In order to understand today’s passage, we’ll need to take a step back to consider where we are in Israel’s journey to the Promised Land and also the importance of the Law. Moses is speaking to Israel just as they are about to enter the Promised Land. Moses will not go into the land with the people. Therefore, he is giving them the instructions and the law again for them to obey when they enter the land.
Deuteronomy means the second giving of the law, which implies that the law was first given to one generation. The first generation has died because of their disobedience, and now this new generation is preparing to enter the Promised Land.
(A) The Bible imparted: Taught through generations, not just for knowing but for living (Deut 6:1-3)
Before we start, we should also consider how we read the Law today. The ceremonial law showed Israel how to offer the sacrifices to God while the civil law taught them how to organise themselves. These are not binding for us today, for Jesus has fulfilled these. In Eph 2:15, we read of how Jesus’s death has abolished the law expressed in ordinances and has made a new man in the church. This is why we read the law and know that we don’t have to follow the civil and ceremonial law. But in its stead, we are under the law of Christ, as written in Gal 3:2.
Why then do we read the Law?
We do this because it is a way for us to understand and know this genuine reflection of God’s character as He pens the law. The law shows us what He is like, His desire for what His people should be like
We need it to point us to God’s standard of holy living. We are also taught that we cannot attain the standard on our own, and we need a Saviour.
As we read it, we also learn of what our Saviour comes to fulfill.
We do it for our instructions and hope (c.f. Rom 15:4).
With this in mind, let’s turn our attention to Deut 6. Moses teaches the law to Israel because God told him to teach them (Deut 6:1). God deemed it necessary and He acted to reinitiate the covenant with this new generation. God is the one that makes sure that there is a personal establishment of the covenant with this new generation!
The purpose is that they will fear the LORD, them and their sons and their son’s son (Deut 6:2). He is making His standards known so His people can know how to live with Him in reverential awe. It is not just so that they fear the consequences of not obeying God, but to show God through the nation in their obedient lives. When they fear Him, they will keep all his statutes and commandments. This is one way where we see that living out this commandment isn’t driven by fear (being afraid). How do we fear the Lord? We display it by living in obedience to His commands!
Deut 6:2 also shows us that this teaching is for 3 generations, aka it is for all the generations of Israel. It is not to stop at this current generation! Through this, Israel was being taught to think beyond their immediate comforts. It’s not just about settling themselves and their kids but they are to think beyond that, in the long-term. God’s people are concerned and responsible for the handing down of their faith. This is the way we are to multiply, not just by having more children, but by making disciples!
For parents, it means that we don’t think of the commands as just something that individuals receive. They are not to think about just their own personal obedience but they are to consider the generations that come after them. Parents are to teach their children in a way that shapes their inward thought and outward actions: lasting change that leads to lives overflowing with thankful obedience to God. This is not just making sure we’re comfortable and provide financially for our kids. This is more than just trying to modify the behaviour of one generation, but speaks of a deep conviction and love of this truth that will also impact the generation after.
How do you prepare yourself for this, regardless of whether you have kids now or plan for them in the future? Regardless of why you wish to have or not have children, Deut 6 challenges us. Christian education begins with my personal discipleship (my loving of the Lord), and teaching others (my children as well as other spiritual children) to do the same. Children are seen as a blessing and a way for us to practically live out our fear of the Lord in obedience. God’s people are also committed to helping their children grow in the Lord. And as we do so, we are also being sanctified! At the same time, Christian obedience is also a testimony to the watching world!
This also challenges what our world thinks about faith. Our world thinks that a faith is a personal thing and no one should impose their views on another. But Deut 6 also teaches us that parents have a responsibility to teach their children and to teach them to obey!
In Deut 6:2b, we read of how God’s end goal with His law is not to burden them but to make their days long. He wants them to thrive in the land flowing with milk and honey. He desires them to be taught and requires full internalisation from generation to generation. They should enjoy the land out of the good that God desires for His people to have through the law.
(B) The Bible imparted: Taught through the mundane, recounting grounds for hope-filled obedience (Deut 6: 4-7, 20-25)
In Deut 6:4, Moses reveals that God is their one and only God: they cannot reserve any love for any other person or relationship. The first generation worshipped a golden calf as Moses was being directed by God to write the 10 Commandments.
Israel is commanded to love God with all their heart, soul and might (Deut 6:5). The heart is the centre of an Israelite’s being. It is the seat of their thinking and make sense of the world. This is different for us, where we think of the heart as just emotions. The heart for Israel drives also their decision-making process. Thus, they are to love God with their whole being.
