Introduction:

May God helps us to raise our children to love God with all their heart and follow Jesus for all their days.

Some of the parents are wondering if it is possible to raise children to serve, love and follow Jesus especially in dark times in this wicked modern world. By God’s grace, by gracious God’s words and through unity and encouragement of those responsible and faithful Christian in God’s church, it is very possible that we can raise our children to follow Jesus.

The Word of God can help us raise Children who love God wholeheartedly and follow God consistently. Our passages this morning from God’s Word that God called and commanded Moses to teach parents to help future generation of children, and these are the parents who were about to take their children into the land that God promised to their patriarch’s forefathers like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The words are powerful effects that would shape character and influence a person’s direction in life. If the words of a human being have power to shape and influence the direction of our lives, how much more the words of God that have more power to shape character and even influence for a better future of children’s eternal and profitable direction of lives.

The context of our passage is during the end of Moses life speaking to the new generation of Israelites who prepares to enter and possess the promised land of God that God had promise for their forefathers. Forty years earlier, after their parents see the powerful working hand of God for their good sake and after they were redeemed from the slavery of Egypt through God’s grace and goodness, their parents started to enjoy on an eleven-day journey to this wonderful, bountiful land flowing with milk and honey as God promised.

On the other hand, despite all the graciousness and goodness of God that they witnessed, heard and enjoyably experienced, that old batch of generation, killed and did not enter the promised land because these redeemed parents from Egypt failed to accept God and refused to trust and obey the divine words of God, they rebelled against God and Moses.

Moses did not want to see the loss of new generation again after he saw the tragic devastation that leads the loss of previous old generation of Israelites. That is why Moses gathers the new generation that includes sons and daughters of that old generation that perished in the wilderness and failed to enter the promised land. Moses shares to these sons and daughters the words of instruction that God has given to him. These are words of wisdom, words of blessings, good words, life giving words designed to shape and prepare the nation of Israel to know, to love, to worship, to serve and to enjoy the One True God in the good and bountiful land that God had promised to their forefathers to give them.

Our passage Deuteronomy 6:1-9 is the summary of the nature, the aim and the life shaping power of the entire Torah or the law of the Lord that is designed to provide this new generation of Israel wisdom, guidance and understanding in the eyes of other heathen nations (Deuteronomy 4:1-8). God wants these new generation of sons and daughters to diligently keep their soul and carefully guard their heart so that these young generation would be reminded and never forget all the goodness that has done for them because of God’s everlasting love and divine pleasure upon them. Besides in our context,

Moses warned this new generation of Israel that were standing in front of him, as they are preparing to enter and inherit this bountiful land with flowing of milk and honey, they must carefully learn not repeat the big mistake committed by the old batch of generation who perish in wilderness, who failed and forfeited their right to enter the promised land because they believe not God and His Words.

Moses explains to this new generation that they must understand that Moses not only care for them to dwell in the promised land but also for the good of their children and their grandchildren would dwell as well. In order for them to live profitably, bountifully dwelling in that land, the Lord God would have to help this new generation to teach their sons and daughter to know, love, obey, serve and follow God. Therefore, Moses gives them words from God purposely designed with a goal to shape the life of their children that will represents God’s chosen nation of Israel. That is exactly the goal of Moses that is why he talks here with Israel in God inspired words designed for a nation particularly for Israel.

Although we are not a literal Israel by race, but still we can learn valuable lesson from God’s instruction delivered by Moses to this new generation that will help us also to raise our own children to truly know God, wholeheartedly love God and faithfully follow God for all their days and in all their ways.

Moses teaches this new generation of Israel with valuable spiritual encouragement based perhaps from the most essential and most considered teachings in the entire Torah, the Shema.

Five important exhortations given by God to Moses to teach Israel:

I – COVENANT FOUNDATION OF GOD’S INSTRUCTION

Having reminded his audience of the Ten Commandments, which they heard at Horeb, Moses turned to details of the Law which they did not hear because they were afraid of the voice of God.

Deuteronomy 5:25-27 “Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. ²⁶For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.”

The God, who is the powerful Creator of all things made a covenant love relationship with Israel which is the real foundation contained in these words of instruction. That foundational reality supporting this God’s instruction must be realized by this new generation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 5:2 “The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.”

Because of this existing covenant love relationship of God to Israel, God displayed a very amazing, incredible, supernatural power of God to deliver Israel from the cruel, merciless bondage and unbearable suffering they experienced from the Egyptian.

Deuteronomy 5:6 “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”

In addition, according on this love relationship covenant between God and Israel, God made a wondrous, amazing promises to their forefathers to bless them of the promised land with flowing milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 6:3 “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.”

God shows patience, longsuffering and do all good things out of His unconditional everlasting love to this unlovable and undesirable nation of Israel whom God chose to be His special, treasured possession.

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. ⁷The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: ⁸But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ¹⁰And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. ¹¹Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.”

The most astonishing and the most impressive reality according to our passage is not we love God for who God is, but it is that God loved us despite that we are sinners in nature, doing what is against His will and we are the cause of His death. That is an amazing reality that the Holy God love sinful men!

This truth that God loves so much the sinful world is summed up by Apostle John in I John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

In our passage, as Moses called Israel and give them the statutes and judgments from the Words of God not for the purpose that they might earn the love and pleasure of God but because God has loved them and perform or work for them out of that everlasting, enduring and incomparable love.

It is because of this strong, solid covenant between God and Israel, that no matter what the old generation that fails and perished disobeyed God by not trusting God and His Word, God still faithful, and honor His word of promise to their patriarchs’ forefathers that the covenant will still be unbreakable, and existing. This new generation of Israel needs to learn not to duplicate the mistakes and disobedience of the past old generation but must hear and obeyed the instruction given by God to Moses to teach them that they might live by commandment, so to prove to them that God honor this foundational covenant God and Israel, that is why the promise land is open and prepared for this new generation and will be fulfilled.

II – CHARGE OF GOD’S INSTRUCTION – v.1-3

The primary charge of God that is given to Moses is to teach believers to obey His commandments (verses 1-3).

We will see the supreme importance of God’s instruction that has to be recognized by Israel.

Moses functions here as the intermediary between Yahweh and the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 5:27-30), and teaches them what the Lord wanted them to do (commandment, the statutes and the judgments) in the land across the Jordan. Note Moses gives them moral instructions, not military instructions to enable them to conquer the evil Canaanites.

Accordingly, Deuteronomy 6 to Deuteronomy 11, which may be called "the great commands and warnings," deal with the personal nature of the covenant relationship between God and Israel.

