You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and cleave to him. (Deuteronomy 13:4)
The Hebrew word behind the English word “obey” is the verb שמע (Sh.M.A, Strong's #8085). In reality, there is no Hebrew word that means “obey,” in the same sense as it does in English. While I do not believe it is necessary to learn Hebrew to be able to understand the Bible from an Hebraic perspective, it is important that we learn to read the Bible from an Hebraic perspective. In other words, our definition of Biblical words should not come from an English dictionary, but rather from a Hebrew dictionary.
When we hear the word “obey,” we assume the English definition “to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instruction of another.” While this definition may very well apply in this passage, it would not in the following passage where I will translate the Hebrew verb שמע as “obey.”
And YHWH obeyed your words… (Deuteronomy 1:34)
Just as there is no Hebrew word meaning “obey,” there also is no English word for שמע. While this Hebrew verb is often translated as “hear,” it means much more than just a hearing or listening, it more means to “hear and respond appropriately.” When the Bible says that Moses “heard” YHWH, it means that he heard him and then he acted upon what he heard. When the Bible says that YHWH heard the people, it means that he heard them and then he acted upon what he heard.
Obedience in Hebrew is: shama (שָׁמַע). It means to hear, to listen, to give attention, to understand, to submit to, and to obey. There is only one word in Hebrew for obedience, and it is this word – shama. This Hebrew word is also generally translated as “hear”.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
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. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In this Hebrew word there is a direct correlation between hearing and obeying. This is where we run into difficulty in finding a proper English word to fit the context of a verse. “Shama” is an excellent example of the difference between Hebrew, which stresses physical action, and Greek and Western culture that stresses mental activity. In terms of our relationship with God, the Hebrew translation shows the intent and meaning of “shama’s” use in Scripture.
Willingly Yoked To Him
To know God and His voice, we need to first have an intention to do what it is we hear Him say. We must have a willingness of spiritual intent, and practice to prepare the soil of our minds and hearts to directly experience this oneness as we hear and obey.
Isaiah 1:19
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
Willingness is yoking ourselves to the will and word of God. When we do this we will obey as we hear (shama). As a result, just as in the scripture above, we will eat the good of the land; the rich produce that comes from yoking ourselves to Him. The produce is the shama what we hear from God. Unless we have harnessed our willingness to yoke ourselves with Him and His instruction, we will not shama or hear the voice of God and obey, and subsequently, will not eat the good of the land.
To Obey Is To Hear
Listening, in our culture, is a passive mental activity, and hearing just means that our ears registered sound waves. But in Hebrew, the word shemadescribes hearing and also its outward effects of taking heed, being obedient, and doing what is asked.
Exodus 23:22
“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
Those of us who are parents already understand this biblical truth by the way we speak to our children and give them instruction. The fact that our children simply heard our instruction is not enough; usually there is a physical, concrete action they take as a result of their hearing us. When there isn’t, we will often repeat it, even louder, until they finally hear and obey. It is only then do we consider that they in fact heard us. The same is true with this Hebrew word in Scripture. Almost every place it is used in the Bible we see it translated into the English word “obey”.
Faith Comes By Hearing
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
It is fruitless for us to read God’s word without committing ourselves to do what it requires of us. It is worse than fruitless, really, because it dulls our hearing all together, and it is disobedience and sin. How can we call ourselves a disciple, a follower, and ignore the transformative changes in our lives that He demands.
Matthew 11:15
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Yeshua says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” He is calling us to put his words into action, not just listen. He wants us to be doers of the word, and not hearers only. We as Westerners put all our stress on what is in our minds, and tend to consider action as “dead works.” However, the biblical way of thinking according to Hebrew is that we have not yet truly understood until we have put what we have heard into our hearts and allowed it to transform the way we live.
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
When we approach God and His word, it isn’t simply about an academic study so we can recite truth. It’s about having our lives changed and transformed. If my life isn’t changing because of His words, then I haven’t learned anything, and by biblical definition, I haven’t heard. The action of obedience is our only sure measure of successful listening.
OBEY
Ayin Mem Sheen
70 40 300
Shema
“Hear”
According to the Dictionary, to Obey is to comply with or follow commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions.
The very first time that the Hebrew word we translate as Obey occurs in the Scripture is in Genesis 22:15-18.
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Abraham OBEYED the voice of the Lord.
