The American Journal of Biblical Theology

Deuteronomy 6:1-12

Loving God

     January 6, 2002.                      © 2002, J.W. Carter
      www.biblicaltheology.com              Scripture quotes from KJV

L.O.V.E.

   Listens to God

1 John 4:7-12   Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. ⁸He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. ⁹In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. ¹⁰Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. ¹²No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

   Obeys God

John 15:9-12 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

   Is Vital for Christian Growth

1 Pet 2:2   As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
2 Pet 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.

   Is Everlasting

Jer 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Rom 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6 when approached by a scribe and asked which was the most important commandment. (Mark 12:28-30)

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? ²⁹And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰And 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.

This may be one of the most important lessons taught within the pages of scripture. If is learned by us, and we respond in obedience to it, our lives will be vastly changed. What kind of changes might you expect if you live such a life? What would happen in your life if, prior to every decision you make, you first consider your love for God and make your decision within that context? Our soul, mind, and strength together define our actions. Consequently, we can demonstrate that type of love for God through all of our actions. It is not impossible to love God in this way. It just takes the decision to do so and the concerted effort to stay focused on the purpose.   It is in Deuteronomy, Chapter 5 that God presents this lesson to the Hebrews. It is this lesson we will continue to study.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2.

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: 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.

God specifically promises a full life to those who follow Him. The scriptures contain several passages that identify the context of that promise, and in every case that context is the same.

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.

Exo 20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

These promises all involve the proper respect for God, and the proper respect for father and mother. This last example is literally repeated in scripture no less than six times. As with the other commands, this one is based on the demonstration of love and respect. It may not be too instructive to chase this concept too far, but it is interesting: the full life that God promises is not necessarily related to the calendar. The promise is to "live long in the land," not simply "live long." The land of the promise is what is the key here. God promises that he will maintain us in the place that he has appointed for us, whether in the Old Testament it was the promised land, or for all believers it is in the presence of God. In all cases, the land of the promise is a place that is in God's presence. To break these commandments and fail to love God will result in a broken fellowship with Him, and result in our separation from Him. The full life that God describes is that life that we live when we are securely and knowingly in His presence.

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.

In what ways will life go well for us as we live in obedience to God, loving Him and others as we have been commanded? The blessing here is consistent with the previous verse. It is God's purposed desire that we thrive in His presence. God would want us to have the proper relationship with Him so that we can experience the full and abundant life that He has promised us. Like a loving father who teaches his children, God does not leave us on our own to figure out how to please Him: He gives us simple and complete instructions. If we will listen to God's Word we will see how to receive the promised blessing.

Deuteronomy 6:4.

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

The first word, Hear, is the Hebrew word, Shema. Verses 4-9 are, as a unit, referred to as the Shema, and became the Hebrew confession of faith. It was, and still is, often repeated before each celebration of worship, and before prayers. One would think that with these verses repeated this often, the people would learn what is meant by those words. Instead, many people interpreted them so literally that they completely missed the message and the purpose behind it.
When you think of Israel, do you think of people who demonstrate love to their God and to their neighbors? In fact, because of their literal interpretation of the words of the Shema, the Jews thought they were keeping the commandment while at the same time they turned from God and hated their neighbors. This is where the message was grossly missed.
This lesson starts with the statement that The Lord our God, the Lord is one, or literally, Yahweh our God - one Yahweh. Why was this lesson so important for the Hebrews? The concept of a single God being the only God was new in ancient culture. People attributed to man-created gods anything that they could not explain any other way, so the culture of the time included a pantheon of varieties of different man-made gods. God's message here is simple: there is only one God, and the God who is speaking these words is Him. There are no other Gods, man-made or otherwise.
Some people have misinterpreted this scripture to deny the deity of Jesus or deny the deity of the Holy Spirit. To do so is a rational attempt to separate Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father into separate Gods. Yahweh, Lord, and Jehovah are all Hebrew, English, and Greek forms of the same name, representing the one True God who has revealed Himself to mankind through the Father, the Son, and through the Holy Spirit. This verse is not a denial of the Holy Trinity, but is in fact a defense of it.

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.

