10-16-15. Love God With Everything You’ve Got.-my devotional

Deuteronomy 6:1-12                                                                         Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 6:5                                                                                   10-16-15

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

In this chapter we are introduced to a very important command of God. It is a command to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

It seems like a very daunting task to do this. It seems so hard to simply trudge through our activities of daily living and keep our heads above water. Some days I am more concerned with finding time for a nap, than loving God with all my strength. Also, this command sounds a little bit legalistic. How can anyone command a person to love them? If it comes out of the overflow of our hearts, naturally, than so be it. But anything else makes us cry out, “legalism!” How are we supposed to respond to such an Old Testament command in light of this New Testament age? In this passage we will learn about our God who seeks to bless his people and calls them to fear him and obey because of his love and grace.

Part 1: God Seeks To Bless His People (1-3)

Deuteronomy 6:1-3 reads, “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, 2 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. 3 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.”

We all want to find God’s favor and live lives that are blessed by God. But how can we? Moses said that God gave his people his commands to obey so that they may be blessed people. Look at verses 1-3. Let’s break it down and discover the blessings that God was offering his people. They were called to fear the Lord. They were called to obey the Lord.  God wants to bless his people and make them fruitful.

First, the call to fear the Lord.  Their kids and grandkids would fear the Lord and thereby bring long life. Look at verse 2.  “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.”

     Not too many people today would say that they wished that their kids and their grandkids would fear the Lord. Most people would wish that their kids be happy, find a job that they like and a spouse they can be happy with, be debt free and travel a little. Who would hope and pray that they fear the Lord?

To fear the Lord, means to have a deep respect for God and a strong desire to do what is right before his eyes. But for those who know the Lord, to have a healthy fear of God, is the secret to a happy life, for those who have a fear of the Lord, walk with God and are shepherded by God throughout their lifetime. They are blessed people. They live in God’s love and favor. They live in God’s peace. How wonderful it would be to have the next two generations of your family fearing the Lord! God will not only extend their lives but also extend their parents lives, because they will have peace knowing their children and grandchildren are walking with the Lord. The psalmist has the right attitude when he prayed in Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

     Second, the call to obedience. To live a long life people were called to keep God’s commands. Look at verse 2 again. The words, “by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” makes us cry out, “legalism!” or “prosperity Gospel!” Who on earth has ever been able to keep all of God’s decrees and commands? No one. How are we supposed to respond to such an Old Testament command in light of this New Testament age? There is a way receive credit for obeying all God’s commands. It comes when God forgives a person of all of their disobedience and declares that person righteous. This is accomplished through the shedding of blood. In the Old Testament times, this sacrifice was made on the altar. When God sees the shed blood of the prescribed sacrifice, he sees the person who comes to him in repentance and faith in that shed blood, and God completely forgives them. He considers them as one who had fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law. They enter into a right relationship with the holy and righteous and merciful God. When they enter into this divine relationship with God, then they are blessed people. In the New Testament era, this forgiveness come to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on the cross for our sins.

Obedience to God is a great way to prosper. Look at verses 3-4, “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.” This is not about a prosperity Gospel. Talking about obedience seems to be constraining and filled with our own human efforts to attain blessings. But keeping God’s commands is not just keeping the law legalistically. It is more spiritual than that. It is all about entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ, the living God. It is about attitude. It is about remaining in Jesus through faith. It is about living by faith and walking by faith. It is about loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Obedience to certain truths of God is very personal. When God’s Spirit speaks to their hearts, they need to learn to respond in obedience. Though there are certain parameters, God’s people need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I pray to be able to hear the still, small voice of God and know what it means to obey the law of God in my personal life. This is the “missio dei” for you.

Keep in mind, “to go well for us” could mean going well for us in God’s everlasting kingdom, and not on earth. Some Christian live a hard, short, life in this world, but will be brought into the Kingdom of God through their faith in Christ. That is a nice way of saying that some will be martyred at a young age after living on the streets. But God will make us prosper, one way or the other, even if we are persecuted and tossed about like a driven leaf. Romans 8:28 always stands true for people of faith, in light of eternity. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

God does bless many of his people in their lifetime on earth. The ones that are the most blessed are the ones that obey the will of God. A Christian may be going to heaven through faith in Jesus, but they are still called to obey the Lord. Look at it this way, you may be a Christian student, but you will still fail university if you refuse to obey the truth of God to study hard. Or you will get fired from a job if you don’t obey the truth of God that you need to work hard. A Christian man may be on his way to heaven, but he may not have a happy marriage unless he obeys the truth of God to love his wife as Christ loved the church. Obedience to God is an important element on being blessed by God.

