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Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Bible Families Wall Paper No.2

Exposition of Deuteronomy 6:4-9
2011 sees the 400th anniversary of the publication of
the Authorised Version of the Bible
otherwise known as the King James Version
Bible Families has been launched to encourage
the habit of family prayers around God’s Word
The following exercise in exegesis
(laying open the meaning of the text)
and exposition
(exposing the text to the reader and visa versa!)
is of a passage in the Old Testament about
the place of the Bible
in the family that wants to follow God.
Exposition of Deuteronomy 6:4-9
As a bow to the abiding value of
the KJV translators’ great achievement,
for this exercise we follow the New King James Version,
simply removing the archaisms of the KJV.

Note for preachers:

The following exegesis excludes other aspects of a full exegesis,
such as consideration of context and genre,
which have less acute bearing on this particular passage.
 The Text (New King James Version)
4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the Lord is one!
5. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
6. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be
in your heart:
7. 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 as a sign on your hand, and they shall
be as frontlets between your eyes.
9. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and
on your gates.
 The Units of Thought Listed
Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words, which I command you this day,
shall be in your heart:
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.
You shall bind them
as a sign
on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
You shall write them
on the doorposts of your house,
and on your gates.
 The Structure (shape)
Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words, which I command you this day,
shall be in your heart:
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.
You shall bind them
as a sign
on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
You shall write them
on the doorposts of your house,
and on your gates.
 The Action (Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?)
Hear, O Israel: [Why?]
The LORD our God, the Lord is one!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----

You shall love the LORD your God

with all your heart, [How?]
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words, which I command you this day,
shall be in your heart:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall teach them diligently

to your children,
and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, [When?]
and when you walk by the way,
and when you lie down,
and when you rise up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall bind them

as a sign
on your hand, [Where?]
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
You shall write them
on the doorposts of your house,
and on your gates.
 The Themes
Hear, O Israel: [Why?]
The LORD our God, the Lord is one! ONLY ONE GOD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----

You shall love the LORD your God DUTY TO LOVE GOD TOTALLY
with all your heart, [How?]
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words, which I command you this day,
shall be in your heart: DUTY TO EMBRACE GOD’S WORDS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall teach them DUTY TO TEACH CHILDREN GOD’S WORDS

diligently
to your children,
and shall talk of them DUTY TO TALK ABOUT GOD’S WORDS CONTINUALLY
when you sit in your house, [When?]
and when you walk by the way,
and when you lie down,
and when you rise up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall bind them DUTY TO KEEP GOD’S WORDS ON ONE’S PERSON
as a sign
on your hand, [Where?]
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
You shall write them DUTY TO DISPLAY GOD’S WORDS IN THE HOME
on the doorposts of your house,
and on your gates.
 The Subject (over-all)
Hear, O Israel: [Why?]
The LORD our God, the Lord is one! ONLY ONE GOD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----

You shall love the LORD your God DUTY TO LOVE GOD TOTALLY
with all your heart, [How?]
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words, which I command you this day,
shall be in your heart: DUTY TO EMBRACE GOD’S WORDS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall teach them DUTY TO TEACH CHILDREN GOD’S WORDS

diligently
to your children,
and shall talk of them DUTY TO TALK ABOUT GOD’S WORDS CONTINUALLY
when you sit in your house, [When?]
and when you walk by the way,
and when you lie down,
and when you rise up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You shall bind them DUTY TO KEEP GOD’S WORDS ON ONE’S PERSON
as a sign
on your hand, [Where?]
and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes.
You shall write them DUTY TO DISPLAY GOD’S WORDS IN THE HOME
on the doorposts of your house,
and on your gates.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

Loving God and His word? Teaching children? The place of God’s word in family life?
 The Teaching (on the Subject)
Subject:
The Place of God’s Word in Family Life
Teaching:
We should teach God’s Word to our children
because God is the only God.
(Ultimately there is no other source of truth!)
We should commit ourselves wholeheartedly
to God and his Word
before we start to teach our children.
We should teach our children diligently and continuously,
taking every opportunity everywhere
to talk about what God has said in his Word.
The Heart-beat (core message)

Subject:
The place of God’s words in family life

Core Message:
Do you love your Lord, the one true God, enough
to teach his Word at every opportunity to your children
and
openly display his Word in your home?
 The Application (Over to you!)
Core Message:
Do you love your Lord, the one true God, enough
to teach his Word at every opportunity to your children
and
openly display his Word at your home?
Application teasers to ponder:
 What are my incentives for teaching the Bible to my kids?
 Am I committed enough to God to teach my kids effectively?
 What opportunities should I take to teach them God’s Word?
 What might “regular Bible times” mean for my family? And
should these be enough to meet what God is asking of us?
 How public should I be about all this? How accessible is God’s
Word to me? Should I consider carrying a pocket Bible?
And another idea…
A Church Survey Questionnaire
 Which Bible Version is used in your church? Is it
usually read well, do you think?
 Have your heard the KJV (AV) read well in
public? What was your reaction to hearing it?
 Which Version do you use for your own personal
reading? Why do you like it?
 Over the years which other Versions have you
liked? Why?
 Does your family have a regular time of Family
prayers around a Bible reading?
 If not, what might help you start?
Passing on our faith…
We hope you found this little exercise
in biblical exposition
illuminating, stimulating and helpful.
Any comments would be welcome
and should be sent to:
Paul Burgess at: biblefamilies@gmail.com
Enquiries about
The Bible Families Project
also welcome.