Listen Israel: Yahweh is the Only One
1 These are the command ments, the norms and the laws that Yahweh, your God, has commanded me to teach you so that you may observe them in the land which is going to be yours.
2 Fear Yahweh, observe his commandments all the days of your life and his norms that I teach you today. So also for your children and your children’s children that they may live long.
3 Listen, then, Israel, observe these commandments and put them into practice. If you do this, you will be well and you will multiply in this land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Listen, Israel: Yahweh, our God, is One Yahweh.
5 And you shall love Yahweh, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 Engrave on your heart the commandments that I pass on to you today.
7 Repeat them over and over to your children, speak of them when you are at home and when you travel, when you lie down and when you rise.
8 Brand them on your hand as a sign, and keep them always before your eyes.
9 Engrave them on your doorposts and on your city gates.
10 Do not forget Yahweh when he has led you into the land which he promised to your fathers, to Abra ham, Isaac and Jacob; for he will give you great and prosperous cities which you did not build,
11 houses filled with everything good which you did not provide, wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant. So when you have eaten and have been satisfied,
12 do not forget Yahweh who brought you out from Egypt where you were enslaved.
13 Fear Yahweh, your God, serve him and call on his Name when you have to swear an oath.
14 Do not go after other gods; do not serve any of the gods of the nations around you,
15 because your God, who is in your midst, is a jealous God. And when he burns in anger, you shall dis appear from the face of the earth.
16 You shall not put Yahweh, your God, to the test, as you did in Massah.
17 Observe the precepts, the commandments and the norms that Yahweh has commanded you.
18 You shall do what is right and good in the eyes of Yahweh that you may be happy and may come to possess the splendid land which he swore to your fathers
19 he would give you after having destroyed all your enemies before you.
20 And when your child asks you one day: What are these precepts, these commandments and these norms which Yahweh has commanded us?
21 You shall answer your child: We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but Yahweh led us out of Egypt with prodigious deeds.
22 And we have seen the great and wonderful things, the awesome marvels he has done against Pharaoh and all his people.
23 And he took us out from there to lead us into the land which he promised to our fathers.
24 Yahweh has commanded us to put into practice all these precepts and to fear him, our God. Because of this, we are happy and alive today,
25 and we shall be perfect in his eyes if we observe and practice these commandments as he has told us to do.
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Comments Deuteronomy, Chapter 6
• 6.1 Listen Israel: Yahweh, our God, is One Yahweh. These verses are the creed of the Jews: which they recite every day. Jesus alludes to this text when they question him about the most important command. See Mark 12:28 and its commentary.
You shall love Yahweh, your God, with all your heart. The love of God cannot be totally unselfish. Israel knew that by responding to the love of God who chose them, they were on the right path and God would reward them with peace and material prosperity.
Engrave on your heart the commandments: keep them present in your mind to help you organize your thinking and to be able to judge everything according to these standards.
Repeat them over and over to your children: knowing that you are responsible for their faith.
Brand them on your hand or, let them guide your actions.
Keep them always before your eyes so that you will not remember them when it is too late, when all you can do is moan over your mistakes.
Engrave them on your doorposts and on your city gates, or let them guide your economic and social life.
Yahweh is a jealous God—see Exodus 20:5. This expression shocks many people. But could there be true love without a certain kind of jealousy, not that which is always afraid of the infidelity of the loved one? This expression “jealous God” reveals in a poor and primitive language, an essential trait of our God who is so mysterious. He is not only Love, as many like to say, he is also a lover. It is not enough to speak of God who loves all of us in a vision of universal goodness: he chooses those whom he loves and each becomes all for him.
This expression already tells us what will cause the wonderment of Paul when he will speak of predestination, that is, the love of God who chose us even before the creation of the world (Rom 8:31-39; Eph 1:1). To speak of his jealousy is to affirm that he cannot renounce the reciprocal love and fidelity that he expects from his loved ones. The history of Israel will man i fest this jealousy of God through the terrible trials he sends to his people: even the most bit ter trials we are to endure in this life are noth ing in comparison with what he is creating in us.
So when you have eaten and have been satisfied, do not forget Yahweh. All of modern civilization seems to have forgotten this. Peo ple feel in command of science, technology and the world. More serious still: many are satisfied with enjoying the universe while losing themselves.
• 20. The Israelites celebrated the Passover every year. Every family observed the rites of that feast in a religious banquet. When they were gathered around the table one of the children would ask the father: “Father, what are we about to do?” Then, the father would answer: “Our ancestors were in Egypt as the Pha raoh’s slaves…” We find this creed, the proclamation of the faith of Israel in the lines re cited. It is not enough for the Israelites to “be lieve that there is a God,” they have to re call God’s favors in the past in order to thank him.
So, too, Christians always look to the past to recall God’s favors toward them and toward all humankind. The heart of prayer in the church is the Mass wherein we thank God for the salvation of the world through the death and resurrection of Christ.
The material promises made to Israel are an image of God’s promises to the Church which no longer hopes for crops and sheep, but in stead for more believers and for their growth in Christ.