"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 might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” – Deut 6:4-9 (ESV)
When Jesus was led into the wilderness, the devil tried to cajole Him into sinning. This led to a Bible argument: the devil was quoting verses and Jesus was quoting verses back. Was what the devil was saying false? – No, but he was being deceptive. Jesus, however, centers His response on Deuteronomy 6-8. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is known as the shema (which means ‘hear’) and this verse helped the people of God focus their devotion and practice on the Lord God. Jesus is quoting from this very important passage (and from a subsequent passage) to let the devil know that He will not be moved from His single-minded devotion to God. This is why the Word of God needs to be etched on our hearts – otherwise we will be led astray by teachings that have hints of truth to them but are grossly misapplied. It is also warning against being the one who is distorting the application of truth.
