Bird's-eye view
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we arrive at the central creed of Israel, the Shema. This is the beating heart of the covenant relationship between Yahweh and His people. Moses, standing on the plains of Moab with a new generation poised to enter the Promised Land, is not giving them a new law, but rather a renewed understanding of the law they already have. He is driving the law from the external stone tablets deep into their hearts. The passage begins with a foundational theological declaration about the nature of God (v. 4), moves immediately to the required response of total love and allegiance (v. 5), and then lays out the comprehensive, all-of-life program for how this covenant reality is to be transmitted from one generation to the next (vv. 6-9). This is not a compartmentalized religion for Sabbath days only; it is a total worldview, a way of life that saturates every moment, every activity, and every square inch of a believer's existence. It is the blueprint for a gospel-centered culture, starting in the home.
The structure is straightforward and powerful. First, the indicative: who God is. "Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!" This is the objective truth upon which everything else is built. Second, the imperative that flows from that reality: "You shall love Yahweh your God..." This love is not a sentimental feeling but a totalizing commitment of one's entire being, heart, soul, and might. Finally, the practical outworking of this love: the Word of God must be internalized ("on your heart"), diligently taught ("teach them diligently to your sons"), and made visible in every sphere of life ("when you sit... walk... lie down... rise up... on your hand... between your eyes... on your doorposts"). This is the great commission for the family, the foundational unit of a godly society.
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 4 “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!
The command to "Hear" is more than a summons to let sound waves enter the ear. In Hebrew, Shema means to hear, to listen, to pay attention, and to obey. It is a call for covenantal attention. Israel is being called to order. What follows is the very foundation of their identity, their worship, and their life as a people. "Yahweh is our God" is a possessive, covenantal claim. This is not some generic deity, one among many. This is our God, the one who brought them out of Egypt, the one who made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a declaration of allegiance. But the climax is the declaration that "Yahweh is one!" This is a profound statement against the polytheism of the surrounding nations. The gods of the Canaanites were a squabbling, divided pantheon. But Yahweh is utterly unique, indivisible, and absolute. He has no rivals, no partners, and no competitors. This is the bedrock of monotheism. The Lord Jesus Himself identifies this as the first of all the commandments (Mark 12:29). All of Christian theology begins here: with the one true and living God. This oneness does not exclude the later revelation of the Trinity, but rather establishes the unified being of the Godhead within which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit subsist.
v. 5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
The only appropriate response to the one true God is total, unreserved love. Notice the progression. It begins with the heart, the seat of the inner man, the center of one's thoughts, will, and affections. This is not about mere external compliance. God demands the core of your being. Then it moves to the soul, which refers to one's entire life, one's very self. You are to love God with your entire personhood, your breath, your being. Finally, it includes all your might. This means all your strength, your energy, your resources, everything you can bring to bear. It's an all-encompassing demand. There is no corner of your life that is to be held back from Him. This is the opposite of the divided loyalty that characterized the pagan world. And it is the opposite of the lukewarm, compartmentalized "faith" that is so common today. This command is impossible for the natural man to fulfill, which is precisely the point. The law shows us our sin and our need for a Savior. It is only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that we can even begin to love God in this way. Christ is the only one who has ever fulfilled this command perfectly, and it is only in Him that we are counted as fulfillers of it.
v. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
The law of God is not to be a foreign object, an external code that we grudgingly obey. It is to be internalized. "On your heart" means it should be part of your very nature, written on the inside. This is a foreshadowing of the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:33, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts." For the believer in Christ, this is a reality. The Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a love for God's law. It is no longer a burden, but a delight (Psalm 119:97). This internalizing of the Word is the prerequisite for all that follows. You cannot teach what you do not first possess. You cannot communicate a love for God's Word if it is not first treasured in your own heart.
v. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak 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.
Here we see the practical outworking of a heart saturated with the Word. The primary sphere for discipleship is the home. The verb "teach them diligently" means to sharpen or to whet. It carries the idea of repeated, incisive instruction. This is not a once-a-week, drop-them-off-at-Sunday-school affair. This is constant, diligent, focused training in the things of God. And notice the all-encompassing nature of this instruction. It happens "when you sit in your house", in the ordinary moments of domestic life. It happens "when you walk by the way", as you go about your daily business in the world. It happens "when you lie down and when you rise up", it is the last thing on your mind at night and the first thing in the morning. This is atmospheric Christianity. The Word of God is to be the air that the family breathes. This is how a culture is built, one family at a time, from the ground up. The father and mother are the primary theologians and catechists for their children.
v. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as phylacteries between your eyes.
This command moves from the auditory and internal to the visual and external. The truth of God's Word is to be a "sign on your hand," meaning it should govern all your actions, all your work. What you do with your hands should be a constant reminder of your covenant obligations. And they are to be "phylacteries between your eyes," meaning they should govern your entire worldview, how you see and interpret everything. This is about developing a thoroughly biblical mindset. Of course, the Pharisees later turned this into a dead, external ritual, wearing literal boxes with Scripture verses in them to be seen by men (Matthew 23:5). But they missed the heart of the command. The point is not the external trapping, but the internal reality that it is supposed to represent. Our actions (hands) and our thoughts (eyes) must be brought into submission to the Word of God.
v. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Finally, the sphere of influence expands from the personal and familial to the public. The "doorposts of your house" represent the private dwelling, the family unit. The "gates" represent the entrance to the community, the public square. The Word of God is to define both. This is a command to build a distinctly Christian household and a distinctly Christian culture. The truth of God is not a private matter to be kept to oneself. It is to be publicly displayed, marking out our homes and our communities as belonging to Yahweh. It is a declaration to all who come and go that this is a place where God's Word is the ultimate authority. This is the foundation of a Christian civilization. It begins with the declaration of God's oneness, moves to the love of God in the heart, is cultivated in the family, and then extends outward to shape the entire culture.
Application
The Shema is not a dusty relic of ancient Israel; it is the marching order for the Christian life today. First, we must ground ourselves in the absolute truth that God is one, and that He is our God through the covenant made in His Son, Jesus Christ. All our attempts at morality, piety, or cultural engagement are worthless if they are not founded on this theological bedrock.
Second, we must examine our love for God. Is it total? Is it a love of the heart, soul, and might? Or have we carved out little areas of our lives where we remain sovereign? The command to love God totally is a call to daily repentance and a constant fleeing to Christ, in whom we find both the forgiveness for our failed love and the grace to love more.
Finally, and most practically, this passage is a direct charge to Christian parents. The primary responsibility for the spiritual education of children rests with you, not with the church, the Christian school, or the youth group. Your home should be a 24/7 seminary. The Word of God should be woven into the fabric of your daily conversations, your discipline, your work, and your rest. Your hands, your eyes, your doorposts, and your gates should all bear witness to the fact that Yahweh, the one true God, is the Lord of this house. This is how we take back the territory for Christ, not through political maneuvering primarily, but by building faithful, Word-saturated households that become the building blocks of a renewed Christian culture.