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Our First Priority: Seeing God (Deut. 6:4–9, Part 2)

[Listen to an audio version here]

How does love grow up in our hearts? We “see” the object of love as desirable and loveable. Now, note very carefully that this does not mean that we literally see these things with our eyes. We can have these objects in our mind. For example, we may love the place where we grew up, but we may not be there or even see it in pictures. We simply have it in our memory and those memories awaken love in us. We may love our children, but we do not always have them with us. Our hearts can yearn for them even when they are not with us. The point is that it is how we see with our minds that will determine what and whom we will love.

It’s not surprising, then, that when Moses tells the people that they are to love God, he begins by teaching them to “see” God. Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Why did Moses begin by saying “Hear”?
They needed to stop what they were doing and listen. An image in our mind begins with hearing properly. They would hear God’s Word and that would enable them to think about and meditate on God. They may have had many things in their mind. They needed to give attention to God in order to know Him.

We cannot do this on our own. We can know things about God. He has not left Himself without witness. However, to really see God in the way we should, God needs to show Himself to us. When we get ready to listen to God, we should pray. We should pray for God to open up our eyes to see Him in His glory like Moses did. This is what will move our hearts to seek Him.

Second, we have to get some margin for thoughtful meditation. Our society is a go, go, go society. We are always on the move, always doing something. We need to take time and think and pray. We have to find margin to do so. We think that it will be a waste of time. Our fear of lack of activity is out of all proportion to reality. We’ve got to sit in the quiet. This is what will actually fill us with joy and happiness. Simply glossing over our anxiety by keeping ourselves busy will never enable us to develop the happiness we truly desire.

So, how does listening to this phrase help us to know God? We want to consider the three things this phrase tells us. What did Moses mean by “the LORD”? What did he mean by “our God”? And what did he mean by saying that “the LORD is one” (Dt. 6:4–9).

What did Moses mean by “the LORD”?
In most Bibles, you will find that there are two words that we use when we speak of God as “the Lord.” The first is the normal meaning of the word “the Lord,” and it means the master or the King. He is the one in charge. This word in Hebrew is Adonai, and you will find it written as Lord with a capital l.

The second word is the one we have in this text. It is the word Lord written with all capital letters, “the LORD.” This is the proper name for God. God is the type of being He is, but LORD is is His name like I am a human but my name is Wes. In the Hebrew, it is Yahweh or Jehovah. We don’t know exactly how to say it because the Jewish people would not pronounce this name out of reverence for God. Instead, they would say Adonai, which means Lord. Hence, we have two words represented by the word “Lord.”

In the Greek Old Testament, this word was translated as Kurios or Lord, and so that is what the Apostles used when they quoted the Old Testament. So, there’s nothing wrong with saying “Lord” for Yahweh or Jehovah, but you can use any of them when you see the word LORD in all caps. It’s a little complicated. We just have to use our brains and think a bit about this, which is what we are trying to do right now.

So, what did this word mean? When God revealed himself to Moses he said, “I am who I am.” The idea is that God is infinitely above what we could think or define. He is glorious in might and power. He can do anything. He is above everything. This is why they were not to make any image of God. “You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape . . .” (Dt. 4:15–16). We are to see Him through His word and not through an image because He is above all things.

When they thought of the greatness of Jehovah, they would continually think of all the awesome things He did in delivering them out of Egypt. Because He is the LORD, He can do anything. “Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?” (Dt. 4:34). Even the great nation of Egypt could not stop Him. He was in total control of nature and could use it to defeat Egypt.

What this also means is that if you sin against God, then no one can deliver you out of His hand. “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Dt. 4:24). If you seek to fight against the almighty God, you are going to lose. There is no one who can deliver out of His hand.

Now, how would all this make us love God? Because our heart is inclined to desire that which is great and awesome. Why do people love the Smoky Mountains? Because they are awesome! They are huge. They have a glory that goes way beyond us. God is infinitely greater than the Smoky Mountains. Why do we admire the night sky and the glory of the moon and the stars and the planets? Because they are glorious and so far above us. I think God created such a huge universe to help us have a visual image of how infinite and great He is because however big the universe is, God is infinitely beyond it.

So, when we think of God and His greatness, our heart is moved to wonder and love. So, we should think about the greatness of God. We should try to see all the wonders He has made and let it lift our heart up unto Him. One way we can do this is to try and think of something that makes us stand in awe. Then, think about it and say, God is infinitely greater than this. That will help us begin to love God.

However, in some ways, this might move us to despair rather than to love if it were not for the next phrase, “our God.”

