Main Idea
In the following paper I have been assigned the pleasure of exploring the book of Deuteronomy with a focus on chapter 6. In this paper, I will be exploring the historical/cultural background of Deuteronomy, examining its literary vein, and drawing several theological implications from the passage.
The book of Deuteronomy can be sectioned into at least four parts: A review of Israel from Sinai to Moab (ch. 1-4), a deeper understanding of the Law (ch. 5-26), ramifications of the covenantal relationship (ch. 27-30), and Moses’ final gestures (31-34). We can break down our passage, Deuteronomy 6, into three parts: The God of the Covenant (v. 1-4), the implementing God’s word (v.5-9), and a reminder of what God has done for Israel (v.10-25).
As we enter into this paper, we must seek to understand, not necessarily everything that God has in his word, but rather everything that he desires to show us from this brief engagement with it. I pray that this paper will deepen the reader’s insight into the book of Deuteronomy and that God would draw them close to himself through it. Amen.
Introduction
“’eḥāḏ Yahweh ’ĕlōhênū yiśrā’êl šəma’ ūḇəḵāl ləḇāḇəḵā bəḵōl ’ĕlōheḵā Yahweh ’êṯ wə’āhaḇtā mə’ōḏeḵā ūḇəḵāl nap̄šeḵā”
“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The Shema, is one of the most recognizable prayers of the Jewish people. The Jewish website, myjewishlearning.com, refers to the Shema as, “…the centerpiece of the daily morning and evening prayer services and is considered by some the most essential prayer in all of Judaism.” This simple prayer relays God's fullness and the relationships he desires to have with humanity in both a simplistic and extraordinary way. This simple prayer reverberates across the Scriptures and into today, as all God’s people are called to this confession of who this Holy God is.
Yet this prayer comes within a setting that brings into focus the entirety of who God is and how his people are to relate to him. Within the greater context of the verses, chapters, and books of Scripture that surround this prayer, seekers of God genuinely learn what it means to be in relationship with the One who called all that we see into existence.
The following paper explores this greater context focusing primarily on the chapter in which it is found, Deuteronomy 6:1-25. Through a historical exploration, we will come to understand the location in which the first hearers resided. We will seek to answer questions such as, what does the title mean, who is the author, when was the book written, and where do we find it in the course of human history?
After exploring this passage's historical context, we will then turn our attention to its literary compilation. The Scriptures are full of different literary structures and devices. We will seek to navigate the literary categories that we find in both the book and in Deuteronomy 6:1-25. This navigation will take us to this chapter’s place in the overall canon of Scripture, the genre(s) in which the writing resides, and a brief look at the book’s structure on both a macro and micro scale. As we understand how the chapter is brought together from literary regard, we will understand how the first hearers would have understood its first recitation.
Finally, we will explore the theological implications of the passage, walking through the centuries, analyzing how the passage has been understood to our faith's forerunners and into our modern day. After we have exhausted our time together, we will apply that theology into our own lives so that we may walk as James the half-brother of Jesus called us to, “22…be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
Let us therefore walk in the footsteps of men and women who have pursued the calling of God in their lives, that we may know the Holy One of Israel, the Lord who is God, the Lord who is one.
Historical & Cultural Background
As we begin, let us first turn our attention to the historical and cultural background of the book of Deuteronomy. In my own studies, I have come to know this as a macro or panoramic view. Stepping back from the text to get a bird's eye view of the context helps us understand the place in which the writing originated. We must work to rid ourselves, as best we can, of our current historical setting, and modern ideas. We must seek not to layer our place in history onto the text, and therefore start off on the wrong foot, misinterpreting that which we strive to see more clearly.
Therefore in this section, we shall seek to understand the author and the title was given to the writing, briefly identifying both the traditional view and the more layered view. After we have understood the author, we will turn our attention to the date of the writing, again, looking at both the traditional and layered views. Finally, in this section, we will look at the setting of the writing, both in the general environment of the book in which we find ourselves and the specific environment of the passage within its historical place.
First, the authorship and dating of Deuteronomy need to be addressed as one thought. Traditionally Deuteronomy is considered to be written by Moses roughly around 1400 B.C. The first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, are all traditionally attributed to Moses throughout his leading of the Israelite people starting roughly around 1446 B.C. Some scholars disagree, believing Deuteronomy was written sometime in the seventh or fourth century before the common era. Walter C. Kaiser points out one such theologian is Wilhelm M.L. de Wette (1780-1849).
