SHEMA

 

In his farewell address to the children of Israel, just before they entered the promised land and before Moses was taken from them by the Lord (Deauteronomy 34:56), he outlined the commandments Israel was to live by in great detail. The very first and most important commandment was that there is only one God who should be loved and worshipped which was in contrast to the many gods worshipped by those in neighbouring lands. The existence of only one God became the Jewish credo and it began like this:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). This commandment became the dogma of Judaism to be recited both morning and evening by Jewish males. It is called SHEMA, the very first word of the declaration, which is HEAR.

So sacred is SHEMA to Jews “that the pious in Israel have always sought to die with it upon their lips. This has been true down through the ages, even to the Holocaust death camps, where Jews who were being put to death recited the SHEMA in their last moments on earth.” (Marshall D. Isaacson, “Children of the Covenant” p 56).

Have you ever heard of anything more soul wrenching? Perhaps there is this: Because Jesus claimed to be co-equal with God when He said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), the credo of SHEMA became the very reason why the Jews rejected Christ. Thus the Jewish staunch belief that there is only one God became the dogma of Judaism and their conversion to Christianity one of the great improbabilities of this life.

When I first read about SHEMA, I was immediately transported to the Sacred Grove and Joseph who was told: “This is my Beloved Son, HEAR Him!” (JSH 1:17). To me, this word “Hear” seemed incredibly significant. It was a confirmation to the world of the Saviour’s Sonship and Godhood, that He is indeed one with the Father and the awaited Messiah. And all with just one word, HEAR!

The Church has sent the proclamation only recently to the membership of the House of Israel to: Hear Him! It’s a call to alertness and attention, a call to obedience and repentance and to focus on the one and only way to salvation. When I remembered the First Vision whilst reading about SHEMA, I also remembered investigating the Church fifty years ago. I HEARD every word of the restored Gospel with my very soul. It resonated with me like whispers from home because I felt that’s where I was.

Ever since I heard, I have been following, and all glory be to the One who has led me. Because I have followed, I have endured much and prospered much spiritually and gratefully I have learnt that indeed there is only one God, the Father and the Son who are one……

I hear Your voice in empty silence

When loneliness envelops me;

I hear Your voice in violent storms

That plague me in mortality;

I hear Your voice in my struggles

That never let me be;

I hear Your voice when You pilot me

On dangerous journeys of earthly seas;

I hear Your voice beckoning me

To stay the course because
You will never abandon me.

I hear Your voice getting louder

And more distinct on the narrow path

That leads me home to Thee.

I see Your arms wide open

Waiting to welcome me.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Guardian by Kelsy and Jesse Lightweave)