Hear or Obey?

Something significant happened in the time period represented between Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 19:9.  Here's the New King James Version of that portion of scripture:

Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, " Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever."

Notice in verse 5 that God tells Moses to relay a message to Israel.  We are all familiar with the promise He lays out:  "you shall be a special treasure to Me".  We are even more familiar with the promise He makes in verse 6.  We totally grasp the whole "kingdom of priests and holy nation" concept.  But do we understand what God was actually saying in verse 5?  It's a conditional covenant.  God lays it out like this:  "If you do this, I will do this."  It's been translated as "if you will indeed obey My voice".  That's His condition, as translated by King Jimmy.  But the two words "indeed" and "obey" are actually the same exact Hebrew word:  shema.

I have highlighted the parts of the scripture that stand out to me.  Notice how God presents this covenant as pertaining to how Israel responds to His voice in verse 5 but then in verse 9 He seems to change it to how Israel responds to the voice of Moses.  Why the switch?  Why did it go from Israel "shema" the voice of God to Israel believing what God tells Moses?  Why did God suddenly make Moses the intermediary "forever"?

The key is in the meaning of the word shema.  One of it's meanings is indeed "to obey".  But check out the significance of the word in Hebrew tradition as explained here.  The Shema is a specific and highly important hebrew prayer that goes like this:

"One Lord Our God The Lord O Israel Hear!"

Shema also means "to hear"  or "to listen intently".  It also means "to understand" or "to hear for understanding".  If we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that God wants us to follow His rules, then the word "shema" would certainly mean "obey".  But if we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that He wants "a special treasure", as He said was His intent, perhaps "shema" means "to hear".  Since both "indeed" and "obey" were both the word "shema", perhaps what God was really saying was "hear me and understand".

Consider the passage re translated with "hear" and "understand":

Now therefore, if you will hear and understand My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

That changes things quite a bit, doesn't it?  So, why did God then tell Moses, "that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever"?  Look at verse 8 in light of my re translation:

"...All that the Lord has spoken, we will do..."

He didn't ask them to DO anything.  He wanted their ear.  He told them in the previous verses how He lead them out of Egypt "on eagles wings", i.e. with NO EFFORT of their own.  And yet instead of listening the very voice of the One who had saved them, they said they will simply do what He says to do.  He presents Himself as a lover and they responded to Him like a taskmaster.  He called them a special treasure and they responded to Him like a tool (literally and figuratively).

From that very moment, Exodus seems to just go down hill.  God showed them that He will do it all for them.  He didn't want to give them a set of rules and regulations but it was the only thing they were willing to accept.  They wanted to relate to God, not as a treasure, but as peers.  They wanted to be righteous of their own accord.  God just wanted a people of His own.  He just wanted a partner, a lover, a bride.

The Law came as a result of the delusion that Israel could justify itself.  This is true of all men.  God wants us to sit and listen, captivated by every word.  We tend to gravitate toward methods and formulas.  We will not take His word for the safety and prosperity He promises us.  We tend to want the ability to measure and govern.  He wants us to just trust Him.

A war began in the time between Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 19:9.  The war between man and God.  That war ended when Jesus was born.  The angels proclaimed it: "Peace on earth.  Good will toward men."  We are no longer under law but grace.  What if we are still mistranslating the "shema" in our life?  What if our eyes are on "obeying God" when we should have had our eyes on "listening" to God.  What if when we hear Him and desire to understand Him we can't help but also "obey" Him?