SSL 10 - Deut. 6:1-9 - LOVED
LAST WEEK: In Deut. 4:1-9, after summarizing the history of the exodus and wilderness wanderings, Moses commanded the Israelites to remember five imperatives before they entered the Promised Land: (1) They were in a Covenant relationship with the LORD-God promised them the land and they promised to obey His commandments. As Christians, we are under a New Covenant relationship between God and humanity that has been mediated by Jesus Christ and now includes all people, both Jew and Gentile alike, who are saved by grace alone by faith in Jesus Christ alone. (2) Because God never changes, His Covenant (Word) never changes. Since God never changes and never breaks a promise, His word is like Him, eternal and never changing. Rev. 20:18-19 applies the same principle to the New Testament. (3) Israel was privileged to be built upon a foundation of God-given laws. God did not give these laws to repress them but to free them from the anguish and consequences associated with wrong decisions and disobedient living. As NT Christians, we are truly privileged and blessed to live in a nation with a legal system built on a Constitution designed by godly men, which protects both our freedom to worship and our freedom to express the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (4) Like the Ancient Israelites, we need to remember to remember all that God has done for us. Without remembrance, faith soon fades and dies away. We can remember by: (a) Coming together frequently and regularly in church for worship, prayer, and fellowship; (b) observing special days and participating in fellowship activities and (c) giving generously and serving without hesitation in various ministries both inside and outside the church. (5) To make God known to our children and grandchildren. We must remember that the church is always just one generation away from extinction. What this tells us, as NT Christians, is that the Christian education of children is vital. If we fail to teach our children to know and love Jesus Christ as Lord, we will not only lose our grandchildren but all the generations that follow them.
THIS WEEK: In Deut. 6:1-9, we will hear Moses give Israelites the commandment that would become known to the Jews as the Shema-a commandment that summarizes the demands of the first two of the Ten Commandments and calls them to internalize them, so that like those once written on stone tablets, these words would be written upon their hearts. Moses also commands them again to teach these commandments to their children and take specific measures to remember them. To summarize, the Shema is God's covenant with mankind that we love and obey Him. Mankind has failed to do this, and has failed miserably. Jesus Christ came to do what we were incapable of doing, and for NT Christians today, recognizing and applying the work of Jesus motivates us toward the love and obedience that the Shema demands and God deserves.
Read Deut. 6:1-3 - THIS IS THE COMMANDMENT
1 "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, 2 so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
v. 1: "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it," - Notice that "commandment" is singular and "statutes and judgments" are plural, by which Moses informs them that God has reduced the law to one emphatic, ruling principle-one commandment that encompasses all the commandments, with the reminder that they are to incorporate this one overriding commandment into the stewardship of the land they are about to possess.
v. 2: "so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged." - We need to properly understand the meaning the term "fear the LORD your God" as Moses is using it here. The word fear is normally associated with negative feelings like fright and terror and yes, because of God's moral purity and omnipotence, we should be afraid of disobeying Him, but the Hebrew meaning in this context expresses the sensation of being in complete awe of God and giving Him our highest respect and reverence. Israel's future rested on their obedience to this one great commandment, so that If they feared God and kept all of His statutes and commandments, their life would be long and filled with God's blessings. And notice the responsibility being placed on parents-"your son and grandson"-to pass this truth, this great commandment onto succeeding generations. The future of Israel depended on this. Our future depends on this, too.
v. 3: "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey." - The foundation for obedience begins with listening-with hearing the Word. The "it" that the Israelites should be careful to "do" is keeping the commandment, the statues, and ordinances as noted above. God had promised from the patriarchs that He would make them a great nation, but the fulfillment of this promise was conditioned on their continuing to fear God and obey His law. Everything depended on their hearing of what Moses had to teach them, and Moses had two great concerns in Deuteronomy: (1) to teach what God has given him to teach and (2) convince them to obey these teachings. In return, for their faithful obedience, Moses promises them that God will bring prosperity. A land "flowing with milk and honey" is an oft-used figure of speech used to describe a fertile and productive land-God's promise of fruitfulness and abundance on a grand scale.
