Hear, O Israel! The Lord is 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. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

This is the greatest text of the Jewish Bible. It is committed to memory by every Orthodox Jew. It is called the shema, which simply means, "Hear!" It defines the two great pillars of the Jewish faith, namely, the one God, who demands absolute devotion from Israel, and the Law of God, which is Israel's comprehensive rule for life.

Today, I want to focus on one particular command within this text, namely, the command for Israel to teach the Law diligently to their children. Although there are numerous places in the Books of the Law and in the Old Testament in general where God commands careful obedience, nowhere is it so concretly depicted as here. 

Every body position is covered: sitting, walking, lying down, and getting up. Every realm of view is covered: at a distance (gates and doorposts), near (on your hand), and right in front of the eyes (frontals on your forehead). Every form of expression is covered: talking, seeing, and writing. 

Some Bible teachers have tried to generalize these verses by suggesting that they simply teach that God's Law needed to be integrated with ordinary life. But I think that doing this would water down what God intended to be strengthened. It is one thing for Scripture to generalize itself but quite another thing for someone to generalize what Scripture explicitly details. No, dear friends, we must not generalize this command but understand that God intended His Law to be the central and preeminent preoccupation of every aspect of their children's lives. 

It would be by this very conscientious and comprehensive instruction of their children that Israel could ensure faithfulness to the LORD from generation to generation. By such an immersive communication of Scripture, the Israelite children would remember the LORD, even to love Him with every faculty of their being, their heart, their soul and their might. 

Friends, it is in this same spirit that Paul admonishes his spiritual son, Timothy, at the very end of his life to diligently study the Scriptures:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). 

Later on in his letter to Timothy, Paul would affirm the divine authority and absolute sufficiency of Scripture to guide Timothy in all aspects of a life devoted to pleasing the LORD:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In this way Paul was modeling the way every father was to train their children in the LORD:

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Friends, there is no more weightier responsibility for us as Christians than to pass our faith to the generations after us. As under the Old Covenant, so it is with the New, we have God's Word, a living and active sword of the Spirit, able to protect from the Evil One, to convict of sin, and to train in all the will of God. 

Are we diligently teaching our children the Word of God? Are we immersing them in its principles? Is Scripture a part of our daily conversation? Is our children's education constantly pointing them to God as the source of all knowledge, understanding and wisdom and to the glory of Christ as the natural, inevitable and desired end of all learning and ambition? Are we making a conscientious effort to make it so?

Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29).

What was this heart attitude that God wished the Israelites would maintain? It was an attitude that truly recognized the holiness of God. It was an attitude of reverent fear, which understood that the slightest offense could mean their instant demise. Thus, they dared not approach God themselves but would simply listen and obey what God spoke through His chosen messenger. 

Friends, God has spoken through His messengers from Genesis to Revelation. Now, He has given us His complete revelation, so that we might listen and obey it. What is missing is not revelation from God but reverent fear by His people. We do not need more revelation from God, as places like IHOP and people like C.Peter Wagner suggest. We need greater fear and greater obedience. Just as Paul wrote:

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).

---------------------

Two significant warnings that the people of Israel would neglect:

(1) Do not intermarry with the people of Canaan - because they will ensare you

Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).

(2) Do not desire the silver and gold on the gods of Canaan - because they will ensnare you

The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 7:25; cf. 6:13-15).

The people would be tempted emotionally, sexually and materially by the people and idols of Canaan, but their charge was not simply to resist them but to destroy them completely. They were to be treated like an infection or a cancer that cannot simply be muted or contained. They had to be completed removed from the land and destroyed because of their very contageous and infectious nature. Israel's failure to do this led to their own demise. 

Friends, if we are to take warning from these instructions given to Israel as they were preparing to enter the promised land, we would do well to learn not to treat sin lightly or to place ourselves where we can be easily influenced by sinful people. 

For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the LORD our God has given us.’ (Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT)

Friends, this is not a verse to be missed. It is critical to one's understanding of the purpose of the Law. The people of Israel will only be "counted as righteous" when they obey "ALL the commands," not some of them, but all of them. As James observes, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws" (James 2:10). And this is Paul's point in Galatians when he writes,

But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, 'Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law" (Colossians 3:10).