A. The Preciousness of these Words – v.1

Deuteronomy 6:1 “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:"

The word in verse 1” Now these are the commandments” is singular in Hebrew. The word (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. The Masoretic Text (the traditional rabbinical text of the Hebrew Bible) actually has the singular (hammitsvah), suggesting perhaps that “commandments” have the apposition following terms that explain it namely the ([khuqqim – “statutes”] and [mishpatim – “judgments”). That means the phrase in verse 1, could be translated “the entire command, namely, the statutes and ordinances.” This would essentially make the word (mitsvah) synonymous with (torah), the usual term for the whole collection of law. In the Hebrew “the commandment” is the sum and substance of the Divine enactment; equivalent to "the Law" (Deuteronomy 4:44 “And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:”).

The word in verse 1 “commandments” (Law or Torah) is followed by “statutes” and judgments” (rules or regulations). These commandments or the entire law (Torah) is introduced in Deuteronomy 4, expressed in Deuteronomy 5, and now identified here in Deuteronomy 6 as the central truth that made them understand and would shape how as Israelite view the life and the other countries around them.

Reasons of the importance or preciousness of the commandments of God to Israel:

1. Source of the Instruction

Deuteronomy 6:1 “the Lord your God commanded”

The words of instruction are important because of the source of it, which no other than the “Lord your God.”

The phrase “the LORD your God” - Moses continually emphasizes that Yahweh is Israel's God (279 times in 239 verses out of 396 times in the entire Old Testament. More than 50% of uses in one book!). Uses of the words “the LORD your God” in chapter 6 can be found in Deuteronomy 6:1; Deuteronomy 6:2; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 6:10; Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 6:15; Deuteronomy 6:16; Deuteronomy 6:17.

Notice again the instruction in verse 1, “the Lord your God commanded to teach you,” Actually it is God who commanded Moses to teach these new generation of Israelites what their children and grandchildren need to learn. Moses was just an instrument but the Words is from God “God has commanded me to teach you” NASB; “God commanded me to teach you” ESV.

The words are not sourced in Moses alone, God only used Moses to teach them; these words of instruction did not come from man’s wisdom on how the world works. These words of instructions are not just religious set of conditions and obligations as part because they were Israelites which are similar to other appointed condition and obligations that are common to other religious groups that were decreed or agreed policies upon by respective denominational leaders and trusted officers which are all based only from their human wisdom. These are important instructions because it contains the words from the creator and sovereign Lord of heaven and ruler over all the earth. It is God who knows personally each member of the family and what is best for all these children and grandchildren of these new generation of Israel.

Back in verse 1 the word “Commandment” (04687) in Greek mitsvah from tsavah which means to lay charge upon, command, order, that which is commanded. In short it is not a suggestion. In the Pentateuch, mitsvah speaks only of God's commands to men, never of men's commands. Note that commandment is coupled with "keep" some 69 times in the NASB translation, clearly indicating that a major emphasis of this mitsvah is human obedience to God. Mitsvah refers to God's orders, the direction in which to go or not to go. Proverbs 6:23 says God's mitsvah is a lamp giving light to the eyes so we can see where to walk or not walk. Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”

It is notable that the greatest frequency of mitsvah is in the book of Deuteronomy, the "second giving of the law" (where it occurs some 43 times).

The same is true when the Pastor preaches the Word of God today in our churches, we must also be reminded it is not the Pastor human wisdom, neither it is just an opinion, ideas, insights or comments of a Pastor, but rather it is entirely the word of God, the will and ways of God that is being imparted unto us.

The second reason why God's commandment to Israel is important or precious is:

2. Content of the Instruction

Deuteronomy 6:1 “to teach you,”

The words in the instruction are important because the content of the instructions are commandments from God.

Notice again the words in verse 1 “to teach you”

This is verbal plenary inspiration first hand, in person. Yahweh communicated the truth to Moses, who taught the truth to the second generation of Israel in the plains of Moab. Note that Moses did not simply SPEAK the words but specifically TEACHES (Hebrew - lamad; Septuagint - didasko) the words of Yahweh. Moses goal in teaching them was not just that Israel might gain information (head knowledge) about Yahweh and His ways but to experience transformation (heart change). This is always the goal of Spirit enabled, preaching and teaching. Isn't?

Regarding the verb "didasko" used in the Septuagint to translate "teach," it is notable that didasko means to teach a student in such a way that the will of the student becomes conformed to the teaching taught. In other words, the teacher teaches in such a way that as the student is taught, so the student changes his/her mind saying in essence ''I won't do it this way, but I will do it this way because I've learned this teaching.'' Doctrine determines direction of our behavior, behavior that is not "conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2). Teaching that Scripture finds significant is not that which gives information alone but which produces (Spirit enabled) transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”), making disciples (“mathetes” = learners) who seek to live supernaturally enabled by the Spirit –(Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”; Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”) and guided by the Word (Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”) in loving obedience to the will of our Father Who art in Heaven.

The third reason why God’s commandment to Israel is important or precious is:

3. Accountability of the Instruction

Deuteronomy 6:1 “that ye might do them”

The words in the instruction are important because this new generation of Israelites with their children and grandchildren are accountable to God to do these instructions.

These words of instruction from God are not intended to be religious or theological something that was hard to understand so it is not right to say I will not do them and there is no reason at all not to do God’s commandments.

The words of instruction from God are not purposely to lessen the importance of worship and rituals in Israel, but rather Moses tells them as God’s instructed them that faithful obedience and consistent practice must be expected as they are accountable to God if they would not do what God commanded them.

The words of instruction from God are aimed to be valued acceptably and consistently applied in every area of man’s life, since we notice of the plural “you” or “ye” in verse 1; and the singular “you” or “thou” or “thee” in verse 2. Really, it is a command for all in every man’s life. Not only the parents but all their children and grandchildren need to do all the instruction Moses taught them.

In verse 1, the word “Possess” (03423) Greek word “yarash” means to take possession of, inherit, dispossess, to drive out. Yarash is an especially important word in contexts dealing with Israel's conquest of and possession of the land of Canaan. Yahweh first promised possession of the land in the context of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15:7-21). Note that "possessing" also implies "dispossessing" another nation. In a legal sense, the right of possession passed from one generation to the next and so constituted "inheritance." Note that possession of the promised land and/or possession of the "inheritance" was directly connected to Israel's trust relationship with the Lord, so that breaking trust, and thus breaking the covenantal relationship with Yahweh led to dispossession. But even in exile, Israelites awaited the day when they would repossess the land (Jeremiah 30:3 “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.” - May 14, 1948 is when Israel was given statehood but this is not the final fulfillment - that awaits the Millennial Reign of their Messiah).

Notice the words in verse 1 “to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:”

This is like repeating the clear connection between the three words, first of taking in the Word of God (“teach you”), second of obeying the Word of God (“do them”) and third of possessing God's promised possessions (“possess it”). This is the "divine formula" in enabling one to possess divine promises. This is God’s formula for this new generation of parents and children to enter and possess the promised land.

