2. Exhortation to love Yahweh ch. 6

Another writer suggested that chapters 6-26 expand the Decalogue with the intent of addressing the spirit of the law.⁹²He believed the structure of the book supports his contention that the writer chose exemplary cases. Moses intended to clarify the attitudes implied by the Ten Commandments rather than only giving specific commands on a variety of subjects. This writer identified four major issues that he believed the Decalogue addresses and around which chapters 6 through 26 seem organized. He saw the structure of this section as follows.

Major issues

Godward

Manward

Authority

Commandment 1

(expounded in chs. 6-11)

Commandment 5

(expounded in 16:18-18:22)

Dignity

Commandment 2

(expounded in ch. 12)

Commandments 6, 7 & 8

(expounded in chs. 19-21; 22:1-23:14; and 23:15-24:7 respectively)

Commitment

Commandment 3

(expounded in 13:1-14:21)

Commandment 9

(expounded in 24:8-16)

Rights and Privileges

Commandment 4

(expounded in 14:22-16:17)

Commandment 10

(expounded in 24:19-26:15)

As you read chapters 6 though 26, you may want to check out this hypothesis. Has Walton discovered a key to understanding why God inspired Moses to include and organize this material as he did? Some of Walton's conclusions seem questionable to me.

"Before the principles, that is, the general stipulations, of the covenant are spelled out, Moses devotes a great deal of attention to describing their nature and how they are to be applied and transmitted. Thus once more the strictly legal' or technical parts of the document are set within a hortatory framework as part of a major Mosaic address."⁹³

 Exhortation to observe the principles 6:1-3

These verses announce the commandments that follow and give the reason for obeying them: God's blessing. God's blessing would come in the form of long life, peace and prosperity, and numerous descendants.

The "fear"of God (v. 2; cf. 5:29, 35; et al.) is the respect that comes from an appreciation of His character.

"It is a fear that produces not obeisance but obedience, not worry but worship (6:13)."⁹⁴

"Israel's continued enjoyment of a habitation in God's land, like Adam's continued enjoyment of the original paradise, depended on continued fidelity to the Lord."⁹⁵

 The essence of the principles 6:4-5

Here the actual exposition of the Decalogue begins with an explanation and implications of the first commandment. In short, Moses presented Yahweh as the one true God who requires complete devotion.

"With this chapter we come to the pivot around which everything else in Deuteronomy revolves--the Shema or Great Commandment, as it has also come to be known (6:4-5). . . . In turn, the statutes and ordinances explicate in specific and concrete ways the meaning of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 for the life of Israel. That is why Jesus can later say that all the law and the prophets hang on this commandment (Matt. 22:40)."⁹⁶

The idea in verse 4 is not just that Yahweh is the only God, but that He is also one unified person. He is totally unique.

"It is possible to understand verse 4 in several ways, but the two most popular renderings of the final clause are: (1) The LORD our God, the LORD is one' (so NIV) or (2) The LORD our God is one LORD.' The former stresses the uniqueness or exclusivity of Yahweh as Israel's God and so may be paraphrased Yahweh our God is the one and only Yahweh' or the like. This takes the noun ehad(one') in the sense of unique' or solitary,' a meaning that is certainly well attested. The latter translation focuses on the unity or wholeness of the Lord. This is not in opposition to the later Christian doctrine of the Trinity but rather functions here as a witness to the self-consistency of Yahweh who is not ambivalent and who has a single purpose or objective for creation and history. The ideas clearly overlap to provide an unmistakable basis for monotheistic faith. Yahweh is indeed a unity, but beyond that he is the only God. For this reason the exhortation of verse 5 has practical significance."⁹⁷

This affirmation made inappropriate both polytheism (the belief in many gods) and henotheism (the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods).

"Yahweh was to be the sole object of Israel's worship, allegiance, and affection."⁹⁸

"Deuteronomy more than any other Old Testament book concerns itself not only with the obligation to worship and the rules for doing so, but also with the subjective aspect of worship--with the feelings of the worshipper and the spirit in which he or she worships."⁹⁹

"The heart (leb) is, in Old Testament anthropology, the seat of the intellect, equivalent to the mind or rational part of humankind. The soul' (better, being' or essential person' in line with the commonly accepted understanding of nepes) refers to the invisible part of the individual, the person quaperson including the will and sensibilities. The strength (me'od) is, of course, the physical side with all its functions and capacities."¹⁰⁰

"The demand [in v. 5] with all the heart' excludes all halfheartedness, all division of the heart in its love. The heart is mentioned first, as the seat of the emotions generally and of love in particular; then follows the soul (nephesh) as the centre of personality in man, to depict the love as pervading the entire self-consciousness; and to this is added, with all the strength,' sc. of body and soul. Loving the Lord with all the heart and soul and strength is placed at the head, as the spiritual principles from which the observance of the commandments was to flow (see also chap. xi. 1, xxx. 6)."¹⁰¹

"First and foremost of all that was essential for the Israelite was an unreserved, wholehearted commitment, expressed in love for God."¹⁰²

Jesus Christ quoted verse 5 as the greatest of all God's commandments (Matt. 22:37-38; Mark 12:28-30; cf. Luke 10:27).

