One אֶחָד-Echad

“Here O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the Lord is one!”-Deuteronomy 6:4

Echad is Hebrew for the number one and the above Scripture is the one verse that defines the essence and identity of Israel, the idea that there is only ONE G-d who created the heavens and the earth. However, before the G-d of Israel made Himself known to the Israelites, the whole world was awash in multiple-god worship. In fact, from an anthropological perspective, there is no such thing as an atheistic civilization. Every nation had their own little gods usually representing the forces of nature. There was the god of the river, the god of the trees, the god who controlled the wind and rain and so on and so on.

To the ancient mind, the existence of innumerable deities was a given. Another notion strongly held was the idea that a god’s sphere of authority was territorial. For example, it was thought that the Egyptian gods only had power in their own country. Once one left Egypt, one was no longer under the power or protection of that country’s gods. In addition, it was believed that the more gods a nation could claim as its own, the wealthier and more powerful that nation was. Hence, in the beginning, Israel most likely felt god-poor in comparison with other peoples.

The plagues that were brought on the nation of Egypt were nothing less than Yahweh systematically battling and destroying Egypt’s gods. Not only was it G-d’s intention to free the Israelites from 400 years of bondage but He also wanted to be a witness to the Egyptians and the other nations of the world that He alone was supreme and the only god in the universe.

Interestingly, even after the Israelites witnessed the miracles G-d performed in Egypt, they still held to many of the polytheistic beliefs characteristic of the surrounding nations. In other words, although they believed in Yahweh, they didn’t believe He was the only G-d in existence. They still believed that the other nations had their own gods and that Yahweh was just stronger than the rest of them. And they most likely thought that they had to physically leave Egypt in order to be totally free from the influence of pharaoh and his gods, kind of like a refugee coming to the United States to escape an oppressive dictatorship.

Hence, from Genesis all the way to the New Testament, one can witness a logical progression taking place in terms of the Israelites’ perceptions concerning the real nature of G-d. In spite of G-d constantly warning them to not succumb to idol worship, it was very, very difficult for the Israelites to adopt a pure monotheistic mindset. They still clung to their little idols at worse or engaged in mixed worship of Yahweh with other pagan deities at best. It was only through time and many learning experiences that they finally came to understand that not only is Yahweh the most powerful god in the universe, He is the ONLY god in the universe, His sphere of influence is unlimited and HE reigns supreme over all the nations!

We shouldn’t belittle the ancient Israelites for their primitive beliefs because the simple truth of the matter is we do the same thing. For example, do you take the Bible at face value when it claims to be G-d-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in all righteousness? Or do you intersperse your Bible studies with self-help books based on pagan new age beliefs? I’m talking about all of the “positive thinking”, “whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve” nonsense out there. Authors like Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale have got to go.

Or as a believer in the G-d of Israel, do you celebrate Easter? Did you know that the word Easter is just Anglo-saxon for Ishtar, a fertility goddess? Did you know that a rabbit is a symbol for this fertility goddess and that the eggs represent the ovum? Now how is this any different than creating and worshipping a golden calf? No wonder the Jews think Christianity is strange, especially when Christians claim to be a believers in the one true living G-d.

L-rd, I pray that our lives would be a glorious witness to the fact that You are one. Let us be filled with Your one truth, one faith, and one Spirit.

Amen.