This small group Deuteronomy Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 6:1-7 Bible Study And Questions – The Heart and Soul of the Law
Outline
I. The blessings of obedience (1-3)
II. God is monotheistic (4)
III. The greatest command (5-6)
IV. Pass it on (7)
I. The blessings of obedience (1-3)
Discussion Questions
• What does it mean to fear God?
• What is the relationship between fearing God and obedience?
• What would the results of obedience be?
• How is it different to “be careful” to do something instead of just doing something?
• How can you be careful to obey God’s commands?
Cross-References
Luke 11:27-28 – As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. An interlude to remind the people to obey – Moses had just finished sharing the Ten Commandments, the heart of the law. In this section, he steps back to give them a reminder about the importance of obedience as well as the blessings that would result for the faithful.
2. Be careful to do them – Obedience to God’s law is certainly not automatic. Neither is it natural. We all have a sin nature. Sin is similar to the law of gravity, always pulling us down. Believers are called to take great care to obey. We are to be aware of our weaknesses and alert against temptation.
Psalms 119:60 – I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.
Application – Being careful to obey implies intentionality. When we come to the Word, whether at church, Bible study, or on our own, we should intentionally consider what we need to obey. We should constantly be evaluating our lives through the lens of Scripture, considering where we fall short, and making real-life changes accordingly. There is a difference between hearing a sermon on loving your spouse and actively planning and executing specific ways to love your spouse. One simple way to be careful to obey Scripture is to make a practical application each time you read it. Lest we forget, we need to rely on the power of the Spirit for strength to follow through.
II. God is monotheistic (4)
Discussion Questions
• What does the word “hear” signify?
• How does truly hearing from God go deeper than the sounds in our ears?
• When you come to God’s Word, how can better listen to Him from your heart?
• What does it mean that God is one?
• How does this truth differ with what many other religions teach?
• Does this verse contradict with the doctrine of the Trinity? Why or why not?
• What are the practical implications for us that there is only one God?
• Why is it important that it says the Lord is “OUR” God?
Cross-References
Matthew 11:15 – He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Isaiah 44:6 – Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Hear – Hearing goes deeper than just listening to the audible sound of something.
Sometimes one of my children can be talking to me and my mind is elsewhere. I hear the sounds of their words, but nothing registers. After a moment, they ask, “Dad, I asked you a question,” and I answer, “Huh, what did you say?”
Perhaps you have had this experience. Or perhaps you have been debating or arguing with someone. You hear everything they say, but it doesn’t go to your heart. While they are talking, you are formulating your return argument.
Hearing from God starts with our hearts.
Proverbs 2:2 – Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding.
It is only when we humble ourselves before the Lord that we will truly hear what He is saying to us. Our listening ability is directly correlated to our hunger for Him.
Many people heard Jesus’ teaching, but only a few responded. It was only the hungry who received what He had to offer.
Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Application – One way to improve your listening ability when you come to the Word (at home or in church) is to pray first. Ask God to prepare your heart. Tell Him that you want to hear from Him. Ask Him to give you a humble and attentive heart. When our heart is right, distractions will lose their power and our focus will improve.
2. God is one – This is a clear reference to the fact that God is monotheistic. He is not one out of many gods. He is the one, true, living God. The word used here is the same one as Adam and Eve becoming one flesh in Genesis 2:24. Therefore it does not preclude the Trinity. Rather, it speaks to God’s unity.
3. Our God – God is personal.
Deuteronomy 6:4 – The Lord our God.
This denotes a relationship. He is not just some powerful force out there. Belief in Him is not academic. There is a relationship. There is trust. The following section will speak on the importance of having a God-centered family and how to train children in His ways. This statement reminds us that if we are to be successful in building a godly family, it starts with a personal belief in and reliance upon Him. We will not be able to build a godly family without a personal connection to Him.
Psalm 127:1 – Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Through your own efforts, you cannot build and maintain a happy family. Look at the family of Saul in the Bible. He did not rely on God or follow God’s path. He tried to keep his dynasty together through his own strength. But he failed. His family disintegrated. His sons were killed.
As parents, we must always rely on God’s grace and wisdom in raising our families and not our own parenting methods. We should educate ourselves. We should, of course, do our best. We should have a strong will to do what we believe is right. But none of these things guarantee the salvation of our children.
Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
As parents, we will often fail. But God is our strength. He is the one who can change your child’s heart. He is the one who can protect your child in this dark world. He is the one who watches over your child when you can’t.
