Reflections on Deuteronomy 6

Deuteronomy 06 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The LORD told me to give you these laws and teachings, so you can obey them in the land he is giving you. Soon you will cross the Jordan River and take that land.
   
2. And if you and your descendants want to live a long time, you must always worship the LORD and obey his laws.
   
3. Pay attention, Israel! Our ancestors worshiped the LORD, and he promised to give us this land that is rich with milk and honey. Be careful to obey him, and you will become a successful and powerful nation.
   
4. Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God!
   
5. So love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.
   
6. Memorize his laws
   
7. and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning.
   
8. Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them.
   
9. Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.
   
10. The LORD promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you this land. Now he will take you there and give you large towns, with good buildings that you didn't build,
    
11. and houses full of good things that you didn't put there. The LORD will give you wells that you didn't have to dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that you didn't have to plant. But when you have eaten so much that you can't eat any more,
    
12. don't forget it was the LORD who set you free from slavery and brought you out of Egypt.
    
13. Worship and obey the LORD your God with fear and trembling, and promise that you will be loyal to him.
    
14. Don't have anything to do with gods that are worshiped by the nations around you.
    
15. If you worship other gods, the LORD will be furious and wipe you off the face of the earth. The LORD your God is with you,
    
16. so don't try to make him prove that he can help you, as you did at Massah.
    
17. Always obey the laws that the LORD has given you
    
18. and live in a way that pleases him. Then you will be able to go in and take this good land from your enemies, just as he promised your ancestors.
    
19. (SEE 6:18)
    
20. Someday your children will ask, "Why did the LORD give us these laws and teachings?"
    
21. Then you will answer: We were slaves of the king of Egypt, but the LORD used his great power and set us free.
    
22. We saw him perform miracles and make horrible things happen to the king, his officials, and everyone else.
    
23. The LORD rescued us from Egypt, so he could bring us into this land, as he had promised our ancestors.
    
24. That's why the LORD our God demands that we obey his laws and worship him with fear and trembling. And if we do, he will protect us and help us be successful.
    
25. (SEE 6:24)
    

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    Moses, in chapter 5, reminded the Israelites of the Ten Commandments. In chapter 6 is given the main focus of these commandments. Jesus summarized the law with two commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." and "Love your neighbor as yourself." "All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets," Jesus said, "are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37, 39, 40) Moses here focused on the first of those two - loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. If they truly did this it would be reflected in their obedience of these commands Moses had just reviewed for them (the ten commandments), and they would teach this love for the Lord to their children.
    
    We should love the Lord primarily because He is worthy of it. A particular point regarding His worthiness of our love is the fact He has set us free. In other words, He has redeemed us. For the Israelites this related to freedom from slavery in Egypt. For all of us who have accepted His redemption, it relates to freedom from sin. But Moses pointed to another reason the Israelites had for loving the Lord, and that was that their future prosperity in the land the Lord was giving them depended on it. These three factors are tightly woven: love of the Lord, obedience to His commands, and a life of prosperity. A life of prosperity does not necessary translate to being rich. Jesus referred to it as an abundant life. We might refer to it as life to the fullest. Whatever term is used, a life of prosperity flows from love for the Lord and obedience to His commands. His commandments prescribe a lifestyle that makes a life of prosperity possible. Our love for the Lord allows Him to guide us and His hand of protection to be on us. When we pull away from Him we withdraw from both His guidance and His protection. We also lose a desire to obey His commandments which prescribe a lifestyle conducive for prosperity.
    
    An added caution Moses gave the people was that once they experienced this prosperity the Lord made possible that they not forget the Lord. This is the danger of prosperity. Under the spell of prosperity we are at risk of coming to see it as our security rather than the Lord, and of loving it more than we love the One who made it possible.  Moses' concern went beyond merely forgetting the source of their prosperity. It was a concern that they would attribute their prosperity to other gods. There is really no middle ground. We don't attribute the events and circumstances of life to nothing. We recognize there is a source, and the source of all good things is God. If we don't recognize that, then we attribute them to false sources which is the ultimate blasphemy of God.