Introduction
What were God’s instructions to His children? Moses thought they were crystal clear. They were the basis of God’s covenant with Israel. Where do we find these covenant teachings today? In significant part, they have been abandoned.
Let’s take a look at what, according to Moses, the basic precepts of being “God’s people” involved[i], and why it was that Israel, as surrogates for all humanity, failed miserably at it.
Deuteronomy
The book of the Torah that, for a variety of reasons, most closely matches Moses’ admonitions to Israel on their impending move into the land (Canaan) promised by God to their fathers (starting with Abraham Gen 12:7), is the book of Deuteronomy[ii]. Deuteronomy has several lexical patterns not found in the other books of what is known as the “Torah” or “Pentateuch” – the first five books of the Bible.
Foremost among these lexical idioms is the pattern of admonitions to “listen”, “learn”, “keep” (or guard), and “do” the commands of the LORD – YHWH. Ross Nichols has counted 92 occurrences of elements of this pattern of two or more of the concepts paired together in Deuteronomy.
Let’s spend a minute looking at the underlying Hebrew terms used to express these ideas, and how their English translations occasionally corrupt them.
Listen
The operative Hebrew term here is 8085. שָׁמַע šāma` (or shema). Its key definition is:
A verb meaning to hear, to obey, to listen, to be heard of, to be regarded, to cause to hear, to proclaim, to sound aloud. The most famous use of this word is to introduce the Shema, “Hear, O, Israel,” followed by the content of what the Israelites are to understand about the Lord their God and how they are to respond to Him (Dt 6:4).
Our English Bibles frequently translate this term and its cognates as “obey”. That’s not what it means in Deuteronomy. The idea is more of (the antique English term) “harken”; or “take notice of”, or “pay particular attention to”.
The first occurrence we find of the term in Deuteronomy is Dt 4:1:
[4:1] “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Here the ESV does a respectable job of translation. The KJV says “harken”. The NRSV says “give heed”. The underlying admonition seems to be directed at keeping the statutes and rules of God continuously before our minds; under constant review; and serving as constant guides in formulating our next actions.
Learn
This is the translation of the Hebrew 3925. לָמַד lāmaḏ. Its definition is:
A verb meaning to learn, to study, to teach, to be taught, to be learned.
So this admonition is quite clear: “learn” what you have heard from God or been directed by Him to pay particular attention to. So, don’t just hear the command, but “learn” it; make it a part of how you live.
Keep (Guard)
The Hebrew term here is 8104. שָׁמַר šāmar (or shamar). Its meaning is:
A verb meaning to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one’s guard. The verb means to watch, to guard, to care for.
The Hebrew word means to maintain or to observe something for a purpose and is followed by another verb indicating the purpose or manner, as in the following examples: Israel was to observe the laws of the Lord, so as to do them (Dt 4:6;5:1);
The word’s meaning is perhaps best revealed by the instruction of Deuteronomy 4:2:
[2] You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
This is critical to understanding how, ultimately, Israel careened off the rails of God’s intention for them. Seems they added a lot to God’s instructions.
Do
This Hebrew term is primitive; simple: 6213. עָשָׂה `āśāh. Its definition is:
A verb meaning to do, to make, to accomplish, to complete. This frequently used Hebrew verb conveys the central notion of performing an activity with a distinct purpose, a moral obligation, or a goal in view (cf. Ge 11:6).
Literary Forms
Generally speaking, Moses uses two or more of these terms in a single admonition: “listen and learn”, “learn and do”, “learn and guard”, “guard and do”, etc. However, Dt 5:1 features all four in concert:
[5:1] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
Shema, lamad, shamar, asah. This is Moses’ pleading to Israel so that they won’t incur the curses that he has been used to communicate to them from YHWH.
An Abbreviated Inventory of Moses’ “Listen, Learn, Guard, Do” Admonitions in Deuteronomy
These are a representative sampling of verses in Deuteronomy that reprise Moses’ message involving these four key actions on the part of his Israelite listeners:
[4:1] “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
[4:5] See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. [6] Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
[4:10] how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ (Learn and teach are variants of the same root.)
[5:1] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
[5:27] Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’
[6:1] “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules —that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, [2] that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.
[7:11] You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
[12] “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.
[11:32] you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.
[12:32] “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
[13:18] if you obey (hearken to) the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.
[15:5] if only you will strictly obey (hearken to) the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.
[16:12] You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
[17:10] Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the LORD will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you.
[17:19] And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, [20] that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
[26:14] I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed (harkened to) the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.
[27:10] You shall therefore obey (harken to) the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”
[28:1] “And if you faithfully obey (harken to) the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
[28:13] And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey (harken to) the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
[28:45] “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey (harken to) the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.