Scholars like Kaiser and Richard S. Hess reject this idea based upon vassal treaties found in the ancient Near East during the second millennium. Elmer L. Towns also rejects this idea of an author other than Moses by pointing to Moses’ “spiritual insight…legal mentality, and…leadership qualities.” Towns also points to Jesus and the New Testament writers who reference Deuteronomy as being written by Moses. For our purposes here, we do not need to go any more in-depth with this topic; instead, agreeing with Kaiser, Hess, and Towns that the author is, in fact, Moses. Yet we must also understand that there might be additional authors who have fine-tuned the writing, such as we see in Deuteronomy 34, where it chronicles Moses's death, something that Moses himself most likely did not pen.
With the author and date of the writing before us, let us now turn to answer the question, Why is it called Deuteronomy?” The word Deuteronomy is the Greek word Deuteronomion, which is literally translated as “second law.” But as Irving L. Jenson, in his book, Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament, comments, “This latter title came from the Septuagint’s mistranslation of the phrase ‘a copy of this law’…”. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. agrees with Jenson's assessment of the Septuagint’s mistranslation as second law, rather than what Deuteronomy truly is, a copy of the law already given to the Israelite people. As Kaiser points out, “In Hebrew, Deuteronomy starts with, “these are the words”; therefore it was simply called Debraim, “The Words.’” Though our modern title of Deuteronomy is a is a mistranslation, we should not concern ourselves too much with it. The reason for this is found in the New Testament writers, who do not seek to name specific books of the Old Testament. Since the New Testament writers do not put forth any disagreements with the Septuagint’s titling, neither should we concern ourselves with it.. Instead, let us turn our attention to the historical setting of the book.
With the author and date of the writing understood, and its title fixed in our minds, we now turn to examine the book's setting and passage. Scholars Paul R. House and Eric Mitchell note, "When Numbers ends, a new generation has emerged. Raised in the desert, this group seems determined to avoid their parent's mistakes. Moses is determined to prepare them for entry into the land.” As observers of historical events, we find ourselves between two eras when we come to Deuteronomy. At this point, Israel has come out of the land of Egypt, where they had lived for hundreds of years. Roughly forty years before this point in history, the generation that saw the great works of God, had rejected his call for them to take the land of Canaan.
As we open Deuteronomy, that generation who had rejected God’s call, has now died off. Their sons and daughters now stand poised to receive the land promised to the people when Moses first brought them to hope in Exodus 4:29-31. At this moment between eras, scholar Paul N. Benware writes, “The book of Deuteronomy complements Numbers; it does not advance the story of the Old Testament.” Benware’s observation that Deuteronomy is a book that does not advance the Old Testament story, but rather gives us a bridge that brings together two generations, helps us understand the cultural situation the first hearers were in when Moses first spoke these words. On this bridge between generations, we see one generation that was unfaithful, and the other that would go on to be faithful.
At this point of understanding the moment between eras, we can now look to the location in which this moment takes place. Benware rightfully recognizes Israel's location as it gathers to hear what would become the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy is bookended with locational markers. In the first chapter, we read, "These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea." When we come to the end of Deuteronomy, we read the following in the last chapter, "Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." And so, in this moment between eras, the people of Israel wait on the eastward side of the Jordan River. They are on the brink of a new chapter in Israelite history, both in terms of their physical location and their spiritual readiness to follow God. It is here that the book of Deuteronomy unfolds in their midsts as they enter into the land that God had promised.
Finally, in the opening chapters of the book, we get a summation of Israel's history. In this summation we see Moses purposeful connect the current generation and those that came before them. House and Mitchell write, “Moses first reminds the nation of their history (Dt 1-4). Even though this generation did not participate in the events of the Exodus 1- Numbers 20, Moses says ‘you’ chose spies, rebelled against God and so on…” House and Mitchell point out that Moses links the current generation to that of the previous one to spur them to follow God's commands and walk in the obedience that their parents did not. It is after Moses’ summation of Israel’s history and connecting the two generations, that we find chapter 6.
We find Deuteronomy at the point of transition when the generation that failed is left behind, and a new generation is called to succeed. When the nation's leadership would transition from Moses, the leader of the Exodus, to Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan. When the people of God would move from a transient population to one with a land of their own. This historical point of transition now turns our attention to the Literary Structure of the book and passage that we are exploring.
