Deuteronomy 6:1-25
The first chunk of this chapter is the foundation of Matthew 22:36-40. A disciple asks Jesus what the most important commandment is and Jesus responds that love is the most important. The most important thing we can do is to deeply, thoughtfully, passionately love our God. For our love of God will lead us through every circumstance of life.
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
6:1 Moses has just finished re-delivering the 10 commandments to the children of Israel (the group of 12 tribes, each representing one of Jacob's children. Moses gives us the reason for the commandments in this verse: these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you.
The children of Israel are poised to enter a new place, a new season in their lives and God wants them to be prepared. Each of us are constantly entering new phases and places in our lives and God wants us to be prepared as well. He has established and delivered these commandments for our benefit. God finds joy in our joy; He consistently works for us to have joy. If we want to live a joyful life, He has given us the blueprint.
God has established these commandments in the hope that we will observe them as we cross over into new land, actual and figurative. We are encouraged to be these commandments, to embody them. As Paul wrote:
Colossians 3:12
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” These commandments provide us with the method with which to do so.
6:2 We are encouraged to keep these commandments all the days of our lives and to re-establish them in the lives of the generations to come through us. If we are able to keep them, the days of our lives will be prolonged by God. When God says "prolonged," He means it. Life prolonged into eternity.
Moses is an elderly man at this point and the only reason his journey on earth is coming to a close is because his purpose is over. With God on our side, we are not dependent on or vulnerable to the limitations of our bodies. Our God is the God of life, John 4:14.
6:3 God's promises and blessings are packed with beauty and abundance. His promises are always unexpectedly. exceedingly good. He loves to surprise us with more than we ever could have dreamed of. When we walk in faith, pushing forward with love for Him even though we cannot visibly see Him, He finally, gently pulls the blindfold off to reveal our present. Tailored to us, perfected by Him. We walk in faith; we hear Him. We do not physically see Him yet but through perception we recognize Him. We have eyes to see and ears to hear and that spiritual perception allows us to walk directly toward our blessings and then inherit them in perfect time.
Faith provides our hope, our path, our direction, our guide and our destination. Faith hands us over to our God, our God who is so in love with us, and God takes over. If, through our faith, we hear and are careful to observe His guidelines, it will be well with us. We will be multiplied greatly, just as God has promised. We will be led into lands flowing with milk and honey: opportunity, justice, safety, abundance, love. Literally. Figuratively. God's gifts are beyond our imagination.
6:4-5 We cannot help but love God as we become familiar with Him. For God is life. God is love and light. God is justice and wisdom. God is compassion and joy. God is a provider and a creator.
God's love is explosive, decimating... in the best of ways. We are loved so fiercely that our bodies would shatter from it if He were not so careful to protect us. God's love is inspiring. Uplifting. Encouraging. God's love is an advocate, a cheerleader, a protector.
God's love is explosive, decimating... in the best of ways. We are loved so fiercely that our bodies would shatter from it if He were not so careful to protect us. God's love is inspiring. Uplifting. Encouraging. God's love is an advocate, a cheerleader, a protector.
His soul and mind wields all things: establishing beauty in every atom of every thing. Moses calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength.
Because that is precisely the manner in which He loves us! Even though we do not deserve it, even though we cannot earn it, God's love for us is bold, forgiving, tender and constant.
God would literally, in the fullest sense of the word, do anything for us. God has flooded the earth to protect us from evil. God has reformed the earth, and will again, in concentrated effort to save us. God has manifested Jesus to come speak to us one-on-one. He goes to the infinite borders of the universe and back to try to reach us.
Our love for Him reveals our gratitude. Our awe. Our humility. Our servitude. Our perception of His great Hand and Will in all things. We cannot describe the joy we give God when we love Him back. He has given us free will here on earth to choose Him, to love Him. Our love for Him completely lights up the universe. How can we not love an entity who loves us so much? Measly, fickle, fallible humans that we are. Allow yourself to perceive His love for you and then reflect on how astounding it is that He even takes an interest.