Application – Is God just “a” God to you, or is He “your” God? He gives strength for every aspect of our lives, including the daunting task of raising a family. God does not stand aloof. He cares about you. He loves you. He wants you to succeed. Recognize and claim the truth that He is your God. Everything that follows in this passage comes first from your relationship with Him. If you don’t have that, you will not be able to do verses 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
III. The greatest command (5-6)
Discussion Questions
• Why is this often referred to as the greatest command?
• How does this command summarize the law?
• What is the significance of the three words “heart,” “soul,” and “might?”
• Can love for God be measured? Is it tangible? How can we evaluate if we are loving God?
• Do you love God? If so, why?
• What will you do if you love God? Does doing those things prove you love God?
• How can you increase your love for God?
Cross-References
Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
1 John 5:3 – For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. The heart – The heart is the key. Everything flows from it. If their heart was not right with God, obedience to His commands would not be possible. If their heart was not right with God, raising up a godly family would not be possible.
The following verses are about raising up a godly family and passing spiritual wisdom to the next generation. That is not possible unless the parents first love God from their hearts.
Children easily spot hypocrisy. They will tend to tune out their parents’ talk unless they see them walking the walk.
The problem is that our hearts are wicked and corrupt.
Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
The failure of the Jews in the Old Testament to keep the law showed that their heart was the problem. Therefore they needed a new heart.
The good news is that God promised to do just that.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 – And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Where we fall short, the Spirit helps us.
2. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind – Jesus called this the greatest commandment and said that it summed up the law.
Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Love – In the Bible, love is action. Jesus told His disciples that if they loved Him, they would obey His commands (John 14:15). At the same time, if we love God, we should want to spend time with Him. We should want to talk with Him. We should want to deepen our relationship with Him by spending quality time learning about Him and reading His “letters” to us in the Bible. These are things that you would do if you love a person.
Love includes sacrifice. It is seeking to please Him rather than ourselves. However, there is also a feeling component to it.
The church at Ephesus was scolded because they had lost their first love. However, they were still doing many of the right actions. It seems that these had become robotic, dead orthodoxy.
Revelation 2:4 – But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
The LORD – This is a reference to God’s covenant name, YHWH.
Your God – The word “your” is very important. It denotes a relationship. God is not just a nebulous force. He is personal. Even the demons believe in God and tremble (James 2:19). Our belief goes beyond a mental assent to the fact. It includes submitting ourselves to Him. It means that we have loyalty to Him above all others. We should say, “I want you to live in my heart and guide everything I do.
With all – Many people want to serve God sometimes in some areas with some of their energy. They serve God when it is convenient when it lines up with what they already want to do themselves, or when it feels good to do so.
It is too easy to compartmentalize our lives. We may separate our life at church from our life at work and behave quite differently in the two places.
One example is that many who profess to be Christian say things online from behind the anonymity of their computers, which they would never dare to in real life. These behaviors include extreme rudeness to other people, hurling insults from their keyboard and behind their username. Others include watching porn on their computer while alone in their room. If someone walked in, they would immediately turn it off.
Brothers and sisters, this type of behavior is not loving God with all. If you know there are some areas in your life in which you are not putting God first, you must sacrifice those desires and pleasures and sins on the altar of worship and say, “God, you are my God and I will love you with ALL that I am.”
Heart, soul, and might – The heart is the center of our thoughts and emotions. The soul is our spiritual essence, which will exist into eternity even after our body is long decayed.
Hebrews often used multiple words or phrases to emphasize the same idea. It was a way of reiterating the importance of something. For a Hebrew to say “heart, soul, and mind” is a way of saying “with every part of you” and “this is important.”
You should love God with your hands, your feet, your eyes, your thoughts, your dreams, your verbal expressions, non-verbal expressions, attitudes, countenance, emotions, logic, goals, philosophies, rationality, consciousness, sub-consciousness, and you should do it at home, at work, on the subway, on your bicycle and in the pool. You should love Him when you are healthy or sick when you are poor or rich, when you are hungry or filled, when you are in the midst of trials or everything is going smoothly.
You should love Him Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, January, February, Etc.
The point is simple. Love God with all you are all the time. This means we must not separate some parts of our lives to ourselves as “our own.” We must put God first in every area. This is easier said than done.
Application – It might be helpful to identify some of the things you love most in life. Write a list of hobbies or things that you really enjoy. It may include shopping, sports, watching movies, etc. Do you love God more than these things? When we have to choose between God and something else, which will we choose?
Reflect – How can you increase your love for God?
When you love God like this, teaching the next generation about Him will be natural.
