Chapter 6

1 The end of the law is obedience, 3 An exhortation thereto.

1. Commandments. The same Hebrew words in the same order as in ch. 5:31.

2. Fear the Lord. The Hebrew word “to fear” means “to stand in awe of,” “to reverence,” “to honor” (see on ch. 4:10).

3. Increase mightily. Compare the promise of God to the patriarchs (Gen. 12:2; 17:6; 22:17, 18).

4. The Lord our God is one Lord. Literally, “Jehovah our God, Jehovah [is] One.” In striking contrast to the nations about them, who were polytheists, the Hebrews believed in one true God. This profession of faith has been the watchword of the Hebrew race for more than 3,000 years (see Mark 12:29). The apostle Paul states the same truth as a tenet of Christianity (1 Cor. 8:4–6; Eph. 4:4–6).

Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, the oldest extant Hebrew manuscript of any part of the OT was the Nash Papyrus, of the 1st century b.c., which contains the Decalogue and Deut. 6:4, 5.

5. Love. The Hebrew word here translated “love” is a general term that also suggests the ideas “desire,” “affection,” “inclination,” the more intimate cleaving of soul to soul. The believer’s relation to God is based on love (1 John 4:19), and love is the fundamental principle of His law (Mark 12:29, 30). To love perfectly is to obey wholeheartedly (John 14:15; 15:10).

Thine heart. Christianity calls for all that a man is and has—his mind, his affections, and his capacity for action (1 Thess. 5:23). The word here translated “heart” generally refers to the affections, feelings, desires, and will. It is the source of action and the center of thought and feeling (see Ex. 31:6; 36:2; 2 Chron. 9:23; Eccl. 2:23). The word translated “soul” denotes the animating principle in man, the life, but includes also his bodily appetites and desires (see Num. 21:5). It is rendered “appetite” in Prov. 23:2; Eccl. 6:7.

The word translated “might” is from a verb meaning “to increase.” The noun, as here, means “abundance,” and may refer to the things that have accrued to a man in this life.

6. In thine heart. Literally, “upon thine heart” (see ch. 11:18).

7. Teach. The word here translated “teach” means “to whet,” “to sharpen” (see Deut. 32:41; Ps. 64:3; 140:3; Isa. 5:28). This call, then, is for clear, incisive teaching. Parents have weighty responsibility to instruct their children in matters of duty and destiny, day by day.

8. Bind them. The Jews later took these words literally, wearing phylacteries upon the head and the inside of the left arm (see on Ex. 13:9).

9. On thy gates. It is a custom today insome Eastern countries to inscribe words of desired blessing and promise over doorways. Moslems and Hindus do it, as do the Chinese, particularly at the New Year season.

12. Beware. Verses 10–12 stood as a warning to Israel when they entered a land in which all the good things of life were abundantly supplied. They were not to become so engrossed with their new possessions as to forget their duties to God. With the increase of material goods there is ever the tendency to “forget the Lord,” by whose power these things are secured (ch. 8:18).

The house of bondage. Literally, “the house of slaves.” Here their former place of abode, Egypt, is referred to as a “house.”

13. Swear. That is, to bind oneself by an oath. The word thus translated is from the same root as the numeral seven. The implication is that when a man “swears” he binds himself seven times, meaning that he assumes an obligation from which nothing can set him free.

14. Other gods. This injunction is closely connected with v. 13: they were not even to mention the names of other gods (Ex. 23:13; Joshua 23:7; Jer. 5:7).

15. A jealous God. See Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24. The root of the word translated “jealous” means “to become intensely colored in the face,” that is, from deep emotions such as love, zeal, or anger. By His very nature God cannot be otherwise; how could He share the affections of His people with other gods (2 Cor. 6:14–17)? Light and darkness cannot exist together; to harbor darkness in the soul one must exclude the light.

16. Tempt. Literally, “test,” “try,” “prove.” Here it does not have the modern concept of enticing to sin. The same word is used of God’s “proving” or “testing” men, to develop their character and to strengthen their faith and loyalty to Him (see Gen. 22:1; Ex. 20:20; Deut. 8:2, 16; Dan. 1:14). The English word probation is from the same Latin root as the word prove. A period of probation is a period of testing or proving. At Massah, Israel reversed the process and defiantly put God to the test (Ex. 17:2, 7). When Satan challenged Christ to jump down from the cornice of the Temple, Christ quoted from Deut. 6:16 (Matt. 4:7). For Christ to have acceded to the suggestion would have demonstrated presumption rather than faith. Presumption is the counterfeit of faith.

18. Well with thee. Loyally discharged duties make it possible for God to bestow additional blessings. Again and again Moses emphasized the necessity of unswerving loyalty to Jehovah.

19. All thine enemies. That is, all who opposed their occupation of the Land of Promise. By their persistent refusal to honor the true God they had made themselves His enemies, and thus the enemies of His chosen people.

20. Thy son asketh thee. See Ex. 13:14. It was ever God’s mind that parents should assume the first responsibility of instructing children in their responsibilities to God.

23. He brought us out. Their miraculous deliverance from literal slavery was ever to be remembered as an evidence of the power of God and His claims upon them. Deliverance from Egypt implies also deliverance from sin (see Rom. 6:12–23; 8:21).

24. For our good. All that God requires of us is for our own good. The restrictions He places upon us are our protection against spiritual dangers that may not be apparent. A shepherd does not erect a fold about his sheep to prevent them from having a good time with the wolves, but rather that he “might preserve” them “alive.”

Preserve us alive. That is, both as a nation and as individuals.

25. Our righteousness. Literally, “righteousness shall be [credited] to us.” The idea is that compliance with God’s revealed will, in the strength He imparts to us (Rom. 8:3, 4; Gal. 2:20), is acceptable in His sight as if the “righteousness” were our own. A man is justified by faith alone (Rom. 5:1), but “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Ellen G. White comments

1    PK 296

4, 5 PP 305, 373

4-65T 328

4-9TM 140

5     COL 261

5-8CSW 46

6, 7 Ed 40, 187; ML 30

6-9MH 283

7     AH 324; CT 110, 181; Ed 185; Ev 499; Te 70; 1T 156, 390; 2T 398, 700

7-9COL 24; PP 468; 5T 328

8     DA 612; 4T 449

10-12PP 465

12   PK 181

13   Te 278

17   CD 402

20, 21  MH 283

20-25PP 468; 5T 330

24   DA 288; FE 414; MH 283

24, 25  CH 20, 24, 109, 231; ML 162; 8T 199