God wants to make his people fruitful. Look at verse 4, “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.”  The Israelites will increase as a people as they held onto God. The land flowing with milk and honey is described in verses 10-11, “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,…”  The previous inhabitants lost their cities due to their lack of repentance for centuries of idol worship that included orgies, child sacrifice and extremely cruel practices. Their cities and vineyards were handed over to the Israelites by God, so they could make a new beginning. Though the houses probably had dirt floors, outhouses and animals that walked freely in the streets, to the Israelites, who spent 400 years as slaves and 40 years wandering in the desert, these lands seemed like a and flowing with milk and honey. God was giving it to them so that they could prosper and be fruitful and bring glory to God’s holy name. All they had to do was have faith in God and obey his commands.

In the New Testament we can see this principle being worked out on Matthew 6:33 which states, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (NIV) God cares about us. He wants to provide for us as we live by faith in this world. He wants to provide what we need but not necessarily what we want. There is a condition for his provision. We need to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. God’s righteousness is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 reads, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” This means God is asking us to seek his kingdom and Jesus Christ as top priority in our lives. Then we can know that the Lord will provide. He will fill our lives with his grace and love so much so, that even if we live in a shed and drive an old beater, it will seem like we live in a land flowing with milk and honey. Ultimately Jesus will bring us home to be with him in his kingdom where there will be streets of shining gold.

Part 2: God Helps Us To Love Him With Our Whole Being (4-12)

Deuteronomy 6:4-12 reads, “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

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Deuteronomy 6:4, is the beginning of what Israelite people called the Shema. (The full Shema includes Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and 11:13-21, as well as Numbers 15:37-41.) The Shema was read at the opening of each service in the synagogue. It was a definitive statement of faith, like the Apostle’s Creed. Shema is the imperative of the Hebrew verb “to hear,” from the first word, “Hear, O Israel.” It carries the idea of listening to something important that must be obeyed, such as when a parent tells their child, “Listen to me: Never, ever cross the street alone.”

The first part of the Shema reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deut 6:4-9, NIV)

First, the Lord wanted his people to reaffirm that there is only one God and he is that God. (4). In a world filled with many idols and false gods, knowing that the Lord is one is the most important truth for people to believe. God wanted people to know where to come for salvation. God wanted his people obey him and him alone. (14) This was revolutionary teaching for the people at that time.

In verse 5 we find the greatest and first commandment. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The word “Love” in this verse comes from the Greek word “agape.” This means the love of God. This love is not primarily a feeling, however it can be, but it definitely is a decision to put God first in our thoughts, words and deeds. It begins by loving God from our hearts.

We are called to love God with everything we are. We must love our God with our heart. The heart is the center of our emotions from where love emanates from. We also must love our God with all our souls, the very core of being. Strength includes our spiritual and physical strength. Saint Augustine said, “Love God, and do as you please.” That is easier to say than do. It is impossible for us to love God like this. When I think about loving God with all my heart, with all my soul, with my entire mind, and with all my strength, I feel convicted of falling far short. God’s standard of love seems too high. And it is true. We can never love with this quality and intensity. Loving God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength his sounds burdensome. But what is impossible for man is possible with God. God helps us to love him by revealing to us, his grace.

Loving God is not just about procuring the right emotion. Sometimes we don’t have the right emotions. Sometimes our hearts are heavy. Does that mean that we don’t love God? Not at all! Loving God is a matter of truth and obeying the truth. God’s “love language” is obedience. God is moved by obedience and he acknowledges those who obey him as those who love him. Jesus said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” This is necessary because love can never depend on feelings. If we depended on our feelings to love God then we would love God one day not love him the next. Our lives would be on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

The first part of loving God involves deeply meditating on his word. God commanded the Israelite people to talk about his commands constantly–while sitting at home, while walking along the road, when they lay down and when they got up. They were to impress them upon their children. They wrote it on cards carried it in phylacteries. They wrote it on the doorframes of their houses (Dt 6:7-9). But

 The second part of loving God involves knowing his grace. Deuteronomy 6:12 reads, ” be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” God was faithful to reveal his grace to his people. The people of Israel had been wandering in the desert. They were surrounded by enemies and had even defeated some of them in battle. (Deut 1:1-5) Though the Israelites were facing many hardships, God was still leading them out of the land of slavery, Egypt, and into the he Promised Land, Canaan. They faced so many hardships. There was a redemptive reason for all the hardships they were experiencing. God was treating them as a father, protecting them, teaching them faith and providing for their needs.. (Deut 8:2-5) Though it did not seem like it at the time, but God was going to lead his people into a land flowing with milk and honey. He was going to bring them into large, flourishing cities, filled with good things, including wells, vine groves and olive groves. God loved his people first.

God helps us to love with this quality by loving us first.  (1 Jn 4:10,19; 3:1; Eph 3:17b-19) 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving us and protecting  us and guiding us and seeking our highest good, as your believed children. You have brought us into fellowship with you. Now help us Lord to dwell in your love and follow you.
One Word: Love God with everything you have…he is there to help you.