“…and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.“-Deuteronomy 6:5
Today, let’s take a look at the the final part of the SHEMA where we’re exhorted to love the Lord our God with all of our “resources“.
Other translations usually say “with all of your might“.
The original Hebrew is BE-KOHL ME-ODEKHA and yes it does mean “all of your might” or “all of your resources“.
The idea is that we’re supposed to put forth our exceedingly best efforts and give it our all when it comes to loving God.
Again, this totally does away with the ridiculous notion that love is just a “feeling” or an “emotion“.
Never forget that Biblically speaking “love” is a vigorous action verb.
I’ve been told that the Hebrew BE-KOHL ME-ODEKHA is actually quite a rare phrase but according to the ancient Jewish sages it has the same meaning as BI-MEOD MEOD or “very, very much“.
Here’s something interesting you may have never heard of before.
Did you know that Deuteronomy is actually the first book in the Torah to actually speak of loving God?
That’s right folks.
All the other books of the Torah speak of God in terms of awe and reverence but Deuteronomy is the only book that establishes the context in which we are to obey God’s commands…and that context is that obedience is to stem from loving Him.
However, let’s get something straight here.
Moses is not telling us to no longer fear God or no longer hold Him in awe or revere Him.
We’re not supposed to replace the FEAR of God with the LOVE of God.
The reverence of God is supposed to be within the CONTEXT of loving Him.
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