Making God Everything in Life, and Passing It On // Deuteronomy 6

Love the LORD Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

Footnotes:

Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The LORD our God is one LORD; or The LORD is our God, the LORD is one ; or The LORD is our God, the LORD alone

Words, phrases that stuck out:

*** ...be careful to obey so that it may go well with you..."; verse 3: Although this is just an English translation of an ancient language, I first of all noticed the may in there...not a will. I think that is important. Regardless, this entire passage is a statement telling us that, "God isn't stupid, and knows the best way to tackle life." And while following God and his commands certainly doesn't promise and easy life, it does make things go better in general. I mean, think about if you never lied. Sure, you may get out of some nice "perks" in life, but wouldn't you be seen as a trustworthy person? Wouldn't relationships be less strained in general? By seeking to follow the commands of God, there is now way that it can't improve our lives (and lives of others around us) on so many levels...

*** Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.; verse 7: If we truly love God with our every being, seeking to obey him at all times, doesn't it make sense that we'd want to impress this upon our children, training them to do the same? I need to remember that everything is an opportunity to speak about the Lord to my son...and thus I need to look for opportunities to talk to him about God, about my motivations, my reasons to sacrifice, etc., hoping and praying that one day he will trust in Christ's saving grace for himself.

*** ...be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.; verse 12: Oh, how easily I forget... The Lord has done so much for me, has shown me his might in awesome ways, has changed my very being...so how come I just mindlessly walk through life as often as I do? Each of us need to ask God to show us the times we easily/conveniently forget all he's done, forget who he is, and repent. Because...

*** ...the Lord your God...is a jealous God...; verse 15: This is a quality of god we don't usually think about. I mean, if god is so Good, so Loving, so "Other" and Holy...how on earth could he have an emotion like jealousy? Well, while those attributes I listed (and countless others) are so true of our Lord, jealousy is an emotion he has. Why? Well, he created us...loves us, and all he asks is for love in return. But what do we do? We flee. We lie. We worship other gods and idols. If my wife were to say she loved me (and, in reality, did love me), but seemed to be more interested in shopping, in a hobby, or in other friends than me, well, I'd have to admit, I'd be a bit jealous. I think our struggle is that since God is, well, God, he could never have a "human" emotion like jealousy...could he? According to this passage...yes...and honestly, if I am humble and selfless, given all he's done for me, he has every right to be...

Questions for me:

Do I truly realize that, "God knows best", and that while some commands may be tough, or "no fun", or could be risky...that he knows what's up and by following them, life will improve?

How am I passing on a godly legacy to my child? Is it something I even think about? Are there areas of my life I (still) need to give up in surrender for the sake of my kid and his spiritual growth?

How quickly and easily do I forget about all God has done? Are there steps I can take, with God's help and prompting, that can help me remember him all the more?