LOYALTY TO GOD

� 2000 William R. Cunningham
August 6, 2000

We sometimes forget what God really wants from us in this world of "what’s in it for me" even in the Christian community. Christians are so focused on prosperity and the corresponding teachings of acquiring things that the life of Christ is often neglected. What does God want from us? What does God expect us to do in our lives? Each individual can only give the specific answers to these questions. However, there are many things that God expects of all of us, which are common to all Christians and ultimately to all people.

In this lesson we are going to look at God’s will for our loyalty. God did not call us to be rich, though some will be for specific purposes (Joseph for example). God did not call us merely to have great possessions—some will not by nature of their calling (some missionaries for example). However, we are all called to loyalty to God as we will see in our examination of Deuteronomy 6:1-16.

Here is an introduction to the commandments that God will give the people of Israel to observe concerning their inhabitation of the Promised Land. Commands, statutes, and judgments refer to God’s commandments, rules, and laws that he will give them. These commands are being taught to the people by Moses as God commanded him to do.

The people should fear (respect, revere) the LORD God and do all that he tells them to do from now to all succeeding generations. Obeying the LORD would result in long life. Notice a call to hear. This has the connotation of paying attention to observe to do what is heard.

The results of obedience to God is given as:

1. Long life

2. Wellness

3. Increase in strength (as a nation)

4. Enjoyment of His blessings

The term "milk and honey" was a stock Middle Eastern motif (theme). In this particular instance, it referred to a good, fertile, and prosperous land and therefore should not be interpreted literally. In general we can say that obedience to God brings about blessings from God and that we could enjoy those blessings. See Ecclesiastes 2:24 and 3:13.

These verses are a part of the Shema (Hear) of Judaism. The word Shema is actually a transliteration of the Hebrew imperative that means "Hear." The Shema is the core of the Jewish "faith" or law. It was like a confession of faith for the Hebrew people. Jesus stated the Shema when He was asked what the greatest commandment was. Consider what Jesus said.

Mark 12:28 through Mark 12:30 (KJV) And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

The Shema declares that God is the only true God and that his people should choose to love Him with all of their being (with everything within).

The Shema is very important and very serious to the Jewish people. There is a specific procedure and method used to recite the Shema during morning and evening prayers. The Shema itself is just as important to the Christian because it heightens our sensitivity and awareness to the fact that there is one God and that we should love Him with all our being. With all of the teaching about prosperity we tend to forget who God is and to Worship him for whom He is. Instead we have degraded our praise and worship to merely thanking God for things. We cannot overlook the love that God has for us and to thank him for that.

The Hebrew people were delivered from the slavery (bondage) of Egypt about the time of Deuteronomy. We have been delivered from the bondage of sin through the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. We must remember what God has done for us.

Not only where the people to obey God. They were also instructed to teach their children to do the same thing. As a matter of fact, speaking of God’s commands (Ways) was supposed to be a normal part of everyday life. They were to talk about the LORD while at home, walking along the road, lying down, and when they rose up. This was to say that the law of the LORD was to constantly be a part of everyday life and it was to regularly be talked about anywhere.

Verse eight can be interpreted in at least a couple of ways. The first way is that God wanted His law to be so close that it would affect their hands (what they did) and their heads (thinking). In this case the command was not literally to place a physical sign on their hands and heads. The second way that this verse can be interpreted is literally. As a matter of fact the Hebrew people later interpreted this verse literally by placing the Shema on their hands and foreheads by the use of phylacteries (See Matthew 23:5). Frontlets where objects containing Scripture passages worn on the forehand and between the eyes, primarily at prayer times. By New Testament times, the frontlets were known as phylacteries. Phylacteries were bound with thongs to the forehead, though some phylacteries were worn on the upper arm so that when a person crossed his arms the Scriptures contained in the phylactery would be close to the heart. Jesus condemned individuals who called attention to themselves by wearing larger than usual phylacteries (Matthew 23:5).

Picture showing the wearing of phylacteries
(From The New Manners & Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower, Moody Press, pg 371)

This verse reveals a profound principle that is valid even today in Christianity. We should not forget the LORD when we enjoy the blessings from Him. It is easy to forget the source of our prosperity—whatever that prosperity may be (See Psalms 1:1-3). The Hebrew people were to remember the LORD once they were in the Promised Land enjoying the things that they did not have to labor for. They were warned not to forget the LORD that brought them out of Egypt—out of bondage—and into a prosperous land. The same applies for us. I have a saying, "don’t let the blessings get in the way of the blesser."

Jesus talks extensively about the idea of having a heart for treasures instead of for God. See Matthew 6:19-34. Again, our loyalty should be towards God and not the things that God gives us or the things that we accumulate.