Literary Structure
Now that we have looked at the historical setting of Deuteronomy 6:1-25, we turn our focus to the literary structure of both the book and the passage. In a brief analysis of Deuteronomy 6, we will proceed to look at its place in the canon of Scripture, the genre in which it dwells, and the structure that encompasses it. Each aspect will then help us better understand its theological implications in our final section.
First, let us look at the place in which we find Deuteronomy within the canon of Scripture. Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Pentateuch, which in turn makes up the core of Jewish Law, also known as the Torah. As I have stated earlier, Deuteronomy's title, though directly translated as "second law," would be better understood as "a copy of the law." This helps us see that the book of Deuteronomy is not an addition to the Law given by God through Moses, but rather is a restating of the Law with more detail.
In his essay, “Moses at Moab, Lincoln at Gettysburg? On the Genre of Deuteronomy, Again*” Brent A. Strawn draws a comparison between President Abraham Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg and Moses’ writing of Deuteronomy. As Strawn points out, Lincoln has been criticized for changing the interpretation of the constitution. Yet, Strawn writes of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, “The GA (Gettysburg Address) did not replace either the Declaration of Independence or the CUSA (Constitution of the USA).” The parallel that Strawn draws between Lincoln’s speech and the book of Deuteronomy is that both seek to expand on the already established work that had come before. Lincoln with the Thirteenth amendment and Moses with the more profound understanding of the Law and Covenant of God found in Deuteronomy. Therefore, instead of seeing the book of Deuteronomy as a subversion to the Law given in Exodus, we can see it for what it is, a more thorough look at the Law’s practical application in the daily lives of the people.
Recognizing Deuteronomy as a deeper understanding of what came before it, Irvine L. Jensen makes an interesting observation of the book’s placement and connection to other Pentateuch books. Jensen writes, "…Deuteronomy resembles Leviticus in its lack of action sections. The books are also similar in that the instructions contained in each were given to Israel while they were in standby encampment—at Sinai (Leviticus) and on the plains of Moab (Deuteronomy)." Jensen connects Deuteronomy to Leviticus by noticing that one precedes the forty years of wandering (Leviticus), while the other precedes the conquest of Canaan (Deuteronomy).
A distinction that Jensen makes between the two books, which I believe will help us in our theological insights, is that Leviticus is written primarily as a priestly instructional book. In contrast, Deuteronomy is written for the be applied by every Israelite. Thinking of the books that specifically dealt with Moses and the Israelite journey from Egypt to Canaan, leaving off Genesis as prior history, one can see an intriguing setup. Exodus is primarily the historical journey of Israel from Egypt to Sinai, with Leviticus coming as primary instruction to the priests at God's mountain. Numbers then has the journey from the mountain of God to the promised land of Canaan, with Deuteronomy coming as instruction for the people of God in how they must live their lives in this new land. The second and third books of the Pentateuch set up God's power and the priestly responsibilities, while the fourth and fifth books set up God’s relationship with all his people.
The specific place of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Scriptures, also carries with it an important place, when looking at the whole of the Christian canon. As noted by Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Deuteronomy is referenced several times by other Old Testament authors, such as Hosea and Amos. Yet in the ministry of Jesus, the full impact of the book of Deuteronomy can be felt. I have found that Jesus directly quotes Deuteronomy thirteen times, and makes references to the book roughly forty-two times. Only the book of Psalms, with its twenty-three references, is referred to more. The New Testament also extensively uses the book of Deuteronomy, with around twenty-two references to the last book of the Pentateuch. With these extensive references, Deuteronomy is not simply a book of the Bible but rather a monumental point of contact between God's work through Israel and God's specific work through Jesus.
With Deuteronomy now placed within the canon of Scripture, we turn our focus to the book's genre. In their work, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology, Andreas J. Köstenberger, and Richard D. Patterson, point us to the overall genre of the book, Hebrew law. In this understanding of Hebrew Law, Köstenberger and Patterson, remind us that law in Hebrew is tôrâ which carries with it the understanding of instructing. Yet within this type of instruction, we find that Deuteronomy follows another Near-Eastern genre to close as to be unintentional.
