Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
DEUTERONOMY 6
Love the Lord Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
Application Notes
6:3 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 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 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 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 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 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 Does the phrase “so that we might always prosper” 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.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)