All those that call upon the name of the Lord have also been blessed. This blessing was not reserved for the chosen people of Israel. God promised that as a result of Abraham’s obedience all the nations of the world would be blessed. That promise found its ultimate fulfillment three days after Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. The Glad Tidings that sinners could be saved from eternal damnation by trusting in the finished work of Yeshua Ha-Mashiach on the cross of Calvary has been published and gladly received by people from every tongue and nation.
If you are a follower of Yeshua you are a beneficiary of the blessing God promised to Abraham.
The second time that the Hebrew word we translate as Obey occurs in the Scripture is in Genesis 27:6.
This story is also about a blessing.
It is Genesis 27 we read the story of the deception schemed by Rebekah, the wife of Isaac. The battle over the sacred blessing of the firstborn son is waged with stealth and cunning as Jacob obeys the voice of his mother Rebekah.
Genesis 27:6
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.
8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
The question before us is simply this, what does the Hebrew word Obey mean?
Does it simply mean to mindlessly follow the instructions, commands or wishes of someone else or is there a deeper meaning?
Amazingly the meaning based on the three languages of Hebrew (primary conventional, pictographic, numeric) take us quickly to the heart of the matter. Hidden in the kernel of the three-letter word we translate as Obeywe find the very core issues of life and death.
Let’s explore the three letters that compose the Hebrew word we translate as Obey to see if we can discover the answer.
The first authoritative source regarding the meaning of the word Obey or obedience is the primary conventional Hebrew Scripture.
The literal translation of the three letters Sheen, Mem, Ayin is not exactly what you might expect.
The Hebrew word literally means to “Listen To”. It also means to Hear and to Heed in the primary conventional Hebrew.
Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. This verse from Deuteronomy 6:4 serves as the centrepiece of the morning and evening prayer in the Jewish Daily Prayers. The Prayer, known as the Sh’ma, is more than a simple prayer or public declaration. It is an oath of loyalty to the One God, the One King, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Hear, O Israel
Parents teach the Sh’ma to their children as the last thing to say before going to sleep, and if possible (according to the Rabbis) is to be the last words to come from the lips of a man before he dies.
The Sh’ma is probably the best known of all Jewish liturgical prayers and perhaps the most important. There are only three prayers commanded in the whole Bible; two occur in the Torah itself, the Sh’ma (Deut 6:4) and the Grace after meals (Deut 8:10), and the third is the Lord’s Prayer as instructed by Jesus in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. Some Christian liturgies, including Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic liturgies, incorporate the saying of the Sh’ma, although in its English form. The Sh’ma appears at its core to be a clear proclamation of monotheism, and yet interestingly, the Jewish Prayer Book, known as the Siddur, translates the verse to read - ‘Hear O Israel the Eternal our God is an Eternal Unity.’ (Siddur page 13)
Going Deeper
Hear and Obey
The prayer itself is more than just allegiance to a monotheistic tradition, the word Sh’ma שְׁמַע is a powerful Hebrew word that is loaded with meaning. Sh’ma is the imperative of the Verb ‘to listen’ or ‘to hear’. It is also the Biblical Hebrew word that is used for ‘to obey’. Oddly enough, despite all the many commandments from God, there is no actual word in the Bible for ‘obey’. All the Authors of the Hebrew Bible used the word Sh’ma to imply obedience. Modern Hebrew, however, has invented a word for obey; it is לציית, pronounced ‘lets-eye-yet’. When the modern state of Israel was creating its army, they needed a word to make sure their soldiers followed commands from their officers in battle.
Hearing God's Word
‘Faith comes by hearing’ says Paul in Romans 10. The Bible is the Word of God and needs to be heard as much as it needs to be read. The implication is of course that if we heard the Voice of the Lord, we would indeed put those words into practice. Jesus says the same thing in Luke 11:28 when He declares ‘Blessed is he who hears my words and obeys them’. It is a play on words in Hebrew. ‘Blessed is he who sh’ma my words and sh’ma them’. Psalm 95 warns us that ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’. Moreover, by extension, not obey the Voice of the Lord. I must stress that Obedience is not to be confused with Works-Righteousness. Obeying the Lord because He told us to do something is not to be equated as trying to earn one’s place in the world to come. The actions might look the same outwardly but come from very different intentions inwardly. Jesus says ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me’. Critical to a healthy relationship with the Messiah is not only to acknowledge His kingship and authority but in hearing His voice and putting it into practice.
Word Study – Obedience
Isaiah 1:19: “If you be willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land.
