“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One!”—Deuteronomy 6:4
In your quest to find answers to life, we are glad you decided to investigate these studies. We cannot possibly answer all your questions; however, through these studies, several of your basic questions may very well be addressed. You may have asked yourself, “Does God indeed exist? Does God really care about me? If there is a God, how could He allow the Holocaust to happen, and how can He continue to allow people to suffer?” People have been struggling with these questions for centuries. We believe you may find some of the answers in these studies.
Your quest to have your life changed starts with God. This lesson will focus on Who exactly is the God of Israel.
For most Jewish people, the “Shema” (שְׁמַע) is the first prayer we learn as children. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Early in life, we come to understand the Lord is our God. He is personal. In the very next verse, we are asked to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The Shema addresses two important aspects of God: He is personal, and He cares about us. God spoke directly to Moses and even called Abraham His friend in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and again in Isaiah 41:8.
Questions to consider:
- Do you believe in God?
If so, what role does He play in your life?
- Do you love God?
If you do love God, how do you show Him you love Him?
- Do you talk to God?
Thoughts for you to consider:
Can God, Who created the universe, also be relational and intimately involved in our personal lives? Within the Jewish Bible we see God has always visited and revealed Himself to His people. The Hebrew Scriptures show the Creator of the universe manifesting Himself as He spoke to Moses from the burning bush and as He delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. God cared for His people by feeding them, clothing them, and leading them in the wilderness for forty years.
Questions to consider:
- Do you believe God cares about you?
- Do you believe God wants to have a personal relationship with you?
- Can you describe an experience when God helped you in a time of need?
Thoughts for you to consider:
Why does God care about you? Let us now consider two of the most difficult questions in life: “Why am I here?” “What is my purpose for living?”
In the Hebrew Scriptures, we read about God choosing Jewish people for a holy and special purpose. In Exodus, God calls the children of Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod 19:6). Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” The prophet Isaiah explains we, being His treasure, were to be a light to the other nations (Isa 42:6, 49:6). We were to tell the other nations of this wonderful Lord.
In the book, Isaiah 53 Explained, the idea of being chosen implies there is a Chooser. How can we try to understand our chosen-ness without coming to terms with the Chooser?
But how do we come to terms with the Chooser? For this, we need to delve into the Hebrew Scriptures and discover God’s purpose for us.
Questions to consider:
- According to the Scripture verse quoted above, Deuteronomy 7:6, why are you here?
- What is your purpose?
- Do you believe your life reflects God chose you?
To understand more about the reason why God chose Jewish people, our next lesson will tell us how God revealed Israel’s chosen-ness through the Hebrew Scriptures.
Final questions to consider:
- Did anything in this lesson help you to look at your life differently?
- Did anything in this lesson help you answer the question you had prior to beginning this study?
Final thoughts for you to consider:
We could not attempt to cover everything pertaining to God in this short lesson. Our goal is to help you better understand His character. We aim to help you see God created you, loves you, chose you, and has a purpose for you. We hope you will come to put your faith in the God of Israel.