This is why Paul would argue, "So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law" (Galatians 3:11). Even if the people could keep some of the law, they could not keep all of the law. Even if the people could keep all of the law some of the time, they could not keep all of the law all of the time. God, who is perfect, demanded perfect obedience. Anything short of this was unacceptable. And the people of Israel were meant to learn from the Law that they could not keep God's commands but had to humbly and wholly rest upon His grace. For as Paul also writes in Galatians 2:21, "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die." The Law revealed God's holiness and people's inability to attain to it because of their depravity (Galatians 3:19; Romans 7:7). As Romans 3:23 reads: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The Law was like a tutor leading to Christ (Galatians 3:22-25). Again, Paul writes, 

If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 3:21-22).

So, let us understand what the Jews of old failed to understand. Let us understand that we are not able to save ourselves because God requires perfect faith and obedience, but we are saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The same grace that chose Abraham out of all the peoples of the world chose you and me. The same grace that gave Him unconditional promises of blessing is the grace we have inherited by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no room for boasting.

For those of you that think you were saved because of your humility to submit to Christ or your wisdom to accept Him by faith, you are just as mistaken as the Jews of old. Why would God, who demanded perfect obedience of His people of old, demand any less of you? Has God changed? Would He who is perfect and demanding perfect obedience now allow an imperfect faith? Or do you claim to have a perfect faith that you did not receive as a gift? Those of you who think that you are saved in part or in whole "by your free will" are badly mistaken. It is time for you to reexamine your faith, even to test it, so that you do not fail this test (2 Corinthians 13:5-6). Both the perfect faith and perfect obedience that God requires were gifted to us in Christ. So there is indeed no room for boasting. As Paul also writes, "It is because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

²⁸ “The Lord heard the request you made to me. And he said, ‘I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right. ²⁹ Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.

The first thought I had when reading this was God knew then, when speaking to His people, they would fall from grace.  This just reaffirmed to me that nothing happens that God does not already know, seen, or planned.  Praise God when we have good fortune and praise God when we struggle, for it is all according to his design.

Yujin! Thanks for the encouragement last night by reminiding me of my election!!  I almost burst into cry because of His Mercy and fathomless love that has nothing to do with who I am or what I did or do or even will do!! I hope and pray today that every believer will know this wonderful love of God  and be strengthened in their faith.

Dear brothers and sisters!
 
  

 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.^{[c] 5} Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
 
I feel as if the Lord were speaking to me in a majestic voice.  I never get bored of hearing these verses that are impressed on my heart, and will make sure that my children will hear and be reminded of it over and over.  Just as the Israelites were to remember how God brought them out of Egypt, from their slavery into the Promised Land, so I will also tell my children without ceasing how God brought us out of our bondage to sin by sending His only Son "in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us" and that we may also "fear the Lord and serve Him only." 
 
God's promise of materialistic blessings is guaranteed here to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land on one condition that they are obedient to His Law.  When I was growing up in Korean churches in 80's, the prosperity gospel was heavily emphasized and taught to Korean christians.  Some claim that the growth of Korean church is attributed to that particular theology.  But still the end cannot justify the means. We were taught that we need to repent, receive the Holy Spirit, and be victorious in what we do. But for what or whom?  Unfortunately how successful we are in our secular world was the measurement of our spirituality.  The reason and purpose for repentance and receiving the Holy Spirit was not the glory of God but the mundane success for ourselves.  The blessings were the ultimate goal of our zeal for religious activities.  The blesser was not in the picture.  I am one of the victims of that era and still struggle to stay on the right track.  Once again, brothers and sisters, let's kindle our hearts and minds to love the Lord our God with the passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
 
In Christ,
 
Stephen  

 

Friends, we read in Deuteronomy 7:12-15,

Because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them... He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there whall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness...

This passage promises prosperity, wealth, health, and unfettered childbearing. In the "Name it, Claim it" philosophy of Prosperity Theology, this is a passage that would be used to argue that if you obey God, you will prosper in health and wealth. In fact, the passage says that you will be the most prosperous. This is one of many such passages in the Old Testament that promises prosperity for obedience.

Now, along with such blessings there are also curses for disobedience, as we read in Deuteronomy 11:26-28, "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God." To get a clearer picture of both blessings and curses, read Deuteronomy 28. Notice that the verses describing the curses for disobedience are four times more than those describing the blessings for obedience. You hardly ever here any prosperity theologian discussing the curses. If you would apply the one, should you not also apply the other? In fact, Paul writes that those who decide to follow the Law put themselves under the curse of the Law (cf. Galatians 3:10). Isn't it interesting that Paul does just the opposite of those that preach prosperity? He emphasizes the curses while they emphasize the blessings. Hmmm? I wonder who we should listen to more?

