Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad!
"Here Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!"
As we wrestled with Deuteronomy 6 last week I was stuck by the statement "the Lord is One!"
As I began to unpack this concept several things stuck me. Here are a few "Thoughts To Ponder":
1. God is unlike anything or anyone else.
2. He is separate and unique from all the "gods" Israel had seen and known.
3. If there is only "One" then all other "gods" are not... well... God.
4. If He is the only God, the One, then it is to our benefit to know Him.
I've been reading through the Odyssey recently and I find myself, like most, feeling sad for Odysseus as he is tormented at the whims of a host of gods and goddesses in his quest for home. Some are angry with him, some feel sorry for him, and many are indifferent towards his plight. In short Odysseus is in a constant state of disarray as he tries his best to discern which deity to appease for each situation he finds himself in.
As I have explored the creation accounts in other cultures and their interactions with the "deities" I am consistently amazed at how unusual the God of the Bible is. He doesn't use death and destruction to create, He simply speaks it into existence, He is concerned for His creation, He is willing to suffer for them, He doesn't simply demand obedience He desires relationship and love, He is, according to Deuteronomy 6:24, looking out "for our good always", He is "One" of a kind.
The more revelations I discover as we make our way through the Old Testament the more surprised I am at my own misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the good and gracious God I find represented throughout the Scriptures.
Sooo...May you come to comprehend that our God stands alone in all of human history and that His intent is always for your good. May your life be centered in Christ when you sit in your house, when you move on the road, when lie down at night and when you rise up in the day and may you hear and know that the Lord our God, the Lord is One. (Deut. 6:4-7)