[29:9] Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
[30:8] And you shall again obey (harken to) the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. [9] The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, [10] when you obey (harken to) the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. [11] “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. [12] It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
[31:12] Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear (harken to) and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, [13] and that their children, who have not known it, may hear (harken to) and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
It would be hard for even a casual reader to miss the drumbeat of Moses’ point. What Israel had to do to be successful in their new land was to listen to God’s commands for how to live, to learn them so that they became second nature to them in guiding them in their lives, to preserve/guard them by insisting that they not be added to or detracted from, and, of course, to carry them out – to do them. This was God’s prescription delivered through Moses in Moab for Israel’s blessing in the land.
What Was Israel to “Do”?
Perhaps Israel’s preeminent commands were the ten “words” given to Moses by God at Mt. Horeb (Dt. 5:7-21). But there was a small list of other commands that asked for Israel’s consideration, compassion, and support for the unprotected in their midst.
In Moses’ day, the unprotected were the widows who, lacking a husband in a patriarchal society, had no means of support. If they had a close male relative, they could petition him for support, as in the Naomi-Ruth story. But if not, they were dependent on the care of their neighbors – their society.
The next class of unprotected were those non-Israelites who were “sojourning”: living with Israel in their land – perhaps as traders, escaped slaves from neighboring nations, or simply gentile proselytes seeking Israel’s God. Being foreigners, these people had no political standing within the community. Nevertheless, they were not to be discriminated against or mistreated but instead welcomed and supported as members of the community.
And finally, orphans were unprotected. They had no parents to protect them nor close relatives to adopt and take them in. As a result, God commanded the people as a society to care for those who had no other support.
So Moses proclaimed God’s instruction concerning these unprotected (as well as the tribe indentured to service to God rather than providing for themselves – the Levites) repeatedly.
[10:18] He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. [19] Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
[14:29] And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
[16:11] And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. [12] You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. [13] “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. [14] You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.
[27:17] “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, [18] but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. [19] “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. [20] When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. [21] When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
There are many more such admonitions focusing on these unprotected people. But these should be sufficient to show God’s clear intention for them by his people – commands that they were to “listen (to), learn, guard, and do”.
And finally, Moses seems to have been laser-focused on the command to love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your everything”, an admonition repeated in various forms repeatedly throughout Deuteronomy and extending into later books in the Hebrew Bible (especially Jeremiah).
[6:4] “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
[4:29] But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
[10:12] “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
[11:13] “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
[13:3] you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
[26:16] “This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.
[30:2] and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,
[30:6] And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
[30:10] when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Obviously, the intensity of the effort and commitment displayed by the Israelites in carrying out these assignments was crucial to God. He wanted their sincere, heartfelt devotion, not some mechanical ritual following.
Moses’ Core Message
At this point, I think it is pretty clear what the message was that God gave Moses to proclaim to the Israelites. “Listen to what I tell you and learn it; don’t change it; and do it.” What he’s asking them to do is: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your everything.” And “sustain the unprotected among you – the widow, the orphan (fatherless), the sojourner, and the Levite.”
What could be more straightforward than that? It’s hard to mess that up, right?
So why is it that Israel ended up sacrificing untold thousands of animals and spending millions in today’s dollars to build temples at which to perform those sacrifices, and inventing hundreds of ritual practices that had to be carried out exclusively by priests who mysteriously self-identified who they were? And why wasn’t any of that part of Moses’ message at Moab? Strange.
Perhaps it was because man’s penchant for man-designed and controlled religious practice overwhelmed simple faith? But perhaps also because humanity is not naturally equipped to faithfully live by God’s commands: “Listen, learn, guard, do his commands”; “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and everything”, and care for the unprotected in your society? It is apparently beyond our natural abilities to do these things through our own resources and nature.
Israel was the prototype test case demonstrating the limits of this human nature. They not only failed (the majority, not all), but they had very little interest in ever succeeding. Not only didn’t they learn and guard and do God’s instructions, they just ignored them[iii]. Just what we all naturally tend to do.
God’s Solution
At various places in the Hebrew Bible God is identified as loving Israel and His creation and seeking their redemption to Himself. Now how are we to suppose that He could ever accomplish that desire?
The Bible tells us quite plainly. He sent His Messiah, the man Jesus, to teach us, to heal those around Him in need, and to be murdered on our behalf (as our atonement[iv]) and resurrected from the dead so that any who believed this and entrusted the living of their lives to Him would be redeemed by Him, to live with Him in His family.
Conclusion
Moses was given the essence of the faithful life that God desired from His people. He was even given the prophecy that God would change us Himself, overcoming what we are naturally (i.e. disobedient, headstrong, hard-hearted, etc. – Dt 30:6) to, instead, be transformed so that we are receptive to, humble, and desirous of faithfully following His desires for us.
Of course, God-fearers are welcome to continue to strive to adhere to these commands of God given through Moses on their own, out of their personal resources.
But the message of the Hebrew Bible, and Moses in particular, is that they will fail to meet God’s standards. Humans simply are not equipped to do it on their own. They need a Saviour.
[i] I am indebted to Ross K Nichols for his teaching entitled “The Fourever Faith: Listen, Learn, Guard, Do” posted on August 6, 2023.
[ii] I’ve written about Deuteronomy’s claims to Moses’ authorship here.
A Pilgrim's Search 