God's pattern in the Old Testament was “hear” and “obey” ("trust” and “obey") and it is still God’s pattern in the New Testament. If this new generation of Israel are going to possess the promised land, they have to hear and obey God’s commandment. How about us believers in Christ, what are we have in Christ? In the New Testament of course believers do not possess a promised land but a promised life.

a. Believers possessed a promised life (2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”)

b. Believers have a supernatural life in Christ in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3 “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”)

c. Believers in Christ "have been made complete” (pleroo in perfect tense = continuing effect) (Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”)

d. Believers are commanded to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”)

e. Believers will be transformed by the Spirit from one degree of glory to another into the image of God's Son, Christ Jesus, in Whom in Whom we can possess the "promised life." (2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”)

f. Believer’s life is Christ (Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (1 John 5:11-12 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”)

g. Believer’s source of abundant life is Christ alone (John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”)

We believers in Christ can have those promised abundant spiritual life if we hear and obey God’s command.

In chapter five the Ten Commandments are brought before Israel as the foundation laws of the covenant. Now these are expounded to teach how they would be put into practice when the nation entered Canaan. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the commandments, statutes, and judgments had to be kept in the Land. The commandments of God were not for the wilderness journey alone. Entrance into Canaan did not release them from their obligation to obey the law of God. These Israelites still accountable to the instructions of God given to them when they entered the promised land. Victories in possessing the Land and disposing enemies would not change their relationship with the Lord, and they must never imagine that victory in disposing other nations gave them the right to challenge the terms set out at Horeb. They were still accountable to God’s Word given to them through Moses, that is why God’s instruction is so important.

There was always the danger that victorious conquest would lead Israel to believe that they could enjoy the good things of God without submission to His word. If it was their victory, they could have argued, was it not achieved by their own strength? Did this not give them the right to "re-negotiate" the terms of the covenant? Such would be utter folly, ignoring the fact that victories are the Lord's and that dependence on the Lord God is vital at all times, so they are accountable, because it is the obedience to God’s law gave them the true victory that comes from God.

B. The Partaker of these Words

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. ⁶Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

It is a wonderful and blessed thing that other nations see the True and Living God in the lives of the parents and children and grandchildren of this new generation of Israel, and the surrounding nations wonder how they become the people of this wise God which in fact are the results and effects of obedience to the law and commandments of God that Moses taught them. Other nations surely will testify that Israel is a great nation that is wise and understanding when they hear all these statutes that this generation of Israel had received instructions from God taught by Moses. When these generation of Israel who enter the promised land, do all the commandment, statutes and judgments of God that Moses taught them, other pagan nations surrounding them will see the wisdom and understanding they have. This is very true also in our lives as believers in Christ, we are spectacle of the world, the unsaved are watching us as a child of God with the wisdom and understanding that can only be found in the Word of God that is different from the wisdom of the world based only on human wisdom. The Word of God manifests God’s wisdom and understanding in our lives as it became a part of our lives and we became partaker of that precious Word of God.

The world is watching us, describing us how we act and live with the wisdom and understanding of the Words of God which God commanded us to obey that we might give glory to God in this earthly evil world.

C. The Purpose for these Words

Deuteronomy 6:2-3 "That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. ³Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.”

The Purpose of God’s word of instruction to Israel’s new generation:

1. Israel must fear the Lord – v.2 (Have a right view of God)

Deuteronomy 6:2 “That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God,”

The Hebrew verb “lamad” implies acceptance of and submission to the content taught. Another major goal of Moses' teaching (and all teaching) is that the hearer would learn to fear (reverentially, be in awe of) Yahweh all the days of their life. The parents should then pass on this divine truth to their children.

Deuteronomy 4:10 “Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

Deuteronomy 6:2 “That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.”.

The purpose of God’s commandments or God’s law is that the people and their descendants should "fear" the Lord their God throughout their lifetime. This fear can include an element of being afraid. For example, consider the experience of the Israelites at Horeb (Sinai) with its loud thunder, lightning flashes, earthquake, and darkness resulting in "shaking fear!" More often in the Scripture, fear is depicted as standing in awe of God, holding Him in utmost reverence and respect.

The person who truly fears God surrenders his life to serve God, to obey God just as He commands. But the word means more than just reverence and honor: it means to respect the justice and judgment of God, to fear what God can do to a person if he disobeys the commandments of God. Thus, the very purpose for teaching the commandments to God's people is just this: to teach the fear of God. Believers are to fear God: reverence and worship Him, surrendering their lives to Him, obeying His commandments and living exactly as He says and respect His holiness and justice, lest their disobedience arouse the judgment of God.

2. Israel must obey the Lord – v.2, 3 (Have a right behavior before the Lord)

Deuteronomy 6:2 “I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life;”

We see here that God commanded the Parents, children and grandchildren to obey the Lord all the days of thy life.

Notice in verse 2 the words “all the days of thy life”

Moses emphasized on Israel’s lifestyle—daily obedience, not just particular worship periods or annual feasts. It is the responsibility of Israel’s parents to train up their child in the way they should go. This is daily training for a child and this will be part of daily life of a child. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Notice the words in verse 3 “Hear therefore, O Israel”

It seems Moses is saying “O Israel you should listen” (shama) Moses is saying to these Parents of the new generation and others Israelites "Pay attention, Israel." The verb shama conveys the sense not just to hear words, but to hear with undivided attention with a goal to obey what is heard. A negative example is when Adam "listened" to Eve. Genesis 3:17 “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” - Adam listened and then acted on what he heard!

Are you reading the Word of God daily, but not really "listening?" Don't deceive yourself! (James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”; There is the blessing of obedience in James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”) The Septuagint renders shama in Deuteronomy 6:3 that is in the aorist imperative a command which can even convey a sense of urgency!

The idea is "Pay attention and do it!" Moses is telling the Parents to do God’s instruction and teach it to their children and grandchildren that they may do it also. There are no options here, nor are there ever any options in doing the will of God. It is always "his way or no way," for He is Lord. Full obedience to Him brings fullness of blessing. In Israel's case, they would have a multiplied population in a land of unlimited natural resources that is why Moses said “Hear therefore, O Israel.”

It has already been observed that the call to Israel to hear is used on a number of occasions in Deuteronomy at vital times not only in Deuteronomy 6 but also in Deuteronomy 5:1 “And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.”. The call was for all Israel and here in Deuteronomy 6, for the second time, the call is made.

The word in verse 3 “and observe to do it”.

Moses is teaching the Israel new generation to do all what is in the commandment, statutes, and judgment of God and then be an example to their children then teach and train their children and grandchildren to follow God.

The Christian life begins with obedience, depends on obedience, and results in obedience. Only in obedience can we discover the great joy of the will of God. And remember obedience is not legalism for it is only by the grace of God one can obey the law of God (true in both the Old and New Testaments!)

