The Fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 6
Chapter VI · Vol. I, pp. 489–491
1 The end of the law is obedience. 3 An exhortation thereto. 20 What they are required to teach their children concerning it.
1 NOW these are the acommandments,1 the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go2 to possess it;
a ch. 4.1,40,45; 5.31. Le. 27.34. Nu. 36.13.
1 Commandments. These include all things ordered, permitted, or prohibited, whether they be things moral, ceremonial, or evangelical.—Statutes. These include the delineations, descriptions, types, shadows, and likenesses, by which 'outward and visible signs represent inward and spiritual grace.'—Judgments. These include God's purposes, determinations, and decisions, in regard to actions past, as the monitions to present duty, and the exemplars of judgments to come.—C.
2 Heb. pass over.
2 That thou mightest bfear 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 cthy days may be prolonged.
b ch. 10.12,20; 13.4; 4.1,2,9,40; 5.16,33. Ps. 111.10. Pr. 16.6. Mat. 4.10. Is. 29.13. Ge. 18.19. Ps. 78.4-8.
c ch. 5.16; 22.7. Pr. 3.2. 1 Pe. 3.10. 1 Ti. 4.8. Ps. 34.15.
3 Heard 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.
d ch. 4.1,5,6,40; 5.33; 8.1. Ge. 12.2; 15.5; 22.17; 26.4; 28.14. 2 Sa. 24.9. 2 Ch. 17.14-18.
5 Andf thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
f ch. 10.12. Mat. 22.37. Mar. 12.30. Lu. 10.27. 1 Ti. 1.5.
7 And thou hshalt teach3 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.
h ch. 4.9; 11.19. Pr. 6.22,23; 22.6. Ac. 8.28. Ps. 78.4-8. Ge. 18.19. Is. 38.19. Ex. 12.26,27; 13.8,14,15. ver. 20-25.
3 From a word that signifies to reiterate, repeat, do the same thing again. This is the great principle of all instruction—line upon line, precept upon precept. When some children had answered admirably in a scriptural examination, a stranger inquired by what mystery they had made such attainments? The answer was most instructive, 'By having the same thing repeated to them perhaps five hundred times.'—C.
8 And thou ishalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
A.M. 2553. B.C. 1451.
i Ex. 13.9,16. Nu. 15.39,40. Pr. 3.3; 6.21; 7.3. ch. 11.18.
9 And thou shalt kwrite them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.4
k ch. 11.20. Is. 30.8. Ex. 12.7. Hab. 2.2.
4 The Jews in the present day strangely observe this in the letter, but neglect it in the spirit. At their stated hours of prayer they bind upon one arm a little case containing strips of parchment, on which this and other portions of the law are written. They also bind a similar case, containing other texts, on the forehead. It is a universal custom, too, in the East for Jews to inscribe over their doors, and round the walls of their rooms, long texts of the Pentateuch. Thus do they fulfil the law outwardly; but in thought, word, and act they deliberately and systematically neglect it.—P.
10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shalll 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;
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; mwhen thou shalt have eaten, and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.5
5 Heb. bondmen or servants.
13 Thou nshalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.6
n ver. 2; ch. 10.12,20; 13.4. Mat. 4.10. Lu. 4.8. Ps. 63.11; 119.106. Is. 45.23; 65.16. Je. 4.2; 5.7; 12.16.
6 Our Lord quotes this passage, Mat. 4. 10, with the addition of the word 'only,' as it was in the Septuagint, and is found in the Coptic and Vulgate. It is not, however, found in any Hebrew MS.; but is clearly implied when the verse is compared with Ex. 20. 3. De. 6. 4, 5. Our Lord therefore gave the meaning, though not the words of the original.—C.
14 Ye oshall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
o Ex. 20.3,4,23; 34.14-16. ch. 4.16,19,23; 7.5,25; 8.19; xii.; 17.1-7; 32.15-21. 1 Jn. 5.21.
15 (Forp 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.
p Ex. 20.5. ch. 4.24; 7.4,25,26; 8.19,20; 32.21-26.
16 Yeq shall not tempt7 the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
q Mat. 4.7. Ex. 17.2,7. Nu. 20.3,4; 21.4. Ps. 95.9. 1 Co. 10.9.
