Jesus said that the command to love the Lord your God is the greatest command in the Bible. His love for God the Father was powerfully demonstrated in his obedience, even to death on a cross.
But it’s a funny thing to think through a command to love. I hate cheese, and no command could make me like it, let alone love it. How can a command to love the Lord your God actually work?
People have meditated over this chapter for several thousand years, and you and I do well to do the same today.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church in April 2024. You can find more in the series in our Sermon Index.
Love God (1-9)
We’ll need to slow down and look at some specific words and phrases. First off, look at the phrase “so that” in v1-3. Read Deuteronomy 6:1-3.
Moses was to teach God’s laws to the people so that they would keep them in the land they were entering. Then they were to obey so that they and their descendants would fear the Lord, and so that they would live long, prosper, and multiply in the land. Living long, prospering and multiply were basically promised blessings from the covenant (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28).
But why should obeying God’s law promote fear of him? And why is that a good thing anyway?
Fear God
The Bible speaks of fearing God in two ways:
- First, there’s the trembling fear of punishment in anyone who does wrong. If you’ve never asked for forgiveness, you really should fear his punishment.
- Second, God’s own people are to fear him with an awe-filled reverence, a holy humility before one so great.
The law of God absolutely fuels that second kind of fear – an awe-filled reverence.
- The tabernacle system of worship speaks of it. He is too holy to approach normally.
- Other laws on holy society also promote a godly fear:
- His laws to protect widows, orphans, the poor, and all vulnerable people show his great compassion.
- They also show how he watches over the affairs of people for good.
- And knowing that God’s holiness and compassion are gloriously displayed in Christ, you do well to consider a holy fear of him too – but not a fear of punishment, if you are his.
- But he is also gracious, and gave a system of sacrifice so that a sinner could approach and have fellowship with him.
But if that’s what it is to fear God, the next two verses level up!
Love God
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-5. It’s known as the “shema” because that’s the first Hebrew word (“Listen” or “hear”). The singular focus of your worship is to be to the Lord your God, since he is one and there is no other beside him.
This magnifies the mystery of the Trinity, obviously, since the Father and the Son and the Spirit is/are this One God. Each is God, distinct, but not separate from each other in infinity deity.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
- There are no exact English translations for the three key words of heart, soul and strength.
- The same went for Greek, which is why the New Testament quotes with heart, mind, soul, and strength.
- It doesn’t matter that much though, as we’ll see.
- By “heart”, the Hebrew writers meant your mind, your will, your intention.
- Too often, you hear God’s commands but have no intention of obeying. You excuse yourself, and so choose not to love him.
with all your soul,
- Again, what’s meant isn’t your eternal existence separate from your flesh.
- By “soul” the Hebrew writers meant your emotions, your desires, even your own personal characteristics. “You.”
- Bless the Lord, O my soul; all that is within me bless…”
and with all your strength
- The word translated “strength” is everywhere else translated “very”. Love him with all your “very”!
- It has an idea of loving him with every effort, every excess.
You’re to love the Lord your God with all your intention, all your emotion, all your everything – all that you are.
No wonder Jesus said it was the greatest command; it’s the command that is the most appropriate response to the greatness of God.
So fear God (awe-filled reverence) and love him (utterly with your whole self, holding nothing back).
Speak of God
And then: Make sure you don’t hide your love away! Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
You might have texts on your walls at home, or you might not. But when you have fear and love for God, you’ll talk about it. Christian families should have Christian discussion (not exclusively, obviously). Parents and grandparents are to teach the next generation.
In our modern world, you can extend this to Social Media, sharing and being open about God’s greatness and goodness. And here’s the thing: It’s in this teaching of children (and others) that you will unlock the secret of turning your heart to love the Lord your God.
But first, two warnings:
Love God in good times and bad times (10-19)
The Discipleship Explored course opens with a pastor in Eastern Europe saying this:
“For Christians in the West, I wish you persecution.
Discipleship Explored
Then you will know the sweetness of Christ.”
He’s worried about what happens for Christians when life is easy. Read Deuteronomy 6:10-15.
We sometimes talk about how hard it is to take the Good News of Christ to people who are comfortably well off – they feel they don’t need him. But it’s often hard to galvanise the comfortable believer too.
Do you really fear the Lord? You know what it’s like at school or work when someone in authority enters the room? Everyone looking busy! Maybe it’s fear of getting in trouble for idleness. Maybe it’s respect, giving a fresh sense of purpose, wanting to please.
Our lives of ease in the West mean that you probably won’t pray as earnestly as a believer in Ukraine, for example. The warning in these verses is against getting comfortable.