The soul refers to the entire physical existence and even that too is to love God. Thus there is a movement from the inward (heart) to your physical being (soul). The word “might” here calls Israel to love God with all that they have! It means loving God with our relationships (wife, husband, children), what we have (home, phone etc), all that is out our disposal.
We are therefore commanded to love God with all our being and with all our things. God’s word is to take residence in our hearts and drive our action and influence our assets. None of us will say that we don’t love God. But would we say that we love God’s word? His Spirit-inspired word is a revelation of who He is, and how He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.
Do you love to read it? Do you cling to it and allow it to shape your life? When things get busy, does our Bible reading get shafted to the wayside? This is a strong reminder for us to reconsider the priorities of our life. What we need is not more “me-time” to relax and unwind, nor doomscrolling on social media. It is to love the Lord our God with our whole being, and everything at our disposal. We do so by meeting Him in His word. To the married people, this reminds us of our priorities even when times are tough and busy! For the rest of us, we too, will interact with children and we are to love God first! There is nothing to teach and nothing to give if we don’t first love God!
Israel is also commanded to teach their children diligently (Deut 6:7). This seems to be some kind of formal time in the family to gather and instruct and explain. This time also models what it means to love God with every ounce of our being. Israel was also to do this teaching in a more casual way, woven into the daily activities — when you’re on the Grab or just chilling at home. They are to talk to their children about God throughout the day. As parents, they are to help their children to capture the mundane moments and even help them capture their thoughts to know that God is there and real.
If we are to raise children in the future, we will need to be able to teach them God’s commands. Are we preparing ourselves to teach our children? How are you thinking of teaching the generations after you in your church? How will you hand down knowledge from one generation to another? How do we relate the things around us to what we know of God, to grab these moments and help us relate them to our God?
Deut 6:8-9 goes a step further to say that these words should also be on their hands, visible when they work, and also be frontlets, the lens through which they see the world. They are to write them on the doorposts of their house and gates too. God’s word is to be everywhere.
Deut 6:20 also teaches the parents to be ready for the questions that their children will ask about the testimonies and commandments! Children will question the rationale for obedience and the Bible makes space for expressing doubts and asking questions. But here, the emphasis is for the parents to be able to explain their faith and to help young minds see the God who is there. There is a responsibility for parents to be clear.
These verses remind us that in reality, it is easy for them and us to forget God. In Deut 6:21-25, Israel was told that they are to speak to their children of this redemption that happened before the giving of the law. The reality of their desperate situation as slaves in Egypt is spoken of. God’s saving activity is also highlighted here and they witnessed this salvation. Through the Law we remember who God is, what He did in his saving activity delivering the Israelites from slavery, emphasis that God remains faithful to the end (Deut 6:24-25).
This is also so relevant for our time! Are you ready for the questions of your friends? Or perhaps someday, your children will ask you questions. Prepare yourselves to be able to answer for that day when, “in time to come” your children will ask you questions! It might come at a bad time, but these questions are important!
(C) The Bible imparted: Warning and exhortations for life in the Promised Land (Deut 6:8-19)
Israel is also warned to “take care lest you forget” (Deut 6:12). There is a real danger of getting lost in the enjoyment of comfort and in the process, forgetting that this God has led them out of captivity! This is not just an innocent act and doing so accidentally, but it really is one of moral failure! It is a moral failure—to not treat God with reverential fear.
They were also warned about idolatry, which their fathers had done before— “You shall not go after other gods…” (Deut 6:14). God’s people will face the temptation of being comfortable with foreign norms and practices, and also the pleasures of false gods.
God’s people were also told that “you shall not put the LORD your God to the test…” (Deut 6:16). If they tested Him, they were essentially not trusting in God’s goodness to Israel even though He brought them out and will continue to provide for them on their journey to the Promised Land. Do you doubt that God is good and knows what is best for you? Do you doubt his goodness?
These verses show us Israel’s sin nature — prone to forget with hearts that can turn to idols so easily and also quick to doubt God. But this God is so gracious to renew the covenant with this idolatrous, doubting, forgetful people. Not only that, His steadfast love extends to us, demonstrated on the cross, with the establishment of a new covenant. We are now created a new man in Christ though we are not part of Israel (c.f. Eph 2:14-16). We have peace with God despite our inability to keep the law. Our hearts are prone to wander and even the task of discipling our children seem daunting. Left alone to our own devices, we cannot do it. But we are enabled to do so through the Spirit. And God has also called us together in a community, the church!
As we end this study, what is God speaking to you about the nature of teaching amongst God’s people? How might we prepare for teaching the next generation of his people? What area of warning is God calling to your attention to and how does God’s grace through Christ give you hope?