Messianic Jewish Counseling Devotional for Couples on Parashat Va’etchanan
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Parashat Va’etchanan: “And I pleaded”
Scripture Focus
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our G-d, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”(Deuteronomy 6:4–5)
Theme: Wholehearted Love: For G-d and Each Other
In Va’etchanan, Moses recounts the Ten Commandments, the Shema, and G-d’s call to wholehearted covenant love. This is not just about personal devotion, it’s also the blueprint for covenant relationships between people, especially in marriage. The way we love G-d shapes the way we love each other.
Reflection for Couples
- One G-d, One Heart
Just as Israel is called to serve only Ad-nai, marriage calls you to a kind of “oneness”, an undivided loyalty to each other.- Are there “competing voices” in your relationship, distractions, grudges, or outside pressures, that divide your unity?
- G-d’s oneness invites your oneness.
- Love with All
In Hebrew, b’khol levav’kha (“with all your heart”) implies both your inner thoughts and outward actions. In marriage, loving with “all” means not holding back emotionally, spiritually, or even in the little everyday kindnesses.- Are there places where you give G-d your “all” but give your spouse only your “leftovers”?
- Pass It On
Deuteronomy 6 urges us to teach these words diligently to your children. For couples, this means your marriage itself is teaching, showing the next generation what covenant faithfulness looks like. Your love for each other becomes a living testimony.
Practical Counseling Exercise
Shema for Two
- Sit facing each other. One partner recites the Shema (Deut. 6:4–5) slowly and meaningfully.
- Afterward, each shares one way they can love the other “with all their heart, soul, and strength” this week.
- Pray together, asking the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to help you love in the same wholehearted way G-d loves you.
Prayer
Avinu Malkeinu, our Father and King, You have called us to love You with our whole being. Teach us to reflect that love toward each other, to serve with joy, to forgive quickly, and to honor the covenant You have given us. May our home echo the Shema, so that all who see us know we serve One G-d and walk as one flesh in Yeshua’s name. Amen.
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Blessings in Mashiach Yeshua (Jesus the Messiah),