This is the foundation of the Word of God. As the Hebrews used the words heart, soul and strength, what were they referring to? (All of their being.) When this phrase is quoted in the New Testament, the Greek word agape is used for the English word love. What is the source of agape? (There is only one: God, as demonstrated through His Holy Spirit.) It is impossible to love God apart from the Holy Spirit. Before salvation I could not understand how it would be possible to love God totally. There were other priorities in life, and it seemed that to maintain God on top of all of them would be impossible on our own. I never knew how correct I was. However, after learning of and knowing God, I found that it is not only possible, but God gives us the ability to do it through His Holy Spirit. Loving God with all that we are is not a suggestion. It is an inviolable command. What can we expect if we obey this command?

Deuteronomy 6:6.

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

What, do you suppose, is the meaning of this verse? What is the difference between these commandments being on our hearts as opposed to being in our minds, hands, or books? This one command is probably the one most often missed by religion today. People are taught head knowledge and manual works instead of heart knowledge and works motivated by the Love for God. God intends upon us to know what it is to love Him and to express that love for Him out of our own heart-felt desire to do so. God wants our love by our own choice, not as puppets who receive their commands from strings. God desires that it is the heart-strings that he pull; heart-strings that are of our own making and choice. It is a simple matter to harden our own hearts and disregard the Holy Spirit's pull on our lives. When we do this we will draw away from God, and away from the full life that he has promised. To keep our heart open to God requires diligent effort through prayer and Bible study. It involves thinking about God in all of the things we do. The next verse is a continuation of the current sentence that gives some instruction on how we can keep that avenue of communication with God open.

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.

This verse provides five ways that we can keep our hearts and minds open to God's commands.

(1) Teach them to your children. Why must this be so? What will happen if we do not teach the Word of God to our children? If our children do not learn the issues of faith, it will be lost in one generation. We will also see our children in a context that is not in obedience to God, and will not provide for them the necessary training in righteousness that they need to also experience the full and abundant life that God promises. Parents will not deny that it is their responsibility to provide for the basic needs of their children, and our culture has no problem addressing those needs as food, shelter, and clothing. Parents will at least also include in the list of basic needs that of their love. However, many parents deny their children the spiritual training that is commanded in scripture. It is no wonder that we have seen such a moral and spiritual decline in the last fifty years.
(2) Talk of them when you sit at home. God's Word should be an integral part of our home life. How can we make it so? As we do this we will be sharing God's Word with our families. Talking about spiritual matters should be a common and easy component of the communication that takes place within the home. Prayer can be spoken frequently without pretentiousness. As the family sits around the home discussing the matters of the day, there is no reason why spiritual issues cannot also be addressed in an edifying manner.
(3) And when you walk along the road. What does the road refer to? When we are on the road we travel and meet strangers.) If we do this we will be sharing God's Word with the strangers we meet along the way. This might be expressed in simply being a loving Christian to those who we meet along our way, and by being such, opportunities for demonstration of that love will arise. Sometimes opportunities for sharing spiritual issues will arise, and after taking advantage of those opportunities a few times, the fear of doing so ebbs, and the blessing that comes from it encourages one to continue to do so.
(4) When you lie down. When we are at rest. This can also be translated when we are at leisure. God should be an integral part of our rest and leisure. If we do this we will be sharing God's Word with our friends. Often it is at times of leisure that it is easiest for us to put God in a hidden place and present ourselves to others as if He is not important to us. In our leisure we might take part in activities that are really not appropriate for a person of faith, hoping that those who know us from within the faith community will not see us. Our language might become more coarse as we try to fit in with that different crowd. We are to take the Word of God with us everywhere, and that includes our times of rest, relaxation, and leisure. We do not get away from God to obtain rest. We find our rest in Him.
(5) When you get up. Certainly, an affirmed love of God that takes place first thing in the morning is the best way to start off a day. Each day can start with prayer and meditation of God's purposes in the activities of the day to come. This phrase can also be translated when we are at work. If we do this we will be sharing God's Word with our co-workers.

If we are obedient to this command, when will we be sharing God's Love? We will be seeking obedience to God in all of our activities throughout the waking day. This is what it means to love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength.

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.