What did Moses mean by “our God”?
There is a broad use of this term that can refer to all of God’s creation. He is our God because He is the one who made us. Listen to how God describes what He will give to His people, “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied . . .” (Dt. 6:10–11). In a way, each of us can say this. We come into a world we did not make. Everything around us is a gift. We did not fill the world with plants or build civilization. We are simply recipients of it. This is what the Apostle Paul said to the people in Asia Minor, “In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:16–17). Every one of us can see that God has made us and blessed us in all sorts of ways with things we did not deserve. In this sense, all people can say that God is “our God.”

However, this is not what Moses means by this phrase. Creation was not the end of the story. Human beings rebelled against God, but God was not done with humanity. He chose for Himself a special people to be called back to Him and restored to what He originally intended. In the Old Testament, this was the nation of Israel. God became their God. He set His love on them and chose them to be His own. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Dt. 7:6). God chose this nation out of all others to be their God. He loved them first.

Because God loved them and chose them, He redeemed them. “But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Dt. 7:8). They were slaves in Egypt, and God brought them out. Why? Because He loved them and had promised to do so, solely because of His free grace and choice.

Israel was not bigger or better than any other nation. Listen to what God says, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples” (Dt. 7:6). If we were going to think of the type of nation God would choose, we might think it would be Egypt or Babylon or China with their great and flourishing civilizations. Instead, God chose the least of all nations.

We might think, well maybe they weren’t the most powerful, but at least they were very religious. Listen carefully to what Moses said to them,

“After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” . . . Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people (Dt. 9:4–6).

It was not because of their righteousness but because of God’s great grace and mercy. This was demonstrated by what they did when God gave them the Ten Commandments. God had just spoken to them out of the fire, and what did they do? They built a golden calf and said that this was their God, following the pattern of Egypt. God was ready to destroy them, but Moses interceded and God forgave them. No, it was not because of their righteousness.

In addition, it was not because they would be more righteous in the future that God became their God. At the end of the book, Moses prophesied that they would continue to sin against the Lord and turn away from them. However, God would not completely cast them off. They may have to leave the land, but the Lord would bring them back. This would be a return not only to the land but to God. “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Dt. 30:6). It was by grace they got in and by grace they would stay in. That is what it meant for them to have God as their God. They had a relationship with God, and God would ensure that they would love Him.

So, what does this mean for us? As believers in Jesus Christ, you are the chosen people of God. Think of all that God has done for you. First, He sent His Son to die for you. Then He sent you the good news of salvation. When so many do not even know of Jesus and the way of salvation, you know it. When so many turn away, you responded to it. When you sinned against the Lord, He forgave you. He been ready to receive you again like the prodigal son. He keeps bringing you back even though your heart is prone to wander. Think of how God has reached out to you. How can this not awaken our love, that the God of the universe has taken a special interest in you and wants you to be His special people? Would not such meditation lead us to love God and desire Him above all else?

What did Moses mean by the LORD is one?
What does it mean that the LORD is one? It means that there is no other God. There is no one else like Him. There is no one greater. There is no one else in whom we can find ultimate blessing, joy, and hope.

Human beings have been trying to find someone else other than the Lord to be their God and happiness since time began. It will never work because there is only one God. That’s why Moses says, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land” (Dt. 6:14–16). They were not to follow the way of those around them. This would lead to their destruction.

God had gone to great lengths to show Israel that He was the only God. Why did God do all the things that He did for Israel? So that they would know that there is one God. “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other” (Dt. 4:35). There is no God but the Lord. After all they saw in Egypt and all they saw in the wilderness, how could they imagine that there is anyone else like the Lord? He made it abundantly clear, and now they were to stick close to Him.

So, what does this mean for our love for Him? We are all looking for someone or something to love. Our hearts move out to find an appropriate object of our affection that will fill us with joy. Unfortunately, we make the pleasures of this world, human relationships, work, or other things the source of our desires. They are the things that drive us. The trouble is that none of these things can give us the joy and peace and blessing we are looking for. It is only in God that we can find our joy and peace. He is the only appropriate object of our highest love. If we love Him, we will never be disappointed. The Lord is one.

If we are going to serve and love someone as our ultimate allegiance, who can it be but the Lord? He is the only one who can help us and save us. He is our Lord. He is our God. There is no other. Why are we so often in so much confusion? Because we forget what is most needful. This is where our focus should be: loving God. In order to do that, we have to think about Him and see Him as the great, glorious, awesome, loving God that He is.

So, here is my challenge for you this week. Where can you find some margin to stop and think about the LORD? Can you find some time to really listen? The call is still going out: Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Amen.

Benediction: May the Father out of his glorious riches strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And may He grant that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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