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._ No JFB commentary on this verse....

1-3 In this and the like passages, the "commandments" seem to denote the moral law, the "statues" the ceremonial law, and the "judgments" the law by which the judges decided. Moses taught the people all that, and that only, which God commanded him to teach. Thus Christ's ministers are to teach his churches all he has commanded, neither more nor less, Matthew 28:20. The fear of God in the heart will be the most powerful principle of obedience. It is highly desirable that not we only, but our children, and our children's children, may fear the Lord. Religion and righteousness advance and secure the prosperity of any people....

Verse Deuteronomy 6:2. _THAT THOU MIGHTEST FEAR THE LORD_] Respect his sovereign authority as a lawgiver, and ever feel thyself bound to obey him. No man can walk either conscientiously or safely who has not the _fear of God_ continually before his eyes. When this is gone, more than a guardian angel is fled. _THOU, AND THY SON, AND THY SON'S SON_] Through all thy successive generations. Whoever fears God will endeavour to bring up his children in the way of righteousness, that they also may fear God, and that pure and undefiled religion may be preserved in his family through all its generations, not only in word, but in practice also....

THAT THOU MIGHTEST FEAR THE LORD THY GOD,.... Being taught to know the greatness of his being, and the nature of his mind and will, and the manner of his worship; and not with a slavish fear, but with a filial one, a reverential affection for God; being instructed in their duty, as of children, to their God and Father; see Deuteronomy 5:29 TO KEEP ALL HIS STATUTES, AND HIS COMMANDMENTS, WHICH I COMMAND THEE; not in his own name, but in the name, and by the authority of God, whose minister and messenger he was; and all, having the stamp of divine authority on them, were to be observed and kept, and not one to be neglected or departed from: THOU, AND THY SON, AND THY SON'S SON, ALL THE DAYS OF THY LIFE; a man and his children, and grandchildren; he was to take care that they kept all the commandments of the Lord as long as he lived, and had any con

Deuteronomy 6:1. _Now these are the commandments, the statues, 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: 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._ Obedience to God should arise from the fear of him, or from a holy awe of God felt in the heart, for all true religion must be heart work. It is not the bare action alone at which God looks, but at the motive at the spirit which dictates it. Hence it is always put, «That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments.» Neither are we to be content with keeping commands ourselves. It is the duty of parents to seek the good of their children to

2. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT AND WHAT IT INVOLVES CHAPTER 6 _ 1. Hear, therefore, O Israel! (Deuteronomy 6:1)_ 2. The first commandment (Deuteronomy 6:4) 3. The remembrance of these words and practical obedience (Deuteronomy 6:6) “Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God is one LORD.” Much has been made of this verse by orthodox Jews, who reverence it greatly. They call it the “Shema” after the first word “Hear.” It is often used by Jews and Unitarians to deny the three persons of the Godhead. The Hebrew word “echod” (one), however, excludes forever such a denial, for it means a compound unity. The Hebrew has another word which expresses exactly what Jews and Unitarians, who reject

Exhortation to obey Yahweh's commands, referring to the Decalogue (Deuteronomy 5:6) or to Deuteronomy 12 ff. to which it would make an excellent introduction, as it may have been originally. Deuteronomy 6:1. commandment: better, commandments; Heb. uses the singular where in other languages the plural would stand. Deuteronomy 6:2. fear: Deuteronomy 4:10 *. Deuteronomy 6:3. See Deuteronomy 4:1 *. milk and honey:

_fear_ JEHOVAH _thy God_ Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 10:20. _all his statutes and his commandments_ Note the variation from Deuteronomy 6:1. _which I command thee_ AM ABOUT TO COMMAND THEE. _that thy days may be prolonged_ See on Deuteronomy 5:33....

d. PURPOSES OF OBSERVING THE LAW: (Deuteronomy 5:32 to Deuteronomy 6:3) Notice these purposes as you read the verses below: (1) to live (2) to live well (3) to live long (4) to multiply 32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 Ye shall walk in all the way which Jehovah your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it; 2 that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his

PRACTICAL EXHORTATIONS To the repetition of the Decalogue Moses adds in the following Chapter s a practical exhortation to obedience founded on the special relation of Jehovah to Israel as their Redeemer (6-11). Deuteronomy 6 particularly insists upon the remembrance of God's statutes and the training of the children in them. 4, 5. Our Lord calls these words 'the first and great commandment.' They express the highest truth and duty revealed to the Hebrew nation: the truth of God's unity and uniqueness; the duty of loving and serving Him with every faculty of the being. Consequently they became the Jewish Confession of Faith; and under the name of the 'Shema' (the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4 in the Hebrew) are still recited, along with...