, talk about it all the time, Moses says to them–and to us. This idea, that the One who brought us out of Egypt and through the wilderness is the only God, is forgotten at great risk. That’s the point of us being a people that belongs to God, so we can’t lose that purpose. In hearing, listening, & remembering, we will continue to live — fully and abundantly!
What tangible, concrete reminders of God are in your life?
How do you take your faith out of private?
Share your thoughts in the comments below,
and don’t forget to pray for our U.M. ARMY team in West Monroe, Louisiana!
“Deuteronomy” image from Ryan Kemp-Pappan’s Minimalist Visual Bible project.
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