If you love God like this, everything else flows out of this. You will delight in teaching your kids about God. You will enjoy talking about Him when you sit down and you walk by the way. Of course, you will be praying for your kids if you love God like this. Of course, you will be teaching the Bible to them. And what is more, your kids will see it. They will see your love for God. They will know that you believe what you are teaching them. They will see your life and your testimony and this example will be stronger than anything words can say.
Parenting is difficult and time-consuming. There will be many times when you are stressed and overworked. There will be times when you are ready to throw in the towel on things. There will be times when your temper will flair. What will keep you going during those times? The words of advice in a self-help book? Your love for God and His love for you will keep you going. This is the foundation. If the foundation is strong, the whole house will be. But if the foundation is weak, the house will collapse.
IV. Pass it on (7)
Discussion Questions
• Whose responsibility is it to teach the children? What implication does that have about Sunday School, church, and school?
• According to the text, how are you to teach your children?
• What does the word “diligently” imply about the difficulty of this process?
• Where should you teach your children?
• When should you teach your children?
• Why is this verse so important for families?
• What are some practical ways you can put this verse into action?
• Share creative ways you bring spiritual things into conversations with them in day-to-day life.
• How can parents help prepare their children for the temptations and attacks they will experience in the world?
• In a busy world with everyone going in their own direction, how can families live out verse 7?
• How do these commands apply to those who don’t have children?
Cross-References
Matthew 19:14 – But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Psalms 127:3-5 – Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Teach your own children –
Deuteronomy 6:7 – You shall teach them diligently to your children.
It is very likely that you want to see your children following God. Therefore you make sure to send them to Sunday School. You make sure they are out of bed and come to church with you. Many of you even send them to Christian schools to try to ensure they receive a good Bible-centered education. These things are good. It is better for your kids to be in Sunday School than out there in the world somewhere. It is better to be in church. Christian schools are normally far better than the public school alternatives.
But these things are not enough. Because it is not the Sunday School or Christian school teacher’s responsibility to teach your children; it is yours.
The world will often say, “Wait to teach your children until they grow up and can decide for themselves what to believe.” Let me translate this idea for you. What they are actually saying is, “Wait until we have brainwashed your children with secularism and then when you teach them the truth, they won’t listen to you anymore.”
You do not wait until kids can decide for themselves to teach them about hygiene, eating healthy foods, exercising, or other basic matter. You should not wait to teach your children about God either.
This does not mean that you should force your children to believe in God. You cannot force them to and they may resent you if you try. But you should teach them about God from a young age so they have a good foundation to build on and know how to believe and follow God when they are ready to. If you do not teach your children, make no mistake, someone else will.
Application – Are you, as the parent, taking the time to directly teach your children about God? And if yes, are you doing it consistently?
2. Teach your children diligently –
Deuteronomy 6:7 – You shall teach them diligently to your children.
This is not an easy or quick process. It takes a huge amount of time. And it takes a huge amount of commitment.
The average student will spend roughly 10-12,000 hours in class, plus thousands more hours of homework. Educating children is extremely time-consuming. Think about some of the basic tasks you teach children. Brush your teeth. Make your bed. Don’t spill food when you eat. Turn off the light when you leave the room. How many times have you gone over these same lessons with your children? And even after all of those times, they maybe still aren’t doing it a lot of the time.
The word “remember” is in the Bible 227 times. God is constantly reminding us, His children, to remember the lessons He has taught us. Children are the same. If you are a parent, you probably have heard your children say, “I forgot,” when you remind them about an instruction. If you are like me and you think back, you probably said the same thing when you were a kid. This is why parents need to diligently teach their kids the Bible. Even in a neutral environment, your kids will easily forget God’s Words. But we are not in a neutral environment.
My sons asked me to read them a book. So I sat down and started to read. It was a book about dinosaurs. Almost every single page of the book was filled with evolution and “millions of years.” It was yet another opportunity to teach my children about the truth.
The world is diligently teaching our children its ideology. As parents, how can we do less?
Reflect – What would it look like if you taught your children diligently?
3. Teach your children at home – This is the most basic instruction to parents in this passage. In your own house, you have the authority. You can train and educate your children relatively free of outside influence. The things they learn from you at home can then serve as their foundation as they go out into the world.
The concept is really simple. Call your family together. Open the Bible. Read it together. Then talk about it. Pray together. Sing together. And do it consistently day after day after day. Some people call it family worship. Others call it family devotions. Or Bible time. The title is not important, but as parents you need to be doing this with your children regularly.
