The Great Command – Part One
Matthew 22: 34 – 40
Jesus has an opinion of you. You have an opinion of Him, everyone does.
His opinion of you is made clear in Scripture. He loves you.
What is your opinion of Him? In light of His opinion of you perhaps you need to re-evaluate your opinion of Him. Though He will always have a higher opinion of us than we have of Him, perhaps we need to elevate our opinion of Him.
He has always had His detractors. One such religious group of His day was called Pharisees. They constantly tried to trick and trap Him. He didn’t fit their mold. They wanted to dispute His teachings and refute His title.
One day these Pharisees watched with delight as Christ engaged in a verbal battle with their counterparts, the Sadducees. They were delighted when Christ “muzzled” the Sadducees.
Now this was their moment. If they could snare Christ in a verbal trap, not only would they be one up on Him; but this would be a big put-down to the Sadducees.
They asked Him what was “the great commandment?” The scribes who maintained and taught the law said there were 613 moral laws; 248 were positive and 365 negative. They chose this number because there were 613 letters in the words comprising the Ten Commandments. This system was known as “rabbinical lettrism.” Almost every law had its advocates. People had selected their favorites and measured others by what they understood their pet law to mean. Therefore, no matter which one Jesus would choose there would be many who would disagree. This was a question which they thought had no right answer.
Jesus reached back into the Old Testament records and pulled out Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19: 18 and weaving them together formed a binding cord of love. “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).
The passage from Deuteronomy is the first Scripture every Jewish child learns. It is still the text with which every Jewish worship service begins. It is known as the Shema, which means “to hear.” Orthodox Jews have a small box known as a “mezuzah” by their front door with a portion of the Shema in it. This was the best known of Scripture and yet the most ignored. It is a good one for us to code into our cranium.
Food for Thought
What do Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Director of Health and Human Services, and John the Baptist have in common?
They both have distinct dietary practices that up front seem strange.
John the Baptist ate locusts and honey. That sounds weird. Kennedy is proposing omitting food dyes and sugar content both of which are popular staples.
Actually the diet of John the Baptist was very healthy in that the locusts he ate were not insects, but a bean produced in the Bible land by a tree. The long bean pods are in the carob family. Carob is a nutrient-rich food that contains fiber, calcium, potassium, carbohydrates and other vitamins and minerals. It’s also low in fat and caffeine-free. In reading the Scripture that is not the image that comes to mind when it notes he ate locus.
Wild honey offers several potential health benefits including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, as well as aiding in wound healing and soothing sore throats. It’s a source of antioxidants, like polyphenols and flavonoids, which help combat oxidative stress and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
After all, the diet of John the Baptist was very healthy for his day.
Kennedy has recommended the exclusion of some foods and the inclusion of others leading to him being highly criticized. It is thought his actions will protect the public from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in America.
The commonality between the two is both were proponents of a good diet.
Like John’s diet, Kennedy’s foods at first seemed extreme. Yet, both were proponents of a healthy diet though what Kennedy is proposing is considered by some as “pseudoscience.” He says he wants to return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science.
God tells Moses to lead the Israelites to “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). A casual reader is not likely to know that means there were large herds of milk producing sheep and goats, and domesticated bees. Again these were products the nomadic Jews would have cherished. Incidentally, archaeologists have found beehives dating from the era.
In the Bible, honey symbolizes God’s love, blessings, wisdom, and abundance. It’s also a symbol of divine provision and health.
It is to be hoped some of the Kennedy dietary recommendations will result in similar blessings.
Be a good steward of your body and eat right qualitatively and quantitatively.
Thus Saith the Lord
This can be a transitional and transformational time in America. Needed are examples of a heavenly heart. This is no time to touch up the x-rays of a traumatized society, but it is a grand occasion to administer the attitudinal antidote of a wholesome, refreshing, natural Bible-based morality that will be therapeutic. The personification of winsome, spiritual vibrancy that is, can revive an arid land. Tradition may not embrace it, protocol may not applaud it, but if the present will approve it the future will praise it. Such an ardent, affable and adroit approach to the public and political life is awaiting. I would never suggest the senseless slaughter of sacred cows, but I do suggest a few of them be milked — just for heaven’s sake.
Joshua resolutely asserted: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” His commitment changed the course of a culture.
Daniel “purposed in his heart not to defile himself” and altered the attitude of an entire government.
With singleness of mind, the Apostle Paul got down to the basic nitty and fundamental gritty saying: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God, in Christ Jesus.”