Obedience – Hebrew: shama – hear, to listen, to give attention, understand, submissive, obedience
“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.” Dietrich Bonhoffer
Oddly, there is only one word in the Hebrew for obedience, it is the word “shama” which is generally translated as “hear,” In fact “shama” is rendered as “hear” 785 times, and as “harken” 196 but only 81 times as obey. There seems to be a direct correlation between hearing and obeying. This is where we run into difficulty in finding a proper English word to fit the context of a verse. In our relationship to God, I thinking a rendering of hearing would be more appropriate.
I don’t about you, but my problem is not one of obedience to God. My problem is hearing God. I doubt any of us would have any problem obeying God if we really knew that it was God we were hearing from. I believe that is why obedience and hearing share the same word in the Hebrew. If you were riding on a crowded bus and God told you to stand up and start preaching, everyone of us would stand up and preach without hesitation. The only reason we would hesitate is that we would question if it was God that was speaking. I once had a student who went through Airborne school as an Army Ranger. He said his instructor told him that he had nothing to worry about; the parachute opened 99.9% of the time. But when he stood at the door of that plane looking down he found himself wondering if his chute was that one tenth of a percent. I hear a lot of people say: “The Lord told me to do this or that.” Well, that might be their experience, but it sure
isn’t mine. I find I have to walk down the road a bit to be sure it is the Lord speaking and even then I don’t reach that three finger surety.
Jewish literature teaches that the central prayer of Judaism is the “shama,” Hear O’Israel the Lord our God is one. “To know this oneness, we need first to have a kavanah or an intention to do so. Then we need the avah (willingness) of spiritual practice to prepare the soil of our minds and hearts to directly experience this oneness.”
The word for “willing” is “’avah” which is spelled “Alep, Beth, Hei” Jewish literature teaches that the aleph represents the yoke of the oxen. The ancient Phoenician form of the letter “aleph” is shaped like an ox’s head. Proverbs 14:4 tells us that a rich harvest comes through the strength of an ox. Ancient sages saw the ox as a representation of the spiritual power of God inside of us. The yoke symbolizes the disciplines to harness this power. Willingness or “’avah” is harnessing the power of God or yoking ourselves to the power of God so that our hearts (Beth) are filled with His presence (Hei). When we do this then we will hear (shama). Eating the good of the land is the produce that comes from yoking ourselves to the “ox” or the “aleph” and that is “good” or “tov” in harmony with God and proper to be eaten or consumed. The produce is the “shama” what we hear from God. The point is that
unless we are harnessed to the power of God and have a heart filled with His presence, we will not “shama” or hear the voice of God.
When a farmer yoke’s oxen together, he first choses a very aggressive ox and then yokes it to an ox that is not aggressive. Thus the non aggressive ox will just follow the lead of the aggressive ox. If he yokes two aggressive oxen together they would likely try to go in different directions and he would get nothing plowed. When we yoke ourselves to God he is the aggressive one and we are the ones that just yield to that aggression. The result is that we end up going wherever God wants to go. The hearing comes naturally and the result is a field that produces what is good (in harmony with God).
Knowing God’s voice then comes down to a matter of just knowing what pleases Him. A man will buy a gift for his wife. He may not be 100% sure it will please her, but if he has a good idea that she will be pleased he will purchase the gift based upon his best understanding of her. As the relationship grows, the better he will know what gift to purchase that will please her. In O’Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi” a young couple were very much in love and very poor. They wanted to please each other with a Christmas gift. The young woman’s most prized possession was her beautiful long hair which she had cut and sold so she could purchase a watch chain for her husband’s most prized possession, his pocket watch. He, unknown to her, sold his pocket watch so he could purchase hair clips for his wife’s most precious possession, her hair. Both gifts turned out to be wrong in a practical sense, but it didn’t matter, both were
pleased with their gift. So too in following God’s voice. I may be wrong in a practical sense in hearing God’s voice but if it was done with “’avah” it won’t matter, all that matters is that is was meant to please God.
שָׁמַעshâma' (Strong's #8085, x1160) is best translated by a combination of four English words, "hear, heed, understand and obey". In all it occurs over a thousand times in Scripture, often in key verses and is translated variously in the KJV, for example, by hear x785, hearken x196, obey x81, understand x9, obedient x8. We find it in biblical names such as Ishmael (Strong's #3458) "God hears" (Genesis 16:11); Simeon (Strong's #8095) "he who hears" (Genesis 29:33); and Samuel (Strong's #8050) "he who hears God" (1 Samuel 1:20).
