Your Daily Slice

TISHRI 4

By Hearing

“Therefore, faith is by the HEARING of the ear, and the hearing of the ear by the word of Eloah.”  (Rom 10:17 HRVS, emphasis mine)

“Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!” (Deu 6:4 ISR)

The Sh’ma is considered the most important prayer to everyone of Jewish descent, having received its name from the first word of Deu 6:4: Sh’ma, which loosely translated, means “hear”.  I understand that the Sh’ma is recited twice daily in its entirety, and is the first prayer that a young Jewish child learns.

But Sh’ma means more than “hear”; it means to hear, believe, and then to do.  Simply ‘hearing’ the Word of Elohim, which includes the Torah, is not enough.  Included is the sense of careful, attentive listening, with the desire for obedient action.  We must be faithful doers of the Word that we hear; the Apostle Paul knew this well when he wrote the verse to the Romans quoted above, as did James, the brother to our Master Yeshua, as cited here from the book by his name:

“Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.”  (Jam 1:23-25 ISR)

As parents, we are always pleased when our children are willingly obedient, not just ‘hearing’, but doing, and without our having to ride rough-shod over them.  So it is with our Abba Father too.  It is a delight to Him when we choose to live according to His Word and instructions, taught and led by His Ruach, His Spirit.  It is this ‘hearing’, followed by the corresponding obedient action, which increases our faith – step by step, line upon line.  Faith is always active, for without action, it will become stagnant, wither away, and die.  And yet, it must all begin with our hearing …

“For not the hearers of the Torah are righteous in the sight of Elohim, but the DOERS of the law shall be declared right.”  (Rom 2:13 ISR, emphasis mine)

“…whoever DOES AND TEACHES them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.” (Mat 5:19 ISR, emphasis mine)

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