Read Deu 6:4-7:11 at Bible Gateway.
Previously: have no other gods before God
Please review the teaching tools of scripture, especially the paragraph divisions. The paragraphs marked by an “s” at their close are weak paragraphs, which indicate a change of facet but not a change of theme or topic. The paragraphs marked by a “p” at their close are strong paragraphs, which indicate the completion of a theme or topic.
Now this section is the first section explaining the first commandment, Worship YHVH only, which we discovered was THE commandment. (The first commandment is explained in Deu 6:4-11:25, and this is my summary of it.) The opening section of this explanation forms a single unit teaching a complete overarching theme or topic:
Deu 6:4-9 {s} Listen to YHVH’s commandments
Deu 6:10-15 {s} Pay careful heed to YHVH’s commandments
Deu 6:16-19 {s} Observe YHVH’s commandments
Deu 6:20-25 {s} Teach YHVH’s commandments to your children
Deu 7:1-11 {p} YHVH has set His love upon Israel
I ask, “Why has the Spirit of God set these particular paragraphs together to explain a single overarching theme? What can that overarching theme be?” The key is in Deu 7:1-11, the first time in Scripture where God overtly declares His strong love and passion for Israel, His chosen people and His bride. Yes, the covenant which YHVH made with Israel on Mt. Sinai, which included the giving of the Commandments immediately preceding this section, is in the form of a ketubah, a Hebrew marriage covenant! Later in the Prophets, YHVH declares Himself to be the Husband of Israel (Jer 31:32), and in Revelation, it is the woman crowned with twelve stars who bears the Messiah (Rev 12:1-5) – this woman is Israel, the wife of YHVH, who bears YHVH His only begotten Son, the Promised Seed, and fulfills the prophecy of Gen 3:15!
In other words, this single strong paragraph is teaching us, that because YHVH loves His people with great love, He has given them His commandments. His commandments, if kept, open the window of blessing on a people. They have been given, not to provide Israel with eternal life, but to provide Israel with everything needed for peace, health, prosperity, and happiness in the natural life on this side of heaven.
I repeat to be absolutely clear: YHVH did not give His people His commandments to save them for eternity (Gal 2:16, Heb 7:19)! Nor did He give His people His commandments to burden them with commandment keeping (Mat 11:28-30, Jam 1:25)! No, rather, He gave His people His commandments to obey, because He loves His people, and desires for them to experience the blessing of health, peace, prosperity, success, and happiness in everything they set their hands to do, in this life!
“So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am YHVH.” Lev 18:5
“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, is giving you.” Deu 4:1
“So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which YHVH your God is giving you for all time.” Deu 4:40
“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which YHVH your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear YHVH your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as YHVH, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Deu 6:1-3
“So YHVH commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear YHVH our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.” Deu 6:24
“And now, Israel, what does YHVH your God require of you, but to fear YHVH your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve YHVH your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of YHVH, which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deu 10:12-13
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey YHVH your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, YHVH your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey YHVH your God.” Deu 28:1-2
The first thing we learn, then, in how to Worship YHVH Only, is to know how great His love is for us! (We love Him, because He first loved us, 1 Joh 4:19!) So great, in fact, that He has blessed us with the wisdom of His commandments, so that all will be well with us! So let us keep the truth and knowledge of His love, and the truth and knowledge of His commandments, ever before us, and not let them depart from our eyes, our ears, or our hearts!
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