The Jewish Focus on the Greatest Commandment

Deuteronomy 6 and the Christian Reading of the Greatest Commandment

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It might be your favorite snack. Two scoops of Rocky Road, please. Your style.

Those earrings look amazing on you.

Or the things you like to do with your best friend. You can be choosy when it comes to getting a COVID -19 vaccine, too. If you're thinking about getting an updated vaccine, there's more than one type available.

You can find out more at wedovaccines .com. This message was brought to you by Novavax.

So in yesterday's episode, I mentioned that there is a big difference between the way Jewish people and Christians would look at the commandment in Deuteronomy chapter 6. We looked yesterday at the Christians' way that the commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength.

However, that is not the way modern Jewish people would view this greatest commandment. They don't focus on that, but they focus more on the rest of it. In verses 7 to 9, You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up, you bind them as a sign on your hand, and on the front letter between your eyes.

And you shall write them on your doorposts of your houses and of your gates. And that is exactly what Jewish people do. They take this passage and they tie it onto their hands and onto their forehead in this little box called a phylactery.

They put it on their doorposts. They say this prayer when they rise up every morning and when they go to bed every night. And that's why the Shema, which is based off of the word here in English, out of verse 4, that is what is recited on a daily basis.

Now, what they're focusing on is the requirements to do these things, as if a legalistic system to say you must do this, ignoring realistically the real heart of the message, which is to love the Lord your God.

They believe they're loving the Lord their God through these actions. We're going to look at this more tomorrow.

Sponsor Message: Choosing Vaccines

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org. Everybody's choosy about something.

It might be your favorite snack. Two scoops of Rocky Road, please. Your style.

Those earrings look amazing on you.

Or the things you like to do with your best friend. You can be choosy when it comes to getting a COVID -19 vaccine, too. If you're thinking about getting an updated vaccine, there's more than one type available.

You can find out more at wedovaccines .com. This message was brought to you by Novavax.

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