Pillar of Faith

Moses and Jesus agree on what’s really important — and how to keep God’s commandments front and center in our lives.

It was a video seen around the world: The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore tumbling into the water on March 26, 2024.

The disaster occurred when the massive container ship MV Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s pillars, sending people and vehicles into the cold, dark Patapsco River in the middle of the night. Six members of a road construction crew were killed in the accident.

The chilling video showed the bridge quickly collapsing moments after the impact. Dali is an enormous ship, 984 feet long, approximately the length of three football fields.

Lights on the ship flashed off and on before the accident, suggesting that an electrical problem caused the crew to lose control of the vessel. The FBI quickly opened an investigation into whether the crew departed from the port knowing that the ship had serious systems problems, and the U.S. attorney for Maryland said, “we will seek accountability for anyone who may be responsible.”

According to CNN, the bridge was 1.6 miles long and a critical link in the Baltimore Beltway, a travel route for 30,000 commuters per day. In addition, it soared over a channel that gave ships access to Baltimore, the ninth largest port in the country for international cargo. The collapse deposited tons of steel and concrete into the water, suspending commercial shipping for weeks.

Without its pillar, the bridge could not stand.

 

The Strongest Pillar

In the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses describes God as the strongest pillar of our faith: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Moses is calling us to trust in the one true God, the almighty power who loves us and desires that we experience fullness of life. Moses predicts that if the Israelites observe the commandments of God, it will “go well” with them, and they will multiply greatly in the land that has been promised to them (6:3).

The same is true for us. The good news of this passage is that Almighty God desires to work for good in our lives, just as the pillars of the Key Bridge supported 30,000 commuters per day. Decrees and commandments are given for our benefit, to structure our lives in life-giving ways. Just as driving over a bridge would be dangerous without guardrails and lane markers, our lives would become chaotic without the ordering of God’s laws. Commandments are meant to be helpful to us, not oppressive.

Notice that Moses says, “Hear, O Israel.” Particularly important is the verb “hear,” in Hebrew shema. Hearing is critical to the life of faith, even more important than seeing, as the apostle Paul noted when he said, “faith comes from what is heard” (Romans 10:17).

We are challenged to hear that the “LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” When the word “LORD” is written in all caps, it is a code for the personal name for Israel’s God: YHWH (pronounced “Yahweh”). Since this name is regarded by many Jews as being too sacred to be pronounced, the word “Lord” is said whenever YHWH appears. It is YHWH, the personal God of Israel, who forms the pillar of our faith.

As Moses says, the “LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” Nothing could be stronger.

Unfortunately, there are many other gods who present themselves as pillars. All of them are counterfeit gods, but still we fall in love with them. “In Washington, the idol of power draws politicians and their supporters away from compromise,” writes pastor Henry Brinton in USA Today. “On Wall Street, success tempts brokers and investors to value profits over people. In Hollywood, the focus on beauty creates a standard of physical perfection that is impossible for most people to achieve. And in neighborhoods across the country, children are pampered in ways that border on idolatry, leaving them with a distorted sense of their place in the world.”

These are attractive pillars, no doubt about it. All of them, in their own way, promise us great rewards. But they do not provide the eternal support of the LORD our God. When the pillars of power, success, beauty and even children are knocked over, our lives fall apart in spectacular ways.

We end up like the Key Bridge in the Patapsco River.

 

The Great Commandment

Next, Moses gives the commandment to love the LORD. This is a bold new approach, one that goes on to become central to both Judaism and Christianity. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” says Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus later referenced this verse as the first part of his great commandment (Mark 12:29-30). With this commandment comes the challenge of giving priority to God, much in the way that we give priority to the people we love: Spouses, children, relatives, friends, close neighbors. Love is a much stronger bond and obligation than respect, duty or affection.

Love is how we protect the pillar and build our lives around it. It is “the first and greatest commandment,” says Bible professor Elizabeth Achtemeier. “It forms the central requirement given in Deuteronomy’s sermons to the people of God.” If our love for God is undermined, our relationship with God quickly collapses, leaving enormous pain and destruction behind.

A number of 21^st-century television shows have illustrated what happens when love for God is replaced by another passion:

• In House of Cards, a conniving politician named Frank Underwood loved power above all else. At one point, he said, “Everything is about sex. Except sex. Sex is about power.” He schemed and slept his way through Washington, moving from Democratic majority whip to vice president to president.
• In Mad Men, advertising man Don Draper loved success. He invented and reinvented himself throughout the series, believing that “success comes from standing out, not fitting in.” Unfortunately, his “standing out” did terrible damage to his family members, friends and colleagues.
• In the show Breaking Bad, chemistry teacher Walter White claimed that he loved his family. After being diagnosed with cancer, he built a drug empire on the belief that he needed to provide for his wife and children. But even a good thing such as love for family can cause death and destruction if it replaces love for God. At one point, Walt’s wife said, “Someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family.”

