Bind Them Write Them
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV
Proverbs 3:3-4 ESV
In Old Testament Studies and in Hebrew Seminary Classes we studied and discussed the importance of binding God’s steadfast love and faithfulness around the neck and writing them on the tablet of our hearts.
We studied the history and purpose of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It’s known as The Shema.
The Hebrew people still recite the Shema twice a day.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in English does not seem to do justice to the Hebrew, but the words are powerful in any language.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Remembering the Shema is just as important today as it was at the time of Moses. Speaking it aloud twice a day serves as a reminder of God. We remember God is One (Father, Son, Spirit). We are reminded to love God with all of our heart, our soul, and our might.
By speaking the words found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we keep God’s love at the forefront of our heart.
We are reminded to say it to the children in our lives. Morning, noon, and night telling a child everyday that God loves them will carry that child through difficult times all the days of their lives.
I remember being told as a child that God loves me.
In Sunday School I learned the song, Jesus Loves me and I have held onto that song all the days of my life.
I find myself singing it without even thinking about singing it.
“Jesus love me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.”
The words were written by Anna Bartlet Warner and her sister Susan Warner in 1860 and they appeared in a novel. The music was added by William Batchelder Bradbury in 1862. (https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/jesus-loves-me).
I did not know or understand the importance of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as a child. I read the Shema as an adult but I didn’t understand the importance of it until Seminary. We studied it in depth in Hebrew and we memorized it in the ancient Hebrew language.
Asking God to bind His word on our hands means as we work we will remember God’s love.
Putting them on our forehead above and between our eyes helps us to see God in everything we do.
Writing about God’s love and putting the message in a place where we will see it several times a day will keep it in our memory.
In Proverbs 3:3-4 King Solomon wrote,
“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;bind them around your neck;write them on the tablet of your heart.So you will find favor and good successin the sight of God and man.”
The wise King Solomon lived around 500 years after Moses but he was wise!
He knew the importance of remembering the Shema!
As we conclude this collection of writings on God’s Love, remember that God loves You!
Everyday in every way…God thinks of you. God sees you. God knows you. The hand of God reaches out on your behalf.
If you practice memorizing scripture, learning this passage will certainly bless you daily.
Spiritual Practice: Today, Recite the Shema
Speak the Shema aloud: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Now, go in peace knowing God loves YOU!
In God, Deborah