Deuteronomy 6:17

6:17-25 Moses gives charge to keep God's commandments. Negligence will ruin us; but we cannot be saved without diligence. It is our interest, as well as our duty, to be religious. It will be our life. Godliness has the promise of the continuance and comfort of the life that now is, as far as it is for God's glory. It will be our righteousness. It is only through the Mediator we can be righteous before God. The knowledge of the spirituality and excellency of the holy law of God, is suited to show sinful man his need of a Saviour, and to prepare his heart to welcome a free salvation. The gospel honours the law, not only in the perfect obedience of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ; but in that it is a plan for bringing back apostate rebels and enemies, by repentance, faith, forgiveness, and renewing grace, to love God above all things, even in this world; and in the world above, to love him perfectly, even as angels love him.

The command "to swear by His Name" is not inconsistent with the Lord's injunction Matthew 5:34 , "Swear not at all." Moses refers to legal swearing, our Lord to swearing in common conversation. It is not the purpose of Moses to encourage the practice of taking oaths, but to forbid that, when taken, they should be taken in any other name than that of Israel's God. The oath involves an invocation of Deity, and so a solemn recognition of Him whose Name is made use of in it. Hence, it comes especially within the scope of the commandment Moses is enforcing.

CHAPTER 6 De 6:1-25. Moses Exhorts Israel to Hear God and to Keep His Commandments. 1-9. Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them … whither ye go to possess it—The grand design of all the institutions prescribed to Israel was to form a religious people, whose national character should be distinguished by that fear of the Lord their God which would ensure their divine observance of His worship and their steadfast obedience to His will. The basis of their religion was an acknowledgment of the unity of God with the understanding and the love of God in the heart (De 6:4, 5). Compared with the religious creed of all their contemporaries, how sound in principle, how elevated in character, how unlimited in the extent of its moral influence on the heart and habits of the people! Indeed, it is precisely the same basis on which rests the purer and more spiritual form of it which Christianity exhibits (Mt 22:37; Mr 12:30; Lu 10:27). Moreover, to help in keeping a sense of religion in their minds, it was commanded that its great principles should be carried about with them wherever they went, as well as meet their eyes every time they entered their homes. A further provision was made for the earnest inculcation of them on the minds of the young by a system of parental training, which was designed to associate religion with all the most familiar and oft-recurring scenes of domestic life.

It is probable that Moses used the phraseology in De 6:7 merely in a figurative way, to signify assiduous, earnest, and frequent instruction; and perhaps he meant the metaphorical language in De 6:8 to be taken in the same sense also. But as the Israelites interpreted it literally, many writers suppose that a reference was made to a superstitious custom borrowed from the Egyptians, who wore jewels and ornamental trinkets on the forehead and arm, inscribed with certain words and sentences, as amulets to protect them from danger. These, it has been conjectured, Moses intended to supersede by substituting sentences of the law; and so the Hebrews understood him, for they have always considered the wearing of the Tephilim, or frontlets, a permanent obligation. The form was as follows: Four pieces of parchment, inscribed, the first with Ex 13:2-10; the second with Ex 13:11-16; the third with De 6:1-8; and the fourth with De 11:18-21, were enclosed in a square case or box of tough skin, on the side of which was placed the Hebrew letter (shin), and bound round the forehead with a thong or ribbon. When designed for the arms, those four texts were written on one slip of parchment, which, as well as the ink, was carefully prepared for the purpose.

They were rather to observe all His commandments diligently, and do what was right and good in His eyes. The infinitive וגו להדף contains the further development of וגו ייטב למען: "so that He (Jehovah) thrust out all thine enemies before thee, as He hath spoken" (viz., Exodus 23:27 ., Deuteronomy 34:11 ).

Verses 17-19. - (Cf. vers. 6, 7, 12.) Thou mayest not eat ; literally, thou art not able to eat ; i . e . there is a legal inability to this. So the verb to be able ( יָכֹל ) is frequently used (cf. Genesis 43 ; Numbers 9:6 ; Deuteronomy 16:5 ; Deuteronomy 17:15 , etc.). Deuteronomy 12:17

The immediate connection of Deuteronomy 12:17 with Deuteronomy 12:14 is clear. On these grounds Deuteronomy 12:15-16 are generally taken as a later insertion. Note, too, the Pl. ye shall not eat in 16. The Pl. does not occur in the rest of this statement of the law and may well be due to the hand that has made this addition; as so many of these sporadic changes of address are found in editorial additions. The LXX confirms the Pl. here: the Sam. Sg. may be due to harmonising. Deuteronomy 12:17 . Direct continuation of Deuteronomy 12:13-14 , completing the list of offerings to be brought to the one altar. On the contents see on Deuteronomy 12:6; Deuteronomy 12:11 : the phraseology is however, characteristic of the Sg. passages. Thou mayest not ] Heb., lit. thou shalt not be able : in the sense thou must or darest not only in Sg. passages: here, Deuteronomy 16:5 , Deuteronomy 17:15 , Deuteronomy 22:3 , or with he , Deuteronomy 21:16 ; Deuteronomy 22:19 ; Deuteronomy 22:29 ; Deuteronomy 24:4 . within thy gates ] Thy homestead or town of residence: used almost exclusively with Sg. ( Deuteronomy 5:14 , Deuteronomy 12:17 f., 21, Deuteronomy 14:21 ; Deuteronomy 14:27-29 , Deuteronomy 15:22 , Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 , Deuteronomy 17:8 , Deuteronomy 24:14 , Deuteronomy 26:12 , Deuteronomy 31:12 , cp. Deuteronomy 28:57 ). Only one Pl. passage has it, Deuteronomy 12:12 . Deuteronomy 12:18 . See on Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:7; Deuteronomy 12:12 . Deuteronomy 12:19 .

The terms of the promise are strongly Deuteronomic: see Deuteronomy 6:2 ; Deuteronomy 25:15 , and (in the form ‘prolong days’) Deuteronomy 4:26 ; Deuteronomy 4:40 , Deuteronomy 5:33 , Deuteronomy 11:9 , Deuteronomy 17:20 , Deuteronomy 22:7 , Deuteronomy 30:18 , Deuteronomy 32:47 ; and, for the following clause, upon the land , &c., Deuteronomy 3:20 , Deuteronomy 11:17 ; Deuteronomy 11:31 , Deuteronomy 15:7 , Deuteronomy 16:20 , Deuteronomy 17:14 , Deuteronomy 18:9 , &c., and especially Deuteronomy 4:40 , Deuteronomy 25:15 . giveth ] is giving (i.e. is in the course of giving, is about to give); so in all the passages of Dt. just quoted (and in many similar ones in the same book besides). The standpoint of the Exodus is assumed. The land is not, as ‘giveth’ in itself might suggest, the possession of the individual Israelite, but Canaan.