Deuteronomy 6: Love the Lord With All
The Shema sounds Israel's central call—the LORD is one, so love him with everything, and pass that love to your children.
Deuteronomy 6 (WEB)
1 Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it;
2 that you might fear Yahweh your God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you; you, and your son, and your son’s son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged.
3 Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
6 These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart;
7 and 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 up.
8 You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates.
10 It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and goodly cities, which you didn’t build,
11 and houses full of all good things, which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out, which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full;
12 then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
13 You shall fear Yahweh your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name.
14 You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you;
15 for Yahweh your God in your midst is a jealous God; lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
16 You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.
17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he has commanded you.
18 You shall do that which is right and good in the sight of Yahweh; that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to your fathers,
19 to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
20 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh our God has commanded you mean?”
21 then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
22 and Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes;
23 and he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore to our fathers.
24 Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day.
25 It shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.”
Deuteronomy 6 (KJV)
1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15 (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,
19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto 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 it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.
Deuteronomy 6 (ASV)
1 Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it;
2 that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:
5 and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt 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.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not,
11 and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full;
12 then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
13 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;
15 for Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee is a jealous God; lest the anger of Jehovah thy God be kindled against thee, and he destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of Jehovah; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers,
19 to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.
20 When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?
21 then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
22 and Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes;
23 and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And Jehovah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day.
25 And it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as he hath commanded us.
Summary
Moses gives Israel the commandment they are to do in the land so that they and their children may fear the LORD and live long. At the center stands the Shema, the great confession that the LORD is our God, the LORD is one. From this flows the first and greatest command: to love the LORD with all the heart, all the soul, and all the might. These words are to be on their hearts, taught diligently to their children, spoken of at home and on the road, at lying down and rising up, bound on their hands, set before their eyes, and written on their doorposts. Moses warns that prosperity is its own danger: when God brings them into a good land full of houses they did not build and wells they did not dig, they must beware lest they grow full and forget the LORD who brought them out of slavery. They are to fear and serve him alone, never following other gods, never putting him to the test as they did at Massah, but doing what is right in his sight. Finally, Moses tells them how to answer their children's future questions about the meaning of the law: by retelling the story of redemption, how they were Pharaoh's slaves and the LORD brought them out with a mighty hand to bring them into the land he had sworn to give.
Key Themes
- The LORD is one — The foundational confession of Israel's faith, that Yahweh alone is God, claiming the whole-hearted love of his people.
- Wholehearted love — The first and greatest command—to love the LORD with all the heart, soul, and might—from which all obedience flows.
- Teaching the next generation — The call to impress God's words on children at every moment, so faith is passed from parents to sons and daughters.
- Remembering redemption — The story Israel must rehearse and retell—that they were slaves whom the LORD delivered—guarding them from forgetting in prosperity.
Key Verse
Deuteronomy 6:5 (WEB)
You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
Lessons Learned
- Because the LORD alone is God, he claims our whole, undivided love.
- Faith is meant to be woven into daily life and passed on to children deliberately.
- Prosperity can be more spiritually dangerous than hardship if it leads us to forget God.
- We are not to test God by demanding proof, but to trust and obey him.
- Passing on faith means retelling the story of God's saving grace.
- God is one, so love him wholly. “Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4, WEB) grounds the command to love him with “all your heart… soul… and might” (6:5). Undivided God, undivided love.
- Faith is taught in the everyday. “Teach them diligently to your children… when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way” (Deuteronomy 6:7, WEB). Discipleship happens in ordinary moments.
- Beware forgetting in plenty. “Beware lest you forget Yahweh” when full of good things you did not earn (Deuteronomy 6:12, WEB). Comfort can quietly crowd out gratitude.
- Tell the story of grace. When children ask, answer, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves… Yahweh brought us out” (Deuteronomy 6:21, WEB). Faith is handed on through the story of redemption.
- What does it mean that “Yahweh is one” (6:4), and how does that truth ground the command to love him with all we are?
- How does verse 5 describe the kind of love God desires? What would loving God with heart, soul, and might look like in practice?
- Moses describes weaving God's words into every part of daily life (6:6-9). How intentional are we about passing faith to the next generation?
- Why is forgetting God a special danger in seasons of comfort and plenty (6:10-12)?
- Jesus called verse 5 the greatest commandment, and he answered Satan with words from this chapter (6:16). Where is your love for God being divided, and how might you return to loving him with everything?
- If the LORD alone is God, with no rivals, then he rightly claims all of us; a divided heart would deny his uniqueness. The oneness of God is the foundation for the wholeness of our devotion—nothing and no one else may share his throne in our lives.
- Heart, soul, and might cover affection, life, and strength—the whole person. Loving God this way means our desires, our inner life, and our resources are all turned toward him. It is not mere feeling but a comprehensive devotion expressed in how we live every day.
- Moses pictures faith spoken of constantly, at home and away, morning and night, visible everywhere. The chapter challenges us to be deliberate rather than passive, recognizing that children absorb what we treasure. Encourage practical, ordinary rhythms of faith in the home.
- When God supplies houses, wells, and vineyards we did not labor for, we can begin to credit ourselves and forget the Giver. Plenty dulls our sense of dependence. The remedy is active remembrance—gratitude and worship that keep God at the center of our abundance.
- This is a personal-application question rich with gospel connection. Jesus named this the greatest command and lived it perfectly, even resisting temptation with this very chapter. Invite members to name where love is divided and to turn back to wholehearted devotion, leaning on Christ.