Walter C. Kaiser points out that Deuteronomy looks very similar to a vassal treaty in line with the second millennium, which also helps us in dating the writing as was we referred to above in our section on historical setting. Adding to this, House and Mitchell write, “…it is legitimate to discuss Deuteronomy as a treaty between Yahweh and Israel.” With Richard S. Hess going as far as to say, “…the single most important connection of Deuteronomy to the ancient Near-Eastern context is its close relationships to the structure of the Hittite vassal treaties, a stature that changed after the twelfth century BC and is not attested elsewhere except in the covenant of Deuteronomy.”
A paper written by Russ Meek and entitled “The Suzerain Vassal Treaty (Covenant) in the Old Testament” helps us comprehend what a vassal treaty is. Meek relays that a vassal treaty is a covenant between a greater and lesser party. The greater party protects militarily and grants land allocation to the lesser party. The lesser party, in turn, gives tribute, mainly financial, back to the greater party.
By understanding Deuteronomy, not simply as the last book in the Mosaic writings, but in the genre of ancient Near-Eastern vassal treaties of the second millennium, a whole host of understanding comes forth. In Peter Craigie's book, Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, he breaks down the vassal treaty structure of Deuteronomy in the following: Preamble, Historical Prologue, General Stipulations, Specific Stipulations, Blessings and Curses, and Witness. In his work, Kaiser references a Hittite Treaty and therefore breaks Deuteronomy down into a similar six part structure: Preamble, Historic Prologue, Stipulations, Blessings and Curses, Witnesses, and Successions/Preservation. Whether with Craigie’s or Kaiser’s six-point breakdown of Deuteronomy, chapter 6 would fall into some form of the category of stipulations, which are the requirements of the covenant between God and the Israelite people.
In the category of stipulations as a whole, one can find the “Ten Commandments in the Law of Deuteronomy,” as Hess puts it. Unlike the clear-cut presentation of these ten commandments in Exodus 20, these are spread out across the book, bringing a fuller understanding of the requirements of the roles of the greater and lesser parties in the vassal treaty dynamic. Deuteronomy starts off these ten commandments with the singular focus on God as Israel's only Lord. In Meek's paper, he writes, “Consequently, vassals could have only one suzerain, for to take another ‘lord’ or ‘father’ would be tantamount to treason.” Taking this into account, the words of Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.", give the understanding of who this one and only Lord the Israelites are to follow. This God, wo the Israelites are considering entering into covenant with, is unique from every other deity out there. To follow anyone would be treason according to the terms of the treaty.
It is within the genre of a vassal treaty that we turn our attention to how Deuteronomy is structured. Many scholars have taken great lengths to dissect Deuteronomy in many ways as to help understand the genre of the book. From breaking the book down into two parts of “Rehearsal of the Journey” and “Spiritual Applications” as Jensen does. To Elmer L. Towns' five-fold structure of Introduction, Retrospect, Rehearsal, Renewal, Conclusion. Though the book is based on a vassal treaty genre, the writing structure, as Paul N. Benware points out, is a series of reviews. Richard S. Hess refers to Moses as being “God's mouthpiece” and calls his discourse “address or sermons.” Viewing Deuteronomy as a series of sermons to communicate the vassal treaty helps us break down the book into easier-to-digest segments.
Benware separates these sermons or reviews into four parts: Israel's from Sinai to Moab, The Law to the Next Generation, Covenant Relationship, and the Final Work of Moses. The first four chapters would then see Moses’ summation of Israel's journey from the mountain of God, where the covenant was first established, to Moab’s plains, where the covenant was re-established with a new generation. In a sense, Moab is the Sinai of this new generation. Whereas the previous generation turned to other gods, this new generation will not. From this, we see the bulk of the reviews, or sermons, focusing on the Law that God handed down to the people. This may be seen as a parallel between Moses’ first declaration of God's Law from Sinai. In light of all that God has done and all that God requires of the people, chapters 27-30 would call the people to enter into this covenant relationship. This call to accept the conditions is not to be taken lightly. Moses explains both the blessings and curses that come from entering into the covenant and then either following or rejecting it once established. Israel enters into the covenant in chapter 29, and in the closing chapters, we see Moses give his final words to the nation. These final words come through a song, a blessing, and a brief epilogue of Moses’ life.