God think's you're the cat's pajamas. The coolest thing since sliced bread. God thinks you're a fundamental element of the universe. Of life. He cannot imagine life without you. How can we not fall in love with His generosity?
6:6 Keep these commandments in your heart. Allow them to be both your firm foundation and your lighted beacon. Why? Well, the commandments encourage us to shed jealously, anger, fear, hopelessness, covetousness, and violence from our hearts, minds and lives and to just allow love to fill in all those spaces. The commandments from God encourage us to led love lead and fill.
6:7 Imagine an earth on which each child of God impressed their faith into the hearts of their posterity. Moses's advice is for us to diligently, intentionally, carefully, teach our children about our creator's love for them. We are to keep the love and thought of our Spiritual Father in these moments: when we speak, when we sit, when we walk, when we lie down, and when we rise up. Keep in in every moment because He can do miraculous things with a moment.
6:8 God's love and guidance should be in every interaction we participate in. The works of our hands should be inspired and led by Him. God's love and guidance should be right between our eyes, founded in our brains, guiding and inspiring our minds.
6:9 God's love and guidance should be on our doorstep, our bodies, our houses, should be temples constantly representing and worshiping Him:
1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
6:10-12 Moses, and more importantly - God, knows how forgetful and ungrateful we become. The children of Israel are about to be led into a land already established for abundance: beautiful and stocked cities and homes, vineyards and gardens.
If you are wondering why the children of Israel are about to inherit this land:
Deuteronomy 9:5
It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
As humans, we seem to only be grateful until we grow accustomed to what we have. Moses wants us to remain in wonder and gratitude all the moments of our lives. To discover that every breath is a blessing, every gust of wind. God is present in every moment and experience, and if we seek Him, He will make Himself known. He will completely take the reigns of our lives and wield us toward joy.
6:13 We are meant to keep our eyes fixed on Him, even (especially) when we do not know what to do, 2 Chronicles 20:12. We must be careful not to replace Him with other idols, other people, other obsessions. He is the only entity worthy of our reverence.
6:14-15 God has claimed us; He loves us. He does not want us to flit to and from other relationships. It hurts Him when we leave Him or try to replace Him. Our relationship with Him should be at the forefront, more important than all others. We cannot serve Him and our material obsessions:
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
When we put God first, when we love Him the most, His love teaches us how to properly love others. He teaches us how to put our values first, above all temptation. We must be careful because we depart from Him in small moments, moments when we let temptation win or anger or jealously persevere over our patience..
6:16 We must stop tempting Him. We must stop doubting Him. We must walk by faith, rather than sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7. As long as our eyes, our hearts, souls and minds are fixed on Him, He is leading us toward blessing.
6:17 We must be diligent in our faith. Our faith is going to expertly guide us through the changing atmosphere and landscape of life. Faith always knows what to do, because faith is instructed by God. Faith allows God to propel us through life and into His love, will and blessing.
6:18 Moses reminds the children of Israel, and us, that in order for all to be made well in our lives, we must do what is right and good.
6:19 God is constantly removing the Balaam and Balaks from our periphery, Numbers 22. God does not allow the storm to entire into our lives... that is, if we give Him the authority (through faith) to protect us. No matter who is conspiring against us, no mater how powerful or capable or determined they are, they will fail at God's command. God is our strength and shield, Psalm 28:7. In order to have His protection, walk into His sphere.
Remember Romans 8:31
Remember Romans 8:31
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
6:20-24 Remember God. Moses instructs the children of Israel to keep this covenant alive throughout generations. God is committed to each generation, no matter how much time passes:
Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.We must keep the covenant alive on our side because God is certainly keeping up His end of it. It is important to remember all that God has done, all the places He has been for us. He has earned our trust and our remembrance and we benefit from remembering that.
6:25 This verse is a wonderful, blessed reminder of Romans 8:28.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.God is faithfully committed to creating and ensuring goodness in the lives of His children. Since we know how capable He is, and how much He loves us, we know that He will always persevere on our behalf.