TRUTH 1: The foundation for obedience is hearing God's Truth. The foundation for obedience begins with listening-with hearing the Word. Everything depended on their hearing of what Moses had to teach them, and Moses had two great concerns in Deuteronomy: (1) to teach what God has given him to teach and (2) convict them to obey these teachings. While these verses are addressed to the nation of Israel, they are addressed to parents in particular (v. 2), because of the responsibility of parents in the continuation of faith in their children. The future of Israel depended on this, and for 21st Century Christians, the future of our church depends on this, too.
Read Deut. 6:4-9 - LOVE'S COVENANT - CALL TO WORSHIP
4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates
Preface: These four verses constitute the core statement of biblical faith. They are known in traditional Judaism as the "Shema," which is a transliteration of the Hebrew word "Hear" in v. 4. In this context, the command to hear means to focus all your attention and listen very carefully for the purposes of obedience-doing. Hearing without doing is disobedience. The heart of Biblical faith is a determination to know what God has said so that we can conform our beliefs and behavior in accordance with it.
v. 4a: "Hear, O Israel!' - The purpose of hearing the Word is to know God. The hearing evoked by the Shema is what we would call "active" listening, which involves listening attentively with the intent to fully understand what is being said. Our purpose in hearing the Word and its truth is to really know God intimately and personally, to understand the truths of Scripture so that they become both the means and the guide to a personal relationship with God. It's what we call practical application-what guides our deepest thoughts, prayers, and actions on a day-to-day basis.
v. 4b: "The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" - This is an essential truth in which Moses gives expression to Israel's confession of faith, namely that the LORD (Yahweh) is not a pantheon of gods, nor one of the gods of the ancient history cults, but is the only true God who is one in essence (and is as clearly revealed in the NT, a Trinity-Father, Son and Spirit-one God in three persons). The point we must hear and learn from this is that we might know Him in light of the fact that He is the sovereign creator and holy God of the universe, the Savior of our lives, and the God of redemption and revelation. Knowing and understanding God in this manner is very important. Without this knowledge embedded in our hearts, we will pursue the things of this world and experience its utter emptiness. But like the ancient Israelites, as we come to know God, intimately and personally, we learn that He alone is sufficient to meet our needs and fulfill our lives in every way.
TRUTH 2: The purpose of hearing the Word is to know the Lord. The point we must hear and learn from this is that we might know Him in light of the fact that He is the sovereign creator and holy God of the universe, the Savior of our lives, and the God of redemption and revelation. Knowing and understanding God in this manner is very important. Without this knowledge embedded in our hearts, we will pursue the things of this world and experience its utter emptiness. But like the ancient Israelites, as we come to know God, intimately and personally, we learn that He alone is sufficient to meet our needs and fulfill our lives in every way.
v. 5: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." - This is the essential truth that grows out of the knowledge that God is one. The "heart" Moses speaks of isn't the physical heart but the Heb. word lebab, which refers to our inner self, our core being and personality, so that we should love God with all of our inner-most being. And as to "soul," the Israelites had no concept of body and soul as we do; their word (Heb. nepes) was considered to be part of the body and also meant breath. They thought of it as the animating force that gives life, as when God breathed life into the man's nostrils of man (Gen. 2:7), so that we should love God with all of the life force in us. The word for "might" (Heb. me'od) was associated with strength, power, and abundance, so that we should love God with all those things with which He has gifted us, our talents, treasures, families, friends, etc. So to summarize this command, we are to love God totally, with all our heart,' and give ourselves to Him without any reservation-without holding anything back. This is a tough one, not because God is hard to love, but because we are prone to self love and pursuing selfish interests. The secret of loving God is knowing Him personally and intimately (I've already said this). And knowing Him at that level requires Bible study (personal and corporate) and steadfast and earnest prayer. This is the essence of how to draw near to Him. And picking up again on v. 2, if we do not love God and make Him the supreme priority in our lives, the chance are that neither will our children or our grandchildren.