3. Israel will prosper before the Lord

a. That it may be well with thee

Deuteronomy 6:3 “that it may be well with thee,”

God blesses His people, assures them of a full, satisfying life. If this new generation of Israel together with their children obeys God, they would walk throughout life conquering the temptation to lie, steal, commit adultery, and react in anger and violence when wronged by people. The point is Moses wants them and their children to live a victorious life over the temptations and trials of life. Therefore, God gives the parents and their children of this new generation, a sense of confidence, assurance, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life. The parents with their children and grandchildren grow in love for God and for people, experiencing the fullness of joy, peace, and strength of life.

It is only as Israel’s new generation Parents shows a pattern in following the Lord in the eyes of the future generation (children and grandchildren) keeping God's laws and commandments (Deuteronomy 4:40 “Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.”) just then that Israel is guaranteed security in her land.

b. That ye may increase mightily

Deuteronomy 6:3 “that ye may increase mightily”

Propagation as promised by the Lord. Obedience brings a realization of the promise of the Abrahamic covenant of multiplication of the offspring. By obeying the commandments these Parents and their children would increase the population of a people. The promise is that they will increase mightily in the land.

c. That you might enjoy God’s blessing bountifully

Deuteronomy 6:3 "the land that floweth with milk and honey.”

The promise is that they will enjoy the land flowed with milk and honey. The promise of enjoyment of all that the Lord had provided for them. By obeying the commandments these Parents and their children improves the quality of life.

The promise of a land capable of such abundance was made at the time of the promise of deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 3:8,17 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.¹⁷And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”). He had remained faithful to that promise and now was about to honour it.

Notice the words “as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee,”

God's gracious promise to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) gave Israel ownership of the land (Genesis 15:18 “In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:”), but it was their own obedience to the Lord that guaranteed their possession and enjoyment of the land. In other words, the Abrahamic Covenant's promise of land to Israel was unconditional in the sense that it would always belong to the nation of Israel. However, the possession of that land and prolongation in that land at any point in time was conditioned on the nation's obedience to God's commandments. Obey and stay. Disobey and be expelled ("exile" which is exactly what happened - the 10 Northern tribes were taken into exile by Assyria in 722 BC and the 2 Southern tribes - Judah and Benjamin - were taken into exile by Babylon in 586 BC

Without doubt the description of the land would be an added incentive for the Israel’s second Generation to obey. The promises of Yahweh of a land flowing with milk and honey were sure, but they had to be laid hold of by faith that obeyed His Word. Remember this is exactly where the first generation failed to enter the promised land because they refused to believe God's promised word, even "despite all the signs" God has performed in their midst (Numbers 14:11 “And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?”).

When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against God and Moses, these men called Egypt "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Numbers 16:13 “Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?”), but God compared Egypt to an iron furnace (Deuteronomy 4:20 “But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.”; 1 Kings 8:51 “For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:”; Jeremiah 11:4 “Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:”).

Israel's bondage in Egypt helped to refine them and prepare them for their new life as a nation. However, all that the older generation seemed to remember about Egypt was the food they ate so freely.

Exodus 16:1-3 “And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. ²And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: ³And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Numbers 11:4-6 “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? ⁵We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: ⁶But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

The pain of their slavery in Egypt was overlooked or forgotten.

The words “milk and honey” is used 20 times, most often given BEFORE they entered the land (as an added incentive). -Exodus 3:8; Exodus 3:17; Exodus 13:5; Exodus 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers13:27; Numbers 14:8; Numbers 16:13; Numbers 16:14; Deuteronomy 6:3; Deuteronomy 11:9; Deuteronomy 26:9; Deuteronomy 26:15; Deuteronomy 27:3; Deuteronomy 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Jeremiah 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6; Ezekiel 20:15.

d. That you might dwell in this land for many days

Deuteronomy 6:2 “that thy days may be prolonged.”

Prolonged in Greek “arak” means to be long, make long, prolong, draw out, postpone. Arak is found most frequently in Deuteronomy, eleven times.

Not only the promise is that they might enjoy the blessing of the land, but they will be given a length of days to enjoy the land to the full.

Prolongation in that land was conditional on the Israel’s obedience to God’s commandments. Their days would be prolonged as a consequence of obedience. Obedience, in turn, would be prerequisite to long life in the land, both for the community and the individual. By obeying the commandments these Parents and their children extends life.

A person who obeys God will experience far less guilt, pressure, and tension. These are things that eat away at life, that cause ulcers and all kinds of other emotional and physical problems. Guilt, pressure, and tension sap the strength out of life and shorten life. One of the wisest things a person can do is to obey God, eliminating the guilt, pressure, and tension that disobedience brings into his life.

We can now conclude therefore, that this commandment, statutes and judgments commanded by God to Moses to teach were designed to instruct, equip, prepare, and motivate this new generation to:

1. Worship God Authentically (by knowing and loving Him)

2. Serve God Acceptably (by obeying His words)

3. Represent God Accurately (by modeling His wisdom)

4. Enjoy God Abundantly (by receiving, enjoying, and celebrating His blessings)

        - - - - - - TO BE CONTINUED - - - - - -

III – CENTRAL TRUTH OF GOD’S INSTRUCTION – v.4-5

The central truth at the heart of this instruction has to be received by this new generation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: ⁵ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might,"

Verses 4–5 constitute the so-called Shema (“hear”), widely regarded as the very heart of Jewish confession and faith for this new generation of Israel parents to learn for themselves, for their children and grandchildren. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all, he quoted this text (Matthew 22:37–38 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸This is the first and great commandment.”).

A. The Expression of the Truth about the Sovereign God – v.4

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”

The word “Hear” known as the “shema”. Note the Hebrew - the six (6) Hebrew words “Hear Israel, Jehovah God one”, so there is actually no verb “is” in this declaration. It is called “Shema” based on the first Hebrew word “sema”. Shema recited three (3) times a day by orthodox Jews. According to rabbinic law, it was to be recited morning and night (Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”). Moses encouraged and reminded the parents to teach or recited the shema morning and night to their children.

Note this is not just a famous Jewish command but a clear command to open your ears to truly hear and your heart to truly obey what is heard! “Hear” calls for immediate attention to the truth that follows - “to hear so as to do." This is the second summons (Deuteronomy 6) for this new generation of Israel to "hear", to pay attention and to obey. The first call is in (Deut. 5). Deuteronomy 5:1 “And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.”

To hear the Lord’s words of instruction is the central truth to Israel’s faith and to what it means to be a Jew.

How can they express the reality about who is the God of Israel?

1. Over all God

Israel must see that God is the Sovereign Lord who is over all that is in heaven and over all that is upon the earth. Israel must understand that the Sovereign Lord rules over the kings of the earth and He sustains all that lives on the earth by His providence which the pagan gods can never do.

2. Our True God

The Sovereign Lord of Israel who is the true God is also our God who chose to have a personal relationship with us who cares and always good and faithful to His promises for all His people. The LORD God Jehovah is faithful and True of Israel and not the pagan gods who were all false gods.

