And ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
Moses has just warned about a heart that is deceived and turns aside to other gods. He warned too that heaven itself can be shut up over a disobedient people. The "therefore" of this verse gives his remedy. God's words go deep inside first. Then they show on the hand and before the eyes.
The verse answers the barrenness described just before it. One writer sees that shut sky as a picture of what disobedience does to a believer's fellowship with God. Moses' appeal is the cure.
The land is barren and the wilderness desolate. May we not see in that a fitting and striking picture of a soul out of communion, through disobedience to the precious commandments of Christ? Such a person has no refreshing contact with heaven. No showers come down. Nothing unfolds the preciousness of Christ to the heart. The soul misses the sweet ministry of an ungrieved Spirit. The Bible seems a sealed book, and all is dark, dreary and desolate. So let us listen to the earnest appeals Moses makes to Israel. They set before us God's own antidote against the special evils that the church of God faces at this very hour.
after
The verse names four parts of a person. The order matters: the words go in before they show. Taken together they leave nothing of a person outside the reach of God's word.
The "heart" — the "soul" — the "hand" — the "eyes" — all engaged about the precious word of God. This was real work. It was to be no empty formality, no barren routine. The whole person was to be given up, in holy devotion, to the statutes and judgments of God.
Each image carries its own force. The heart forms the motive. The hand does the work. The eyes decide where a person looks for direction.
Having the words in their hearts would mean they were the motivating power. Bound on their hand, they speak of control over their actions. Frontlets before their eyes show that they were to keep their eyes centred on the truth of God, instead of looking in other directions for help or guidance. Israel did not respond to the meaning of these things. But such things are written for us today, so that we may realize the spiritual blessing of having the truth always delighting our hearts.
after
A "frontlet" is something worn on the forehead, between the eyes. But the same verse also tells them to store the words in the heart. That inward command shows how the outward one is meant.
Israel was to keep two things always before them: their deliverance from Egypt and the law. These were to be a token on their hand and frontlets between their eyes. Ex. 13:16; Deut. 6:8; Deut. 11:18. The text also says they were to lay the words up in their hearts. So it seems clear that wearing them as frontlets was meant in a figurative sense. They were to keep it always before them that they were a redeemed people. In the New Testament we find that people took this literally, and they called the articles they wore phylacteries.
The verse does not stand alone. It opens a chain that runs from daily conversation to the doorposts. One writer traces the whole progression as a summary of everything God's truth is meant to do in His people.
The children of Israel were urged to lay up these words in their hearts, and in their souls (v. 18). So the truth given was to govern "the soul" and develop the affections. The words they received were also to control their bodies. They were to bind them as a sign on their "hands," so that they should be as frontlets on their "eyes." The truth set before them also had to form the subject of their conversation at all times, and be taught to their children (v. 19). Finally, they had to write the words on their gates and doorposts, so that a testimony to the truth went out to all (v. 20).
Israel's later history shows what happens when a nation stops laying up these words.
But in the days of Josiah, and in the days of his father, that blessed Book was so neglected that neither king nor priest even knew it existed. Little wonder the nation went astray. A nation without the Bible can do nothing else, and a family without the Bible will do the same.
- Heart — the words go inside first. Stored in heart and soul, they become the motivating power, not a formality.
- Hand — what you treasure inside then governs the work you do.
- Eyes — the same word decides where you look for help and guidance, instead of looking elsewhere.
- Home — verses 19–20 carry it into daily talk, into the children, and onto the doorposts. The testimony goes out to everyone.
- Heaven — obedience keeps the line to heaven open. Neglect leaves a soul barren, and in Josiah's day neither king nor priest knew the Book existed.
And ye shall teach them unto your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou goest on the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up;
Moses speaks to a people about to enter the land. He tells them what to do with God's words once they have taken them to heart. Pass them on to the children. Talk about them all day long. Two questions follow. What makes a parent fit to teach? And why is ordinary family life the classroom?
The command does not start at verse 19. It starts one verse earlier, with the word lodged inside the parent, and then works outward in stages.
Deuteronomy 11:18-20 sums up the full effect God's truth should have on His people. The Israelites had to lay up these words in their hearts and in their souls (v. 18). So the truth given was to govern the soul and develop the affections. Their limbs were also to come under the words received. They were to bind them as a sign on their hands, so that they should be like bands before their eyes. The truth set before them also had to form the subject of their conversation at all times, and be taught to their children (v. 19). Last, they had to write the words on their gates and doorposts, so that a testimony to the truth went out to everyone (v. 20).
The verse names four moments: sitting, walking, lying down, rising up. Together they cover a whole day, not a slot in it.
Israel had to teach the laws to their children. They were not for public gatherings only. They were for daily use, to be spoken of anywhere and at all times. They were even to write them on their doorposts and on their gates (v. 20). So it was a matter of constant reminder. Today we have more vital things than these to keep in mind. There are all the wonderful truths about the Lord Jesus: His coming into the world, His life on earth, His sacrifice at Calvary, His resurrection, His ascension.
