Deuteronomy 6.20-25

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And 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 we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’”

In responding to their children, parents must be careful to keep their understanding of the Law within the framework of grace. The people of Israel were slaves in Egypt; we were slaves to sin. God came to us in our need and, through a powerful deliverance, lifted us out of sin and death into newness of life through Jesus Christ. He redeemed us, as He did Israel, freely, by His grace. But He redeemed us unto good works (Eph. 2.8-10), even the good works of the Law (Matt. 5.17-19).

We would still be helpless and lost were it not for the Lord’s mighty deliverance. In gratitude for His saving mercy, we receive His Word and declare, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” Gratitude to God is the first reason we obey His Law: We love Him in gratitude because He first loved us in redemption (1 Jn. 4.9).

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Deuteronomy 6.20-25

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And 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 we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’”

Ephesians 2.1-10; Philippians 1.9-11

The Law of God was to be such a prominent part of Israel’s life that children would be provoked to curiosity about it. What would they have seen? A good deal of teaching and talking about the Law, as we have seen, plus a way of life characterized by love for God and neighbor. Peter anticipated that unbelievers, seeing the hope of glory lived out in a believer’s life, would ask a reason for it (1 Pet. 3.15), and this is similar, I think, to what’s in view here.

Children pay attention. They observe what parents do and hear what they say. Here is a call for parents and all adults to remember that their conduct and conversation impact the generation to come. Let us make sure that what our children are provoked to inquire about, based on what they see in us, is the holy and righteous and good Law of God, expressed in love for God and neighbors.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

We must endeavor to give the Law of God a defining role in shaping the culture of our homes and communities. This is the sense of “writing” the Law on the doorposts of the homes and the gates of the communities.

Everything about our homes should declare our love for God and devotion to His holiness and righteousness and goodness. The manner of our relating to one another (Eph. 5.22-6.4), all our décor and furnishings, the way we use our homes in hospitality, how we care for our own property and possessions – everything about where we live should reflect love for God and neighbors according to the teaching of the Law.

And to the extent that we can shape the culture of our communities – churches and the communities in which they exist – we should seek to do so, letting our own lights shine and acting as salt (to block decay and corruption)and leaven (to transform even what is most unpalatable) according to the teaching of God’s Law and Word.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Our teaching of God’s Law is primarily to be informal, “as you are going”, so to speak (Matt. 28.18-20). Throughout the day, at opportune moments, in ways related to what we are doing or thinking, in our normal, everyday conversation, we must endeavor to encourage and instruct one another in the things of God’s Law. The Law of God should inform our conversations and feature in our discussions about everyday issues and events.

This does not preclude more formal and structured teaching situations; however, those – what we most frequently associate with “Christian education” – are not the primary teaching venue. Everyday teaching and bearing witness to the Law and Word of God is the calling of every believer. As we take the Word of God into our souls, letting it dwell there richly and bear good fruit, we must then speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and teach and admonish one another throughout the day, as the opportunities present themselves in the life-based classroom of the Lord.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Those who are not yet sufficiently mature or wise to take up reading and study in God’s Law we must teach. “Children” here can stand for any who have not yet begun to internalize God’s Law on their own. Since we are all also children of our heavenly Father, we should seek out teachers who can help us to understand the beauty and blessedness of living within the Law of God.

 We are to teach the Law of God diligently. The word conveys intentionality, consistency, earnestness, urgency, and clarity, with a view to practical outcomes in the lives of those we teach. Heads of households, pastors, teachers, friends – all must make the teaching of God’s Law as high a priority as that of learning the Law, for only in obedience to the Law of liberty do we find the blessedness God intends for us (Jms. 1.22-25).

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

In order to love God from within we must take His Law into our inner being (Ps. 119.9-11). We must lay His words up within our hearts. Here the heart, which, as we have seen, has the primacy in the soul, is used by hendiadys to stand for the soul in its entirety.

We must study the Law of God, meditating in it day and night (Ps. 1). Thus our minds will be informed by God’s will; our hearts will incline to love what He has revealed (Ps. 119.97); our priorities will line up with what we are coming to know and love; and we will follow the Law as a path to guide us in all our ways (Ps. 119.105).

There is no substitute for daily reading, reflection, and study in the Word of God, beginning in His Law, if we would become the kind of people who love Him supremely and enjoy all the blessings of eternal life with Him.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Love for God comes to expression through the exertions of our body – what our text refers to as “might.” These are of two sorts: speaking and doing. The Scriptures abound in teaching concerning each of these; thus, there is more involved to loving God in word and deed than we can consider here.

We have been redeemed unto good works (Eph. 2.10); we show our love for God by studying to learn and working to practice all He describes as expressions of speech and word that are consistent with love for Him. Certainly if we love God with all our soul, from within, it will be easier to love Him with our strength, for what we do will effectively and efficiently flow from the kind of people we are.

Similarly, as we show love for God in words and deeds, such practices reinforce our inward convictions, making us firmer and more convinced of the love we have for God in our inner being, and, thus, more likely to show that love consistently in our lives. A symbiosis of inward and outward transformation, oriented around and motivated by love for God, thus brings the commandments of God – holy and righteous and good – into flesh before the watching world.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The Lord mentions here heart, soul, mind, and might. Both the immaterial and material facets of our lives are to be devoted to loving God. The heart is the vital wellspring of all existence, for from it flow all the other issues of life (Prov. 4.23). All our affections are to be devoted to loving God.

The mind refers to the various cognitive functions we perform each day – thinking, imagining, recalling, synthesizing, analyzing, and all the rest. It too must be devoted to the service of the living God through love (2 Cor. 10.3-5).

The soul probably is intended here to encompass heart and mind in the larger spiritual entity, the soul, and so includes what the New Testament refers to as the conscience (Acts 24.16).

We must discipline our affections, thinking, and priorities (will), bending them toward loving God as of the first importance in all we do.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The obedience God requires, and by means of which the redeemed gain the promises of God, must be an entire and complete obedience, emanating from a pure love for God. But why should we love God? First, because of His inherent beauty, goodness, and truth. God is a Being deserving of the love of every sentient creature, simply because of Who He is. Further, because He is our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord, and bears with us in our fallenness and folly, we must study to love Him supremely.

A “feigned obedience” (Ps. 81.15, NASB) to God will not do. He requires, and we must be careful to give, obedience that grows from a heart of love, love which we may daily nurture as we contemplate God in His Being and recall His mighty works on our behalf. It is not hard to love God, nor to obey Him, if we take the time to know Him as He intends (Jn. 17.3).

Pure love for God embraces and involves our entire being. Our goal must be to love God with all our soul and strength. This means that our minds, hearts, and consciences must be daily consecrated and devoted to loving God, and all our strength of body – whether exerted in words or deeds – must reflect and express the love we have for Him.

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Deuteronomy 6.4-9

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Ephesians 5.15-17; Colossians 4.6

The Lord our God is one. There are no other gods. Nothing else must be allowed to command the devotion, attention, commitment, or energy which God commands from His people toward Himself. We only show that we deny the uniqueness of God and prefer our own wit and ways when we look to created things to provide us the meaning, purpose, and happiness only God can provide (Rom. 1.18ff).

Bringing His people to the true knowledge of Himself was the purpose of God’s redemptive work in delivering Israel from Egypt. In the same way, Jesus came to bring us life eternal, which is the knowledge of the living God and of His Son (Jn. 10.10, 17.3). The end of redemption is the knowledge of God. The response of those God has redeemed must be to love Him. The manner in which they demonstrate their love for Him is by obeying Him in all His Word.

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