In the Bible, “shamar” often translates to “to keep” or “to guard,” emphasizing a protective and attentive relationship to God’s commandments and creation. Its significance lies in the call for believers to actively preserve and honor God’s covenant, reflecting their commitment to His guidance and teachings.
Scripture
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Shamar: Biblical Meaning and Significance
The Hebrew term “shamar,” which translates to “to keep,” “to guard,” or “to watch over,” holds profound theological significance in the biblical narrative, particularly in its portrayal of the relationship between God, humanity, and creation. Primarily, “shamar” is used in conjunction with the commandments or laws of God, emphasizing the believer’s responsibility to safeguard and adhere to divine instructions. For instance, in Deuteronomy 6:17, it states, “You shall diligently keep (shamar) the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes which he has commanded you.” This passage signifies not only an obligation but a call to action—believers are entrusted with the duty to actively maintain and uphold the covenant that binds them to God.
Furthermore, the idea of “shamar” extends beyond the observance of commandments; it encapsulates a holistic stewardship of creation itself. In Genesis 2:15, the Lord instructs Adam to “work and keep” the Garden of Eden, implying a tender guardianship over the natural world. This implies that the act of “shamar” involves a commitment to nurturing and preserving both spiritual and ecological realms, reflecting God’s care and purpose in creation. Thus, to shamar is to embody an attentive guardianship that honors God’s will, sustains His creation, and nurtures the covenant relationship that believers share with Him. Such an understanding enriches the Christian call to be stewards of faith and caretakers of the world, integrating one’s spiritual life with acts of love and responsibility.
In addition to its implications for obeying God’s commandments and stewarding creation, “shamar” is interwoven with the themes of protection and vigilance throughout the biblical narrative. This protective aspect emerges prominently in the Psalms, where believers are encouraged to “shamar” their hearts and minds against the influences of sin and temptation. For example, in Psalm 141:3, David pleads, “Set a guard (shamar) over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch (shamar) over the door of my lips.” Here, “shamar” signifies not only a physical guarding but an embodiment of the spiritual awareness necessary for righteous living. It underscores the significance of being attentive to both internal struggles and external pressures that can lead one away from a faithful walk with God.
Moreover, “shamar” also represents the protective watchfulness that God exercises over His people, a recurring theme that assures believers of divine oversight and care. In prophetic literature, such as in Zechariah 2:5, God promises, “For I, says the LORD, will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.” In this context, “shamar” denotes God’s role as a protector and defender, ensuring that His chosen ones are safe under His vigilant gaze. By recognizing the twofold nature of “shamar”—the imperative for human stewardship and the divine protection offered by God—believers gain a comprehensive understanding of their relationship with the Creator. This dual nature calls Christians to actively engage in safeguarding their faith and community, all while trusting in the steadfast watchfulness of God over their lives, thereby fostering a dynamic interplay between human agency and divine providence.
The Concept of Guardianship
The term “Shamar” in the biblical context often conveys the idea of guardianship and protection. It signifies a role of vigilance and responsibility, where individuals are called to safeguard not only their own well-being but also that of their community and the divine commandments. This broader meaning emphasizes the importance of being watchful and proactive in maintaining the integrity of one’s faith and the moral fabric of society.
Stewardship of Creation
Another significant aspect of “Shamar” relates to the stewardship of creation. This concept highlights humanity’s responsibility to care for the earth and its resources. In this sense, “Shamar” calls for an active engagement in preserving the environment and nurturing the relationships within it. This stewardship reflects a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all creation and the divine mandate to honor and protect it.
Spiritual Vigilance
“Shamar” also embodies the idea of spiritual vigilance and awareness. It encourages believers to remain alert to spiritual dangers and to actively cultivate their relationship with God. This vigilance involves not only guarding against external threats but also being mindful of internal struggles and temptations. The significance of “Shamar” in this context underscores the necessity of a disciplined spiritual life, where prayer, reflection, and adherence to divine teachings are paramount.
How to Strengthen Your Covenant with God Daily
Strengthening your covenant with God daily is a beautiful journey that invites you to deepen your relationship with Him. Start each day with intentional prayer, inviting God into your thoughts and actions; this sets a tone of openness and receptivity. Consider reading a passage from the Bible that resonates with you, allowing its wisdom to guide your decisions and interactions throughout the day. Journaling your thoughts and prayers can also be a powerful way to reflect on your spiritual growth and recognize God’s presence in your life. Additionally, seek opportunities to serve others, as acts of kindness not only fulfill Christ’s command to love one another but also draw you closer to His heart. Remember, it’s in the small, consistent choices that we cultivate a vibrant faith, so embrace each moment as a chance to renew your commitment to God and His promises.
Bible References to Shamar’s Meaning and Significance:
Exodus 20:8-11: 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Deuteronomy 4:1-6: 1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.
3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor.
4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Deuteronomy 6:1-9: 1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,”
2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
7 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.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Psalm 121:1-8: 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Proverbs 4:20-27: 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Isaiah 26:1-4: 1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
Jeremiah 31:31-34: 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.
Ezekiel 33:1-9: 1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman,
3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,
4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
7 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”
8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
Matthew 28:18-20: 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
John 14:15-21: 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
1 Timothy 6:20-21: 20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”
21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.
2 Timothy 1:13-14: 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
1 John 2:3-6: 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Revelation 3:10-13: 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Reverend Ogunlade is a seasoned Church Minister with over three decades of experience in guiding and nurturing congregations. With profound wisdom and a serene approach, Reverend Ogunlade has carried out various pastoral duties, including delivering uplifting sermons, conducting religious ceremonies, and offering sage counsel to individuals seeking spiritual guidance. Their commitment to fostering harmony and righteousness within their community is exemplified through their compassionate nature, making them a beloved and trusted figure among the congregation.