Nail it to the Doorpost

Deuteronomy 6:1-9  The Message

^1-2 This is the commandment, the rules and regulations, that God, your God, commanded me to teach you to live out in the land you're about to cross into to possess. This is so that you'll live in deep reverence before God lifelong, observing all his rules and regulations that I'm commanding you, you and your children and your grandchildren, living good long lives.

 ³ Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you're told so that you'll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just as God promised, in a land abounding in milk and honey.

 ⁴ Attention, Israel!

   God, our God! God the one and only!

 ⁵ Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!

 ^6-9 Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. 

Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. 

Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. 

Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Tefillin.  Mezuzah.  

These are not words that we American protestant folks are too familiar with.  

Both come directly from this passage of Deuteronomy 6.  I got to see both in action during my trip to Israel, a few years back.  

"Tying tefillin" is a practice of devout, Orthodox Jews the world over, and I witnessed Jews with scripture tied to their wrists and heads as they prayed at the Wailing Wall.  

Every hotel room I stayed in had a mezuzah on the doorpost.  I even brought a Christian hybrid mezuzah home.  It has the icthus symbol for Jesus, and it's on the doorpost of my office at SOTH.  

By Jesus time, some had begun this practice, primarily as a display of outward holiness.  They took pride in who could outwardly observe the law with the most piety.  This is always a human temptation for the religious.  

Jesus did not remove the intent of Deuteronomy 6.  Instead, he reminded us that letting the word of God live in our hearts is always of critical importance.  

Yesterday, on facebook, our discussion led to a question:  How do you hug God?  

Maybe scripture is a primary way.  Maybe it's the main way that we can hear and communicate with the Almighty.  

Maybe...certainly...let's try it, together.  

Grace & Peace,

Adam