DEUTERONOMY LESSON 8
We will begin in Deuteronomy 6:1 "Now 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:"
God had founded a new nation in the Israelites. God, Himself, had
released them from bondage in Egypt. This nation was to be different
from their neighbors around them. They would have no earthly king.
Their King was the LORD. Their laws were not man made, they were laws,
judgements, and statutes established by God. They were to live on this
earth under the direct leadership of God. Moses was to teach these
people these things that God had set down for them to live by.
They were to establish their new land on these principles of God.
Notice, Moses says, "your God".
Deuteronomy 6:2 "That 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."
The agreement, or covenant, that God had made with them was
conditional on their obedience to God. Fear, in the verse above, is
speaking of their respecting God and being reverent toward Him. God
had not left out any aspect of their lives. He had taught them how to
please God, and stay at peace with those around them.
Deuteronomy 6:3 "Hear 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."
They had truly grown from a family of Jacob of just over seventy
people, to a nation of Israel close to three million strong. They had
increased mightily in Egypt, because God had blessed them in this
manner. They would continue to increase, as long as they were obedient
to God and His Word. God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the
land of promise, which was the land of milk and honey. They are, now,
on the threshold of entering into this land. God will bless them in
their growth and in their prosperity, as long as they obey Him.
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:"
Israel is warned, from the beginning, to remember there is One
God. The heathens around them worship many false gods. We see from
the following Scripture that the Father, Word, and the Holy Ghost are
one in the Spirit. I John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are
one." Moses is telling them to remember this fact, when he says, hear.
Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
I have said many times, we are what our hearts are. If our hearts
are pure and stayed upon the things of God, good things will come out
of our mouth. Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his
heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the
evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of
the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." For us to love the
LORD with our heart, soul, and with all our might, we must be
submitted to the will of God. Notice, what Jesus says about this very
thing. Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this [is] the first commandment."
Deuteronomy 6:6 "And these words, which I command thee this day,
shall be in thine heart:"
Those things stored in the heart cannot be taken away from you.
God's Words must be stamped into the fleshly parts of our heart, for
us to truly love Him. John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall
abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and
abide in his love." Someday God's laws will be written on the hearts
of His people. II Corinthians 3:3 "[Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of
stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."
Deuteronomy 6:7 "And 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."
When God's laws are talked about constantly, those listening are
receiving them into that computer we call our brain. Teach the
children of God and His Ways, and when they are old they will come
back to that teaching. All of this talking of these godly things gives
no time for worldliness to creep in.
Deuteronomy 6:8 "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."
This is not actually speaking of wearing a box with God's laws on
the front of your head. It is speaking of it being in your mind at all
times. The binding on the hand is speaking of taking God's Words with
you, wherever you go. It is like our Bible, which should be our
constant companion.
Deuteronomy 6:9 "And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy
house, and on thy gates."
The writing on the gates and the posts was speaking of them being
constantly before them, wherever they went.
Deuteronomy 6:10 "And 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,"
Notice the word "when". It is not if, but when. God promised to
bring them into this land, and God keeps His Word. Moses reminds them
that this is a fulfillment of those promises.
Deuteronomy 6:11 "And 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;"
This is saying, everything there for them is a gift from God.
They did not work to dig the wells, nor did they work for any of these
things. All of it is a free gift from God. It is almost like paradise.
The vineyards and the olive trees are already there. They just move in
with everything provided for them. This reminds me of the fact that
God created the earth, and everything in it, for the use of mankind.
He did not create man, until He had made provision for him.
Deuteronomy 6:12 "[Then] beware lest thou forget the LORD, which
brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage."
Having too much too fast, sometimes, causes a person to begin to
take things for granted. They must remember where their blessings came
from, and be thankful. They must not forget their former condition in
Egypt. They must remember God in this.
Deuteronomy 6:13 "Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve
him, and shalt swear by his name."
This fear is reverence. It is speaking of having tremendous
respect for the person of the LORD. This sort of reverence would cause
one to serve Him. There is no greater name. God, Himself, swore by His
own name, because there was none greater. This swear means to take
great confidence in His name.
Deuteronomy 6:14 "Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods
of the people which [are] round about you;"
One of the main reasons that God did not want His people marrying
the heathen around them, was because of their false gods. A husband,
or a wife, can cause a person to, sometimes, wander away from God. We
know the downfall of Solomon was when he built places of worship of
false gods for his wives. The gods of this world are not to be
worshipped. Worship the Creator, not anything, or anyone, of His
creation.
Deuteronomy 6:15 "(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."