The first use of שָׁמַעshâma' is in the context of hearing God's voice, and walking with God, unfortunately the first use is negative in that Adam only shâma'-s God after he has already shâma'-d Eve, who in turn has shâma'-d the serpent, as a result Adam's response is fear and flight rather than hear and delight! In Genesis 16:2Abraham not only listens but "obeys" Sarai's voice, he didn't just hear her, he did what he was told! However negative the consequences!
שָׁמַעshâma' can range in meaning from merely hearing a sound, thouggh usually the sound of a voice, through to the kind of hearing that indicates assent and action such as in the hearing of Manoah's prayer (Judges 13:9) or the non-hearing of the prayers of sinners (Jeremiah 11:11; Ezekiel 8:18). Clearly, hearing means response and non-response in these cases. Micah expresses the beautiful words yish'mâ'ênîy 'elôhây "My God will hear me".
At the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:7) the lip or languages of mankind were confused and henceforward men could no longer "hear" one another. Clearly, they could hear noise and strange accents, even foreign words, but they meant nothing to them, so the word implies "understanding" in this key situation.
שָׁמַעshâma' is used in the sense of discernment in Genesis 41:15 when Joseph is described as one able to shâma' a dream for Pharoah. A chapter later (42:23) Joseph uses a language interpreter to speak to his brothers whilst they do not realise he can actually "understand" them all along.
Probably the most famous use of שָׁמַעshâma' is in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one". The opening words of the Jewish Shema or creed.
After the dispersion of Babel God calls and reforms a people for himself who will "hear and obey". At Sinai he gives them the book of the covenant through Moses, to which the people respond "we will do and obey" (Exodus 24:7). Interestingly "doing" precedes "obeying" and the latter is the word שָׁמַעshâma' again, literally then "we will do and hear".
God promises to set Israel "high above all the nations of the earth" if they will "really hear and obey" (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 28:1), a phrase made up from a double use of שָׁמַעshâma'.
In the Greek Old Testament Septuagintשָׁמַעshâma' is often translated by hupakouô, "to hearken", this in turn is used in the New Testament with the sense of "to obey".
Deuteronomy 18:15 commands the future generations to שָׁמַעshâma' the Messianic Prophet like Moses. This represents and is Jesus, confirmed in the Gospels by the Bath Qol ("Daughter of the Voice") which speaks out of heaven like an echo of God's own voice saying, "This is My Son, the Beloved [a Messianic title], hear [Grk.: akouete = "to hear, hearken, understand, learn", in the Septuagint most commonly used for שָׁמַעshâma'] him!", (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35).
The New Testament's description of faith (Romans 10:17) as necessary for salvation and in order to please God (Hebrews 11:6) is said to come by hearing/shâma'-ing, i.e., by hearing, heeding, understanding and obeying. In the Gospels, too, hearing, understanding and obeying, are linked e.g., Matthew 7:24, the house upon the rock; Luke 8:21 and 11:28, Jesus' family are hearers and doers of the word. To hear is not enough, one must understand and act upon it, to these more shall be given (Mark 4:24).
"Ears to hear" (Matthew 11:5; 13:9,43; Mark 4:9,23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35; in Revelation 2-3 to each of the 7 churches; 13:9) is an Hebraism (see Deuteronomy 29:4; Ezekiel 12:2) meaning "he who has understanding and a desire to obey". Many times Jesus introduced his parables with "hear this parable...", i.e., understand it.
1. (v. t.) To give ear to; to execute the commands of; to yield submission to; to comply with the orders of.
2. (v. t.) To submit to the authority of; to be ruled by.
3. (v. t.) To yield to the impulse, power, or operation of; as, a ship obeys her helm.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
OBEDIENCE; OBEY
o-be'-di-ens, o-ba (shama`; hupakoe):
1. Meaning of Terms:
In its simpler Old Testament meaning the word signifies "to hear," "to listen." It carries with it, however, the ethical significance of hearing with reverence and obedient assent. In the New Testament a different origin is suggestive of "hearing under" or of subordinating one's self to the person or thing heard, hence, "to obey." There is another New Testament usage, however, indicating persuasion from, peithomai.
The relation expressed is twofold: first, human, as between master and servant, and particularly between parents and children. "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that, will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place" (Deuteronomy 21:18, 19; compare Proverbs 15:20); or between sovereign and subjects, "The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me" (2 Samuel 22:45 1 Chronicles 29:23).
2. The Old Testament Conception:
The highest significance of its usage, however, is that of the relation of man to God. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God and reverence for Him. The Old Testament conception of obedience was vital. It was the one important relationship which must not be broken. While sometimes this relation may have been formal and cold, it nevertheless was the one strong tie which held the people close to God. The significant spiritual relation is expressed by Samuel when he asks the question, "Hath Yahweh as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). It was the condition without which no right relation might be sustained to Yahweh. This is most clearly stated in the relation between Abraham and Yahweh when he is assured "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice" (Genesis 22:18).