"The verse does not invite analysis into ideas of intellectual, emotional, and physical parts. The words behind heart, soul, and strength basically relate to what a person is or how a person directs himself toward another person. It is, therefore, not inaccurate for the NT writers to quote (or translate) the Hebrew words, which are often synonymous, by differing Greek words, which are also often synonymous, since the words taken together mean to say that the people are to love God with their whole selves."¹⁰³

The statement begun here (vv. 4-5; cf. 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41) became Israel's basic confession of faith. This is the "Shema"(lit. "Hear,"from the first word). Pious Jews recite it twice daily even today.¹⁰⁴

"If the Ten Words are the heart of the stipulations as a whole, the principle of the Words is encapsulated in the so-called Shema (6:4-5), which defines who the Sovereign is and reduces the obligation to Him to one of exclusive love and obedience."¹⁰⁵

 Exhortation to teach the principles 6:6-9

This section contains instructions for remembering and teaching these great truths to the following generations.

"In the psychology of the Old Testament the heart is not the center of emotional life and response but the seat of the intellect or rational side of humankind. To be upon the heart' is to be in one's constant, conscious reflection."¹⁰⁶

"The reason for this emphasis on the children is clear. Deuteronomy is always aimed at the next generation. It takes the present (next) generation back to the past and brings the past afresh into the present. The children are now the ones before whom all the choices are laid, and some day their children will be there and the divine instruction will confront them (e.g., 30:2). Can they learn afresh what it means to love the Lord wholeheartedly?"¹⁰⁷

Note the emphasis in verses 6-9 on the importance of parents diligently using opportunities, as they arise daily, to equip their children to live dependently on God.

God gave the command in figurative language. The point is that the Israelites were to meditate on these words without ceasing. The fact that they sought to fulfill this command literally with Scripture holders on their bodies (phylacteries) and on their door frames (mezuzahs) was commendable. The Lord Jesus later condemned their pride in these physical objects and their reliance on them to produce godliness (Matt. 23:5).

Observant Jews still often mount little holders on the frames of their front doors into which they place a small parchment scroll. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 and the name Shaddai appear on these papers as a sign and reminder of their faith. They call the scroll and its holder a mezuzah (lit. door-post).

The fact that God commanded the Israelites to "write"(v. 9) reveals that literacy was widespread in Israel.

"Ancient Hebrew written documents, recovered by archaeology, demonstrate both that there were readers and writers in ancient Israel, and that they were by no means rare. Few places would have been without someone who could write, and few Israelites could have been unaware of writing."¹⁰⁸

 Exhortation to give Yahweh exclusive recognition, worship, and obedience 6:10-19

"The constant corollary of the demand for loyalty in ancient suzerainty treaties was the prohibition of allegiance to any and all other lords."¹⁰⁹

Prosperity (vv. 10-15) and adversity (vv. 16-19) would test the Israelites' devotion to Yahweh. The Israelites were not to destroy many towns but only to kill their inhabitants, a rare policy in the history of warfare.¹¹⁰Their obedience to the command to preserve most towns has resulted in an absence of archaeological evidence for the conquest of the land. Both abundance and want tempt one to forget God (cf. Prov. 30:8-9; Phil. 4:11-13). At Massah (v. 16) the Israelites complained about their lack of water (Exod. 17:1-7).

 Exhortation to remember the past 6:20-25

God explained more fully here the teaching of children that He had hinted at previously (v. 7). We can learn from these verses how we can maintain and transmit a realistic consciousness of the true God from one generation to the next.

This whole chapter deals with the first commandment in the Decalogue.

"Later Judaism wrongly concluded that covenant keeping was the basis for righteousness rather than an expression of faithful devotion. But true covenant keeping in the final analysis is a matter of faith, not merely of works and ritual. Thus the central feature of the covenant stipulations is their providing a vehicle by which genuine saving faith might be displayed (cf. Deut 24:13; Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; 4:1-5; Gal 3:6-7)."¹¹¹

In view of God's grace to His people, believers should respond with love for God. We should express that love in obedience to His revealed will, and we should perpetuate the knowledge of God in the next generation.