There have been several demonstrations of the Lord's anger
against those who bow down to false gods. They had a recent example,
when the men married strange wives who worshipped false gods. God
destroyed everyone involved. This is one sin God will destroy them
for. They must guard against being unfaithful to God, if they want to
live. God will destroy those who dishonor Him with false gods.
Deuteronomy 6:16 "Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye
tempted [him] in Massah."
"Massah" means trial, or temptation. In this particular place, it
is speaking of the place where they murmured about the lack of water.
Another name for this place is Meribah. Exodus 17:7 "And he called the
name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the
children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the
LORD among us, or not?"
Deuteronomy 6:17 "Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of
the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he
hath commanded thee."
The word "diligently" shows us they will work at keeping the
testimonies, statutes, and commandments. It must stay uppermost in
their minds. Their welfare depends upon them keeping them
Deuteronomy 6:18 "And 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,"
This means they must desire in their hearts to do the will of
God. God will bless them far above what they could ask, or even think,
if they are obedient to His will. Ephesians 5:8 "For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of
light:"
Deuteronomy 6:19 "To cast out all thine enemies from before thee,
as the LORD hath spoken."
They must go into the land of promise, to receive these blessings
God had promised their forefathers. They must go into the land, and
receive these blessings with the faith that God will take care of
them. The Lord is with them, when they have faith in Him.
Deuteronomy 6:20 "[And] 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?"
Generations to come may not understand the special relationship
that God has with Israel. The fathers must tell the sons of the
meanings. God commanded these things for the well being of His people.
They are different from the countries around them, because their
worship of the One True God.
Deuteronomy 6:21 "Then 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:"
The miracle release of the Israelites from the servitude of
Pharaoh is a phenomenon. The Lord brought ten plagues on Egypt and the
Egyptian false gods. At the end of the tenth plague, Pharaoh let them
go. God, Himself, delivered the people of Israel. The death of the
firstborn of all Egypt was the tenth plague that caused their release.
Deuteronomy 6:22 "And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great
and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before
our eyes:"
Some of the signs and wonders were the water turning to blood,
the plague of frogs, the darkness that covered the land. Half of the
plagues did not touch the Hebrews at all. They saw them, but were not
affected by them.
Deuteronomy 6:23 "And he brought us out from thence, that he
might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our
fathers."
Egypt was a type of the world. God brought them out of Egypt. It
took God quite a long time to get Egypt out of them. The 40 years
wandering in the wilderness was for that purpose. God has brought them
to the edge of their promised land. Now, they must go in.
Deuteronomy 6:24 "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 [it is] at this day."
One thing that set these people aside from the rest of the world
around them, was the fact God had entrusted them with His law and
commandments. They were to be an example of holy living to the rest of
the world.
Deuteronomy 6:25 "And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he
hath commanded us."
Abraham's faith was counted unto him for righteousness. To be
righteous means you are in right standing with God. Jesus gave all
believers His righteousness. We gave Him our sin, and He clothed us in
His righteousness. This, above, is saying they will be in right
standing with God, if they keep His commandments. One of the greatest
things in life we can have, is to be in right standing with our God.
Deuteronomy 8 Questions
1. God had founded a new nation in the _____________.
2. _____ _________ had released them from their bondage in Egypt.
3. Their King was the ________.
4. The nations around them had what kind of laws?
5. Where had they gotten their law?
6. What does Moses call God in verse 1?
7. What was another name for the agreement they had made with God?
8. What is fear, in verse 2, speaking of?
9. They had grown from a small family of Jacob, to close to _______
___________ people.
10. How long would they continue to increase?
11. What three patriarchs had God promised the land of milk and honey
to?
12. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4.
13. Quote 1 John chapter 5 verse 7.
14. How were they to love the LORD their God?
15. Quote Luke chapter 6 verse 45.
16. Quote 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 3.
17. What is meant by the "frontlets between thine eyes"?
18. What does the author say to notice in verse 10?
19. What is verse 11 saying to them?
20. What, sometimes, causes a person to take something for granted?
21. Why did God swear by His own name?
22. What does God do to those who get involved with false gods?
23. What does "Massah" mean?
24. What is another name for Massah?
25. What does "diligently", in verse 17, show us?
26. Quote Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8.
27. When generations to come ask of these things, what shall they tell
them?
28. The LORD showed ________ and _________, great and sore, upon
Egypt.
29. Egypt was a type of the __________.
30. What was the 40 years of wandering for?
31. Abraham's _______ was counted unto him for righteousness.
32. To be righteous means you are in _______ _________ with God.
33. What is one of the greatest things we can have in life?
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