Love the Lord Your God (Deuteronomy 6)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Biblical Timeline
Israelites were going to and in Egypt.
They were brought into Egypt through Joseph to be saved from the famine. They were later put into slavery by the Egyptians.
God would deliver them from slavery and bring them into the promise land through Moses. Within this time, God establishes his covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, establish the Law and Sacrifices, the tabernacle, and guides them to the promise land.
Wilderness wanderings
After rebelling against the Lord in the desert of Paran by listening to the 10 Spies, the Lord judged the people to wandering in the wilderness in punishment for their rebellion.
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the rebellious generation died off and their children are now adults and will now go into the promise land to posses it.
"Deuteronomy, which means “second law,” is a retelling by Moses of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It includes an extended review of the Ten Commandments (4:44–5:33) and Moses’ farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the Promised Land. Moses reminds them of God’s faithfulness and love, but also of God’s wrath on the previous generation of Israelites because of their rebellion. Repeatedly he charges Israel to keep the Law. Deuteronomy is a solemn call to love and obey the one true God. There are blessings for faithfulness and curses for unfaithfulness.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. Print.)
Ch 5 - retells the events surrounding and giving of the 10 Commandments.
Command with its promise of blessing (1-3)
Command with its promise of blessing (1-3)
The commandment (1-2)
Deuteronomy 6:1–2 (ESV)
1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.
Commandment (1)
“commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. (Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible. Second Edition. Denmark: Thomas Nelson, 2019. Print.)
with its Statues (P) and Rules (P)
Fear the Lord by keeping His command (2)
to fear (reverence) v., to regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
to observe (conform) v., to conform one’s action or practice to. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Hear, O Israel (3)
Deuteronomy 6:3 (ESV)
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Blessing through obedience to the commandments (3)
may go well with you - to be good (of qualities) v., to be having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
multiply greatly - become numerous, increase; become great or powerful; grow up (Bible Sense)
The land flowing with milk and honey. They will prosper in their quality of life, multiplication, and strength in a prosperous land.
Unique relationship with God (4-9)
Unique relationship with God (4-9)
The Shema (4-5)
Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (ESV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord 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.
God Alone (4)
This statement is the core understanding of the Israelite people of their relationship with God. This is known as the “Shema” which was and is repeated daily by faithful Israelites.
“Or The LORD our God is one LORD; or The LORD is our God, the LORD is one; or The LORD is our God, the LORD alone” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. Print.)
“One option is to translate: “The LORD is our God, the LORD alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The LORD is our God, the LORD is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship.” (Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible. Second Edition. Denmark: Thomas Nelson, 2019. Print.)
Love the Lord (5)
“with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Not loving God with each part of who we are, but with all that we are.
Matthew 22:37–40 (ESV)
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Personal application (6-9)
Deuteronomy 6:6–9 (ESV)
6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Personal Conviction (6,8)
On your heart (6) - Personal understanding and commitment.
Bind them (8)
Deuteronomy 6:8 (NET 2nd ed.)
8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead.
reminders of your commitment to God
Family instructions (7)
We are to instruct and raise our children to understand the commands of God and why it is important to believe and trust in Him.
We will naturally teach our kids what is important to us. When God and his word is important to us (6), we will want to teach it to our kids.
Household Commitment (9)
Family commitment to follow God.
Joshua 24:14–15 (ESV)
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Warnings of going into the Promise Land (10-19)
Warnings of going into the Promise Land (10-19)
God is bringing them into a prosperous land (10-11)
Deuteronomy 6:10–11 (ESV)
10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full,
The Land to which they are going will be prosperous and cause them to prosper.
“great and good cities that you did not build...”
“houses full of all good things that you did not fill...”
“cisterns that you did not dig...”
“vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant...”
Warning about prosperity.
Jesus teaches on Shifted Loyalties.
Matthew 6:24 (ESV)
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The idea of loyalty is always talked about as important to God.
Money/prosperity can challenge our loyalty to God alone.
Proverb of prayer for what they need and to live in a way to honor God.
Proverbs 30:7–9 (ESV)
7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Do not forget the Lord (12)
Deuteronomy 6:12 (ESV)
12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
There is going to be a lot of things (people, riches, gods, beliefs, etc) that could draw them away from God.
Don’t forget the Lord and follow others.
Stay devoted to the Lord (13-19)
Fear the Lord (13)
Deuteronomy 6:13 (ESV)
13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
To fear (reverence) v., to regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Do not serve other gods (14-15)
Deuteronomy 6:14–15 (ESV)
14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
Other gods
to follow (behavior) v., to behave in accordance or in agreement with. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
God is the one true God that brought them out of Egypt and entered into a covenant relationship with them. He was far more powerful than the gods of Egypt and will be moving out the inhabitants of the land. Showing the the gods of Canaan are not more powerful than Him.
