As you’ve no doubt figured by now, I am not a Hebrew scholar, but even I have heard of the Shema. I know that it’s what Jews were to recite as they got up in the morning, and, in conjunction with Deuteronomy 11:13-21, were to be said again at night (And when you died).
But that’s about all I know.
The verse itself isn’t hard; simply put, Moses tells everyone that the Lord is One. But what does that mean?
For some, the meaning is that Jehovah is not divided. Some gnostic sects claimed dualism, which taught two different gods in one, and idolatry famously touts a pantheon of gods. Atheism, on the other hand, argues for none.
The Shema then, argues that there is only one God…and that’s it. And if that’s where you want to stop, that’s fine with me.
(For reference, this is one reason why Jews also have an argument against the Trinitarian nature of Christian teaching, which claims the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as different parts of the Godhead.)
Moses goes further by placing a possessive quality on the statement. He doesn’t just say that “The Lord is God,” but rather, that “The Lord is our God.” These are the literal words people were to recite every single day (shema translates to “hear,” so the people weren’t to just say the words, but hear themselves saying them).
In that way, it’s a declaration of loyalty to Jehovah, not so much a statement about the nature of God (although it certainly is that, too).
That’s the way Israel was to wake up every single day and go to sleep every single night—by stating their desire to make God the only God in their life. As we discover later in the story of Israel, idolatry certainly took root. Those words became just that…words.
Our loyalty to God should never just be mindless recitation, but a daily reminder of who God is and who we are to Him. He is our God, and nobody else can or should take His place.