God as Ultimate Concern/神为终极关切

申命记第6章：4-5节 Sermon on Deuteronomy 6:4-5

From this week onwards, we shall embark on a new sermon series on the laws of Deuteronomy. In the past, we often speak about how good and precious the laws of God are. Psalms like Psalm 119 praise the laws, Jesus in the Gospels (especially in Matthew) and the Apostles in their letters emphasize their importance. But we have often lacked the opportunity to examine carefully the details to demonstrate why. In what ways are the laws of God so good? Despite our relative unfamiliarity with Judaism, and a cultural difference that spans a few thousand years, this sermon series is our bold attempt to accomplish this. In doing so, we hope to learn what makes these laws so good and precious. And from that understanding, we can perhaps apply some of these important godly principles in our modern Christian living.

We begin this sermon series with a call to the Israelites. This call, called the Shema, is a call out from Moses to the Israelites and their descendants to listen and to obey God’s words to them.
Deuteronomy 6: 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
4 “以色列啊，你要听！耶和华我们神是独一的主。 5 你要尽心、尽性、尽力爱耶和华你的神。
The message of the Shema is quite simple: Let God, and God alone, be your ultimate concern (终极关切).

What do I mean by “Ultimate Concern”, a term I borrowed from the theologian Paul Tillich? And if I may also ask, what is your ultimate concern? As humans, many things are of concern to us. At a basic level, there are matters of existence such as food and shelter. Until the haze came along, I think many of us didn’t realize that we could be rather concerned about air quality. But beyond existence alone, we are also concerned about things that give us meaning for living, such as family and friends. But some may argue that nation comes before family 国家，国家，有国才有家, and so they may place a bigger concern on nationalism. Some go bigger scale and fight for world peace or against climate change. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who will scoff at these lofty ideals and concern themselves with the tangible immediate experience. They are most concerned about themselves. How am I doing? How do I make myself happy? This may be true for many in the postmodern world: the concern for personal happiness or fulfillment in terms of success. And whichever concerns one may have, when one of these concerns rises to the level of demanding total surrender but also promising ultimate fulfillment; that becomes your ultimate concern. This is why some can die for their country, or some that can sacrifice everything for their work. When we dig deep within us, we all have an ultimate concern. What is yours? Think about it. What is your ultimate concern?

The Shema is simply a call for God, and God alone, to be your ultimate concern. The direct translation for verse 4 is actually, “Hear Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH one”. This verse can be interpreted in many ways. Some may think it is describing the nature of God. It could mean there is only one true God or God’s nature is unified as one. But I prefer the translation where the word “one” refers to the singularity of our allegiance, how YHWH is our one and only God. It doesn’t matter if there are other gods or what benefits they can give. For Israel, YHWH is their one and only God. But just having YHWH as your God doesn’t make him your ultimate concern. YHWH can be your God, but you have other bigger concerns in your life. Verse 5 specifies the type of relationship that is championed by the call. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. It is crucial at this point to explain a few key words since they can be misunderstood in the modern usage. The most easily confused word is ‘love’. This love does not refer to feelings of affection or fondness. Biblical scholars have noted the many similarities and parallels between deuteronomic teaching and the form and characteristics of international treaties, and the demand for love is to be found in both of them. Therefore, the essence of this love is not a feeling, but rather an act of the will towards commitment. In short, it is about loyalty. In this context, Israel must remain fully faithful and loyal to God, in the same manner as how we honor alliances and pledges of allegiances between nations. “All your heart and all your soul” is an Hebraic idiom much like the Chinese, referring to the mindset and the exercise of the will. To love God is to know him in your heart and to commit into obeying him. In ancient international treaties, “all your might” often means the willingness to send your armies to fight for one another, or the obligation of a vassal state to send the necessary timely tribute. Thus, when the idiom “all your heart and all your soul” is combined with “all your might” in the Shema, it implies the willingness to commit your life and your possessions to YHWH.

This is why I say the Shema is a call for God to be your ultimate concern. It demands nothing less than total commitment and surrender. And this is also why it can promise fulfillment when it is obeyed and judgment when the commitment is broken. Most of us who are influenced by the Chinese folk religion might not think of God in this way. God only matters in your life when you have spiritual issues, or when you have a special request, or when it is during the time set-aside for religious matters. Such an attitude does not put God as the ultimate concern, and it is the opposite of the proclamation of the Shema. If this is your attitude towards YHWH, I have 2 grave warnings for you. The first warning is that if God is not your ultimate concern, then something else is. That ultimate concern can easily become your temptation for idolatry. As it is said in 2 Peter 2: 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

The second warning is that God has revealed himself to be fully immersed in every aspect of our life. In Deuteronomy, the aspects of law range from personal issues like human relationship to macro level issues like national leadership and community concerns. If God is not your ultimate concern, then you are dealing with these aspects of your life in your own way and not in God’s will. This leads towards 2 consequences. One, you cannot gain the fulfillment that is promised by God since you have chosen to live in your own way. Two, you may be unknowingly sinning because you are led by your own desires and judgment. With other deities, there is always a choice of how much you wish to leverage on their so-called powers. But with YHWH it is actually all or nothing. If I may use a common analogy, you are either walking with God or you are walking away from him. The Shema is a call to commit fully into walking with God always, whether it is how you spend your time, how you make your decisions, or how you live your life. As the ultimate concern, his will should override all other concerns.

