The Greatest Commandment

“Love the Lord” is left a pretty vague statement unless you view it from its original context. We think of what it means to love the Lord and think about how we love our friends and family. This is different. God wants to transform us. At our deliverance God is wanting us to show our love to him by following his commands. 

The commandment that Jesus is reciting is referred to by the Jews as the “Shema”, based on the Hebrew word to “hear” or to “listen carefully. Moses had just repeated the Ten commandments. Moses is telling Israel to pay special attention to what he is about to share.

OT:8085 shama` (shaw-mah'); a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.):

Deut 6:4 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 upon 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. 

Our God is a Holy God. The Scriptures teach us about the God we serve. In them we see Gods Holiness, his nature, his goodness, and his heart for his creation. The commandments of God reflect his nature, his moral values. The New Covenant faith is end of the story of Gods plan of salvation. Gods promises were fulfilled through his Messiah. But it is in the Scriptures of the Old Testament that we learn about the God we serve.

Jesus summarizes our New Covenant faith to the two greatest commands in scripture. Those two commands are explained in greater detail in the Ten Commandments that God gave to his chosen people at their deliverance. Those ten commandments are the foundation of Gods Holy Standards and are further defined in scripture as Gods decrees and laws.

Deut 4:11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

The Ten Commandments. Think on each command as you read them.

The first five commands reflect our relationship with our God. The next five commands reflect how we treat our neighbor. 

Deut 5:6 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

7 "You shall have no other gods before me.

8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 "You shall not murder.

18 "You shall not commit adultery.

19 "You shall not steal.

20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 

Jer 31:31 "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Jer 31:33 "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

Christ is the end of the law. Remember that it was the Judgement and Penalties of sin that were nailed to the cross. The New covenant brought an end to sacrifices and offerings. That doesn’t mean the scriptures are no longer relevant.

Today we live by New Testament faith. In the New covenant, his laws are written in our hearts. At our confession of faith God puts his Spirit in us to guide and convict us. All commands we are given in the New Testament by Jesus, John, Paul, etc., are taught from the Scriptures. God wants to transform us from darkness to light.

Gal 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Rom 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Rom 3:29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Matt 19:16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

18 "Which ones?" the man inquired.

Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Note that Jesus teaches the commands that affect our neighbor.

Love the Lord with all your heart.

Deut 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon 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.

God has set the standard for the Kingdom of Heaven. His word tells us he is our one true God and there is no other. That’s what the scripture says and the word is truth. In a world covered in darkness life is filled with distractions. We hold onto traditions and superstition. People rely on to good luck charms, stones or herbs to bring health and provision into their homes. That’s what Israel did that God calls Idolatry.

Deut 4:35 …the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.

God loves his creation and is our source for deliverance, healing, provision. When we come to faith we are to turn away from the world and all it offers and turn to God. Jesus came as God’s light. Israel is a light to the nations. We are to be a light to the world. As his children, God wants to impart his qualities on those who seek him. We’re taught to distinguish clean from unclean, good from evil. We are to be people after his heart. and what he wants to impart for those who call him father.

Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The Scriptures paint a picture of salvation. God’s commands teach us his values. They show us how to live Holy to the Lord. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the heart, having the DESIRE to honor God. David had a heart and DESIRE to honor God with every part of his being. That’s what God is looking for from those who call on him from a pure heart. His Grace covers us when we fall short of his will.  

That is the love of a Holy God. Creator of heaven and Earth. This is why we bow down in worship and give him Praise and Glory and Honor.

2 Cor 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

Ps 29:2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Isa 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

Ps 33:6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.