What is the She'ma?

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

This passage from Deuteronomy, called the She’ma, is very important. It states the most important commandment that we are given. Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22.37). This is almost identical to the She’ma.

The She’ma teaches us how to live. We are to constantly have God’s word in our heart. We even are supposed to have physical reminders, like attaching them to our bodies, so we do not forget them. These words, and the knowledge that God is the one true God, should not leave our thoughts, and should be with us throughout the day.

By beginning with the word hear, it reminds us that God is a speaking God. In Genesis, God spoke the world into existence. God can change us, and make us new (as God did with the world at the beginning of creation) if only we will hear and listen. This shows us the power of God, and also a characteristic of God.

This passage stated to the Israelites that the LORD was their only God. Many other nations around the Israelites were polytheistic, so this belief in only one God would have been strange to some of their neighbors. It may have even been strange to some of the Israelites. Even Rachel, Jacob’s wife, took the idols of her many gods from her father when they fled. The She’ma would help them remember who they served, and what their God was capable of, because even God’s name, the LORD, was a reminder of what God had done for them.

By remembering the She’ma, whether a Jew or Christian, it can teach us a lot. It shows a characteristic of God, and it reminds us to remember what God has taught us. We owe everything to God, all the love we have. It is the greatest commandment.

Why were purity regulations stricter for priests than for other Israelites?

There were stricter purity regulations for priests in the ANE than there were for other Israelites. This was because the priests were going to be going to a holier place than the other Israelites (the inside of the tabernacle). They needed to be cleaner, or more pure, in order to go closer to God. They found things impure if they were mixed, incomplete, or disorderly.
If I were to go to a king’s palace, I would most likely wear a dress, or at least very formal clothes; I would not wear my pajamas. This would be mixing two different cultures and times. It seems obvious that I would not do that. This is the same for the priests. They needed to be clean, and be appropriate, in order to be closer to God. Since God is the most holy, God deserves to have perfection near God. It wasn’t appropriate to come to God without being as pure as possible, and not just any Israelite could go into the tabernacle, because they were less pure than the priests.
God was separate from the Israelites, but yet still in their presence. God just deserved so much reverence that all the respect that the Israelites could show God, they did. By making sure that they were as pure as possible, and going through all the rituals of cleansing themselves, the Israelites were showing that they understood that God was the holiest and deserved honor. All the rituals were a constant reminder of God’s holiness. So since the priests were the ones that were going closest to God, then they had to make sure they were more pure than others that would not be as close to God.

Why does God choose to have a closer relationship with younger siblings?

Throughout Genesis, God has a close relationship with many of the younger siblings in the stories (e.g., Isaac, Jacob, Joseph). I believe that this shows components of God’s character. These men were all born under interesting circumstances. They were born to women who did not think that they could have many children. None of them actually had the birthright, but they all were chosen to be in the family line that led to Jesus.
I think that God chose these men because they were not the first pick in that society. They would have just had to rely on their older siblings, and they would not have been made great. This just shows that each individual, even though they may start out in a small setting, can become something great. This is really true of Joseph. He was the youngest, and he was despised by his brothers, but he became one of the head men in Egypt, and he helped save his family during the drought.
It also shows that God gives us gifts that may not seem to be helpful, but they can be used for good. I’m sure that Joseph’s dreams were not really respected, and he may have even found them annoying or confusing, but through interpreting those dreams, he became great, and he also predicted the drought, which in turn meant he saved a nation.
In the New Testament, Jesus says that “many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). I think that in some sense, God was demonstrating this before the birth of Jesus. If God would have chosen someone who was already a strong power, then that person may not have realized the grace God was offering. They could become proud and think it was their own doing that got them where they were.
By choosing people who were not the most well-liked, or strongest, God showed how God can use any person, no matter their abilities. If God gives us the strength, we can do it.

The way I read the Bible

After looking at the Bible reading chart, I think I have realized that I am a mixture of two different ways of reading. I partly use the literary-metaphorical method and partly the reader-response method. For example, if I would read Psalm 143:8, which says, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift my soul,” this would be how I would interpret it.

Using the literary-metaphorical method, I would look deeper into each word, and find the meaning behind that. The morning may not be referring to the exact start of each day, when the sun is coming up, but more of a new start, a time of new beginnings. Each time that I have had a hard time with something (like a dark night), when the rough time ends (i.e. the morning), God’s love will show through, and help me get through that hard time, and it will help me realize the extent of God’s love.

Using the reader-response method, I will look at the verse and see what it means to me in the situations I am dealing with now in my life. If I would look at this verse five years from now, it could have a different meaning depending on what trials (or happiness) I am going through. This verse is like a prayer to me. Since I have put my trust in God, then God’s love will be revealed to me. I trust God to lead me in this life, and I will always go to God with troubles that I have. This verse offers me a lot of hope, and it means a lot to me. One night this summer as I was going to bed, I repeated this verse over and over as my prayer. I woke up the next day to my mom telling me that my grandpa had a heart attack, and he passed away later that night. I remembered that I had prayed those words the night before, and I just knew that everything would be all right, that through whatever happened, God’s love would be revealed, and I could always lift up my soul to God, and God would be there to comfort me. Using this experience, the verse meant something in that moment. But if nothing had happened that next day, then I don’t think that this verse would have as much meaning to me. I may have skimmed over it the next time I read that passage without thinking about it too much.

By reading the Bible using these different methods, I think that it gives the verses more meaning, and I can apply the words to my life, rather than just reading something that seems foreign to me.

What is the Bible?

I have always known that there were different versions, or translations, of the sacred library, or as most people refer to it, the Bible. I’ve seen all kinds of these Bibles, from ones aimed toward youth, men or women, or ones with a more modern language so they would be easier to understand. Only within the past few years have I realized that there are different books that are in some Bibles, and not in others. This brings up the question, which “bible” is the correct version and contains God-breathed scripture? How am I to know whether or not the books omitted from my Bible are supposed to be included or not? I believe though that God is in control of everything, so then each book may be okay for each religion or denomination. I don’t think that this makes one Bible correct and another version not. It is all still controlled by God.

Another aspect that I find interesting is the different translations. There is meaning lost when something is translated over several languages, and even more so when translated into different forms to make it more modern. I like what St. Augustine said, “For what more liberal and more fruitful provision could God have made in regard to the Sacred Scriptures than that the same words might be understood in several senses, all of which are sanctioned by the concurring testimony of other passages equally divine.” Each translation has meaning. It may not be what the original author meant exactly, but then again, how do we know that the original author was correctly interpreting what God was telling him? I just know that the words of the scriptures offer hope and a sense of peace when I need it. If I would need to read it in a more modern script, or even if I could read it in Hebrew, I still think I’d get the same comfort from what I was reading. Even when I read a specific verse multiple times, I can interpret it differently each time. I believe the Bible is something God allowed us to have in order to teach us about God, and it will be helpful in all different situations. The basics of each Bible are the same, and the view of God in each are similar. As long as these principles do not vary, I believe that each Bible has its own purpose and validity.