In prophetic utterances, future blessing and prosperity were conditioned upon obedience: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19). After surveying the glories of the Messianic kingdom, the prophet assures the people that "this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God" (Zechariah 6:15). On the other hand misfortune, calamity, distress and famine are due to their disobedience and distrust of Yahweh.
See DISOBEDIENCE.
This obedience or disobedience was usually related to the specific commands of Yahweh as contained in the law, yet they conceived of God as giving commands by other means. Note especially the rebuke of Samuel to Saul: "Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Yahweh,.... therefore hath Yahweh done this thing unto thee this day" (1 Samuel 28:18).
3. The New Testament Conception:
In the New Testament a higher spiritual and moral relation is sustained than in the Old Testament. The importance of obedience is just as greatly emphasized. Christ Himself is its one great illustration of obedience. He "humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). By obedience to Him we are through Him made partakers of His salvation (Hebrews 5:9). This act is a supreme test of faith in Christ. Indeed, it is so vitally related that they are in some cases almost synonymous. "Obedience of faith" is a combination used by Paul to express this idea (Romans 1:5). Peter designates believers in Christ as "children of obedience" (1 Peter 1:14). Thus it is seen that the test of fellowship with Yahweh in the Old Testament is obedience. The bond of union with Christ in the New Testament is obedience through faith, by which they become identified and the believer becomes a disciple.
Walter G. Clippinger
Greek
3980. peitharcheo -- to obey authority
... to obey authority. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: peitharcheo Phonetic Spelling:
(pi-tharkh-eh'-o) Short Definition: I obey one in authority Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3980.htm - 7k
5293. hupotasso -- to place or rank under, to subject, mid. to ...
... to obey. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hupotasso Phonetic Spelling:
(hoop-ot-as'-so) Short Definition: I place under, subject to Definition: I place ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5293.htm - 9k
1522. eisakouo -- to listen, to obey
... to listen, to obey. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: eisakouo Phonetic Spelling:
(ice-ak-oo'-o) Short Definition: I hear, listen to Definition: I hear ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1522.htm - 7k
2138b. eupeithes -- ready to obey
... ready to obey. Transliteration: eupeithes Short Definition: reasonable. Word Origin
from eu and peitho Definition ready to obey NASB Word Usage reasonable (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2138b.htm - 5k
5219. hupakouo -- to listen, attend to
... to listen, attend to. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hupakouo Phonetic Spelling:
(hoop-ak-oo'-o) Short Definition: I listen, obey Definition: I listen ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5219.htm - 8k
544. apeitheo -- to disobey
... See 543 (). Word Origin from apeithes Definition to disobey NASB Word Usage
disbelieved (1), disobedient (10), do not obey (1), obey (2). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/544.htm- 7k
5218. hupakoe -- obedience
... 1:2). Word Origin from hupakouo Definition obedience NASB Word Usage obedience
(13), obedient (1), obey (1). obedience. From hupakouo ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5218.htm - 7k
1398. douleuo -- to be a slave, to serve
... to serve. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: douleuo Phonetic Spelling:
(dool-yoo'-o) Short Definition: I am a slave, am subject to, obey Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1398.htm - 8k
3982. peitho -- to persuade, to have confidence
... confidence NASB Word Usage assure (1), confident (3), convinced (7), followed (2),
have confidence (2), having confidence (2), listen (1), obey (3), obeying (1 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3982.htm - 10k
4442. pur -- fire
... Indeed the brings the privilege of being which happens by experiencing . Our lives
can become true to Him as we obeythis imparted faith from God by His power. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4442.htm - 7k
Strong's Hebrew
8085. shama -- to hear
... heed (1), given heed (2), hear (270), hear* (1), heard (363), heard for certain
(1), hearing (5), hears (33), heed (5), heeded (2), indeed obey (1), keep on ...
/hebrew/8085.htm - 7k
8086. shema -- to hear
... Word Origin (Aramaic) corresponding to shama Definition to hear NASB Word
Usage hear (3), heard (4), hears (1), obey (1). hear, obey. ...