Moses reminds us that the “LORD is our God, the LORD alone,” and he gives us the challenge to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). If we allow counterfeit gods to take the place of the one LORD God, we will find ourselves without the strong support we need for life. And if we allow ourselves to love anything more than God, we will find ourselves failing in spectacular fashion. We do not want to be like the Dali, a ship with “serious systems problems.”

 

How Do We Maintain Our Love for God?

In Deuteronomy, Moses urges the people to keep his words in their hearts, recite them to their children, and talk about them both inside and outside their homes. “Bind them as a sign on your hand,” he says, “fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house” (6:8–9).

With these words, Moses gives the Israelites advice about maintaining the centrality of the commandments, particularly the Ten Commandments. In Jewish tradition, these instructions are taken literally in the wearing of phylacteries, small leather containers that contain biblical texts, and the nailing of a mezuzah to a doorway. By doing this, God’s law is remembered in every aspect of life.

Very few Christians today are going to wear phylacteries or nail mezuzahs to their doorways. But we can follow the instructions of Moses by teaching our children the Ten Commandments, as well as the great commandment of Jesus. This commandment is a set of twin pillars, constructed by Jesus when he quoted Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. “The first is,” said Jesus, “‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:29-31).

Love for God. Love for neighbor. According to Jesus, there is no other commandment greater than these.

Although we do not have phylacteries and mezuzahs, we can keep these words in our hearts, share them with our children and put them into action inside and outside our homes. When tempted to make an idol out of power or success, focus on your love for God. When your children become focused on acquiring the latest toy or device, teach them about loving their neighbor.

By keeping the pillar strong and protected, you’ll avoid a complete collapse.

—Henry Brinton and Carl Wilton contributed to this material.

 

Sources:

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. “Plumbing the Riches: Deuteronomy for the Preacher.” Interpretation, July 1987, 274.

Brinton, Henry G. “False idols come in many guises: Column.” USA Today, September 1, 2014, www.usatoday.com.

CNN Staff, “Here’s what you should know about the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge.” CNN, March 26, 2024, www.cnn.com.

Mettler, Katie et al., “Federal criminal investigation opened into Key Bridge crash.” The Washington Post, April 15, 2024, www.washingtonpost.com.

The Other Texts

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

Cross Donation. This text is very difficult to preach if you’re uncomfortable with a “blood theology” of the cross. Yet, it is a theme that runs through Scripture that is hard to ignore. The writer refers to the OT priestly and sacrificial system in which the blood of goats, calves, bulls, sheep and lambs was shed and sprinkled on the mercy seat. The slain animal itself was placed upon an altar. It was a bloody affair. The writer’s argument is that if the blood of a goat was efficacious in removing the stain of sin, how much more efficacious is the blood of Jesus Christ in removing sin, so that our consciences might be “purified from dead works to worship the living God”? When someone dies for you, what remains is sort of a moral and ethical obligation to live in a way that honors that death and is worthy of it. Studies show that people who have been recipients of organ donations, especially a heart, often feel this moral obligation. Jesus died and made a huge donation — the donation of his very life — so that we could be an utterly new creation. He was the purest lamb of God (to reference the sacrificial system) and like the lambs slaughtered for the sins of the people, Jesus did not deserve to die. He did not die for his own sins. So, how do we live knowing now that someone died for us? Something to think about.

What Does the Text Say?

In this passage, the reader enters the obscure, esoteric and anachronistic language of the early second-century Jewish-Christian apologist. What had begun in Paul’s ministry had now blown up into a more full-fledged theological skirmish of words concerning the status of Christianity vis-à-vis Judaism. Not open warfare yet, for the author of Hebrews seeks to show the unquestionable logic of his argument. However, sides are being drawn that are not erasable. The author of this treatise seeks to show the pre-eminence of the gospel. Hence, in this text, the author continues his theological and philosophical assault on the Jewish priestly tradition by presenting Jesus as the ultimate High Priest.

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

And That’s an Order! We don’t use the word “command” too much in everyday conversation, unless we’re a computer programmer. Somehow, it’s okay to insert commands and write a series of commands for an inanimate machine. But we don’t command our children, our spouses, our co-workers or our employees. We prepare a list of chores, collaborate on tasks or establish objectives. In the military and the police, commands certainly exist, and sometimes, lest an underling misunderstand the objective or what the “commanding” officer is saying, the officer will add: “And that’s an ORDER!” Think of these two commandments in this way. Jesus distills all the commandments of the Mosaic Law into two. Love God and love your neighbor. And that’s an ORDER! What don’t we understand about this? The sermon can then move on to explain what loving God and loving your neighbor looks like.

What Does the Text Say?

