Deuteronomy 6:6-25 Remain Faithful

Intro:

Moses’ sermon is all about preparing Israel to enter the promised land

He knows that it is going to be a temptation to get busy with life and forsake God

There

ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES facing the church today is how to get the Word into the hearts and minds of people.

People forget most of what they hear in a sermon.

They receive so much more information and ideas packaged in very attractive and impacting ways from the world around them.

Do we have any hope of success in getting people to grasp and digest the truths of the Word?

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 gives us clues on how we can meet this challenge.

Read Deut 6:6-9

I. How the Word Can Make Us Holy vs. 6-9

Internalize the Word vs. 6

God’s Word should be on Your heart

In verse 6 Moses presents what one’s relationship with the Word should be: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”

The word translated “heart” (lebab) refers to what we would call the mind, the organ of the will where decisions and choices are made.

This verse is saying that the person’s thinking and behavior is markedly affected by the Word.

For that to happen you have to get the Word into you

I am always amazed at people who sit in my office and tell me their life is falling apart and they wonder why

They haven’t been in church, they don’t read the Bible, and their fellowship has been with ungodly people

Garbage in and garbage out

Teach the Word vs. 7a

Teach God’s Word to your children

Vs. 7 first says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children.”

“Teach them diligently” is the translation of a single word that means “repeat,”

this is reflected in the NLT rendering: “Repeat them again and again to your children.”

The truths of God’s Word might not go into the mind and transform our lives after one hearing.

Therefore they need to be repeated often, and the primary place where this takes place in the lives of children is the home.

According to the Bible, teaching is not solely a mother’s task.

Proverbs often speaks of the value of a father’s instruction (1:8; 4:1; 6:20; 13:1; 15:5).

Proverbs 1:8 says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.”

Considering that this follows the pattern of Hebrew poetry we need to be careful about making too much of the difference between a “father’s instruction” and a “mother’s teaching.”

But the word translated “instruction” often takes the meaning of correction, chastisement, or discipline

Discuss the Word 7b

Discuss God’s Word in normal life

The Scriptures should be the constant topic of conversation among the faithful in their day-to-day lives: “You … shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

The picture we have is of constant input into the lives of children.

Keep It in Front of You vs. 8

Keep God’s Word in front of you

The Jews took these commandments literally and wore portions of Scripture in little containers called phylacteries on their forehead and left arm

You will often see orthodox Jews in their traditional black garb and black hats with big rims with the phylactery and leather strap around their arm

A Phylactery

An Orthodox Jewish man wearing a Phylactery and the arm band

There is a danger with this because it can become more about the garb than the reminder

Matt 23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long

Israel was good at the actions but not the motives

Just as we are to love the Lord with every part of our body; Mind, heart, soul, & strength

We are to make Christ part of our coming and going

When we sit down or on walks

Before you go to bed and when you first wake up in the morning

Mark Your Home with It vs. 9

They also attached a small container of Scripture, called a mezuzah, to the front door and on every door in the house.

Each occupant touched the mezuzah reverently each time he or she passed through a door

It was a sign that the house was to be a sanctuary for the Lord and a place where the Word was loved, obeyed, and taught.

we agree wholeheartedly that God’s people ought to make their homes places where God dwells, where the Scriptures are honored, and we aren’t ashamed of our faith

II. vs. 10-15 Don’t Forget God in Your Prosperity

In the final remaining verse Moses gives us 3 warnings

The first warning is “Don’t forget God in your prosperity”

Most people find it easier to handle adversity than prosperity (see Phil. 4:10–20), because adversity usually drives us closer to God as we seek His wisdom and help.

Phil 4:11-13 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

When things are going well, we’re prone to relax our spiritual disciplines, take our blessings for granted, and forget to “praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

Vs. 10 When the Lord brings you into the land with cities you didn’t build

All Israel knows is slavery and wandering

They don’t have anything except the clothes on their backs

Soon they are going to walk into prosperity

They are not going to work for what they get

It would be easy to forget God

vs. 11 Houses full of goods, cisterns you didn’t dig, and vineyards you didn’t plant

This takes it to a deeper level

Their houses will be fully furnished

They will have ready water and won’t have to do the back breaking work of digging a well

Vineyards and Olive tress will already be fully mature and producing crops

The biggest warning “When you eat and are full”

The danger of success and prosperity is much greater than the struggle of affliction

It is easy to forget the Lord when things are good

Vs. 12 Moses tells them to Take Care

Once again we see the Hebrew word Shamar

Pay extra special attention that don’t forget the Lord

He is the one who brought you out of slavery

Vs. 13 gives us 3 things to focus on

First, we need to fear the Lord

Second, we need to serve Him

Third, we need to swear by his name

We’ve discussed the first two quite a bit but the third one is intriguing

Swear here means to take on oath on

It is the capital that backs up your claim

Don’t swear on another god or your own strength because it can’t endure

vs 14-15 This is all in prep for warning against worshipping other gods

The promised land is a blessing to the Jews but at the same time it is a judgment on the other nations

The Canaanites were notorious for sacrificing children to their gods to go along with lewd sexual acts

God knew that if Israel didn’t eradicate them from the land that they would fall

If they did follow after foreign gods then they would destroy Israel

III. vs. 16-19 Don’t Test Him

The second warning we see is for Israel not to test the Lord

If Israel was good at anything, it was testing the Lord

How did they test the Lord? They murmured and complained

Ex 17:2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

Israel was at Massah, or Meribah, and complaining about not having water

Moses warned them not to test the Lord but trust Him

God tells Moses to strike the rock with the staff he held out over the Red Sea

Water gushed forth

The Lord tests our faith, not just in the great crises of life, but even more in the small unexpected events, such as a travel delay, an irritating interruption, a sudden sickness, or a lost wallet.

The way we respond in these situations will indicate what’s in our hearts

When we complain about what has happened to our life we are guilty of murmuring

Instead we need to be diligent about obeying God’s Word

If you do what is right it will go well with you

IV. vs. 20-25 Tell of the Lord’s Greatness

One of the best protections against tempting the Lord is a grateful heart.

If we’re in the habit of thanking the Lord in everything, including the painful experiences of life, then the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with love and praise instead of Satan filling us with bitter venom