First, what does the word "them" refer to? These are the commandments of God: His Word described in many of the scriptures. The Hebrews did not understand the context of these verses, and took the commands only as head knowledge, following the literal words rather than their meaning. The result was the creation of phylacteries. First a small box was strapped to the back of the hand and another strapped to the forehead. In these boxes was placed a copy of the Shema. When the arms were placed across the chest, the phylactery on the hand was over their heart. They believed that in doing this they were being obedient to the command. By doing this they have, indeed, bound God's word to their hands and foreheads. By doing this, the command is obeyed and can be otherwise ignored. Orthodox Jews still practice the use of Phylacteries.
Likewise, as you enter most Jewish homes, you will often find a small box place within the door jamb of the house entrance. In this box is another copy of the Shema. This box, called a mezuzah, would be saluted or touched each time upon entry into the home. Again, they felt that by doing this they were obedient to the command as they put God's word on their doorpost. By doing this, again, the command is obeyed, and can otherwise be ignored.
In following these traditions, those who ascribe to them have completely missed the message of these verses, and as a result have created for themselves a license to disobey those very commands. What does verse 8 mean? The Hands refer to those things we do: the works we accomplish. Not only are we to talk about the Word of God everywhere we go, it is to be the basis for everything we do. Something bound to your forehead is before you, and well in view, everywhere we go. We are to look at the world as God does, within the context of His Word. Our "world view" must be seen through spiritual eyes.
Finally, the mezuzah. The Word of God should be evident in our homes. Certainly the placement of religious objects in the home illustrates our support of their meaning, but this verse refers to much more. The Word of God should be evident in our home. Such evidence can certainly be physical as we put graphic images and verses on our doors and walls. However, the true evidence is not physical, but spiritual. When someone enters our home, it should be obvious that this is a home of faith by the way God's Word is played out in the relationships of those within it. God's love should be evident within the family and towards those who visit the home.
This example is a good illustration of the dangers of legalism. By legalistically adhering to a tradition, the purpose for the tradition is ignored, and God's purpose is not fulfilled. At the same time, those practicing the legalistic acts are fully convinced that they have fulfilled that purpose. For this reason it is very difficult to open the spiritual eyes of people who are caught up in legalistic practices.

Deuteronomy 6:10-11.

And 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; These words are being stated by Moses.

What is the purpose for these decrees and commands that were stated by Moses? It is so that the people of Israel will fear and love the Lord. What is meant by the word "Fear?" One might consider this type of fear the proper reverence for the One Awesome God. Those who are faithful to God have no reason to fear God as they would fear a danger. However, those who live a lifestyle that rejects God have much to fear. What reward is promised for those who obey? Those who are faithful to God will live long in the land of the promise. Certainly the identity of that land is up to interpretation. To the Jews it referred to the promised land, recalling that their culture thought of gods as being resident of finite areas of property. However, the promised land of the faithful is anywhere that God is present, whether it be in this life where we are guided and counseled by the Holy Spirit, or in heaven when we will know God face-to-face.   God rewards us by providing for us, improving the quality of our life through His guidance.

Deuteronomy 6:12.

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

God has delivered all of us from bondage. Those who are faithful to God's call have accepted Him in faith, and are blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For the most part, they are without want, and generally at peace with themselves, the world, and our God. Certainly we have difficulties and struggles which God uses to shape and mature us, but that is the extent of it. In such comfort it is easy to turn from God and be satisfied with our circumstances. What are we to do? These scriptures have just given us the formula to do it.

First, return to God the Love he has given to us by making Him Lord of all of our being. Give to Him your mind, will, emotions and strength.
Second, return to God the Love he has given us by sharing it with all people. Give all people the love and respect which God intends. There will be no room for prejudice or selfishness.
Third, make God's Word such a part of our lives that it seasons all of our words and actions shared with our families, friends, co-workers, and the strangers we meet along the road.
Fourth, make God's Word the motivation behind what we do.
Fifth, view all of the cosmos through the eyes of God, rather than our own. See people as God sees them. See the environment as God sees it.
Sixth, remember Him. This should be the simplest of all, if we are obedient to the first five. Keeping Him continually in remembrance will, however, keep us on track when we derail on one of those five.

Never forget that God is the Lord of All. That includes all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do in every waking hour. If God is not Lord of All, He is not Lord at All.