TRUTH 3: The nature of obedience grows out of love for God. This is the essential truth that grows out of the knowledge that God is one (v. 4). This means the we should love God with : (1) all of our inner-most being-our heart; (2) all of the life force within us-our soul; and (3) all those things in life with which He has gifted us-our might. In short, we are to love God totally, and give ourselves to Him without any reservation-without holding anything back. The secret of loving God is knowing Him personally and intimately. And knowing Him at that level requires Bible study (personal and corporate) and steadfast and earnest prayer. This is the essence of how to draw near to Him.
v. 6: "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart." - As noted in v. 5, the "heart" is out inner-most self, the core of our being and personality. In short, "These words," these commandments, must be at the very core of our being, in the center of our thoughts and the object of everything we hold to be true. It means our relationship to God is not merely legal and dutiful but spiritual and thoughtful. This means we learn to live and think in terms of biblical principals and the reality of God in everything we do. The Word of God becomes the basis and framework for every aspect of our lives-home, work, worship, or play (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
v. 7: "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." - The word used here for "teach" (Heb. sanan) means to whet or sharpen, and the intensive form of the verb means to teach incisively. The idea here is that just as words are cut into a stone tablet with a sharp tool, so the Law should be impressed upon the hearts of the children of every generation. I will briefly repeat what I said last week: One of the problems in churches today is that Biblical instruction of children-what I would call right teaching-has been relegated to backseat status and replaced with things to simply entertain or occupy them while the grownups are in church. This is a huge mistake-the failure to teach children the Bible is one of the reasons that mainline denominations are in decline. Here's the hitch: We, as adults, aren't truly capable of teaching children (any age, either at home or in church) until we are first following, hearing, obeying, loving, and being occupied with God ourselves. The expression "you...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," simply means that you will teach them everywhere on a 24/7 basis. Everything we do and say with our children (including adult children) and grandchildren in the home, in church, and out in the many traffic lanes of life should model what we're trying to teach them-We must model the Word as we teach it.
v. 8: "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead" - In Judaism, this verse gave rise to wearing what's known as a tefillin (Heb.) or phylacteries, which were small leather boxes containing Scriptures like the Shema that would be affixed to the left arm and/or forehead. While this may seem odd to us, to the Jews it served as a reminder of the core beliefs of their faith as well as a witness to others who saw them. Today we Christians also often have symbols that bear witness to our faith: wearing crosses, carrying Bibles, bumper stickers, etc.
Moreover, binding God's command on our hands means that we should teach our children God's ways through our everyday actions-modeling it to them-and putting them on our foreheads means that our thoughts, attitudes, and speech should communicate God's truth.
v. 9: "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" - In Jewish practice, similar to phylacteries, this is known as a mezuzah (Heb.), a small metal device containing the Shema that was attached to a doorpost. Putting God's commands on our "doorposts" points to our homes as a setting for teaching and the "gate" points to using our civic or social activities as another chance to include and talk about God, e.g., discussing local, national, and world events to our kids as seen from God's perspective. In short, Moses is saying that everything we think of and do, from the home to our social activities and business occupations, should be infused with God's word and teachings.
TRUTH 4: The nature of obedience commands us to teach and model the Word to the generations that follow us. We, as adults, aren't truly capable of teaching children (any age, either at home or in church) until we are first following, hearing, obeying, loving, and being occupied with God ourselves. Everything we do and say with our children (including adult children) and grandchildren in the home, in church, and out in the many traffic lanes of life should model what we're trying to teach them-We must model the Word as we teach it. Binding God's command on our hands means that we should teach our children God's ways through our everyday actions-modeling it to them-and putting them on our foreheads means that our thoughts, attitudes, and speech should communicate God's truth (v. 8). Putting God's commands on our doorposts points to our homes as a setting for teaching and the "gate" points to using our civic or social activities as another chance to include and talk about God, e.g., discussing local, national, and world events to our kids as seen from God's perspective. In short, Moses is saying that everything we think of and do, from the home to our social activities and business occupations, should be infused with God's word and teachings (v. 9).
PRAYER: LORD GOD, our Almighty Creator and sustainer of our lives and everything we see, we bow before You this morning with gratitude for Your faithfulness, Your mercy, and Your abundant grace towards us. We thank You for calling each one of us here this morning to serve Your Kingdom through this wonderful church. LORD, we are truly thankful for the freedom to worship You as our God and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you for blessing this church by increasing Your presence, power, anointing, and abundance in our Church Family. You are great and greatly to be praised for this. DEAR GOD, as we leave this room in a few minutes and go into the sanctuary of this church for the meeting that has been called, I pray that you will guide every person in our church family on a path that is united in purpose and puts aside any personal plans or agendas. As we seek to call our new shepherd to lead this good church, I pray that we will put aside all personal desires and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts, minds, and souls. In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, I ask all of these things, AMEN.