/hebrew/8086.htm - 6k
3348. Yaqeh -- father of Agur
... Jakeh. From an unused root probably meaning to obey; obedient; Jakeh, a symbolical
name (for Solomon) -- Jakeh. 3347, 3348. Yaqeh. 3349 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/3348.htm - 5k
6213a. asah -- do, make
... 1), laborers (1), made (369), maintain (6), maintained (1), make (200), make your
ready (1), Maker (13), maker (4), makes (19), making (5), obey (1), observe ...
/hebrew/6213a.htm - 8k
5341. natsar -- to watch, guard, keep
... A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) Or
a bad one (to conceal, etc.) -- besieged, hidden thing, keep(-er, -ing ...
/hebrew/5341.htm - 6k
6963. qol -- sound, voice
... 1), bleating (1), crackling (2), cry (2), crying (1), growl* (1), listen (4), loudly
(1), loudness (1), lowing (2), news (1), noise (21), obey* (14), obeyed* (5 ...
/hebrew/6963.htm - 6k
14. abah -- to be willing, to consent
... root Definition to be willing, to consent NASB Word Usage consent (5), obey (1),
refuse* (1), refused* (1), satisfied (1), unwilling* (3), want (1), willing (23 ...
/hebrew/14.htm - 6k
Library
Obey and Abide
... OBEY AND ABIDE. If Ye Keep My Commandments, Ye Shall Abide In My Love"John
15..10. In our former ... His love. Obeyand abide. Gracious ...
/.../murray/the true vine meditations for a month on john 151-16/obey and abide.htm
Believe --Love --Obey.
... IV Closer Wooing (Chapters xiii.-xvii.) Believe"Love"Obey. The atmosphere clears
now. ... Obey is the life-side of believe, the outer, the action side. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on johns
In Genesis, God’s voice holds the power of creation (1:3). In 1 Kings, His voice is described as “a whisper” (19:12), while the Psalms explain that God’s voice strips the trees bare!Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote that listening for God was important because “the voice that brought the universe into being created us in love and guides us through our lives.”
Does that mean that all of creation shema – hears and obeys God’s voice? The answer is, to the best of our understanding, yes! “The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.” (Psalm 29:9) As creation hears God’s voice, it is automatically obedient.
God’s voice is able to “strip the forests bare”. Taking action in response to His powerful voice is essential in putting shema into practice. The hearing and responding are conjoined. If you want to hear from God today, you need to shema — hear AND obey.
Shema in the New Testament
Did you know that this concept continues into the New Testament? In fact, it was one of Jesus’ most fervent followers, apostle Paul, who wrote that our “faith comes from hearing” and not by what we see.
Perhaps that’s why the Bible describes God’s voice in such detail. So we know what to listen for. And through speaking and the voice of evangelism people hear the gospel. By hearing they are saved, if they so choose. (Romans 10:14)
Additionally, James, (Yaakov) the brother of Jesus teaches on this in his letter:
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For 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 once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.” (James chapter 1:22-26, emphasis added)
Faith vs. Works?
James’ passage is often cited when discussing faith vs. works. Which I would argue is a Hellenized (Greek) way of understanding the passage. It is not faith versus works, but faith AND works.Without works, one’s faith, while legitimate, is not bearing the full fruit of one’s confession. And works without faith is empty, as the Scriptures also tell us and the Protestant reformers tried so hard to emphasize.
This is not saying that works proveone’s faith or are necessary to salvation (which would be against what the Scriptures teach us). But they are an indication of the state of our hearts and intentions.
Jesus said it perfectly himself:
“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-18)
Shema – Instructions put into Practice
Another way to understand it is this. We can read a manual for how to drive a car, or how to ride a bike. We can even have someone else read the manual out loud to us. But until we actually get behind the wheel and start driving…we won’t know how to drive.
In this way, James encourages the readers to walk out their faith. He encourages to walk out, heed and obey the Scriptures – to shema – to listen to them and obey.
Of course, we can’t do this in our own strength, and this is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us. We know that the Lord is compassionate and merciful with us, as we are human and fallible.
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.”(Hebrews 4:15)
Nevertheless, even in its English version, it is still a strong statement of faith and trust in God, and it is still being said without taking the time to learn the details of the ‘contract.’ However, the translation of ‘nish•ma’ as ‘obey’ instead of ‘hear’ takes away some of the power of the Hebrew verse. It is true that the verb ‘she•ma’ (the same root word of ‘nish•ma’) may mean both ‘hear’ and ‘obey.’ Yet, the famous phrase (and prayer), ‘She•ma,’ has always been translated as ‘Hear, O Israel’ and not as ‘Obey, O Israel.’ You can find it four times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament with the same exact translation:
“Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord”
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment