The Shema Yisrael - Part 4

   "וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ"

"V'shinan'tam l'vavekha v'dibar'ta bam b'shiv't'kha b'veitekha uv'lekh't'kha vaderekh uv'shakh'b'kha uv'kumekha." 

"And you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are travelling on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 6:7, CJB)

In verse 7 of the Shema, Moses commands the Jews to pass the Torah on to their children. They were to speak of it "when you sit at home, when you are travelling on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up." In other words, they were to teach their children about it constantly. It was not to be part of their lives; it was to surround everything in their lives. Parents are still supposed to lead their children to God. Proverbs 22:6 (CJB) says: 

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and, even when old, he will not swerve from it."

Matthew 19:14 (CJB) says:

"However, Yeshua said, 'Let the children come to me, don't stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.'"

Before the Jews could pass the Torah to their children, however, they had to make sure they were following it themselves. Moses first gave them the command that the Torah was to be "on your hearts." (Deuteronomy 6:6, CJB) They were to learn it and live it, and then pass it on to their children, in both their words and their actions. We, too, must make sure that we are following God when we tell others about Him. James 2:17 (CJB) says:  

"Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead."

We must back up our faith by our actions. We are not perfect; we will make mistakes. We will, at times, be unkind, selfish, prideful, and so on. That is part of being human. But people should be able to tell, by our words and actions, that we are followers of Jesus. Matthew 5:16 (CJB) says:

"In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven."

We must have His commands "on our hearts" and live them out so that others will listen when we speak about them "when we sit at home, when we are travelling on the road, when we lie down, and when we get up."