Because the world doesn’t want to be told what to do, many critically see the Bible as a book of do’s and don’ts. But in reality, the commandments of God are freely chosen and if obeyed lead to a life of liberty rather than one of bondage. In Deuteronomy 27:9-10, Moses and the priests tell the people, “Be quiet and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the LORD your God. Therefore you are to listen to what the LORD your God says and obey his commandments and laws, which I am giving you today.” The commands contain the Hebrew word “shema,” which means to hear, listen, internalize and respond. Shema is used 92 times in Deuteronomy and its deeper meaning is very unique.
Shema means to not just hear, but become what you are hearing. When we imitate God, we are internalizing the values and virtues He relates to us. Rabbi Maimonides, considered among the foremost commentators on Judaism, said it well, “The pinnacle of the moral life, to which we all aspire, is to do what is right because it is right, because that is what it is to walk in God’s ways.” The commands are more than a list of do’s and don’ts, God gives reasons for the commands, throughout the book of Deuteronomy. Many of the reasons have to do with being slaves in Egypt. So they know what it feels like to be oppressed, and an outsider. There also is a connection between Genesis 1, the story of creation, and the laws of holiness.
The world ridicules the laws against the mixing of meat and milk, wool and linen, not plowing an ox with a donkey, etc., But they are about respecting God’s ordained order. These are not just divine decrees, but also practical, even life-giving. During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught from the Torah and read the haftarah portions in the synagogue. He repeatedly affirmed the central teaching of the Torah, the Shema—”Hear O Israel,” which then beckons the response of duty to love God above all else (Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Mark 12:29). Jesus, through His sacrifice, ratified the New Covenant in His blood (Matthew 26:28). In Jeremiah 31:31-33, the LORD promises to make a New Covenant and write it on our hearts that He shall be our God and we, His people.
2 Corinthians 3:6-9 says, “He has made us competent to be workers serving a New Covenant, the essence of which is not a written text, but the Spirit. For the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” In other words, the Old Covenant was given on Sinai because of transgressions until the Messiah came (Galatians 3:19). The problem was not with the law, but with men’s hearts. Romans 8:1-11 explains that the spiritual rebirth of the “heart of flesh” is the God-given power to walk in love which transcends the law and its regulations. Romans 8:2 says, “The law of the Spirit of life, has set us free from the law of sin and death” and verse 4 says walking in the Spirit fulfills the righteousness of the law in us through faith. Let us hear the LORD and become what we hear that we may be set apart and free from the world’s concept of do’s and don’ts.
