Tag: monotheism

Listen – and Act Accordingly

Deuteronomy 5-7

These 3 chapters continue to reiterate the importance of REMEMBERING. Moses is addressing the new generation of Israel, preparing their hearts to enter the long-awaited Promised Land. We read in chapter 5 the repeated Ten Commandments, and Moses’ encouragement to follow these laws that bring life and blessing, “that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.” The Israelites are repeatedly reminded throughout these chapters that these laws are meant to serve them for generations to come; Moses emphasizes over and over again the cruciality of ensuring that their children and their children’s children not forget the foundation provided to their ancestors via these laws. 

Chapter 6 is home to one of the most well-known prayers in the Bible, the Shema Yisrael, which has remained embedded in Jewish culture to this day. Ancient Jews combined Deuteronomy 6:4-5 with other Torah passages (Deut. 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41), reciting the words every morning and every evening. This prayer became ingrained in Jewish tradition, and was widely practiced in the Second Temple Period. Jesus declared it the greatest commandment in the Torah in Mark 12:29-31. 

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31

Many of us memorized these verses at a young age. What gives this prayer such immense significance? Well, to the Jews at the time (and through history), it is a pledge of allegiance to God, emphasizing three main ideas:

  • Monotheism: The Shema asserts that there is only one true God, distinguishing Israelite faith from the surrounding polytheistic religions of the ancient world. (Deut 6:4)
  • Covenantal Relationship: The Shema affirms Israel’s special relationship with God, requiring wholehearted love and devotion. (Deut 6:5)
  • Daily + Generational Remembrance: It is recited morning and evening, reinforcing a life centered on God’s commandments, and ensuring that it is passed down to future generations. (Deut 6:6-9)

These truths remain relevant to us today, and this prayer is a beautiful, concise way to remind ourselves what Moses stressed throughout these passages. 

Something interesting about the opening line of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel,” is that in Hebrew, “hear,” or “shema,” does not only mean to listen. It means to listen and then act accordingly. It is directly tied to action. And the word “love,” or “ahavah,” similarly means to act in love. It’s more than just a feeling; it’s active obedience and loyalty. It’s a call for the Israelites to be faithful to their covenant with Yahweh. We, too, have a covenant with Yahweh, a renewed covenant with new laws and a new Promised Land. But as Jesus clarified, this command remains true, and we must make the active decision to live out the Shema each and every day. 

-Isabella Osborn

Reflection Questions:

  1. What are some practical ways you can incorporate Scripture into your daily life to ensure that you keep them on your heart, as to better remember and live by God’s Word?
  2. The Shema calls us to love God with everything we are. How can you intentionally cultivate a deeper love for Him in your daily life?
  3. Just as Israel was called to pass down God’s truths, we are called to disciple others. Who are you investing in spiritually? How can you be intentional about sharing your faith—whether with your family, friends, or community?
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A Prayer of Praise from Paul

Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 14-16

Poetry: Psalm 5

*New Testament: 1 Timothy 1

     Today I want to break down a single verse in praise to God and consider what Paul was getting at:

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)

     We are quite ready to think of God as a king, since we are so familiar with the language of God’s kingdom from the Old Testament, but God is rarely called “king” in the New Testament. I see Matthew 5:35, here, 1 Timothy 6:15, and Revelation 15:3. The fact that Paul is choosing to use this language at all probably means he is doing something special, trying to point to attributes of God he feels the Ephesians should be dwelling on.

     You may recall that New Testament Greek has no word meaning “eternity.” But that concept has been put into English translations where people thought it sounded right. It has been suggested that the history of these insertions was aided by some unhelpful translations of the Greek in Jerome’s Vulgate Latin (back in the fourth century), affecting how later versions were produced. (For example, Revelation 10:6 has a phrase which in the Vulgate is something like “there will be no more time” rather than “there will be no more delay”.) So, the first words of praise in 1 Timothy 1:17 are more like “Now to the King of the ages.”

     It has been pointed out before that when the Bible begins it never tries to explain who God is, it assumes the existence of God. There is no great effort put in to describe God as “eternal” in the sense philosophy attaches to that word. It seems obvious that God is beyond the scope of the universe God created, and we accept that God is beyond our understanding. Romans 16:26 is a text with a similar sort of feel.