Let us understand that the Old Covenant Mosaic Law has become "obsolete" (cf. Hebrews 8:13) and has been replaced by the better, stronger New Covenant "way of the Spirit" (cf. Romans 7:6). Therefore, we apply none of the Old Testament Mosaic Law to ourselves, except to find in them the holy character of God and the depravity of people. As we do not apply the Law to ourselves, neither do we claim any of the blessings or curses associated with the obedience or disobedience to that Law. Instead, we follow the Law of Christ in the New Testament, as Paul writes,

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law (1 Corinthians 9:20-21).

The only reason we would practice the Law would be to attract Jews to faith. Otherwise, we do not practice the Law of Moses but the Law of Christ, which we find in some part in the Gospels and mostly in the New Testament Epistles. There are some provisions that are similar, but also much that is different, as we have seen from our reading of the specific ordinances in the Law of Moses. Yet, do not fall into the temptation of parceling out the Law of Moses as some try to do, separating, for instance, the Ten Commandments from the rest of the Law, for when speaking of the Law, the New Testament knows no such parceling when it says that the Old Covenant has become obsolete. And just because the Mosaic Law is referenced in the New Testament does not mean that it is still in effect but rather that the spirit of the old law is reflected in the Law of Christ. I have a longer discussion of this in my blog found here: My blog.

First of all, Yujin, thank you for your explanation of God and the fact that He is above all things. I mean, I have always known this, but I think that sometimes I try to imagine God too much as a man, rather than the Ruler and Creator of all. I am guessing that when He & Moses repeat over and over again in this book that God is "a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations" (Deut 5:9) that this falls in line with your previous comment about God being above all? I guess I am just bothered by the fact that the word "jealous" is used to describe God's feelings about the sins of His people because, as we all know, jealousy is one of the seven deadly sins.

I love the profoundness of Deut 6: 5-9. This has been my biggest stumbling block lately, letting God and just letting God be and work in my life. I love God with all my heart, but my soul and strength are fighting my heart, causing me to have doubts about the prayers that God answers. I hope that through my daily readings of the Bible and another book I'm reading, A Deepening Friendship with God, I will be able to let my soul and strength be completely turned over to God.

One last question, the "land of milk and honey" is said to be mentioned 14 times in Exodus and Deuteronomy and 5 other times in the OT. Why milk and honey? Is the Promised Land said to be in abundance of these? I couldn't find an explanation in any of the notes.

Yujin responds... "a land flowing with milk and honey" seems to be a Jewish idiomatic expression suggesting a very fertile land that offers wealth and prosperity to those who dwell in it. The idea of "milk" and "honey" may stem from two important staples of the ancient diet. The Jewish Talmud, which is the main Jewish commentary on the Old Testament, interprets the words as "milk flows from the goats' (udders), and honey flows from the dates and the figs (Ketubot 111b)." While we normally associate honey with bees, bees were considered "unclean;" therefore, the Talmud associates the honey as coming not from bees but from the nectar of flowers.

Now, on the matter of God's jealousy and the sin of jealousy, we must understand the distinction between a good jealousy and a bad jealousy. When we are jealous over something that is legitimately ours (e.g. exlusive sexual relationship with our spouse), this a legitimate jealousy; however, when we are jealous for things that are not ours (e.g. resentment because someone else has a nicer car), this is an illegitimate jealousy.  Here are three articles that explain this distinction well.

• "If Jealousy Is a Sin, Why Is God a Jealous God?"
• Why is God a jealous God?
• A Jealous God

Sherry wrote... Deuternomy 5:7 - You shall have no other God's before me.

Deut. 5-7:  In Deut. 6 a warning goes out to the Israelites, "be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (v. 12) - This warning comes on the heals of being reminded of the 10 commandments.  Simply obeying God's commands may not be so simple.  The warning is one of complacency.  When we get comfortable we can become self-sufficient - not needing God - especially in good times.  We should always remember to thank God and give him praise for the blessings that are bestowed upon us.  Only through God's grace is our sinfulness washed away and therefore give us the possibility of having a relationship with him.  Incorporating this notion into our daily lives simply goes against our nature.  If the Holy Spirit is not in us God's promise is not there as well.  But when it is there the power associated with this gift unshackles our inability to glorify God.  The gift of life is the greatest blessing of all.

Yujin comments...Profound, brother Matt! It is only through grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that there is salvation for us and even the ability for us to glorify God in our lives. Amen and amen!