Jealous adj., fiercely protective and unaccepting of disloyalty (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Do not put God to the test (16-17)
Deuteronomy 6:16–17 (ESV)
16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you.
To test v., to put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of something, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Exodus 17:7 (ESV)
7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Massah means testing; Meribah means quarreling.
“Is the Lord among us or not?” - God has already proved himself and showed them his love and favor.
Stay loyal to God by keeping His commands knowing that He is present with them.
Diligently Keep - “The basic idea of the root is ‘to exercise great care over.’ This meaning can be seen to underlie the various semantic modifications seen in the verb: In combination with other verbs the meaning is ‘do carefully or diligently’.” (Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 1999: 939. Print.)
Rewards for loyalty (18-19)
Deuteronomy 6:18–19 (ESV)
18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.
Do what is right.
“do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.”
Sight - estimation ⇔ eyes n., when used with the preposition “in” to refer to a person’s or supernatural being’s judgment of the qualities of something or somebody: (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
We need to conform our standard of what is right and wrong to the standards laid out by God. The Israelites in the OT it’s the Torah. For the Christian its the Bible.
Rewards from the Lord
God tells them over and over to be diligent to obey him because it will go well for them.
He is going to bring them into the land he promised them by removing the inhabitants himself.
“Too often we want to enjoy the blessings, but we do not want to obey the One who gives us the blessings!” (Wiersbe, Warren W. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993. Print.)
Pass on the Covenant commands (20-25)
Pass on the Covenant commands (20-25)
Child’s Question (20)
Deuteronomy 6:20 (ESV)
20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’
Parent’s Response (21-25)
What God did. (21-23)
Deuteronomy 6:21–23 (ESV)
21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.
God delivered us out of slavery by his mighty hand.
Signs and Wonders - miracle ⇔ sign n., a marvelous event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent; often with an emphasis on communicating a message. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Great - great adj., remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree, magnitude, or effect: (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.) Grievous - dreadful adj., causing fear or dread or terror (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
Brought them into the Land.
What and why He commanded it. (24-25)
Deuteronomy 6:24–25 (ESV)
24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’
God gave us these commandments because we are in relationship with Him and by obedience we are showing our loyalty to Him.
John 14:15 (ESV)
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Obeying God’s commands are for our betterment.
“to fear the Lord our God, for our good always”
to be good (of results) v., to be resulting favorably. (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag. Print.)
The purpose of these Commandments is given because of the covenant relationship they have with God. In obedience to the commandments, they are showing their loyalty to God and God will bless them. The goal of the Law is a right relationship with God and for their good.
Serpent convinced Eve that God was withholding good from you that is why He said do not eat. Here God is making it clear that the purpose of His Commandments is for our Good.
“And it will be righteousness for us"
“Obedience to his law would be righteousness (ṣĕdāqâ) for Israel. ... When Abraham believed God, this was a proper attitude for him to adopt and it brought him into a proper relationship with God. In the present context the standard proposed is conformity to God’s covenant. This would result in the enjoyment of the blessing of the covenant. It was a kind of thinking which was understood in the secular world in reference to the treaties of the day, when loyal and faithful vassals enjoyed the favour of their overlords. Compare Psalm 24:3–5, where the man who keeps the law of God receives blessing from the Lord and vindication or ‘righteousness’ (ṣĕdāqâ) from his saving God (God of his salvation).” (Thompson, J. A. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 5. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1974. Print. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries.)
Lessons from the Commandment
Lessons from the Commandment
For Israel
As they are about to enter the Promise land, God wants them to be reminded of and remember their unique relationship with Him. “The Shema”
He wants them to to be aware of the potential dangers to their relationship with Him. (Prosperity, other gods, following the people of the Land) They need to fear the Lord and stay loyal to Him by obedience to the commandments.
The commandments of the Lord are given for their good and righteousness. There is great benefits for Obedience, but great consequences for disobedience.
For the Christian.
We are in relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the Shema is a great text to remind us of the relationship, the need to understand it personally and to share our love for God with our children.
We need to remember that there are things in this world that fight for our allegiance. We need to stay loyal to God alone by seeking to honor him through obedience to His commands.
We need to understand that God is giving us the commands of scripture for our good and righteousness. There are benefits for obedience and consequences for disobedience.
“New Testament Christians need all these warnings too. How prone we are to forget God’s guidance and complain when circumstances get uncomfortable. He has helped us in the days gone by; He will not forsake us now. We need to remember God’s glory and greatness, for it is easy for idols to creep into our lives. And we need to remind ourselves of His goodness. How wonderfully He has cared for us. If we love Him and His Word with all our hearts, then He will bless us and we will be a blessing to others.” (Wiersbe, Warren W. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993. Print.)
Benediction
Colossians 3:16-17 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.