The Lord Our God Is One

Deuteronomy 6:4; 13-17                                                              Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse 6:4,                                                                             7-29-15

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  (NIV)

Man holding arms up in praise against golden sunset

In this chapter, Deuteronomy 6, we are investigating ways that we can guard our hearts, especially when experiencing God’s abundant blessings. First, let’s look at the first way…living before the eyes of our God, who is the one, true God. Moses makes a declaration to the Israelites that the Lord is One. Verse 4 reads, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  This is a significant declaration. It was revolutionary and carries with it some consequences born of our faith in our God, who is One.

Moses’ statement was a revolutionary statement. The world was filled with polytheism. The Egyptians had many gods. The Israelites tried their best to hold onto the faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but I am sure they had adopted some of the polytheistic practices of their slave masters. I am also sure that there were some monotheists out there somewhere in the region. Melchizedek, five centuries earlier, was a priest of God Most High, in Abraham’s time. (Gen 14:18) He was King of Salem, modern day Jerusalem. The descendents of Noah had passed on the knowledge of one God. But the monotheists were few and did not influence the religion’s religious milieu. To declare that “The LORD our God, the LORD is one” was still very revolutionary. It was a bold declaration of the truth about God, that he is one God…and not many gods.

This passage also gives us some ramifications of believing and declaring that God is one. In other words, what does it mean practically to believe in the God of the Israelites?  Verses 13-17 sheds some light on this,

“ Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.”

Let’s break it down. First, “Fear the LORD your God…”  This means having a deep respect for the One true God, and a sincere desire to do what is right before his eyes. It involves living before the One God, knowing that he is not only our Father in heaven and our Savior, but also a righteous and holy judge, before whom we must give account. (Heb 4:13)

Second, “serve him only”,  The motive of our lives is to serve the Lord our God. Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)  Believers in the one God, do  not serve idols. They are not in this world to serve themselves. Their “modus operandi” is to serve the Lord and live for his glory alone, exalting his name throughout the earth.

Third, “ and take your oaths in his name”.  An oath is a promise. It is marked by a sincere desire to carry thorough with that promise. Believers make sincere promises and commitments to the Lord. They know they are weak to keep their oaths. But they also know that the One God is faithful and true and will help them keep their oaths, according to his will. They trust that God will save them from foolish oaths also.

Fourth, “Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you;” This means that believers in the One God, should never compromises with the religions and the cultures around them. They must keep their hearts purely devoted to the Lord, keeping their heart as a throne for the one God to dwell in, by his Spirit. It requires us to swim against the current of the culture we live in. It means that we are in this world but not of it. It means repenting of idol worship, from the heart.

 Fifth, “for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.”  This is related to fearing the One God.  God is the judge of the living the dead. He is not just some benevolent grandfather who keeps doling out gifts. He is a righteous judge. Believers in the One God are aware of this fact. By God’s grace we have a Savior, Jesus, who allows us to pass through the judgment and be declared righteous based on the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross. We, who believe are recipients of God’s grace.

Sixth, “Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah.”  When Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days in the desert, the devil tried to get Jesus to put the Lord God to the test. Matthew 4:5-7, reads,

“5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

The devil was basically trying the get Jesus to force the Father’s hand to do a divine act that the Father would not normally perform, in order to prove his existence and his truthfulness, just because the Bible says so. This is forcing God’s hand. It is making God a miracle maker, expected to perform at our whims. This is disrespectful to God and extremely proud and not marked with submission to allow the One God to work as he wills. Believers in the One God do not dare to put God to the test.

Seventh, “Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.” Acknowledging the One God, means that believers will relate to God with a attitude of obedience. Though they are weak and unable to go much beyond mere survival, believers will have a hope, a desire and a prayer to obey. They want to keep in step with the Spirit. They want to take the first steps of obedience, just like the Israelites who took the first steps into the Red Sea, just before it parted and the passed through on dry ground. (Ex 14:21-22) To them the commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)