3. Only God that exists

The Sovereign God of Israel who is also our God is the only God that exists. Since He alone is the true God, therefore He deserves our exclusive worship, devotion and wholehearted service. Therefore, the pagan’s god of other enemies of Israel were not actually existing and should not be worshipped at not worthy to be served.

What is predicated here of Jehovah (Jehovah one) does not relate to the unity of God (oneness doctrine as attack to the doctrine of trinity), but simply states that it is to Him alone that the name Jehovah rightfully belongs, that He is the one absolute God, to whom no other Elohim can be compared. This is also the meaning of the same expression of words added in Zechariah 14:9 “and His name one,” can only signify that in the future Jehovah would be acknowledged as the one absolute God, as King over all the earth.

The significance of the statement of the Shema to Israel is direct refutation of the polytheistic pagan worship in all the nations that surrounded them, for in the Shema they affirmed that there is only ONE true and living God.

This instruction of God through Moses to this new generation of Israel not just prevent or avoid polytheism [the worship of many gods], but also syncretism [the practice of seeking to unify different beliefs], which reduces the one absolute God to a national deity, a Baal (Hosea 2:16 “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.”), and in fact every form of theism and deism, which creates for itself a supreme God according to philosophical abstractions and ideas. This teaching of Moses is to prepare this new generation of Israel both parents and children to be loyal and devoted to only one and true God Jehovah is over all God, the true God and the only God that exists and should never be influenced and deceived by other idolatrous pagan nations once they enter the promised land and dispose the enemies.

For although Jehovah, the absolute One, is not an abstract notion or 'the absolute idea', but Jehovah is the absolutely living God, as He made Himself known in His deeds in Israel for the salvation of the whole world. Therefore, without apology Jehovah is the absolute God and that there is no other deity.

There is only one God Who created the universe and only one God Who is the God of all mankind. There is only one God who created all things (1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him;…”). There is only one God who has made all men alike: (Acts 17:26 “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,”). There is only one God "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;”).

While the primary assertion of Deuteronomy 6:4 is that there is only one true God, it is also asserted that this true God is Israel's God. The Israelites should acknowledge no other god. The Lord, Israel's God, cannot be known or acknowledged in many forms like the Canaanite Baals could. There is no Lord of Sinai differentiated from a Lord of Mount Nebo or a Lord of Beersheba differentiated from a Lord of Reuben. Neither can the Lord be identified with any heathen god. There is only one Lord, and He alone is God. Furthermore, He is Israel's God, and they have entered into a covenant-treaty with Him. Moses is warning and preparing this new Generation of Israel not to do the sinful act of their forefathers serving and worshipping false gods and followed other gods, as God delivered them out of bondage in Egypt to enter Canaan.

Notice again in verse 4 “God”. The word “God” is the Hebrew name Elohim which was a noun that was used to refer to pagan gods and other entities, but in this context, it clearly refers to the One true and living God. This divinely revealed truth (Moses is conveying the Words Yahweh had spoken to him) would be significant for the Second Generation to hear, understand and remember because the promised land had a plethora of "gods" including many "Baals" (a word which means lord, owner, possessor, husband).

Moses is saying in essence that in contrast to the pagan gods of the Canaanites, the LORD our God is one. Note that Yahweh was Israel's God ("our God"), their very own (and only) God! This truth should have served to preclude pursuit of pagan "gods" which were not Israel's "gods," and in fact were not "gods" at all but were idols of wood, stone and metal that could not see, speak, hear or walk! (Psalm 115:3-8 “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. ⁴Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. ⁵They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: ⁶They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: ⁷They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. ⁸They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”).

How should the Israelites and us should respond to this central truth that God is sovereign who is over all, sustainer, the One True God and the only God that exists? Moses said “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:” What is the response?

B. The Expectation of response to the Truth about the Sovereign God – v.5

Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

The Lord's uniqueness precludes the worship of any other and demands a total love commitment (Deuteronomy 6:5). This confession does not preclude the later revelation of the Trinity, for the word God (Elohim) is a plural word, and the word one is also used of the union of Adam and Eve to describe two persons in one flesh (Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”).

Sadly, it only took two generations for Israel to forget the true meaning of the Shema so that by the time of the Judges for it says in (Judges 2:11-12 “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: ¹²And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people, that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.") They forsook because they forgot! Even sadder is that the time of the Judges lasted from about 1400-1100 BC, or almost 25% of Israel's entire national history in the Old Testament!

Probably we are expecting or assuming that the contents of God’s Words given to Moses to teach Israel are all about our sacrifices and offerings that we should bring before the Lord, about the obedience we have to give to the Lord, or about the labor of service that we might render to the Lord. However, that is not what the God’s word of instructions are all about. What Moses tells the Israelites and even tells us is that God desires that we love Him before any of our sacrifices and offerings, obedience, and service. How? The answer is in Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

1. Love God personally – “thou shalt love”

2. Love God exclusively – “the Lord thy God”

3. Love God completely – “with all thine heart, and with all thy soul”

4. Love God intensely – “with all thy might” or “with all thy strength”

Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

The fifth statement of the Shema is followed up by the charge to love the LORD your God, implying complete devotion to Him and not just emotional attraction. Moses’ sense of love is to express loyalty to Him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. The whole person is to express this loyal devotion to God.

The Shema was part of Jesus' answer to the question when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that Jesus had answered them well, the scribe asked the Lord Jesus, “what commandment is the foremost of all?” (Mark 12:28 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?”). Jesus replied in (Mark 12:29-31 “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel (imperative present); The Lord our God (present tense – continually) is one Lord: ³⁰And thou shalt love (agapao) the Lord thy God with all thy heart (kardia), and with all thy soul (psuche), and with all thy mind (dianoia), and with all thy strength (ischus): this is the first commandment. ³¹And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love (agapao) thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Jesus quoting the second commandment based in Leviticus 19:18 “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” It was the faith statement of the Shema for Israel new generation of parents to learn and obey by themselves and taught their children and grandchildren.

Israel was in covenant with Yahweh (Exodus 24:3-12 “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. ⁴And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. ⁶And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. ⁸And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. ⁹Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: ¹⁰And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. ¹¹And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink. ¹²And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.”). This shows that God is the author of the law or the commandment, statutes and judgment based on the book of the covenant sealed by the blood of covenant that Moses is teaching this new generation of parents of Israel to teach their children and their grandchildren.

Like any wife in covenant with her husband, Israel was charged by the "preacher" (Moses) to wholeheartedly, unreservedly love her Husband who in this case was Jehovah (Jeremiah 31:32 "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:"; Isaiah 54:5 "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called."; Hosea 2:2 "Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;"). This shows that the covenant was promised long time ago to their fathers or patriarchs but brake by the old generation of Israel who rebelled and destroyed by God's wrath, so this time Moses was teaching this new generation they must be careful not to disobey once again because the covenant was relational as God being their husband. This covenant would help them to fear God and obey so they can possess the promised land.