I do realize at this juncture that I have worded my interpretation very strongly and absolutely. It is therefore crucial that I address a critical issue about the danger of making such an absolute commitment to God. One may justifiably question me, “Isn’t it such religious faith that leads to terrorism and cults? When you make God your ultimate concern, does it mean blind following and obedience?” I agree this is a legitimate query, and hence I would caution heavily against a blind absolute commitment to God. In the case of YHWH, the commitment has to be absolute, but it isn’t blind because YHWH reveals himself and his will so that we may commit with understanding. So let me be clear, the Shema is not a call towards blind obedience. Similarly, I’m not asking you to make God your ultimate concern blindly. Our commitment is based on our knowledge of God, and we commit ourselves willingly. This is exactly the same as in the days of the Israelites. During Moses’ time, at the historical setting of Deuteronomy, Moses calls for the commitment of Israel based on their common experience of God, from Exodus through the desert. Similarly, future generations commit themselves knowing who God is.

This is demonstrated in Deuteronomy 6: 20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

It is fine for the Israelites and their future generations to question such an absolute level of commitment to God. They have to judge for themselves based on their knowledge of God, which is based on his own revelation in these verses and more. So, what do these verses reveal about God? What is the purpose of this act of salvation from Exodus to the Promised Land? In my understanding, this God that I know is the God of life. The Israelites were alive as slaves in Egypt. But just because you are living doesn’t mean that you are living a life. The salvation of God set them free from slavery, but only to live a real life in the Promised Land. This entails living a life in accordance to God’s decrees and with his blessing. Only a life in this manner would ensure prosperity and vitality for all. This is the God of life that they know. And the laws that were given are to give them life. Over the next four months, we will examine these laws. We hope to demonstrate the exuberance of life that would be evident from these laws. For the Israelites, they experienced the freedom from slavery. They experienced the spiritual leadership of Moses and Aaron. But the true experience of life comes only when they commit fully to God as their ultimate concern. Only when they embrace God’s will as their own, can they live a life worth living.

The world promises many things. Do this to change your life. This ten steps program will transform you. Eat this. Drink that. Read this. Try that. Unfortunately, if you have read Ecclesiastes, you will see that many promises turn out to be vanities. Ecclesiastes 1: 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. So be careful about what should be your ultimate concern. At the end of the day, you have to face the reality. Is this really living a life? Does my life give life to others? I am at the point where I’m approaching middle age. I’ve experienced enough to know what things are true and untrue, and thankfully I am not set in my ways so much that I cannot discard the untruth and pursue what is true. I have experienced that forgiveness and openness gives life. Giving time to caring for people and going the extra mile gives life. I have also experienced that the joy that comes from possessions and ambitions can be very transient. When I commit to an ultimate concern, these are some of the principles I hold dear. I commit to the God who is the God of life.

John 14: 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

These verses might be familiar to you if you have read the Bible and attended church long enough. I wonder if they sound different to you now that you understand the Shema. When we say believe in Jesus, and when we evangelize to others to believe in Jesus, it is not about believing in a set of facts about Jesus or to believe in the doctrines of Christianity. When we talk about believing in Jesus, we are talking about committing ourselves to him. We commit to his way, we commit to his truth and we commit to his life. If we live a life that is the life of Jesus, it will be eternal life-giving. This is what it means when I say I believe in Jesus. What about you?

In closing, I would like to share about our ministry in Jubilee Church. The laws of Deuteronomy were meant for the kingdom and the people of Israel. We can appreciate its principles but we cannot incorporate them literally as they were not meant for us. However, the Jubilee community is a part of the new kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus the king and actualized by the Holy Spirit. Our work here is simply to call out the new Shema, getting everybody in Jubilee to commit fully and wholeheartedly to Jesus. To do this, you have to know Jesus. You have to be enlightened to what Jesus stands for. But most of all, you have to translate that commitment into your life. Let Jesus be your ultimate concern. And let that concern transform this Jubilee Community.

You might be thinking, “I guess I’m fine. I’m already fully committed.” Let me be frank. I cannot search the heart of each individual. But as a community that is supposed to be living out the will of God, expressing with words of God through our actions, we are not there yet. We are not there yet. But we want to be there. I can see quite a few willing hearts. Today, we began with the Shema. The first step is to commit. Today, we learn that it is nothing less than absolute full commitment. This kind of commitment means no other concerns can compete or compare. It means giving everything including your life. It means staying loyal till the end. Today, we learn to love is to commit. But subsequently we need to learn even more from the laws, and reflect on them to change our habits. In this Deuteronomy series, we will examine different aspects of our life using the laws of God. How do we treat our relationships? How do you see our time and our possessions? Things like that. Then, let’s transform ourselves and transform this community. And when the way, the truth and the life of Jesus is the way, the truth and the life of Jubilee, we will all experience the life that is truly worth living.