Here are a few benefits:
- Bible knowledge – Your children will greatly expand their Bible knowledge. My family had family devotions five days a week. Sometimes we had it after dinner. But most of the time, we had it in the morning at 7 AM. To be honest, I didn’t always enjoy getting up before 7 for it, but in hindsight, I can honestly say I learned far more in family devotions than I did in Bible school at university.
- Theology – What is salvation? What is sin? What is the Trinity? What is justification? By reading and talking about these things every day, your children will understand basic Bible doctrines. Because they will have a solid foundation, it will be less likely that they will be led astray. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Questions – It is normal to have many questions or even doubts about God or the Bible. Your children need an open and safe place to talk about what is on their minds and receive real answers. In your Bible time, you should encourage your children to ask questions, even ones that you may think are silly.
- Quality family time – The world is a busy place with many things vying for our and our kids’ attention. Electronics and screens only worsen this problem. Many families go through day after day without really talking to each other. And most conversations that do happen are often not very deep or meaningful. Devotions are a time when you can open up and discuss meaningful things free of distraction.
- Practical application – Many of the instructions in this passage are focused on doing, not just hearing. For example, verse 2 says, “Keep His statutes.” One good habit which you may not be doing is asking each person to make a simple application from the Bible text that you read. You can ask your kids, “What will you do today to obey what you have learned?” It can be very simple sometimes like “I will thank Mom for cooking for us.” The next day you can together check if you made your applications or not. The point is that studying the Bible is not an academic exercise. It is supposed to change how we live.
Every Christian family should have regular family devotions. Set a consistent time of the day when you will meet together. Make a plan for what you will study each time. And then start doing. The first few times, you may feel a little bit awkward, but when you keep doing it, soon it will be natural. You and your family will be deeply rewarded.
One study shows that children between 8-12 in the US spend 6 hours a day on electronics and teenagers 9 (not including homework time). Will you allow an iPad and a computer to raise your child and spend time with him or will you do it? I think you can do a better job than an iPad!
We should also play with our children.
Proverbs 17:22 – A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed up spirit dries up.
Your home should be a happy place. To have a healthy relationship with your kids, you also need to spend time with them having fun. Jesus called His disciples His “friends.” Do not become so busy that you don’t spend quality time with your kids. Make time for them. A great use of time is just to turn off your phone and spend 30 minutes really playing with your kids.
4. Teach your children in real-life settings – The last part of verse 7 says you shall talk of them “when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”
Quite simply, this means that you should talk with your kids about the things of God all the time and everywhere. Talking about the Lord, His creation, His Word, and His character should be a lifestyle. It is important to teach your kids in the classroom, at church, and in family devotions.
But teaching them in everyday life in real-life situations is what is really life-transforming. This is where they make the connections between knowledge and practical application. This is where they learn how to live out their faith.
My family once had a refugee from Somalia over. He shared with us about his life and the persecutions he was facing for following the Lord. He had been waterboarded, hung upside down, and forced to lay on scalding asphalt without a shirt in a radical Islam re-education camp. He lived in continual fear for his life. My boys joined us and heard the stories. After the man left, we talked. We talked about persecution, how to help people in need, how to respond when people mistreat us, and more. It was a real-life opportunity to help them see what the Bible means when it talks about suffering for your faith. And that experience helped them understand that much deeper than if it was taught in Sunday School.
As parents, we should make a habit of talking with our kids about the things they are seeing and experiencing in the world, both good and bad. Here are a few examples of questions you can ask to start conversations:
• When taking a walk with little kids, you can ask them, “What do you see?” And then, “Who made that?”
• On the way home from church, ask your kids, “What did you learn in Sunday School today?” Then talk about it.
• When your kids are mistreated, ask them, “How does the Bible say you should respond?” Then talk about it.
Application – You need to be intentional. One simple application is to begin having one meaningful conversation with your kids about the Lord outside of normal Bible time each day. Soon you will probably find that not only will your kid grow in His understanding of the Lord, but you will understand him a lot better too.
Make no mistake. We are in a war for our children’s souls. Satan wants them. But Jesus also wants them. He loves them more than you ever could. Help your children come to Jesus. He invited them to.
Matthew 19:14 – Permit the children to come to me.
Charles Spurgeon said, “I think I know of no grander sight than that of a gray-haired man who has served the Lord Jesus from his youth up.”
Application – Here are three simple applications for parents.
• Have Bible time with your children each day
• Have at least one spiritual conversation with your children outside of Bible time each day.
• Pray for your children’s salvation at least once each day.
If you are not a parent, you can join this battle too. Pray for the children. Encourage the families around you. You can also help to train the next generation. You can teach in Sunday School. And you can disciple spiritual children.
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