Hear, O Israel -- Moses or God

Was this a paraphrase of a providential directive by a specially chosen servant, or the direct words of God? Moses spoke most of the original words of the song “Hear, O Israel” (see all of the words of this command in Hebrew here)

to a nation, followed centuries later by the Son of God who was also speaking to a nation. Did the words sink in? One can hear them, but doing them… How would you or I behave as we prepared to accept an inheritance larger than anything we could ever imagine, with the only stipulation being unswerving loyalty to the one with the key to the bank? Hmmm. That might be a tough choice, if you think about it. Or is it?

Moses was telling the people he’d led to the edge of their new home some very important words, so important that another of God’s representatives – His own son – would discuss them again some fourteen centuries later.  Moses was a very old man by the time he said ‘Hear, O Israel’ outside of the perimeter of Canaan (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). He’d been through so much to bring the people out of bondage and entreat them to obedience. It must have also been a somewhat bitter irony for this 120-year old to speak these words, as he himself would not be allowed to enter the land because of a mistake he’d made in regard to obedience (Numbers 20:9-12; Num. 27:12-14). Were they in fact his own interpretation of what God told him to say, or God’s own words that he was merely repeating? Moses indicates that these are in fact God’s words (Deut. 6:1-2), and he would have undoubtedly been quite reluctant to alter them significantly.  The Lawgiver’s words are recalled by Jesus over 1,400 years later as he taught some devout lawyers – the Pharisees. He adds something to what Moses had said, something about how to love a neighbor (Matthew 22:37-38; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18). Why’d He do that? Could it be that the omniscient God – Jesus – knew honoring God and treating fellow humans charitably were not always congruous? What happens when some of us are very good at following His rules, and likewise good at catching others who’re not so good? Sound at all like the 1^st Century, perhaps? Or even the 21^st Century?  

The challenge in hearing what He directs is that it doesn’t stop there. I must do it. And, there’s that word all. It’s so small, but it does make this command rather comprehensive. All heart, all soul, all strength, all mind.  All of me needs to engage in this imperative. It’s called ‘the Shema’ – Hear. First spoken by Moses, it was a lesson he must have wondered ‘Will this really sink in? Will they remember that I tried and failed at this?” Love. All. They’re small words. Try ‘em out.   

There is no source for the song story, but for background on the song,  see the New International Version Study Bible, general editor Kenneth Barker, 1985, copyright The Zondervan Corporation, for notes on Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 1-5, and other scriptures therein.