In this text, a scribe is speaking for himself and not as a representative of some group. This scribe is immediately impressed with Jesus’ answers. Consequently, unlike the baiting, belligerent questions posed by the others to test Jesus, this scribe’s inquiry seems to arise from a sense of respect for Jesus. “Which commandment is the first of all?” he asks (v. 28). The first half of Jesus’ reply is hardly astonishing. The second half of Jesus’ answer to the scribe’s question comes from Leviticus 19:18. When coupled with the mandates of the Shema, this commandment welds personal piety to active ethical behavior. Jesus fully intends these “two” commandments to be as one inseparable mandate. Note that he concludes, “There is no other commandment greater than these” — suggesting that these commands should be designated as numbers 1 and 1, not 1 and 2. The commandments Jesus chooses as most important are highly theological and ethical in nature, while the practices the scribe chooses with which to contrast them are ritual. In fact, the scribe, in making this kind of comparison while standing in the temple — the center of all Jewish cultic/ritual activity — is being quite indiscreet. Jesus’ final words to the scribe also differentiate this exchange from the other combative challenges Jesus had faced that day. Mark’s text, which generally has few good things to say about the religious authorities, specifically compliments this scribe (he “answered wisely”). Jesus’ response is also unique. When he announces that this scribe is “not far from the kingdom of God” (v. 34), it is clear that this “kingdom” reference is not to the eschatological age to come. Instead, it appears to refer more to a condition that exists here and now. The kingdom of God for which this scribe is almost ready seems more like the good news of the gospel itself, which, once received, will put him on the path toward the eternal kingdom. This exchange between Jesus and the scribe becomes something of an illustration of the great commandment. Jesus and the scribe have stepped away from “us versus them” categories and created an island of reconciliation in a sea of hostility. Their common devotion to God and neighbor silences the debate, and Mark reports, “After that no one dared to ask him any question” (v. 34).

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

Setting the Bar. Think about the high jump in track-and-field meets. If you’re hoping to go to the Olympics to compete in the high jump, you’re going to have to set the bar at least 7 feet, 6 inches, to even have a chance. But if you’re in middle school, high school or college, the bar will be set much lower. Any number of factors may influence how high the bar is set. In this text, the bar is set fairly high. Happy people, the psalmist writes, are those “whose way is blameless” (v. 1). They are also people who “do nothing wrong” (v. 3, NIV). Nothing? Not anything wrong? Totally blame-free? Not just a little blame? Of course, a “do-nothing-wrong-and-blame-free” life does not happen without a lot of training. The writer says that with respect to the law of God, he keeps it, seeks it, walks it, obeys it, considers it and learns it. So, before we complain about the bar being set too high, we might first ask whether we’re doing any of the training that might make it possible for us to set the bar as high as the psalmist does.

What Does the Text Say?

Psalm 119, the longest psalm (and de facto chapter) in the Bible, from which today’s reading is taken, is an extended meditation on “the law of the Lord” (v. 1b). It is an alphabetic acrostic of 22, eight-line stanzas, each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. Although something of a literary tour de force, the psalm lacks a clear, logical sequence of ideas, making it, like most other alphabetic acrostic psalms, less than satisfactory in spots. Although unique in its scale, Psalm 119 shares the acrostic form (in various permutations) with Psalms 9-10 (one psalm in the Septuagint), 25, 34, 37, 111, 112 and 145. “Law of the Lord” (v. 1) is one of the seven similar expressions for God’s word, or Torah law, found in this section of the psalm and throughout Psalm 119. Almost every line of this psalm contains a synonym for the law of the Lord, adding to the sometimes awkward and contrived feel of the composition. These first eight verses focus on the happiness that comes to those who keep the laws of God, as well as the different ways the writer intends to observe the laws of God.

Worship Resources

Leader: When the Lord redeemed a people, he gave a first commandment: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

People: A law to lift up our hearts to God.

Leader: And again, they who worship must worship in Spirit and in truth.

People: Lord, grant us your free Spirit of worship, and sanctify our hearts wholly in truth.

Lord, we often walk either carelessly or with too much care through our daily duties and diversions, so that we lose sight of the path you have set before us that leads straight to you. As your Son said to Martha, who was occupied in so many things, “one thing is needful.” Help us to remember our true calling, to serve and glorify you. You call us to come apart and rest awhile, to sit at your feet in quietness.

We think now of the one commandment that you called the greatest, that we should love God with all our hearts, minds and strength. With our whole beings, and with everything that is in us, let us praise your holy name.

As Mary Magdalene poured upon your head that sweet perfume of devotion, so let us pour upon you the essence of our devotion, to the glory of your name. Amen.

The commandments of God are encapsulated in this: that we love our neighbor as ourselves. We are not alone in this task — Christ gives us strength and courage for the task. In a world consumed too often by darkness, let us prepare for ministry by clothing ourselves in the light of Christ. In the name of the triune God. Amen.

Hymns
How Firm a Foundation
More Love to Thee
Trust and Obey

Worship and Praise*
The Greatest Commandment (Zach)
It Is Well (DiMarco)
You Stand Alone (Romanacce, DeGraide, Bischof)

*For licensing and permission to reprint or display these songs on screen, go to ccli.com. The worship and praise songs suggested by Homiletics can be found in most cases on Google by using the title as the search term.

COMMENTARY

on Deuteronomy 6:1-9