Deuteronomy 6:4

"Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates."

"Jehovah our God is one Jehovah ..." Some scholars make a big thing out of the three alternate renditions of this passage suggested in the ASV, namely:

Jehovah our God, Jehovah is one.

Jehovah is our God, Jehovah is one.

Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone.

"Whichever one is correct, the idea of one God (monotheism) is obviously in this phrase. There is, was, and always will be only one true God. See Deuteronomy 4:35,39; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; and 1 Corinthians 8:4."[6] Keil also stated dogmatically that, "This clause not merely precludes polytheism, but also syncretism which reduces the one absolute God to a national deity."[7] This passage condemns and denies every form of theism and deism and all philosophical deductions regarding God which tend to reduce Him to a mere abstraction. "Jehovah, although the absolute One, is not an abstract notion, but He is the absolutely living God, as He made Himself known in His deeds to Israel for the purpose of bringing salvation to the whole world.[8] We reject Scott's statement as being too weak. He says that this passage "is almost, if not quite, a declaration of monotheism."[9] There is nothing almost or not quite about this; it is an adequate and all-sufficient declaration. The critics are merely disappointed that the monotheism of Moses is not stated in the stereotyped language they expected. Mark's rendition of this is: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one" (Mark 12:29). "The Lord is one" is equivalent in every way to "One is the Lord," or "there is one Lord," and nobody has any difficulty understanding that in the Bible such expressions as "there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc" (Ephesians 4:4) are merely another way of saying "There is only one Lord, only one faith, and only one baptism." How strange it is that the critics who have no difficulty at all in translating `by faith' as `by faith only' should have any difficulty doing the same thing here, especially since it is justified here.

Von Rad attempted to split this chapter on the basis of parts of it being written with plural pronouns and parts with singular pronouns,[10] but as Cousins pointed out, "Singular and plural pronouns (thou and you) are used apparently at random in this very section, Deuteronomy 6:4-6,13,14,16,17."[11] This recent scholar also pointed out that, "K. A. Kitchen shows that such a variation (in pronouns) is not an uncommon feature of semitic style."[12] Like many another false crutch of the critics, this one also should be laid to rest.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God ... etc." Here is the reason why this is the first and great commandment. Love lasts longer even than faith. Faith shall at last end in sight, but love "never faileth." Faith, even full and abundant faith, may exist without obedience, as proved by John 12:42,43, but, as Christ said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Right here is where one finds out what holy religion is all about. The mighty Creator of all things desires the love of his children, and here is the explanation of many of the mysteries of religion. Love cannot be coerced, forced, or compelled. Love must be the result of choice and freedom of the will, hence, the Garden of Eden and the serpent. God, while giving His children freedom to act as they will, nevertheless desires their loving adoration. As Blair put it:

"What God basically wants of the people of Israel is their wholehearted love and loyalty and their obedience to the terms of the Covenant relationship which love and loyalty will inspire ... Here is the very earliest use of the term "love" to characterize man's proper attitude toward God."[13]

There is another reason why this is the Great Commandment. It is the one upon which all other obligations depend. If God is not loved and honored as the supreme authority, no other authority can claim any allegiance whatever from people. All other laws of God derive from this one. It is wrong to kill, only because all persons are created in God's image, making murder a crime against GOD! It is true of all the others. Thus, this is indeed the Great Commandment. "The N.T. itself requires no more than this total surrender of man's being to his maker."[14] "But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned" (1 Timothy 1:5).

"With all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength ..." One is struck by the fact that in Jesus' quotation of this in Mark 12:28ff, the words `with all thy mind' are added to what is here. "This is not an addition of something not already present in the original ... In a world filled with the knowledge of Greek psychology it made quite clear what the original involved, so that there could be no misunderstanding."[15] Also, Jesus' words made it plain that the Scriptural `heart' is in fact `the mind.' "Why think ye evil in your hearts?" (Matthew 9:4) was the question which Jesus hurled at the Pharisees.

"These verses (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) are called `The Shema' from the Hebrew word, `Hear,' that begins the passage and are regarded as the essence of Hebrew religion. They are always quoted in every synagogue service, and are repeated twice daily by the orthodox.[16] These words are the opening sentence in Jewish services.[17] These verses, linked with Deuteronomy 6:6-9, constituted the holy texts used for phylacteries and medusas.[18] The total texts included: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Exodus 11:13-20."[19]

Deuteronomy 6:8,9. From the earliest days, the Jews understood these verses as literal requirements. The "frontlets between the eyes," the binding of the commandments upon their hands, and their putting them on the door-posts and their gates, led to three kinds of devices by which these instructions were honored: One was the [~tsitsith], or fringe at the four corners of the outer garment; the others were the [~tephillin] and the [~mezuzah]. The [~tephillin] were two small boxes about one cubic inch in size, containing the Scriptures (given in the above quotation). Dummelow tells us that there were four Scriptural passages inside these small containers: Exodus 13:1-10 and Exodus 11:13, also Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21.[20] The devices called by Dummelow the [~tephillin] are referred to as "phylacteries" by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 23:5, but that is the only appearance of that word in the Bible.[21]

The [~mezuzah] (or medusah) were similar containers and were placed upon every right-hand door-post in Jewish houses. They were also for "door-posts" and for "your gates." "The sign was to be on the door-post of the house, representing the family unit, and upon the `gates,' representing the community or village."[22] "The pious Jew touches the [~mezuzah] on each occasion of passing, or kisses his finger and says Psalms 121:8 in Hebrew, `Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and forevermore.'"[23]

Of course, it is almost universally agreed today that the Jews were mistaken in literalizing these instructions which were no doubt merely metaphorical commandments meaning that the Jew should keep all these instructions in mind and heart always. However, it is easier to criticize the Jews than it is to do the real thing intended here, namely, to REMEMBER to do and to teach the word of God continually.

Regarding teaching the children, Deuteronomy 6:7, lays upon every parent the obligation to instruct his children in the way of the Lord. Here is exactly where our generation has failed so shamefully. Instead of the Word of God, we have substituted human opinion to the effect that every child should NOT be influenced by his parents, but that he should be left free to make up his own mind! There was never a more monstrous error ever advocated among human beings. If continued, this course of conduct on the part of Christians will eventually deliver the whole world into the power of Satan!

What fools are those parents who imagine that by neglecting the religious instruction of their offspring they are "leaving them free to make up their own minds!" What they are doing is leaving the Devil free access to bring every evil pressure upon the children to destroy their souls. Parents do not leave their children free to take any kind of poison or drugs in order to allow them to "make up their own minds," do they? Maybe some do, and perhaps that is why we have countless drug-ruined children all over America. We agree with Adam Clarke, "No head of a family can neglect the instruction of his children without endangering the final salvation of his own soul."[24]

"We feel compelled here to include the stern words of Oberst: The criminal notion that children ought not to be taught religion for fear of biasing their minds is in flat opposition to the command of God. Parents who neglect this duty are highly criminal. If their own children perish through neglect, which is likely, what a dreadful account must the parents give in the great day! Parents, hear what the Lord saith unto you: `Ye must diligently teach your children.' `Bring them up in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord' (Ephesians 6:4)."[25]