And these words, which I command thee this day ,.... To hearken to, observe, and take notice of, that God is one, and is to be loved in the strongest manner that possibly can be: shall be in thine heart ; on the table of the heart, as the Targum of Jonathan; see 2 Corinthians 3:3 , be cordially received, have a place in the affections of the heart, and be retained in mind and memory. read more
And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children ,.... Care and diligence are to be used, and pains taken, to instruct children, as soon as they are capable, in the knowledge of God, and of his commandments; that they are to love him, fear him, serve, and worship him; this is to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Ephesians 6:4 , it may be rendered "thou shalt whet or sharpen them" F19 ושננ־תאם "et acues ea", Vatablus, Piscator. , the words or... read more
Shall be in thine heart - For where else can love be? If it be not in the heart, it exists not. And if these words be not in the heart - if they are not esteemed, prized, and received as a high and most glorious privilege, what hope is there that this love shall ever reign there? read more
Thou shalt teach them diligently - שננתם shinnantam , from שנן shanan , to repeat, iterate, or do a thing again and again; hence to whet or sharpen any instrument, which is done by reiterated friction or grinding. We see here the spirit of this Divine injunction. God's testimonies must be taught to our children, and the utmost diligence must be used to make them understand them. This is a most difficult task; and it requires much patience, much prudence, much judgment, and much piety... read more
Verse 6 6.And these words. In these four next verses God again commands (as before) the study of His Law. And first, indeed, He would have it implanted in their hearts, lest forgetfulness of it should ever steal over them; and by the word “heart” He designates the memory and other faculties of the mind; as though He had said that this was so great a treasure, that there was good cause why they should hide it in their hearts, or so fix this doctrine deeply in their minds that it should never... read more
Deuteronomy 6:6. These words shall be in thy heart Though the words alone, without the things expressed by them, will do us no good, yet as we are in danger of losing the things if we neglect the words, we must, therefore, even lay the words up in our hearts. Our thoughts must be daily conversant with them, and employed about them, that thereby our whole soul may be brought under the influence and impression of them. read more
Deuteronomy 6:7. Thou shall teach them diligently Hebrew, whet, or sharpen them, so as that they may pierce deeply into their hearts, This metaphor signifies the manner of instructing them, that it is to be done diligently, earnestly, frequently, discreetly. To thy children They that love the Lord God themselves will do what they can to engage the affections of their children to him, and so preserve the entail of religion in their families from being cut off. Bishop Patrick well... read more
The power of love (6:1-25)No matter how strong their determination to do right, the people would be unable to keep God’s law unless they first had a strong and genuine love for God himself. Love for him would give them the inner power to walk in his ways (6:1-5). As well as keeping God’s commandments themselves, they had to teach their children to do likewise. Their family life was to be guided by the knowledge of God’s law. Their house was to be known as a place where people loved God’s law... read more
this day. See note on Deuteronomy 4:26 . read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 6:4-16
Here is, I. A brief summary of religion, containing the first principles of faith and obedience, Deut. 6:4, 5. These two verses the Jews reckon one of the choicest portions of scripture: they write it in their phylacteries, and think themselves not only obliged to say it at least twice every day, but very happy in being so obliged, having this saying among them, Blessed are we, who every morning and evening say, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. But more blessed are we if we duly... read more