“I haven’t been getting your posts…” my mom recently said with concern.  I think she thought something was wrong with her device systems.

It’s not you, mom, it’s me.

I haven’t been writing for my own website for quite a while, but rather submitting all my writing to other writers for publishing on their sites.  And if you’re not on social media (where not I but my husband, Jeff, is promoting the devotionals I write), you might think I’d fallen off the edge of the earth.

Except the planet is round.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY WRITING

For the past year, I have been toying with writing a book.  Initially I thought I would be working on a bible study, but as I’ve rolled this thing around, I’ve come to realize that the download is not so much study material as book material.

I mentioned last fall, in my post entitled Cultivating Authentic Harmony (link to that post), that my attention has shifted from finding freedom in Christ to developing unity in believers.  And like those pictures that contain more than one image in a single illustration, I can no longer unsee what God is highlighting in His “One Body” design.

BIBLE RESEARCH ON ONENESS

Today I want to share with you a bit of my experience in researching God’s Word.  Sometimes I come across something that is so profound to me it brings me to tears.  I’m both jacked up and humbled to my knees by the magnitude of God’s message.  Often, like now, the smallest of details in a single scripture stands out to me as if it’s written in sunlight.

The Gospel of Mark, in chapter 12, relates a scene where a Scribe (a Hebrew master of Old Testament Law) was impressed by Jesus’ interpretation of scripture, but was likely looking to trip Christ up as other Jewish scholars were doing, asked, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

Jesus responds first with:

“The first of all commandments is Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord….”Mark 12:29 (KJV)

This initial answer has always confused me some.  I’ve never heard anyone put much emphasis on this opening statement.  And so, as is my practice, I got to work dissecting this beginning to Jesus’ answer….

MY PROCESSING…

Christ is quoting the words written in Deuteronomy 6:4. Jesus knew the audience he was addressing as someone rooted Old Testament law.  So, as the Teacher, he was aware that the test from this scholar was whether Jesus really knew the book.  Jesus knew. God is timeless, and His Word is as alive today as ever.  What was said then can apply now when interpreted appropriately.

Foundationally, commandments were rules to keep.  They were actionable steps to do (or not do) to cultivate God’s will for life with Him.  Therefore, the clue to understanding this commandment is pulling out the verb or action item for doing.  In this case the first commandment is HEAR.

Hear is the first commandment given humanity!

Wait, what?!!!  I thought LOVE was the first command!

Whenever I am shaken to the core by new information I go back and read it all.

“And Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.’” Mark 12:29-30

When I read the whole statement, I see Jesus surrounding his entire reply with some form of “first commandment” parentheses.  He begins with “the first of all the commandments is,” and he ends with “this is the first commandment.”  And then in between we find the what’s what of actionable laws: HEAR and LOVE.

Technically, I am getting ahead of myself.

USING TOOLS TO FIND CLARITY

When my brain began swirling with “Hear is the first commandment,” I wasn’t sure what to make of that.  My gray matter felt fuzzy.  Maybe I didn’t really know what was meant by the Hebrew word for “hear.”  So, I looked it up in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

And what I found blew my mind.

Shama is the Hebrew word used in the text in Deuteronomy.  According to Strong’s Concordance, the simplest, or most primitive root meaning for this word is indeed hear.  But Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance gives a fuller definition that helps me understand the importance of Jesus’ recitation of all of God’s words spoken in Deuteronomy 6:4. The index of words listed to fully describe the Hebrew word include:  attentively, call gather together, carefully, certainly, consent, consider. (Emphasis mine.)

“Hear” was a call, by God, for His children to gather together and pay attention to Him.

You may be saying, “Well, duh Sharon.  Of course God was calling out to His children to listen.”

And I would nod in agreement here if we were only looking at Deuteronomy 6:4.  But when Jesus quotes this verse by saying, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And…” there is a slight variation (maybe to only my ears) where the commandment becomes HEAR (gather together and pay attention) and Love Me.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME TODAY

This is a significant word for a writer focused on cultivating authentic harmony within One Body.  My writing begins on the Oneness of God…The Lord our God is one Lord, so it doesn’t escape me that our triune God would cut through the chaos and call His people to intentionally and actively gather together for the purpose of love.

Culturally today we are caught up in what Jesus is saying to me.  But what we forget is that God always

Always

Always has we in mind.

If only we did too.

I hope you were blessed with this peek into my morning time with God’s word.  I am continually awed by the nuances of God’s communication with His people.  May we move forward together in Love for Him and all of His children.