Deuteronomy 6

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Deuteronomy Chapter 6

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Moses

Date Penned: (1407 BC)

Overview: To Remind and Rededicate Israel to the Lord (c 1-34)

Theme: Principles for Godly Living (c 5-28)

Message: Love God and Obey His Commandments (v 1-25)

Deuteronomy 6 Commentary

(6:1-3) Conditions for the Promised Land - For a nation that had wandered for 40 years in a parched wilderness, a land flowing with milk and honey sounded like paradise. This description brought to mind rich crops, rushing streams, gentle rains, and lush fields filled with livestock. Tragically, the Israelites could have had all of that 40 years earlier. (Numbers 13 and 14 explain how they missed their chance.) Now Moses was determined to help the people avoid the same mistake by whetting their appetites for the beautiful land and then clearly explaining the conditions for entering it.

(6:4-9) We are Designed to Love God - This passage provides the central theme of Deuteronomy. It sets a pattern that helps us relate the Word of God to our daily lives. We are to love God, think constantly about his commandments, teach them to our children, and live each day by the guidelines in his Word. God emphasized the importance of parents teaching the Bible to their children. The church and Christian schools cannot be used as an escape from this responsibility. The Bible provides so many opportunities for object lessons and practical teaching that studying it only one day a week Would be a shame, causing us to miss much of what God wants us to learn. Eternal truths are most effectively learned day by day in the loving environment of a God-fearing home. If you are a parent, start today to make daily devotions and Bible study part of your normal routine.

(6:4) One God - Monotheism - belief in only one God - was a distinctive feature of Hebrew religion. Many ancient religions involved the worship of many gods. But the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the whole earth, the only true God. This was an important insight for the nation of Israel because they were about to enter a land filled with people who believed in many gods that they worshiped in many ways. Today, as back then, there are people who prefer to place their trust in many different "gods," which may include values or belief systems. But the day is coming when God will be recognized as the only one worthy of our worship. He will be king over the whole earth (Zechariah 14:9).

(6:5) The Greatest Command - Jesus said that loving God with all of ourselves is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-40). This command, combined with the command to love our neighbor (Leviticus 19:18), encompasses all the other Old Testament laws.

(6:7) Teaching Our Children - The people of Israel were called to make knowledge of God an integral part of their lives. Teaching about God wasn't only to be practiced during religious activities and times of worship. For the Israelites, religious education was life-oriented, not information-oriented. They used the context of daily life to teach about God. If you are a parent, the key to teaching your children to love God is stated simply and clearly in these verses: If you want your children to follow God, you must make him a part of your everyday experiences. You must teach your children diligently to see God in all aspects of life, not just those that are church related.

(6:10-13) Forgetting God - Moses warned the people not to forget God when they entered the Promised Land and became prosperous. Prosperity, more than poverty, can dull our spiritual vision because it tends to make us feel self-sufficient and eager to acquire still more of everything- except God. The same thing can happen in churches. Once we become successful in terms of numbers, programs, and buildings, we can easily start to feel self-sufficient and become less sensitive to our need for God. This leads us to concentrate on self-preservation rather than thankfulness and service. We need to remember to thank God for the success he gives us and to constantly acknowledge that all our blessings come from him.

(6:24-25) A Relationship with God - Does the phrase "for our good always" mean that we can expect only prosperity and no suffering when we obey God? What is promised in this chapter is a right relationship with God for all those who obey his command to love him with all that they are (6;5). It is not blanket protection against poverty, adversity, or suffering. Rather, it speaks of a good relationship with

God and the ultimate benefit of knowing him and living in his presence forever.

Dave Burnette's Life Application

Other God's

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Deuteronomy with Chapter 6 and we see Moses instructs on loving God and obeying His Commandments and to continue to teach your children to obey God. What catches my eye is the beginning of the chapter when Moses teaches on having one God. In this day people had many gods like "lucky charms" that they would pray to and worship. Moses instructs that there is only one God. The God of Israel, Jehovah, and all other Gods are merely Idols and they should only worship Jehovah. In making application we see that people still serve other gods. Money, leisure, hobbies, the list go on and on. It is more sophisticated than times in the past but they are still just a real. It reminds me of a friend who I went to Church with a few years ago. They were always at the Church for every service and the Lord blessed and prospered this family. Then the "other god" of a leisure activity was added to their lives and soon they started missing Church due this "other god". Soon they were out of Church altogether and their kids were in sin. This "other god" totally destroyed their lives. How about you? Do you identify the "other gods" of this day? Let us learn from our text today and love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and might - staying away from "other gods"

Deuteronomy 6

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Deuteronomy 6

¹Now 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:

²That 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.

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.

⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

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

⁷And 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.

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.

¹⁰And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

¹¹And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

¹²Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

¹³Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

¹⁴Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

¹⁵(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

¹⁶Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

¹⁷Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

¹⁸And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.

¹⁹To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

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.

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