Deuteronomy 6 Commentary: The LORD Jesus quotes from this chapter.
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Moses has seen enough in the 40 years of ministry with Israel. He knows the importance of obedience. He knows the holy God would not bend rules. Obedience is equated to life itself. The difficulties of obedience then and later bring into sharp focus the need for a system that can work. It is pointing us to the cross. It is only through the cross that man can fully obey the law.
For now Israel must pass on the law to their children and these children to their children, generation after generation. The law must be kept. Teach them to your children. “Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Vs7 GNB.
We can see why we have encountered these commands severally along the way from Sinai. The commands must be repeated for the benefit of our memories. Here lies the importance of reading the holy script daily. We also see something quite interesting. The LORD will not be repeating Himself in person to each and every generation. The parents who experienced Horeb are tasked to pass on the experience.
The saint today is encouraged to look back at God’s generosity in their own lives and pass it on to succeeding generations.
Reflecting on this chapter the LORD Jesus quotes this very same great commandment. It is one and most important. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Vs4-5 NIV.
While it remains important for a man to pass on wealth and experience to his son, the most important item to be passed on is the fear of God. Won’t it make sense that when we are long gone, our sons can remember the LORD who their fathers worshipped? The LORD who my father served can help me today. That indeed is part of the handover notes from every man to his son.
At the heart of this chapter is a deep love for Israel by the LORD. He wants His children to enjoy long and prosperous years. He wants them to enjoy the blessings of the LORD unhindered. By inheriting cities they didn’t build the LORD is telling Israel that the ‘live by sweat punishment’ of Genesis 3 will be a suspended sentence.
This chapter brings out beauty out of the law. It seems we are reading the very purpose of the law. It was never meant to squeeze life out of Israel but to ensure that the community of God’s people enjoyed the blessing of Genesis 1/28. It’s this blessing that was reinstated in Genesis 9 with Noah and importantly repeated with this nation’s founding father – Abraham in Genesis 12.
We are not reading an isolated story.
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LOVING SCRIPTURE 