Deuteronomy 6

Moses stands on the edge of the Promised Land and gives Israel the heart of the covenant: the LORD is One, and He is to be loved with the whole person. This love is to fill the home, be handed down to children, and guard Israel from forgetting God when life becomes comfortable. The chapter ends with the answer a parent is to give a curious child: God saved us, so we belong to Him.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2

Moses introduces the whole body of God’s instruction. It was given so Israel could live it out in the land ahead. The goal is a lifelong reverence for God, passed down through children and grandchildren, with the promise of a long life under His care.

BSA: fear (“revere, stand in awe of”): This is not terror but a deep respect for God that shapes how one lives.

See also: Proverbs 9:10.

Deuteronomy 6:3

Moses urges Israel to listen and then act. Obedience is not a burden laid on them but the path to blessing in the good land God promised. The God who made the promise to their fathers is faithful to keep it.

BSA: Hear (“listen and obey”): In Scripture true hearing is never only the ears; it means taking the word in and doing it.

Deuteronomy 6:4

This is the great declaration of Israel’s faith, often called the Shema after its first word. Unlike the many gods of the nations, Israel’s God is one: unique, undivided, and owed undivided loyalty. Jesus called this the foundation of all the commandments.

BSA: One (“unique, united, the only one”): God is not only single in number but wholly unique, with no rival and no division in who He is.

Hebrew: שְׁמַע (shema, H8085) — “hear.” This Hebrew word means to hear with the intent to obey. It gives the whole passage its name and calls for an answering life, not just attention.

See also: Mark 12:29-30.

Deuteronomy 6:5

God asks for love, not mere duty. It is to reach every part of a person: the inner life, the whole self, and all one’s energy and resources. Nothing is held back, because the God who is One deserves all of us.

BSA: heart (“the innermost part of a person, including mind, will, and emotions”): To the Hebrew mind the heart is the control center, thinking and choosing as well as feeling. soul (“the essence of a person, your living being”): This points to the whole living person, not a separate spiritual piece.

See also: Matthew 22:37.

Deuteronomy 6:6

God’s words must first live inside the parent before they can be passed on. They are not to stay on a shelf but rest on the heart, shaping desires and choices from within.

See also: Psalm 119:11.

Deuteronomy 6:7

Faith is to be taught as part of ordinary life, not only at special times. Parents talk about God at home, on the road, at bedtime and at waking. Every part of the day becomes a chance to speak of Him.

BSA: teach (“diligently, with all care”): This is careful, repeated instruction, not a casual mention now and then.

Hebrew: וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם (veshinnantam, H8150) — “and you shall repeat sharply, whet.” The root pictures sharpening a blade. Parents are to press God’s words into children again and again until they cut deep.

Deuteronomy 6:8-9

God’s words are to be kept before the eyes and in daily view: on the hand, between the eyes, and at the door and gate. Many Jews took this literally, wearing small boxes with Scripture and fixing it to doorposts. Either way, the aim is a life framed by God’s word.

BSA: reminders (“for a sign”): These are visible signs that call to mind who God is and who belongs to Him.

See also: Proverbs 3:3.

Deuteronomy 6:10-11

Moses paints a picture of sudden abundance. Israel will receive cities, houses, wells and orchards they did not build or plant. Everything is a gift of God’s promise. Yet the warning hangs in the air: full stomachs can lead to forgetful hearts.

BSA: satisfied (“filled, content”): Fullness is the very moment of danger, when a person feels no need of God.

Deuteronomy 6:12

In times of plenty, the danger is forgetting. Israel is told to remember the God who rescued them from slavery. Remembering what He has done keeps blessings from becoming idols and keeps thankfulness alive.

BSA: forget (“be oblivious to, mislay”): Forgetting is often not a dramatic rejection but a slow drifting, like misplacing something precious.

See also: Deuteronomy 8:11-14.

Deuteronomy 6:13

Reverence, service and honest promises all belong to the LORD alone. To swear in His name means to acknowledge Him as the true God and the witness to one’s word. Jesus quoted this when He resisted the devil in the wilderness.

BSA: Him only (“exclusively, alone”): Service to God admits no partner; it is exclusive devotion.

See also: Matthew 4:10.

Deuteronomy 6:14-15

Israel will be surrounded by neighbors who worship other gods. God warns against drifting after them. His jealousy is not petty envy but the fierce love of a faithful husband for a covenant partner. He is also near, ‘among you,’ which makes unfaithfulness serious.

BSA: jealous (“zealous, intensely passionate”): God’s jealousy is passionate commitment to His people, the opposite of cold indifference.

Hebrew: קַנָּא (qanna, H7067) — “jealous, zealous.” This word is used only of God in this sense. It carries the heat of a love that will not be shared.

See also: Exodus 20:5.

Deuteronomy 6:16

At Massah the people quarreled with Moses and demanded proof of God’s presence because they had no water. To test God is to doubt His goodness and demand He prove Himself on our terms. Trust takes Him at His word. Jesus answered the devil with this verse.

BSA: test (“tempt, try”): Testing God means putting Him on trial, as if He must earn our trust.

See also: Exodus 17:1-7; Matthew 4:7.

Deuteronomy 6:17

Obedience is to be careful and thorough. Moses piles up words for God’s instruction, commandments, testimonies, and statutes, to show that all of it matters. God’s word is a trustworthy witness to who He is and how to live.

BSA: keep (“protect, attend to, or guard”): Keeping God’s commands is like guarding a treasure, not merely ticking off rules.

Deuteronomy 6:18-19

Doing what is right in God’s eyes, not just in our own, leads to blessing. The conquest of the land would be won as God drove out the enemies, as He had said. Obedience and trust in His promise go together.

BSA: right (“upright, just”): What is right is measured by God’s own standard, not by what seems fine to us.

Deuteronomy 6:20

Moses expects children to ask what all these commands mean. He treats the question as welcome. Faith is meant to be understood and explained, not just inherited without thought.

BSA: meaning (“what do they signify, what is their purpose”): The child is asking for the reason behind the rules, and parents are to be ready to give it.

Deuteronomy 6:21-23

The answer to the child is a story, not a list of rules. We were slaves, and God rescued us with great power and brought us into the land He promised. The commandments make sense as the response of a people who were saved.

BSA: hand (“symbolizing power, direction”): God’s mighty hand pictures His strength to rescue and His guidance toward a goal.

See also: Exodus 13:14.

Deuteronomy 6:24

The commands were given for Israel’s good. To fear the LORD is to live under His protection and care, and the rescue they already enjoyed was proof of His goodness. His law guards life rather than spoils it.

BSA: preserved (“to be kept alive, protected”): God’s commands are meant to keep His people alive and safe, not to hem them in.

Deuteronomy 6:25

Righteousness here means living rightly within the covenant, faithfully responding to the God who saved them. Obedience flows from belonging to God, not earning it. Christians read this alongside the New Testament teaching that people are made right with God through faith.

BSA: righteousness (“moral virtue, justice”): It describes a life that is right before God and set in the right relationship with Him.

See also: Genesis 15:6; Romans 10:5-6.