Read | Deuteronomy 6
“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. Do this so that you may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Fear the LORD your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the LORD your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth. Do not test the LORD your God as you tested him at Massah. Carefully observe the commands of the LORD your God, the decrees and statutes he has commanded you. Do what is right and good in the LORD’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land the LORD your God swore to give your ancestors, by driving out all your enemies before you, as the LORD has said.
“When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, but he brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that he swore to our ancestors. The LORD commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’
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What aspects of God’s character do you see at work in this passage? How do you see God present and working with his people in this text?
Focus
Read this devotional made available from the Story of Scripture team at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Deuteronomy 6:1–9 | The Great Shema (LOVE GOD)
Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children.
- Deuteronomy 6:4–7
How does this Scripture—otherwise known as the Shema—function in the Book of Deuteronomy? The first four chapters remind Israel what God has done for them historically, especially by rescuing them from Egypt. Chapter five restates the covenant core, namely, the Ten Commandments. Lastly, the Shema functions in a way that says to Israel, this is how you live in light of who God is—the covenant-making and keeping God—what God has done for you as God’s covenant people.
The core idea behind the Shema is beautiful yet simple. God’s imagers (i.e., Israel, in our context) flourish when their entire being is structured around his words.
In the Shema, we see that God wants his people to:
- move from external command to internal, whole-person allegiance.
- shift obedience from mere rule-keeping to relational devotion.
- frame the Torah not as a burden to bear but a life shaped by love for God.
This is why Jesus later identifies the Shema as the great commandment (cf. Mark 12:29-31).
The Shema is meant to turn memory into habit. This is especially poignant considering Numbers 13–14, when we see God allowing an entire generation to die out instead of entering the Promised Land due to their refusal to trust God, even though that generation personally experienced God’s miraculous rescue from bondage in Egypt.
The new generation, that did not personally experience the rescue from Egypt, is now called upon to establish new habits of worship by loving the Lord their God with every fiber of their being, by following his “statutes and ordinances,” and repeating them “to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)
The Shema teaches God’s people how to live, remember, and pass on his presence. By living out the Shema, God’s presence is carried forward through the ordinary liturgy of daily life.
What stood out to you from today’s devotional? What was familiar to you already and what struck you as new?
Pray
Ask God to help you meditate on his character through reading his word.
Dedicate this time to reflecting on the relational heart of God found in today's passage. Praise God for one aspect of his character that you see in the passage today (e.g. God’s relational love, faithfulness to redeem, unity as one God, etc.). Spend time in prayer celebrating God’s unfailing faithfulness and praising him for the love that motivates every command he gives.
Going Deeper
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.
