Humility - Deuteronomy 6

There are multiple overarching concepts that are important in chapter 6. The first is verses 4 and 5 which TB says is the basis of all Judaism as well as Christianity. It’s called the Shema and it says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one love: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The IM has an interesting commentary about this saying that the Shema consists Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Deuteronomy 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41 in that order. These passages are to be recited twice a day by devout Jews and it also the prayer that is supposed to be said by someone who is about to be martyrs. This passage is also important because it’s the basis for what Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 22:36-37 which says, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” This is another instance of Jesus quoting the Torah back to the Jewish religious leaders during his mortal ministry thus indicating that not only did Jesus Christ know the law just as well, if not better, than them, but that he was also the fulfillment of that law in many ways.

TB had a lot to say about the word “love” used in this verse which was interesting, he says, “It is only since the Greco-Roman tims that the concept of love moved away from being primarily an action and instead became primarily an emotion, a sensation of inner warmth. The Biblical Hebrews never have recognized the modern secular and Christian viewpoint of love as being a warm, fuzzy feeling of compassion or affection towards another.” This was an excellent way to explain something that I’ve felt for a long time, especially when it came to like romantic love. I’ve felt for a while that love was an action and a choice, not just some feeling that comes and goes and his explanation makes God’s words so much more clear. TB goes on to say that God can not command us to feel an emotion towards Him because we don’t really control our emotions. We can regulate them or try to reign them in to a certain point, but emotions are fairly primal feelings that aren’t up to us about how we experience them, it’s pretty visceral at that point and if we can’t control it, then God can’t command us to experience it. However, if love is an action or a dedication that we can control, then we can be expected to obey that command. He said that the opposite of that is true as well, that hate isn’t a loathing or negative feeling, he said that a more accurate translation would be a rejection. We are commanded to hate sin, but that’s emotional, it is more accurately described as a rejection of sin.

After giving the shema, Moses tells the people “and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” This was interpreted to mean that the literal words were to be written on paper, put into leather boxes and secured to the person’s body on the arm and forehead. This was also put into practice by attaching a box containing the words to the posts in front of a person’s house. TB says that this was only practiced by the very high up leadership and the general Hebrews didn’t engage in this type of ornamentation.

Moses also reminds the people that when they get to the promised land it is a fulfillment of the promises that He made with “Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things, which thou fillest not, and wells diged, which thou digest not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantest not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” This is a reminder that everything they have has been gifts from God and He wants them to remember him while they are prosperous. This is an interesting concept, how to stay humble when things are going well for us, how to stay connected with God during those times. The IM references Helaman 12:1-7 which says that even during the very time when God prospers his people with wealth and safety and victory in battle, “doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One- yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with man afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.” I would like to think that I don’t have to be subjected to poverty and misery and suffering just to remain humble. I know that being forced to be humble is so incredibly painful, I pray about this every day now, to help me stay humble and my hope is that I am receptive enough to the promptings for humility that I won’t need to be compelled to be humble, but I guess time will tell. I certainly feel humbled now, but I don’t necessarily think that that’s because I was being prideful before, I think this is just something that had to happen regardless, which is also something for me to think about.