Never forget your utter dependence on the Lord. Fear him (v13). Not least because Jesus is always the shade at your right hand. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Don’t forget the Lord when times are good.
Grumbling
Likewise, don’t test the Lord with grumbling when times are hard. Read Deuteronomy 6:16-19.
What happened at Massah?
- It was in Exodus 17. The Israelites had escaped Egypt but hadn’t yet reached Mt Sinai.
- They were thirsty but had no water. Certainly not living a live of comfortable ease.
- They’d just been miraculously saved by God, but now things were hard again they were doubting him: “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The commands to Love the Lord your God and not to test the Lord your God were two of the three texts Jesus quoted to Satan when he was with him in the wilderness. Make no mistake: Jesus had meditated greatly on Deuteronomy 6.
He would not make the mistake of testing the Father with distrust and doubt just because things got tough. The Bible has a catalogue of godly men who went through many bad times: Job, Jeremiah, Paul, and Christ himself. All were firmly in the will of God, and all were obedient in the dark times.
So you can see how the chapter is developing:
- Fear God.
- Love the Lord your God with all your heart (intention), with all your soul (emotion), and all your strength (extension).
- Don’t forget the Lord when times are good.
- Don’t distrust the Lord when times are bad.
He is for you, to bless you, in love for you.
But you may well have a nagging feeling: How can you be commanded to love?
Obey to love; love to obey (20-25)
It’s been said that if you want to master something, teach it. That’s something of what the next verses tell you to do. Read Deuteronomy 6:20-25.
Notice again the expectation that you’re to pass truth on to the next generation.
A child might ask, “Why do we have to keep all these Bible laws and live so differently from other people?”
- You could answer, “Because God said so” or even, “Because it’s in the Bible.”
- But the answer is the Bible actually gives you here is more of a national testimony:
- God loved us, saved us from slavery, and brought us to this amazingly rich and wonderful land – just as he promised our ancestors he would.
- He is amazing, and we fear him with awe-filled reverence – and that’s for our good.
- We keep his laws because they are good and because he continues to shower blessing on us and live among us.
- Righteousness will be ours when we do: That is, we enter into the blessing of everything being right, as it should be, in a world ordered by him.
Whether it’s in your home, a relative’s home, or Sunday Sparks, the aim is much more than simply teaching Bible stories.
- You should aim even for more than simple obedience.
- As you give testimony to the Lord in your life, your will speak with gratitude and love for God.
- And it’s your heart for God that will be taught more powerfully than anything.
- Here’s the key thing: As you obey this command to teach others, your love for God will be rekindled as you remember his goodness and salvation to you.
Circle of growth in obedience and love
Get that? As you obey, you will grow in love.
As you love him, you will grow in obedience.
If you love him, you will keep his commands (as Jesus said).
But what we’re seeing here is that if you keep his commands, you will love him.
Why? Because you will be reminded that he first loved you, and saved you, and brought you into blessing.
Example commands
Some simple example commands make the point.
You’re commanded to pray.
- Cast all your cares and worries on him. Go to Jesus for rest for your soul.
- Place your petitions and requests at his feet.
- As you do so, you will experience a Father who loves you with perfect goodness, power, and wisdom.
- You will see him at work in your life, and learn to love him more.
- The command to pray will lead you to love.
Also, you’re commanded to give.
- You’re to be generous, hospitable, giving more than taking.
- When you do that, you begin to realise more fully that everything you have and are are actually from him and to him anyway.
- So he’s not richer for your giving, nor are you truly any poorer.
- The command to give will lead you to love.
How about the great command to love?
- It’s easy to love loveable people!
- But what about when people hurt you, or sin against you?
- What if those people are sorry when they realise what they’ve done, and come to you for forgiveness?
- You’ve got to love them.
- So you’ll have to forgive them. The challenge of forgiveness teaches you the depth of God’s grace to you.
- The command to love people will lead you to love God.
And so it goes. Step into the virtuous circle of obedience to God feeding love for him, generating yet further obedience. As you step out of that, into disobedience, your heart will grow cold in love for him and you’ll slip further into disobedience.
So we finish with an uncomfortable truth, and a glorious one:
- If you have never come to faith in Christ
- If you have never repented of your sin, experienced his forgiveness, prayed to him for life,
- Then you have no experience of him that would prompt your obedience for life.
- You will inevitably slip away from him one day.
- That doesn’t need to happen. You can call out to him right now and begin your eternal journey with him!
- But if you have come to faith in Christ and entered life
- You’ll know that you still sin, even though you hate it.
- You’re not the obedient Christian you wish you were.
- Every day is a repentance day. He won’t let you go.
- Once you are his, he will never let you go.
- So keep going back to him. Your love will grow.
- And love feeds obedience which feeds love…