THIS IS THE COMMANDMENT.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
“This is the commandment” (Deuteronomy 6:1) is emphatic. The whole law is boiled down to the one commandment to “love the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The outworking of this commandment is seen in our ‘loving our neighbours as ourselves’ (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus says, ‘There is none other commandment greater than these’ (Mark 12:30-31). ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law,’ teaches Paul (Romans 13:10).
The “statutes and the judgments” include what has gone before (e.g. the ten commandments, Deuteronomy 5:6-21), and the minutiae that will follow in the rest of Deuteronomy (especially from chapter 12 onwards). They belonged to a time then future when the children of Israel would have entered the promised land and taken possession.
The “fear” of the LORD (reverence, respect) was enjoined (Deuteronomy 6:2), not only for the Joshua generation, but for their children and grandchildren ever onwards. Obedience would lead to longevity, and the nation would live on in its children.
Israel were exhorted to “hear” and to “do” (Deuteronomy 6:3). Promises were made: “that it may be well with thee;” “that ye may increase mightily;” “in the land that flows with milk and honey.”
One of the core texts in the whole Bible is the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). “Hear O Israel…” is something of a refrain in Deuteronomy, much as Jesus would later often say, ‘he who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ Here we are told who the LORD is, and what our duty is towards Him.
“The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” We know the name Yahweh (translated as the “LORD” in capital letters) speaks of the oneness of our God, who was, and is and ever shall be. Or perhaps, “the LORD our God, the LORD alone!” The LORD is God alone, and will tolerate no rivals (Deuteronomy 5:7-9).
Yet the word “Elohim” (translated here as “God”) is in fact plural. So even in this statement (and in many other places in the Old Testament) we cannot rule out the presence of a plurality - a Trinity indeed - within the Godhead. This is a great mystery, but not our subject today.
“Thou shalt” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Who says that the Old Testament only teaches what thou shalt NOT do?
“Thou shalt love the LORD thy God.” A command to love.
“Love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Love is not just an emotion, but a commitment. Jesus said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15).
The precedent for our love of God, is that He first loved us (1 John 4:19; Deuteronomy 7:7-8; 1 John 4:10; John 3:16).
Ours is a heart belief (Deuteronomy 6:6). And it is the LORD who writes “these words” upon our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly’ (Colossians 3:16).
“And you shall teach (these words) diligently unto thy children” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Our children are the future of the church, just as surely as the Israeli children were the future of the Joshua generation. The word of God should be the subject of our conversations, both indoors, and outdoors; both when we lie down, and when we rise up.
The word of the LORD is pictured figuratively as being upon our hand, and before our eyes (Deuteronomy 6:8). This is individual. The corollary is ‘lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul’ (Deuteronomy 11:18).
When I was in my first year at Bible School, my ‘outreach’ involved working with a Christian mission to the Jews within our city. I would accompany a missionary as he went from door to door, sharing the gospel in the more obviously ‘Jewish’ areas. Sometimes we would be surprised: we might have identified a little box on the doorpost, which would have contained a copy of the Shema (cf. Deuteronomy 6:9), only to find that the Jewish family had moved out, and non-Jews were living there. Nevertheless, we still shared the gospel.
Interestingly, the doorposts was where the blood was sprinkled at the first Passover (Exodus 12:7). Now that God has made His final sacrifice for us, surely our lives should be marked out, at least metaphorically, with the marks of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Finally, “thy gates” - the gates of the city - represent the place of law and justice. We may with some justification hold opinions about the separation of church and state. Nevertheless, if there is no acknowledgment of God in the state, there will be failures in the justice system.
"Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