7 To believe and implicitly to rely upon the promises of God is a perpetual duty; but doubtfully, presumptuously, and unnecessarily to put the truth and power of God upon their trial is sin.—C.
17 Ye rshall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
r ch. 4.1,2,9,40,45; 5.32,33; 10.12,13; 11.13,22,32; 12.32. Is. 8.20. Mat. 28.20. Ps. 119.4. Ex. 25.26. 1 Co. 15.58. Tit. 2.11,12; 3.8,14. 1 Sa. 15.22.
18 And sthou 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;
19 To tcast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
t Ju. 2.1-3; 3.1-4. Nu. 33.52. Ex. 23.28-30; 34.11,24. ch. 7.20-24. Ps. 44.2,3.
20 And uwhen thy son asketh thee in time to come,8 saying, What mean the testimonies,9 and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
u Ex. 12.26; 13.14. Ps. 44.1; 78.5,6. Ep. 6.4. Pr. 22.6. Is. 38.19. ver. 7.
8 Heb. to-morrow.
9 'Testimonies'—derived from a word that implies futurity, include those ordinances that had reference to some future circumstance, beyond, or above their present exhibition. Thus the tables of stone are called 'tables of testimony,' as not only pointing out God's present will, but as necessarily conducting to Christ 'the end, or aim of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,' Ro. 10. 4.—C.
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, xWe were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
x ch. 26.5-9. Ex. i. ii. v.-xiv. Ps. 105.25-38; 78.42-55; 135.8-12; 136.10-21. Ne. 9.9,10. Je. 32.20,21. ch. 4.34.
22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore,1 upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, ybefore our eyes;
23 And he brought us out from thence, that zhe might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
z Ex. 3.8. ch. 4.37,38; ver. 10,11; ch. 7.7,8; 8.5; ver. 10,11.
24 And the aLORD 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.
a ver. 1,17,18. Job 35.8. Pr. 9.12. Ro. 6.18,22. Is. 3.10. Ps. 19.11. Mat. 6.33. 1 Co. 15.58. 1 Ti. 4.8. Tit. 3.8.
25 And bit shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded 2us.
b Le. 18.5. Eze. 20.11. Mat. 19.17. Ro. 10.5,6. Ga. 3.12. Ja. 2.10. Ps. 119.6. 1 Co. 15.58. 2 Ti. 4.7,8.
2 Ceremonial righteousness is here meant—a righteousness which consisted in fulfilling the requirements of the Mosaic law. By so doing the Israelite was entitled to the privileges of his religion, and as a reward for it he was to obtain and retain his promised possessions in Canaan.—P.
Notes
[Ver. 4. Hear, O Israel. This is one of the passages the Jews inscribe on their phylacteries, and which they regard as one of the most pregnant with divine truth and instruction. The words are spoken not merely as instructions from Moses to Israel, but as a confession of faith common to Moses and Israel: 'Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah.' The words assert most emphatically the unity of the Godhead in the singular—Jehovah; while they equally assert the plurality of the persons by the plural—Elohim. The unity of the Godhead is asserted in opposition to 'the gods many and lords many' of the heathen; while the plurality of persons is asserted as the foundation and key to the great mystery of redemption. That the Jews understood Elohim to be plural, and that it included the doctrine of the Trinity, is beyond question. Hear Simeon Ben Joachi, 'Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim. There are three degrees, and each degree is by itself alone; and yet they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other.' C.]
Reflections.—Godliness is profitable for all things—it hath the promises of this life and of that which is to come: and unbounded is the happiness of all those who have the one only God for their all and in all. But in the important business of religion, it is necessary to lay a good foundation, by faith in God as our God, and to attend to the various duties thereof according to the degree of their importance. In this respect the word of God is a most precious treasure and useful instructor; and contains the most extensive ground of holy meditation and heavenly discourse. With awful reverence should God be regarded and enjoyed, particularly in swearing of oaths. And it is altogether inconsistent with the truth of religion to entertain sloth and unconcern for the glory of God or the lasting welfare of his church. What an important and laborious work ought we to make of the religious education of our children and servants! It is very necessary to instruct them in the knowledge of God's remarkable appearances for his church, as well as in the doctrinal principles or laws of revelation; and that no obedience can be accepted of God, but what is performed in regard to him as our God in Christ, and is universal respecting all his commandments.