In verse 5 it says Deuteronomy 6:5 “thou shalt love the Lord thy God”, notice all the personal pronouns “thou…thy…thine…thy…thy) or (you…your…your…your…your). This love is not emotional but relational = "YOUR" God (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, ⁵Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; ⁶Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; ⁷Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ⁸Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”) It is not a suggestion but a command which should not be a burden (1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”), but one that is to be willingly, lovingly obeyed. Love involves a choice and Israel was to choose to be in an intimate relationship with Jehovah (husband) and it follows that because of that relationship they were to be faithful to Yahweh and keep His commandments. This truth of relational love must be learned by these parents and must be taught and be rooted in the heart of their children to obey God.

The demand in verse 5, Deuteronomy 6:5 "with all thine heart” excludes all half-heartedness, excludes all division of the heart in its love. We need to pray to give us an undivided heart (Psalm 86:11 “Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”). That is praying that God make us wholeheartedly committed to Him. If we noticed verse 5 “with all thine heart”, the heart is mentioned first before soul and might or strength, because the heart is the seat of the emotions generally and of love in particular; then follows the soul (nephesh) as the center of personality in man, to depict the love as pervading the entire self-consciousness; and to this is added, "with all the strength," of body and soul. Loving the Lord with all the heart and soul and strength is placed at the head, as the spiritual principle from which the observance of the commandments was to flow. That is the Shema which is given not only because it was Jewish statement of faith but is the great commandment these parents need to learn themselves and teach their children, and grandchildren.

Love God as your very own God. This is a personal relationship, not a distant relationship. God is not impersonal, far out in space someplace, distant and removed. God is personal, ever so close, and we are to be personally involved with God on a face-to-face basis. The command in verse 5 is Deuteronomy 6:5 "love the Lord thy God." Loving God is alive and active, not dead and inactive. Therefore, we are to maintain a personal relationship with God that is alive and active. Moses is exhorting this new generation of parents that they need to be zealous, steadfast, passionate in their living and serving toward Jehovah.

Some think that when they love God they will do as they please, but the phrase “Love the Lord thy God” is not giving license for loose living. Just the opposite. Read Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” It simply means that when we truly love God, we desire to do what is pleasing to God not what pleases our fallen flesh. Moses is telling this new generation of Israel that loving God not only alive and active but aim to please God and not to live or serve God only if you feel or if you want.

Obedience to the Law must be based on love for the Lord. It is the foundation on which obedience to the Law had to be built. Any other basis of obedience beside on love for the Lord reduced the keeping of the terms of the covenant to mere submission to rules of conduct. The lesson is plain. Keeping the terms of the covenant was to be based on devotion, not mere duty. The same principle holds good today. The Lord Jesus stated that those who love Him will display this by keeping His commandments (John 14:21 ”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.”) Moses is warning this new generation of Israel that obedience to the law is not just because of duty but because of devotion out of love.

The verb “to love” ahav or aheb in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment of Israel to Jehovah, their Lord their God. To love the LORD is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to Him in every respect, a truth Jesus Himself taught in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” See the word love in Deuteronomy 4:37 “And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;” Moses is telling this new generation of Israel of the faithfulness of the love of God to their forefathers and the inconsistency and disobedience of their forefathers to the covenant between Jehovah and Israel.

This exhortation to love God is found ten times in Deuteronomy and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is characteristic of Deuteronomy to link obedience to YHWH’s covenant as evidence of one’s love for Him (Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:1, 13; Deuteronomy 13:3; Deuteronomy 19:9; Deuteronomy 30:6, 16, 20).

The word “love” (Lxx Septuagint is “agapao”) in Hebrew “aheb”. The first use of “aheb” in the Old Testament is instructive as it is found in Genesis 22:2 where Yahweh instructed His servant Abraham to (Genesis 22:2 “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”)

Notice that at the outset, we see that an inherent quality of this love (in many contexts) is that it is costly. God wants us to love Him above everything, even our own flesh and blood.

Notice again in verse 5 the word “all” “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It means the utmost possible, thus speaks of a “all out total commitment” which is to be undivided and complete, lacking nothing. Holding nothing back.

The PREPOSITION “all” is repeated three times for emphasis. We would all do well to emulate the example of godly King Josiah of whom it was said II Kings 23:25 “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”.

Love God with your entire being, love God as your greatest treasure. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Moses is showing this new generation of Israel, that is the love that the forefathers or old generation of Israel who were killed had failed to express toward Yahweh, that is why Moses is teaching this new generation of Israel with their children that they need to learn that is God should be loved supremely, exclusively, and earnestly.

The word in verse 5, “heart” in Hebrew is “levav, lev” is the inner part, the inner man of a person. Although sometimes refers to a literal heart (Exodus 28:29, 1 Samuel 25:37, 2 Kings 9:24) but most often is used figurative to refer to what I term the "control center" of our being. Just as a healthy human heart is at the center of the body and absolutely essential for physical life and health, so too a healthy spiritual heart (intellect, emotion, will) is at the center of one's inner being (soul) and is vital for a healthy soul. The Old Testament physiology (study of how the human body works) the heart was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. The heart is the seat of man's affection and will (devotion). The heart attaches and focuses our will and devotion. The heart causes us to give either good things or bad things. The heart causes us to devote ourselves to either good or bad. Therefore, Christ says we are to love God "with all our heart." We are to focus our heart, our affection, and our will (devotion) upon God. Our spiritual heart thus controls out actions and our actions determine our habits, which in turn determine our character. When God measures the ''worth'' of a man's life He puts the measuring tape around his heart, not around his head. Be a man after God's Own heart (Acts 13:22 “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”) We must continually "post a guard" at the doorway of our heart, so that every avenue for sin's entry is blocked. In Hebrew Scripture, one thinks with the heart: (Zechariah 8:17 “And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour;.. saith the Lord.”)

The word in verse 5, “soul” in Hebrew is “nephesh” as being. The Old Testament anthropology (science of humanity which studies human beings) equated the “soul” (nephesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate nephesh as being or the like. The term “soul” describes the life-force (breath) in both humans and animals (Genesis 1:25-26; Genesis 2:7, 19; Genesis 7:22; Job 34:14–15; Psalm 104:29, 30; Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 3:19–21). Here in our passage context in Deuteronomy 6, it refers to passionate desire. The "soul" (nephesh) is the seat of man's breath and life or consciousness. The soul is the life of a man, the consciousness, the breath, the essence, the being of a man. The soul is the life of an animal. The soul is the breath and consciousness that distinguishes man and other animals from vegetation. The world of vegetation lives and man and animals live, but there is a difference in their living. Man and animals are breathing and conscious beings. The essence of their being is breath and consciousness. They are living souls. This is clearly pointed out in the Hebrew language of Genesis 1:20 “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature (living souls “nephesh”) that hath life," The "living souls" that God created were different from the vegetation He had just created. The "living souls" were creatures (fish) that breathed and possessed consciousness. Christ said we are to love God "with all our soul," that is, with all our life, our breath, our consciousness. We are to love God with all the breath and consciousness, all the life and awareness we have. This is the important thing that this new generation of Israel and even ourselves as believers of Christ need to learn about how to love God with all our soul.