     The next term used to describe God is given in the NASB as “immortal.” In 1 Corinthians 15:53 Paul uses two images to describe how our frail bodies will change with resurrection. In the NASB it says we need to “put on the imperishable” and “put on immortality”. Another way to express those ideas might be to put on “incorruption” (the inability to decay) and “immortality” (the inability to die). The term Paul used in 1 Timothy 1:17 was the one for incorruption or imperishability. Paul referred to God this way one other time, in Romans 1:23. When Paul returned to praising God in 1 Timothy 6:16 he used the other term from 1 Corinthians 15:53, and described God as “immortal,” so the letter does use both words. I guess the NASB put the wrong word in chapter one because they wanted to have a more commonly understood term.

     The third term applied to God is “invisible.” The Greek term itself simply takes the word for “visible” and puts “a” at the start to negate it. This kind of word construction happens a lot with terms we are familiar with, like “amoral,” or “agnostic” (“not knowing”). With this word the meaning is a bit ambiguous, maybe saying “invisible,” maybe saying “unseen.” This is another case where Paul returns to the topic in 1 Timothy 6:16. The word is used just a few other places in the New Testament: Romans 1:20, Colossians 1:15 and 16, and Hebrews 11:27.

     The fourth point Paul makes is that God is the only God. This is classic Jewish theology, basic day-one stuff. Abraham understood this, Moses stated this clearly in Deuteronomy 6:4. The language Paul uses to describe it I could transliterate in English letters as “mono Theo” – “one God,” close to how monotheism gets its name. For similar language elsewhere in the New Testament you could look at John 5:44, 17:3; Romans 16:27; Jude 4. Of course, other passages of scripture establish that God is the only God, just with different words.

     By the way, if you are using a translation that has the phrase “only wise God” and wondered about that, I checked on it in my book that tries to track all the differences in the Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. The committee that produced the book figured that difference pretty certainly got into the text for the King James Version (and thus all the translations that follow from it) by way of a copyist who was remembering the phrasing in Romans 16:27. There are manuscripts from too many lines of transmission without the extra word to think that it was originally in 1 Timothy 1:17. But it is still obviously a legitimate way that Paul wrote about God so there is nothing wrong with the phrase.

     The fact that Paul called for “honor” to be given to God brings up John 5:23, where we are told that those who do not honor the son do not honor the Father who sent him. It also brings up John 8:49, where Jesus says that he honors his Father.

     That God receives “glory” brings up Romans 16:27, where Paul calls for God to receive glory – and that glory was to come to God through Jesus Christ. Also Philippians 2:11, “that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

     The phrase given as “forever and ever” is more like “to the ages of the ages” – as there was no word for eternity to use so this is casting the intention far into the future.

     “Amen” – “truly,” or “so be it.” Please be careful what you say Amen to, because it is supposed to mean you are agreeing, and that is supposed to matter.

     I suspect that Paul thought his audience would be familiar with a lot of scripture, so it may be necessary to follow up on some of the references I listed to get all the meanings he intended them to see. Particularly it may be necessary to read part of chapter six before everything ties together, as I suspect Paul intentionally linked these two parts to each other.

     The single verse we have examined is a prayer, seeking to exalt God. I can’t be sure whether breaking it down this way has caused you to gain insights, but I figure it was worth a try once. Now please put it back together again and take the time to pray Paul’s prayer. Give it time and heart. It’s short, you can say it more than once if you choose. You don’t have to use the words your Bible version offered, you have enough words to choose from now to put it in the terms that make sense to you. And if it strikes a chord with you, maybe you will even choose to memorize it. Amen.

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think Paul put a prayer into the middle of his letter to Timothy?
  2. Why do you think Paul emphasized, in his prayer, that God was the King?
  3. How often do you pray to God with just praise? How often with prayers that are not your own words? Have you had experiences of prayer in the past that you look back on with great joy, but that you just haven’t taken the opportunity / effort / whatever to put back into your life recently?

Daniel Smead

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