loving the lord our god

the ten commandments 2007 sep 19
the torah is the ten commandments 2007 oct 02
the first and greatest commandment 2007 oct 11

This is the first and greatest commandment:

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Deu 5:6-7

Moses’ explanation of this commandment begins in Deuteronomy 6:4 and continues through chapter 11. In these chapters, Moses is teaching us HOW to have no other gods before YHVH, and the first thing he says is:

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is 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.” Deu 6:4-5

How can someone have no other gods before God unless they love Him with all they are?

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deu 6:6-9

The end of verse 9 is the end of one of the parshas, or paragraphs, which the Holy Spirit gave to Moses. The parsha begins with the beginning of verse 4. This means from verse 4 through verse 9, the Holy Spirit is teaching a single point. The topic of the parsha is loving the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, and might. The rest of the parsha tells us HOW to do that: keep His words on your heart, talk of them at all times and in all places, bind them on your hand and on your forehead, write them at the entrances of your houses and cities. Remind yourself of the LORD’s words at all times! The word of God is living and active, and being diligent to feed our hearts and minds on it keeps our hearts knit in love to the Lord.