Notice the word in verse 5, “might” is somewhat difficult to define but speaks less of one's physical power and speaks more about one's intensity to love God. Loving God with vigor and earnestness. Might means abundance as we already give previously the example of godly King Josiah in (II Kings 23:25 “turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might,”). Might speaks of activity which is done "exceedingly" (literally "very, very much") and thus describes doing it with the totality of one's being and energy.

The word “might” in Hebrew “meod”. Occurs about 300 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. “Meodh” is used mainly as an adverb “very” (Genesis 1:31), “much”, “great”, “greatly”, “exceedingly”, “thoroughly”. Meodh occurs in many combinations with adjectives and verbs to communicate the idea of “exceeding”. It is used as a noun indicating might, power, will (Deuteronomy 6:5; II Kings 23:25). “Meodh” can be repeated literally meaning “with much” “much” (Genesis 17:2, 6, 20; Exodus 1:7; Ezekiel 9:9). The doubling of the word is a means of emphasizing its basic meaning, which is “very much”. One instance is in (Genesis 7:19 “The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains ^[^q^]everywhere under the heavens were covered.” NASB).

Again, notice in verse 5, the words “heart...soul...might”

The terms “heart” and “soul” are often used together to show the complete person (Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:13; Deuteronomy 13:3; Deuteronomy 26:16; Deuteronomy 30:2, 6, 10).

These three terms "heart," "soul," "might," represent the complete person and is, therefore, parallel to the phrase, "with a whole heart."

In quoting the Great commandment, Matthew the writer has substituted the “thy strength” or “might” of Deuteronomy 6:5 by “thy mind” in Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” as being of special importance to spiritual love, whereas in the LXX or Septuagint the “mind” is substituted for the heart. Now, the writer Mark gives the triad of Deuteronomy (heart, soul, and strength) in Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” But Mark the writer has inserted “mind” before strength, while in Mark 12:33 the understanding is mentioned between the heart and the soul (Mark 12:33”And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”). Lastly, Luke has given the three ideas of the original passage quite correctly, but has added at the end, "and with all thy mind" (Luke 10:27 “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”). Although, the term (mind) originated with the Septuagint, not one of the Evangelists has adhered strictly to this version.

In summary of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Moses teaching this new generation of Israel, reminding them of God’s covenant, statement of faith the shema, about the law of God that these parents may teach their children and grandchildren to fear God and obey God’s instruction that they may enjoy the prosperity in the land that God promised to them through the forefathers. We too, as believers of Christ, we need to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength. Amen!

- - - - TO BE CONTINUED - - - - -

IV – CORRECT RESPONSE TO GOD’S INSTRUCTION – v.6-7a

Deuteronomy 6:6-7a “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,”

We must give God the complete devotion, focused allegiance, unbound affection and unconditional obedience as an answer to who God is and what God has done for us as His believers.

A. Personal message of God’s word on the heart – v.6

Deuteronomy 6:6“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

God’s words must be written on our hearts from being written on the tablets of stone.

God's Words on one's heart will or should dictate one's behavior. Notice God does not say the words were to be in their heads but on their heart. Head knowledge without a willingness to submit in one's heart is completely hypocrisy and describes perfectly the Pharisees who knew the word in their head but hated Jesus, who is the divine manifestation of that Word (John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Revelation 19:13 “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”

Since Jesus is the Word of God, therefore He must be in our heart. The Word of God who made flesh should be in our heart.

God’s words need to shape our personality and character, it has a great effect on things we give importance, and things that has to do on how we face the challenges and live daily.

God’s words must be the delight and meditation in our lives daily. We believers must always meditate on Jesus the Word

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

Psalm 119:97 “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”

The “heart” in verse 6 is the control center of a human being and is where the Words of God need to be located for quick access of the Spirit and to allow the Spirit to bring God’s Word to our mind in times of temptations or trials. It is clear that the best way to obey this instruction to meditate the Word of God is to memorize the Word of God. The Bible says in Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” It is clear that when the Word of God is put internally in the heart of a person, the Word is available for guiding the heart of that person to provide a protection from sinning against God. This means meditation of the Word is closely connected with memorization so that a person is able to chew on a passage when it has been hidden in one’s heart. This can refer to what Jehovah’s word to Joshua in Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

In the Christian life, no other practice more rewarding and provides greater spiritual benefits than memorizing Scripture: Our prayer life will be strengthened, our witnessing will be sharper and much more effective, our attitudes and outlook in life will begin to change, our mind will become alert and observant, our confidence and assurance will be enhanced, our faith will be solidified. Therefore, we need to put in our heart and meditate God’s Word in our heart daily for it would have a great blessed and godly effect in our whole part of our lives. Moses is telling this New Generation of Israel to engraved God’s command in their heart so they may find it easy to remember when they teach God’s Word to their children.

Based in the context of the previous early verses of Deuteronomy 6 that we had discussed regarding the call for Israel’s obedience to the Word of God, it is clear that when the Word of God is in one’s heart, it will serve as to guide the steps of a person and keep that person from turning to the right or left. In the New Covenant the law of God will be written on the hearts.

Jeremiah 31:33 “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Notice the words “in thine heart”. The “heart” in Hebrew signifies the directing focus of the life of an individual. What the Old Testament emphasized was also means to be internally faithful as in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 6:5, 6 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”

Deuteronomy 10:12; “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”

Deuteronomy 11:13, 18 “And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁸“Therefore you shall ^]lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Deuteronomy 13:3 “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 26:16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 30:2, 6, 10 “and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, ⁶And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. ¹⁰if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

In the New Testament we can also find “with all your mind.”

Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”

Luke 10:27 “So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

The New Testament and even in the Old Testament, the individual believer was expected to direct his entire person, actions and motives toward the Lord his God. The believer must devote themselves with their heart and mind.

B. Parental message from God's word to teach their children - v.7a

Deuteronomy 6:7a “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,”

The word “diligently” has illustration of carving something permanently in the stone.

The idea here is that just as words are cut into a stone tablet with a sharp object, so the Law should be impressed on the hearts of the children of every generation. The image is that of the engraver of a monument who takes hammer and chisel in hand and with painstaking care etches the text into the face of a solid slab of granite. The sheer labor of such a task is daunting indeed, but once done the message is there to stay. That is why this new generations of Israelites must receive and transmit the Words of the Lord's everlasting covenant reveled to them by God.