It is within the second review, or sermon, that the chapter we are looking at resides. Hess breaks the chapter down into two parts: Verses 1-9 and 10-25. Hess focuses heavily in his writing on the first nine verses, as do most commentaries. This is most likely due to the Shema’s centrality in Jewish worship and the fact that when asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded by quoting this section of Scripture. Hess states the implications of the Shema “…are that God's word does appeal to reason and understanding, that obeying it fulfills the most basic human desires/needs, and that accomplishing this does not lie beyond a person's ability.”
What follows the Shema is a call, not simply to know and understand, but to teach the next generation. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. points out that through the rest of the chapter, God answers the question posed in verse 20, “What is the meaning of the testimonies and statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?” within the context of the chapter itself. Kaiser states, “The answer is always to tell the story all over again of God’s mighty acts in the exodus. Because of God’s grace, obedience is as natural as for any grateful person who has been snatched from death's door.”
With the literary understanding of the placement of Deuteronomy in the canon of Scripture, it’s genre as an ancient Near-Eastern vassal treaty, and the structure of both the book and passage in our minds, we turn our attention to the final section of this paper, the theological implications of the passage.
Theology Implications
From what I have discussed throughout this paper, I would like to draw attention to three theological implications from the book and the passage. These three implications are as follows: our choice matters, our listening matter, and teaching matters. What follows will contain theology and the practical application of that theology, which should be the goal of every excursion into the Scriptures.
In our first theological implication, we will look at how our choice matters. In relaying the theological themes of Deuteronomy, as found in the Zondervan’s Archaeological Study Bible, the commentary writers note this, “The covenant exhorted God’s people to teach, remember and obey (Dt.6:6-25). God promised that obedience would bring blessings (28:1-14) but warned that disobedience would result in harm (28:15-68).” The commentary's point is that choice is given to the people whether to agree and carry out the covenant presented to them on the plains of Moab or not.
The choice Moses sets before the nation of Israel is a choice that people are called to make throughout the Scriptures and into today. In his final address in the twenty-fourth chapter of his book, Joshua also calls the people to make a choice, “14 Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This choice echoes down to the ultimate decision of choosing to accept the Lord Jesus as one’s Savior or not. In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, after he laid out the history of the nation of Israel before the Jewish people, this is what the book of Acts records, “36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ 38 And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
The choice of entering into a covenant relationship with God has always been the norm for the people of God. Whether it was the Israelites who stood at Mt. Sinai, their children on the plains of Moab, a Jewish pilgrim at the day of Pentecost, or someone in a church service today, each is called to a covenantal relationship with God Almighty. The only difference between the covenant that Moses called the people to then, and the one that is accomplished through Jesus, is that the second is an eternal one not based on the lesser vassal but solely based on the greater suzerain’s work.
Our choice is first to accept the work of Jesus on our behalf. To recognize our sinfulness, agreeing with the Scriptures that we have fallen short of God’s glory, and our eternal destination is that of separation from God. Then to accept, confessing, “…with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” When we make that choice, we are adopted into God’s family, and we are now standing in the new covenant of God. It is a covenant, not based on what we can do but based on what he has done for us.
The second theological implication that we can walk away with comes from the Shema in the passage we are looking at in Deuteronomy 6. Verse 4 begins “šə·ma’”, “shema/shama”, or “hear”. The word is used roughly fifty-six times throughout the Old Testament. The New American Standard Bible translates it as listen or obey twenty-eight times, implying that the word hear doesn’t mean to take in information but to incorporate and execute what is being heard in our lives.
In Jesus’ earthy ministry, he uses the phrase “He who has ears to hear, let him hear…” in various forms. In Mark 8, Jesus enters into a conversation with the disciples who are worrying about having food. Jesus speaks to them saying, “17b Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand…(ESV)” In every instance Jesus’ call is to not have his words wash over us in a passive way but rather to engage, understand and put those words into practice. Hence Jesus’ words, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
God’s covenantal people cannot be satisfied that they have that word of God before them; they must hear, listen, and obey that word. It must be in us and come out of us. We must apply it to our daily living and have it penetrate every aspect of our being. As Moses tells the people, “6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” We must also bind the word of God to our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to “…teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
This can be accomplished through study, as we have done through this paper. We can implement God’s word through biblical meditation on what he has said. Our actions can be directed if we seek the Holy Spirit in our prayer lives as we go about our days. We must seek the reading and application of God’s word if we are to follow him rightly.
