Obedience Begins with Listening
Shavuot 5786, Exodus 19:1-20:23
Jennifer Caracelo, Kol Mashiach Messianic Synagogue, Melbourne, FL
Did you know that Hebrew is the only ancient language to be “revived” for modern use? I say “revived” in quotes because Hebrew never went completely dormant. It was always in use for religious purposes but for almost two thousand years it was not used for everyday language. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda believed that the Jewish people needed to unite under a common spoken language and he worked to bring Hebrew back into everyday use. His son, Itamar, was the first native Hebrew speaker in two millennia. Ben-Yehuda undertook the task of adding words for modern things and concepts to the ancient Hebrew language. One new word that was added was a verb for “obey.” In ancient Hebrew, sometimes referred to as “biblical Hebrew,” the word that is translated as “obey” is שׁמע shema. Most of you recognize this word from the beginning of the central creed of Judaism:
שׁמע ישׂראל יי אלהינוּ יי אחד
Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Deut 6:4
“Shema” means to hear or listen, but ancient Hebrew is a language of action. Hearing and listening are passive activities. When we find the word “shema” in the Bible, it can mean “to hear,” but oftentimes it is translated as “listen” when there is an active component of obedience or some form of action attached to the meaning.
Our Shavuot parashah opens with the preparation of the people before Hashem gives them the Torah on Mt. Sinai. He instructs them:
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. Exod 19:5
In this verse we see the word “obey” is a translation of “shema.” The children of Israel were called to listen carefully to the words that Hashem was about to give to them from Mt. Sinai and to follow through with obedience. Hashem desired for the obedience of Israel to flow from a faith that actively listened to his voice.
Many believe that obedience means following the set of “do’s” and “don’ts” found in Torah, but the sages say that the intention with which we do or do not do things matters. The heart and mind are an active part of obedience. You could say that it is a full-body experience – beginning with our brain as it listens intently and gauges the will of Hashem and moving to our mouths, hands, and feet as they fulfill the mitzvah, while being connected to a heart that is aware of the action it is purposefully engaging in. Torah is a framework for obedience, but the way that we obey his voice requires every aspect of who we are to be engaged in the process.
The phrase “obey my voice” that we see in Exodus 19:5 is found many times in the Tanakh. Hashem calls people to this fully engaged level of response to his word. Referring to the Mount Sinai experience, Hashem reminded the people of the most important part of their covenant with him:
For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.” Jer 7:22-23
Not only does Jeremiah mention the obedience of listening combined with doing, but he adds, “walk in all the way” – another action of obedience. How we direct our steps should be ordered by the voice of Hashem (Prov 16:9).
At Mount Sinai, the voice of Hashem was evident in a clear and powerful way as it came out of the midst of the fire that blazed on the mountain. Though it is not often highlighted in our observance of Shavuot, the fire at Sinai is a key part of the whole experience – so much so that Moses reminds the people of it seven times in Deuteronomy 4 and 5.
The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire. Deut 4:12
This paradigm of Hashem speaking from fire shouldn’t come as a surprise. Before Moses led the people out of Egypt, he was directed to his calling by the voice of Hashem speaking to him from within a bush (Exod 3:4) that was in flames but not burning (Exod 3:2). In fact, the psalmist says this: “The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames” (Psa 29:7 CJB).
Fast-forward about 1500 years from the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai to the Shavuot following Yeshua’s death, resurrection, and ascension.
When the day of Shavuot had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out. Now Jewish people were staying in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound came, the crowd gathered. They were bewildered, because each was hearing them speaking in his own language. Acts 2:1-6 TLV
The Acts narrative also mentions fire. Not the benign little flames that get depicted peacefully resting atop everyone’s head, but most likely the fiery flames that the psalmist speaks of. These tongues of fire allowed the disciples to speak in the languages of all the nations that were assembled there. If we consider the words of Psalm 29:7, these tongues of fire were more than just fire. They were the very voice of Hashem alighting on the people and giving them the ability to speak his words to the nations.
We know this Acts 2 experience at Shavuot as “the giving of the Ruach Hakodesh.” When we look at the imagery of what happened, we could call this the giving of the Voice of Hashem to the followers of Yeshua. No longer do we need to wait for a once-in-a-millennium experience in which literal flames come from heaven to speak to us. We now have the ability to hear the Voice of Hashem on a daily, even minute by minute, basis. How privileged we are that we can more easily obey his voice as he has called us to do!
Yeshua left his disciples with these words:
But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 CJB
In other words, the Ruach HaKodesh will be the Voice of Hashem within you. Today, let us resolve to listen – shema – with minds attuned to the words of the Ruach Hakodesh within us and hearts prepared to align our lives to Hashem’s will. Let us use our mouths to speak words of love, kindness, and encouragement. Let our feet be always quick to go where he directs us and our hands eager to do his work as we obey his voice.
All verses are taken from the ESV, except where noted.