Therefore, whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord.
Misplaced priorities have proven to be the downfall of many great civilizations. The massive wall of China was built as an impenetrable defense. It proved to be a mud-dud when the invading forces were successful in bribing a gatekeeper. America needs gatekeepers who are above reproach.
Rome decayed and died long before Alaric’s Goths poured over her walls. The weakening of any country’s character is corrosive. May the Holy Spirit guide the new spirit of Washington.
The nation’s first President to reside in the White House, John Adams, on the second night in residency wrote words now inscribed over the mantle where heads of state often dine: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but wise men ever rule under this roof.” Pray that the present resident will be open to the guidance of the Lord.
Our generation needs persons with hearts like unto that of James Monroe as described by Thomas Jefferson: “Monroe was so honest,” said he, “that if it were turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.” Resolve to be one.
Feed heartily on the wisdom of the Word of God. Andrew Jackson spoke of its place in the superstructure of our society when he said, “That Book, Sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests.”
Daniel Webster similarly commented, “If we abide by the truths taught in the Bible, we will go on prospering, but if we do not, catastrophe may suddenly overwhelm us.” May we personally learn and respond positively.
All the Beautiful People
Have you ever felt unworthy? The next time you feel God can’t use you, consider these valueless Bible characters who were indeed unworthy, yet used.
Noah had trouble with alcohol.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was an outcast.
Moses was a murderer.
Gideon was afraid.
Samson was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah was too young,
David was lustful and a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah was overwhelmed by God’s holiness.
Jonah ran away from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist was a poor dresser.
Peter denied Jesus.
Martha was a chronic worrier.
The Samaritan woman was divorced several times.
Zaccheus was a political thief.
Paul was a religious bigot.
Timothy was sickly.
A little unnamed boy who had only five loaves and two fishes.
Lazarus, well, he was dead.
Now, how would you put your name on that list for the “Most Unworthy” trophy?
God wants to use you as you are. He respects who you are, including all your strengths and weaknesses. After all, like all on that list it wasn’t as though God looked at each individual and said, “My kingdom can’t come without such a special person as you.” No, it was as though He said, “My strength is made perfect through you.”
It is not what God wants you to do for Him that counts, but what you will let Him do through you.
GOD DOESN’T CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED.
God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).
The Fear of God
Americans live in a “No Fear Zone.” A prominent shoe line uses as its promotion line: “No Fear.”
A disregard for the law and fear of the consequence adds to lawlessness. Children show no fear of the consequence of misbehaving.
We have lost the meaning of the fear of God. We have taken Him off the throne and made Him our Good Buddy.
Isaiah (6:1-13) tells of his vision when he saw the Lord “high and lifted up” and heard the seraphim cry out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
In that setting can you imagine Isaiah walking up to God and saying, “Hey, good buddy, give me five!”
Isaiah said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips…”
Joshua exhorts us to: “…fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth…” (Joshua 24:14).
In Romans 3: 18 after giving a description of sinners a summary statement is made: ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The lack of a fear of God in America is the reason sin is rampant.
Solomon in his wisdom was inspired to write: “…by the fear of the Lord one departs from iniquity….” (Proverbs 16:6).
When people don’t have a sense of respectful awe of God, sin abounds. Immorality happens when people forget the fear of God.
This fear is not a fear of punishment or retribution. It is not fear that God will lay His hand on us. It is a fear God will take His hand off of us.
The Old Testament Hebrew word for fear, “yare” means “reverence,” whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect.
It means to stand in respectful awe of God.
Simply stated it means to submit yourself to God in respectful love.
There are several Greek words translated as “fear.” Various ones mean fright, to run away, or a coward. “Eulabeia,” the Greek word used in this regard, means “to reverence and show respect for.”
The more reverence and respect we have for God the less likely we are to be frightened or run away like cowards from the difficulties and evil we encounter.
I feared my dad. He was a big strong man, a man of justice. I did not fear him in the sense I was apprehensive he would punish me. I had awe, respect, and love for him that prompted me to want to please him. I feared disappointing him, letting him down, not living up to his expectations of me.
I knew that he loved me and I was grateful. I knew something of what he had done for me and I was thankful. I had awe for who and what he was and I wanted to please him.
That is how we are to respond to our Heavenly Father.
Solomon in his wisdom was inspired to write: “…by the fear of the Lord one departs from iniquity….” (Proverbs 16:6).