The words “teach them diligently” the verb means essentially to “engrave” that is to “teach incisively” drilling it home (so to speak). In Hebrew “repeat”. Teach diligently (shanan) means to sharpen, to point; to pierce; figurative to inculcate. Children are born rebels who must be sharpened to be willing instruments for God.

Notice again the phrases “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children”. It seems that the parents should repeat God’s Word again and again to their children, the parents should recite, drill or impress God’s Word to their children. The rabbis use this verse to assert that the Shema should be “repeated” morning and evening. Teaching their children diligently about God’s word means introducing their children and reminding their children of who God is and what God is truly like. So, that their children will truly love God, their children will worship God exclusively, and will gladly follow God all of their days and in all of their ways.

What Moses wants this Parents of Israel’s New Generation need to know is that God’s Word is to be passed down generationally. What these Jewish parents need to engrave into the heart of their children is the amazing truth about the God who unconditionally loves them, who eternally redeems them and who abundantly blesses them.

The commandments are not automatically taught to children or transferred from one generation to another. Educating children is an absolute necessity.

Deuteronomy attaches the importance and responsibility of teaching to the family:

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;”

Deuteronomy 6:7, 20–25 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ²⁰And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? ²¹Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: ²²And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: ²³And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. ²⁴And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. ²⁵And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”

Deuteronomy 11:19 “And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

All things that the parents teach their children about God must be both true to the parents lives and to their children.

Luke 6:40 “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.”

EXAMPLE: A man who had served as a chaplain for many years at a state penitentiary said, “Out of seventeen hundred convicts, I found only one who had been brought up in a home where they had a family altar, and that man was later found innocent of the crime with which he had been charged.”

The home is to be the center for conserving and propagating truth. Home is where life makes up its mind. Moses understood that the greatness of the nation Israel depended upon the teaching of the commandments in the home. Our modern-day church school cannot take the place of parental training, but it surely can supplement it!

V – CONCERN TO RAISE OTHERS TO ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S INTRUCTION – v.7b-9

Deuteronomy 6:7b-9 “and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

God gives us immense responsibility and intense (matindi) status that as parents should teach the Word of God to our children effectively so that they may acknowledge the value of God’s instruction personally and then live according to God’s instruction consistently.

A. Carving in teaching of God’s Word – v.6, 7a

Deuteronomy 6:6-7a “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,”

Caring Parents with their heartfelt intention should teach the Word of God to their children.

Parents should not neglect the task of teaching God’s Word because of its importance and future life of next generation is highly at stake that is why it is not right to just delegate to others the teaching of God’s Word to their children. Thus, every Parent must personally ensure that their children know God in ways that cause them to love, fear and serve God.

This idea that we need to think here is a picture of a person who was engraving or carving truth of God’s word into table of stone. The point that Moses wants to emphasize to Parents of this new generation of Israel is that they have to make the full effort to do the kind of teaching in the hearts of their children with intention.

Teaching their children diligently is more than just teaching them the doctrinal beliefs of the Christian faith. Education is not just teaching facts and principles, not just passing along information. This educating must be done in a diligent manner.

B. Constant talking of God’s word – v.7b

Deuteronomy 6:7b “and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Where should these Israelites Parents teach their children? What places?

Notice verse 7b “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way”. That is in all places and spaces, it means in every realm of life. Truth was to be communicated when they sat at home, as they walked along the road throughout the day.

Notice again the words in verse 7b “when thou sittest in thine house”, this is a beautiful scene of all the members of the house "eat" and "assimilate" the Word. One gets the picture of setting the dinner table with a "feast" of the pure milk (I Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”) and meat (Hebrews 5:14 “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”) of the Word of God!

Notice again the words in verse 7c “and when thou walkest by the way”, in other words, everywhere. What better thing to talk about then the inspired Words from our Creator! The Word of God in the mind and heart is like a guide who leads us on the safe path and protects us from attacks. It’s also like a friend who talks to us and counsels us along the way.

When should these Israelites Parents teach their children? What time?

Notice again in verse 7d “when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” That is at all times and seasons, it means in all the circumstances of life. Whether you are busy or at rest." Evening and morning. All the time. It pictures from the time you get up until the time you lie down at night (all throughout the day).

Truth was to be communicated after they lay down at night, and when they arose in the morning (v.7).

Solomon alludes to this practice writing Proverbs 6:20-22 “My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ²¹Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. ²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”

C. Consistent modelling of God’s word – v.8-9

Deuteronomy 6:8-9 “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Teaching is personally experiencing the truth, living out the truth before the children. It is applying the truth of God’s commandments to one's heart and experiencing the truths within one's own life. The children then see the truth of the commandments lived before their very eyes, and they absorb the truth, pick it up automatically. The truth becomes a part of their lives. This is exactly what Moses was preaching: the believer was constantly to talk about the commandments. The instruction of Moses from the Israel’s parents to the children was not to be a “lesson,” but a continual way of life.

1. Modeling of God’s Word in your own life privately – v.8

Deuteronomy 6:8 “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

You have to let your love for God and your obedience to God’s Word mold or form whatever you do (bind them on your arm) and whatever you value (bind them on your forehead and between your eyes).

2. Modeling of God’s Word in your own home and community publicly – v.9

Deuteronomy 6:9 “And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

You have to let your love for God mold or form your life at home (doorposts of your house) and your conduct in your community (gates of the city).

If we are so concern and strongly desire to raise another next generation, we have to love and serve God wholeheartedly, then the most important thing for us to do is we ourselves must love and serve God consistently and sincerely, and let our families evidently witnessed transparently our love and service to God.

Conclusion:

A variety of methods is given to help parents saturate their children with these important commandments. The whole thrust is the Parent was to live by the commandments, Parents were to experience them (v.6); talk about them (v.7); exhibit them (v.8); write them (v.9); and, most importantly, model them before their children.

Parents must strive to raise their children with the Objectives of God:

Know God truly and do not just have head knowledge about God
Seek to serve God instead of wanting to be served by God
Look for God’s approval more than man’s approval (God’s will instead of our own will)
Desire the importance of the kingdom of God rather than being successful in kingdom of this world.
To spend their lives and use their resources for the Gospel missions rather than maintaining their earthly lives and spending their material resources for their own ambition of themselves.

Three things that requires every Parents:

1. It requires for every Parents to live and model God’s truth what they are hoping their children instill in their heart.

As a matter of fact, if we are honest, we truly find ourselves that our own ways needed to be corrected, we have our sins that needed to be confess, and we have to revive our heart, return to the Lord, and rekindle our own devotion to the Lord.

2. It requires for every Parents to commit their children to the wisdom of God’s Word and entrust their children to God’s loving care.

As Parents we need to depend on God to do His work in the hearts of our children like what God has done to us and that God will continue to do on our own lives.

3. It requires for every Parents to seek the face of God and intercede for their children in prayer.

As Moses have intercessory prayer for the new generation of Israel that were listening to God’s instruction delivered by him