DeuteronomyStudy Guide

Chapter 6

Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.

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Scripture

KJV

1Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

2That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

17Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

18And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,

19To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

20And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

21Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

22And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

23And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

24And 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 it is at this day.

25And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Key VerseDeuteronomy 6:4-5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Overview

Moses delivers the Shema — 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' He commands Israel to teach God's words diligently to their children, to bind them as signs, to write them on their doorposts, and to never forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt. When their children ask 'What mean these testimonies?' they are to recount the story of deliverance.

Key Themes

1

The Shema — The Greatest Commandment

The Shema is the foundational confession of Israel's faith — God is one, and He demands total love with all the heart, soul, and strength. This is not partial devotion but absolute allegiance.

2

Passing Faith to the Next Generation

God commands intentional, ongoing teaching of His word to children — in the home, on the road, at bedtime and at rising — faith is transmitted through daily, relational instruction.

3

The Danger of Prosperity-Induced Forgetfulness

Moses warns that when Israel enjoys the blessings of the Promised Land — houses they did not build, wells they did not dig — they must beware of forgetting God who gave it all.

Study Questions

1.

Why does Jesus identify the Shema as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29-30), and what does loving God with 'all' the heart, soul, and strength actually look like?

2.

How does God's instruction to teach 'diligently' to children — in every context of daily life — challenge modern approaches to spiritual formation?

3.

What is the danger Moses identifies in prosperity, and why is abundance sometimes more spiritually hazardous than adversity?

4.

How does the command to tell the children the story of deliverance establish narrative as the primary vehicle for transmitting faith?

5.

What does it mean to bind God's words on your hand and between your eyes — is this literal, metaphorical, or both?

Connection to Christ

When asked which commandment was greatest, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5 — the Shema (Mark 12:29-30). Christ perfectly loved the Father with all His heart, soul, and strength, fulfilling the command no human could keep. Through the Spirit, He enables His followers to love God as the Shema demands.

Personal Reflection

Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Deuteronomy 6. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?

Deuteronomy

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