AM Bible Study Group; April 13, 2011
Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Theme: This chapter describes the reverence with with the people were to love God, hear His commandments, obey them, and carefully pass them on to their children.
This morning, we come to a chapter in Deuteronomy that contains some words that were among the most important in the life and thinking of the Jewish people. "Here, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). That portion of Scripture is often called the Shema (from the Hebrew word "Hear!").
Those words set the tone for what was about to come. Beginning in chapter twelve, the statutes and judgments—given by God as specific case applications of the ten commandments—would begin to be given. But before reciting them once again to the people, Moses calls them to the great motivation they were to have with respect to the keeping of those laws—love for the God who gave them.
Note . . .
I. THE REASONS WHY THE COMMANDMENTS WERE TAUGHT TO THEM (vv. 1-3).
A. Moses begins, "Now this is the commandment . . .", and this points backward to the recitation of the ten commandments he had given in chapter 5. But now, what follows are "the statutes and judgments" which expand on those ten commandments and apply them specifically to every day life.
B. Moses was commanded by God to "teach" them to the people. And note the reasons why he was to do so—themes that we see repeated throughout this chapter . . .
1. That they may observe them in the land (v. 1). The land into which they were going was given to them by God. It is His gift to them—the inheritance He was granting to them. And so, they needed to honor Him in it.
2. That they may fear the Lord their God through keeping them (v. 2). To "fear" God may have included the idea of holding Him in holy dread. They certainly trembled before Him when He gave the law to them on the mountain! But here, it most likely means that they were to hold Him in holy awe, and reverence Him in the keeping of the law. God is not pleased when His people keep His commandments on the outside, but whose hearts are far from Him on the inside (Matthew 15:8).
3. That they pass them on to their children (v. 2). Not only were they themselves to obey them, but so were their offspring. The commandments of God are absolutes for all time, because they are an expression of His holy, unchanging character. And so, one generation must be diligent to pass them on to the other.
4. That they may dwell long in the land because of them and that it may be well with them (vv. 2-3). These commandments were essential for the good of the people. Through them, they would live long on the land, and it would be well with them, and they would greatly multiply. By God’s blessings in their faithfulness to the commandments, the land would truly prove to be one "flowing with milk and honey".
II. THE FIRST AMONG THE COMMANDMENTS GIVEN TO THEM (vv. 4-5).
A. The "Shema" begins with an affirmation about the character of God Himself. It can be translated, "The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"; or "The LORD is our God, the LORD alone." Either translation is possible; and both express the unity of the members of the Trinity, and the exclusiveness of the one true God. There is no other.
B. The motive given for obedience to this one true God is love. This, according to our Lord is the greatest of the commandments from which all other commandments flow (Matthew 22:34-40). Even today, the way we are to express love to God is through the keeping of His commandments (John 15:10; 1 John 5:3).
III. THE WAY THE COMMANDMENTS WERE TO EVER BE IN VIEW BEFORE THEM (vv. 6-9).
A. The people were never to be far from the law. In fact, even though they had been written onto stone, they were to be kept written upon their hearts (v. 6).
B. There were also to be made a daily part of home life. As was already expressed, they were to teach them to their children—talk about them in the regular activities of life (v. 7).
C. They were even to write them on the very structures of their day-to-day world (vv. 8-9). Many Jewish people took this commandment literally; but whether literally or figuratively, the commandments of God were to touch on every aspect of life.
IV. THE WARNING CONCERNING THE COMMANDMENTS (vv. 10-19).
A. That they not forget the God who gave them (vv. 10-15). They were promised that God would bless them; but there was the danger of their getting into the land and growing comfortable and forgetting the God who gave these good commands. There was even the danger that they would turn to other gods—a dreadful thing, because our God is a jealous God. To combat this, they were to keep Him ever in their hearts in reverential fear and awe.
B. That they be careful to always reverence Him in the keeping of them (vv. 16-19). They were reminded of the sad turn of events that occurred in Exodus 17:1-7; when they complained against God, and suffered His discipline as a result. They were to make sure they didn’t tempt God again in this way; but to treat Him rightly in their hearts! This was for their good; because He loved them and wanted to richly bless them.
V. THE GOODNESS OF GOD THAT IS ALWAYS TO BE TOLD CONCERNING THEM (vv. 20-25).
A. It’s interesting that the people were told to expect that their children will one day want to know more about these commandments. And so, the people were to be ready to tell them. They were to tell them the whole story—of how they were slaves in Egypt, of how God rescued them from their bondage, of how He brought them to the land that He swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of how He made them into His people and gave them these good commandments.
B. This is important, because it would instill into the hearts of the children that the reason for the commandments was God’s love to them; and it would make the motivation for keeping the commandments to be their love for God. "Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us" (v. 25).