Deuteronomy 6:1

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:1-5, “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:[2] That 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.[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.[4] Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:[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 a very interesting passage of scripture because it contains the commandment that Jesus said was the greatest of all the commandments. We read in Matthew 22:35-40, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.[38] This is the first and great commandment.[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

The fact that God says the greatest commandment is to love Him shows that He wants to be loved. Why were you born? Why did God give you life? You were born to love God and to serve Him. And so a very important question for every person is: do you love God? Be careful before you answer because He is listening. How can we possibly obey God’s commands? If we love Him, we will obey. As a matter of fact, when we fail Him, it is evidence of how little we love Him. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Deuteronomy 6:2 is the emphasis that the law makes. It says, “That 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.” You must obey in order to be blessed. That is what the law teaches clearly. That is true justice. But there is one great problem with the law: what happens when you break the commandments instead of keeping them? When you break God’s commandments, you are in a very bad place. You are in a place of condemnation instead of blessing. But God does not want to condemn human beings. He wants to bless us. And so in the New Testament instead of telling people, “Obey, and you will be blessed,” Jesus says to us, “Believe, and you will be blessed.” This is explained so very well in Galatians 3:6-11, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.[7] Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.[8] And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.[9] So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.[10] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.[11] But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:[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.[8] And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.[9] And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” These verses emphasize the importance of the Word of God and of finding ways to keep it in your life and on your mind, and to help your children and grandchildren do the same. First a believer is told to keep the word of God “in thine heart.” That means to love the Word of God and it also means to memorize it. Of course, the importance of memorizing certain verses from the Bible should be obvious. When we have a Bible verse memorized, we can think of it whenever we want in whatever situation we find ourselves. It says in Psalms 119:11. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:10-12, “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,[11] And 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;[12] Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Even though there is a difference between law and grace and between the Old Testament and the New Testament, even in the Old Testament we find ample examples of God’s grace. God has always been a gracious and loving God even when believers were under the law. When the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, they were under law, but God gave them what they did not earn. God gave them cities that they did not build. He gave them wells that they did not dig, and God gave them vineyards that they did not plant. This symbolizes very well the salvation that we have through Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us eternal life that we did not earn. He has given us heaven that we did not build. And He gave us righteousness that we could never have gained on our own merits.

There is a very important phrase in Deuteronomy 6:12, “beware lest thou forget the LORD.” True Christianity has everything to do with what you think about and when you think it. Faith is an activity of the mind as well as the heart and will. It says in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” And it says in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” One of the things that can help you remember the Lord is to have some Bible verses memorized. What if you visited some foreign country and were put into prison for five years. What Bible verses could you bring to your mind as your only source of spiritual nourishment? Try it today. Sit down and think, and bring to your mind every Bible verse that you can. That will show you if you are prepared for such an event. It will also show you how much scripture that you are able to use in your own daily life.

Notice that Deuteronomy 6:12 tells us to not forget the Lord who “brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” In other words one of the most important things to remember about the Lord has to do with our salvation. If Jesus saved you, then do not ever forget what He delivered you from, and do not ever forget what He went through so that He could deliver you. Jesus left heaven and came into this world of woe, and then He was cut off in the prime of life with all the sufferings of His week of great passion, and His separation from the Father in your place, and His death. It was all for you. Instead of hell, you have heaven. Instead of guilt and shame, you have forgiveness and holiness. Instead of weakness you have strength. Instead of spiritual blindness you have light and vision to see truth. Rudyard Kipling wrote a great poem on this subject of not forgetting God that he entitled “Recessional.” The text of the poem is:

God of our fathers, known of old,

Lord of our far-flung battle-line,

Beneath whose awful Hand we hold

Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;

The Captains and the Kings depart:

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;

On dune and headland sinks the fire:

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!

Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose

Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,

Such boastings as the Gentiles use,

Or lesser breeds without the Law—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust

In reeking tube and iron shard,

All valiant dust that builds on dust,

And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,

For frantic boast and foolish word—

Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord!

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:13-15, “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.[14] Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;[15] (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.” This passage emphasizes the importance of the right kind of separation from the world. First in verse 13 believers are told once again to serve the Lord. And then in verse 14 believers are told one truth that is an important part of being able to serve God: separation from the ungodly: “Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you.” When people do not serve the Lord, they can be a bad influence on those who want to serve the Lord. We are social beings and we are subject to peer pressure unless we are very strong and very out-spoken. One rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel. The goal is to be a good influence on others instead of them being a bad influence on you. It says in Romans 12:21, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” You want to be polite and loving to the lost people of the world so that you can influence them for Christ, but you want to keep your distance as far as their philosophies or decisions or entertainments that are not biblical. For example, it says in Psalms 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.[2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” In the New Testament it says in Second Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” There is no greater yoke than the marriage yoke, and so the biblical principle is very clear that someone who loves Jesus should only seek a soulmate among those of the opposite sex who also love Jesus. Abraham understood this important principle and he lived almost 4000 years ago. It says in Genesis 24:2-3, “And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:[3] And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:” If you want to find the soulmate that God has for you, you absolutely must make the same decision that Abraham made. Do not take a spouse unto you of the unbelievers.

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