Verse thirteen is very interesting because of the word swear. This verse declares that the Hebrew people should fear the LORD, which actually means to respect or revere the LORD. It is not a reference to be afraid of the LORD. They were to serve Him and to swear by His name. Let’s look at these more carefully.

How do we serve the LORD? We tend to picture serving someone as doing something for him or her. For example, a waiter serves you by bringing your food and drinks. How does this apply to God? The concept of service is actually to be bound to or committed to (involuntary or voluntary slavery) someone or something. We typically think of slavery or bondage in a negative context, however the term is not necessarily negative. See James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, Jude 1:1, Revelations 1:1, and Romans 1:1. The word serve can also refer to the act of worship. To serve God then is to be committed to Him and to worship (honor, respect, reverence) him alone.

You can see here that servitude can apply to anything. If your heart is towards money then you will serve money. You will DO anything for money. The bulk of what you do is to acquire more money or to protect what you have already accumulated. However, God wants us to server him. He should be the center of attraction in our lives—not money (See Matthew 6:24). What or whom do you server?

What does it mean to swear by the LORD’s name? This actually is a statement of loyalty. Swearing was an appeal to a higher entity (a god) to validate the promise that was being made. A negative statement that served as a form of punishment if the person did not keep the promise in most cases accompanied the swearing or oath. People made their oaths by many things, especially their idol gods. Typically an oath would be made using a particular deity (idol god) in an attempt to validate the promise or to bring credibility to the people making the promise.

What the LORD told the Hebrew people is that they should perform their oaths only by Him. This eliminated the seriousness or validity of other idol gods. God wanted their complete commitment as he still does today! They were to look only to God.

God told the Hebrew people that they should not go after (worship or honor) the other gods of the nations around them. God is a jealous God. The word jealous may seem strange because of what many people associate jealousy with. For example, we may think of a jealous husband or wife that does some type of harm or damage to their unfaithful spouse. The key word to understanding jealousy (even in the case of the example here) is unfaithfulness. A husband may do harm because of his jealousy of his wife. The word jealous simply means to demand loyalty, to be intolerant to rivalry or unfaithfulness. God does not tolerate rivalry or unfaithfulness from his people. He is therefore jealous in the sense that he demands our loyalty by not being willing to compete with other gods.

Unfaithfulness to God would result in dire consequences. They would be destroyed from the face of the earth—those who were unfaithful. Of course we know that this very thing happened to the Hebrew people because of their constant unfaithfulness to God. An entire generation had to die out before they could enter the Promised Land, which was because of the unfaithfulness of that doomed generation (except for the family of Caleb and Joshua [Numbers 14:30]).

What does it mean to temp the LORD? The word "tempt" means to entice to sin. Our understanding of God makes it impossible for him to be tempted. Therefore, tempting God must mean something else. Well the word tempt is used another way in the Bible. It is used to mean to test. Therefore, this last verse simply says that we should not test the LORD. Consider what Jesus said.

In reference to Satan’s temptation of Jesus (trying to entice Jesus to sin), Jesus told him that the LORD God should not be tested.

The word Massah in Deuteronomy 6:16 literally means "tempted." See Exodus 17:1-7. The people of Israel tested the LORD when they lacked water. They began to chide against Moses and test the LORD by asking, "Is the LORD with us or not." This may seem trivial but it is very serious because it undermines the love and care that God had for these people. By asking such a question, they implied that they were not certain of God’s care for them so they tested him to see if he was true. It could also be said that they were mocking God, which implied that they didn’t have faith in Him in the first place. They should have assumed that God would have provided water because of his love and care for them. Their question should simply have been to ask God for water or to ask Him where to get the water. Instead they began to complain and rise up against Moses, thus tempting God.

The same applies to us today. We shouldn’t tempt or test the LORD. We should know his faithfulness and rest in that. Regardless of what happens we should always turn to God and rest in His mercy (love) for us. God wouldn’t do us wrong.

The lesson learned here is to be loyal to God and God alone. Loyalty to God means that we do what he requires of us (we keep his commandments) and love Him. Overall, we should live according to His Ways and depend on Him. Our faith and devotion should be towards God. If we do this then we will be blessed. This blessing should not be construed as an accumulation of wealth or possessions. It should be perceived as prospering in the purpose of God for our lives and the moving of God on our behalf in our lives.

Be loyal or faithful to God. Make God the center of your life and not possessions or things. God will always be with you while your possessions or riches may leave you. God is a caring and loving God but he does not tolerate unfaithfulness so be faithful to him by loving him and doing what he says. Amen.

Pursuing the Truth Ministries