This brings us to our last theological implication from chapter 6 of Deuteronomy, that of teaching. Moses states, “7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and 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…When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’”
Parents are the primary communicators of God’s truth. Paul N. Benware writes, “The priests and Levites functioned as teachers of this law. But even more significant than the instructions by these men were the teachings of the parents. Parents were to be the key in the communication of God’s truth from generation to generation.” It is too easy to allow pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, evangelists, small group and Bible study leaders to take the teacher's role in our children's lives. Yet, it is the parent who is called to be the primary teacher of the glories of God. I have had parents pose the question to me after their teenager has found themselves in some sort of trouble, “What are you teaching those kids at your church?” The implications are obvious, it’s the pastor’s job to teach kids to behave. However, the Bible puts the weight on making sure that a child knows God thoroughly upon the parents. If the parent does not seek to communicate God’s word to the child, one sizable strand of the work is cut, and the instruction is severely impeded.
Benware also points out that parents would eventually violate this task. This resulted in generations not “knowing the Lord,” as recorded in Judges 2:10. This eventual degradation of the transmission from one generation to the next of God’s word, led to a cycle of rebellion, destruction, repentance, and forgiveness in the nation of Israel. Ultimately, the cycle would end in a complete break of the covenant and Israel was led into exile. How often today do we see this same cycle in our own lives? How many seemingly godly families have fallen apart just a generation after their godly grandparents leave this mortal realm? We must take hold of the call on our lives to teach our children what God has done. We must impress upon them the word of God, hoping that they would understand it clearly, rather than not at all. For if we do not take our responsibility seriously, why should they take our God seriously in their own lives?
Conclusion
It is here that I will bring this paper to a close. We have spent the last several pages examining three aspects of Deuteronomy. We have looked at the historical and cultural background of the book and passage. Within the historical/cultural aground we explored the author and the title of the book, when it was written, and how the book's environment all speak to the writer’s intent. We then turned our attention to looking at Deuteronomy from a literary standpoint. This was accomplished by recognizing its place with the canon of Scripture, its genre of a Near-Eastern vassal treaty, and its structure as a final series of reviews. This all helped us understand Deuteronomy’s place within the overall scope of Scripture. Finally, we looked at three theological implications from the book of Deuteronomy and specially from chapter 6. These implications were that our choice to follow God matters, our need to put God’s word into practice matters, and our responsibility to teach our children matters.
Through this time, I pray that God has brought to mind a deeper understanding of the book of Deuteronomy. I know I have significantly benefited from this study, and I am glad to be challenged with such a task.
Sources Cited
Biblehub. “Interlinear Bible.” Accessed March 9 & 24, 2021.
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/shema_8085.htm
Brent A. Strawn, “Moses at Moab, Lincoln at Gettysburg? On the Genre of Deuteronomy, Again*,” Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte, no. 24 (2018): 153-210. https://worldcat.org/ILL/articleexchange/FileDownloadLogin/9oAefJuo8.
Crossway Bibles. ESV: The MacArthur Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2010.
Elmer L. Towns, “Deuteronomy,” in Liberty Bible Commentary: The Old-Time Gospel Hour Edition. Volume 1, edited by Jerry Falwell, Edward E. Hindson, and Woodrow Michael Kroll. Lynchburg, VA: Old Time Gospel Hour, 1982.
Irving L. Jenson, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament. Chicago, Il: The Moody Bible Institute, 1978.
Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Richard D. Patterson. Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011.
My Jewish Learning. “The Shema” August 17, 2015. Accessed March 10, 2021,
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-shema/
Paul N. Benware, Survey of the Old Testament Revised: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1993.
Paul R. House and Eric Mitchell, Old Testament Survey 2nd Edition. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2007.
Peter Craigie, Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rabid, Mi: Eerdmans, 1976.
Richard S. Hess, The Old Testament: A Historical, Theological, and Critical Introduction Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016.
Russ Meek, “The Suzerain Vassal Treaty (Covenant) in the Old Testament” October 14, 2020. Accessed March 17, 2021,
https://russmeek.com/2020/10/the-suzerain-vassal-treaty-covenant-in-the-old-testament/
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Deuteronomy,” in The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, edited by Gary M Burge and Andrew E. Hill. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012.
Zondervan Corporation, Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.