The command "You shall teach them" speaks to the parent. That settles who does the work, and what fits him for it.
First, the word taught must be in the heart of the parent. He must have it and love it. No one can teach anything whose power he has not felt himself. Second, the responsibility is personal, and the parent cannot pass it to anyone else: he himself must be the instructor. Third, he must be diligent, and seize every passing opportunity to press God's word on the hearts of his children.
The talking happens at home and on the road. So children hear the parent's ordinary speech, and the life either backs the lesson or cancels it.
It is of little use trying to teach our children the word of God if our own lives are not governed by that word. We do not believe in making the blessed word of God a mere school book for our children; to do that turns a delightful privilege into a weary chore. Our children should see that we live in the very atmosphere of Scripture. It should form the material of our conversation when we sit together as a family, in our moments of relaxation.
One writer reads the urgency out of these verses and then shows what obedience looked like in one home.
These Scriptures may well help us to see how urgent it is to teach our children the Scriptures. As they get older, school work and homework will take up their time, and year by year you will find your opportunities grow fewer. While they are little children is the time to teach them this blessed Book. When we were children, my mother used to gather us every day, especially in the holidays. She would read aloud to us and make the dear old Book live for each one of us. Our father taught us too, and so did an aunt and a grandmother. They each loved the Scriptures, and we knew it well. Perhaps that was the secret that made us love them too, without realising it.
Some see this instruction as belonging to a particular arrangement of blessing, yet carried forward.
I notice the teaching of children in it, as the order of blessing; compare Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9-10; chapter 6:7 and chapter 11:19. It is a specific character of the dispensation, and of ordered blessing. There is great reliance on God in it, and it is not passed over in Christianity either — see Ephesians 6.
A promise follows in the next verse, and it reaches past the parents to their children.
If they go away from Him, they will learn, in a closed heaven and a barren earth, His faithfulness to the covenant they have despised. But let them only lay up His word in their hearts and confess it in their lives. Then, in multiplied days, they and their children will enjoy the fullness of a blessing. He who knows heaven can describe it as "as the days of heaven upon the earth."
- Heart first. The parent lays up the word in his own heart and soul before it reaches the child's ear. No one can pass on truth whose power he has not felt.
- Hands and eyes. From the heart it governs what the parent does and how he sees, so that the lesson and the life are saying the same thing.
- Mouth. Then it becomes talk: sitting, walking, lying down, rising up. It is daily and everywhere, not saved for public gatherings.
- Children and gates. From that ordinary talk it reaches the next generation. Written on the doorposts, it becomes a testimony to everyone outside.
- Days. The promise is multiplied days for parents and children alike, a blessing described as days of heaven on earth. Turning away brings a closed heaven and a barren land.
and write them upon the posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
Moses has just told Israel to keep God's words in their hearts, on their hands, and in their daily talk. Now the words go outdoors, onto the doorposts and the gates — but what is that writing outside for?
The verse is the final stage of a chain that starts inside a person and ends in public view.
Moses urged the children of Israel to lay up these words in their hearts and in their souls (v. 18). So the truth given was to govern "the soul" and develop the affections. They also had to talk about the truth at all times, and teach it to their children (v. 19). Lastly, the words had to be written on their gates and doorposts so that a testimony to the truth went out to all (v. 20).
Each phrase in the passage covers a different area of life. The doorpost covers the part outsiders see.
"Bind them as a sign on your hand" — your service is to be governed by what you read in the word of God. "They shall be as frontlets between your eyes" — what you look at is to be governed by the word of God. "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" — your whole day is to be governed by the word of God. "Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" — there is to be a testimony to those outside. The people in this home love the word of God. They live by it. They follow it.
The whole household shows the same standard, and a visitor can see it at the gate.
The word of God was hidden in the heart. It flowed out in loving instruction to the children, and in holy conversation within the family. It shone out in all the activities of daily life. So everyone who came inside the gates or entered the house could see that the word of God was the standard for each, for all, and in everything.
The same test falls on the Christian home today.
Do our children see its influence on our habits, our temper, our family life, our business dealings? This is what we understand by binding the word as a sign on the hands, having it as a frontlet between the eyes, writing it on the doorposts and on the gates.
The words outside invite inspection. The life behind the door has to match them.
The words were not only there for whoever happened to pass by to read. In the light of them, those passers-by might also see a life that agreed with them. It is what the world expects from the Christian, and rightly so. No one who claims to know Christ and to keep His word should ever truly deserve the charge, "They say, and do not."
Later practice turned the command into a ritual.
On this passage and others like it the Hebrews built their custom of the phylacteries. They use leather strips with Scripture verses inside a small box. At certain times when they pray they put these on their hand and forehead. In this way they try to fulfil these words literally. It is only an outward ceremony... They were to keep those commandments in their hearts and practise them as well.
The command assumes ordinary Israelites could read and write.
In the days of Moses, at least in the wilderness, the Bible testifies that reading and writing were common among the Israelites. This was not just in a sacred or learned class, but widely among the rest (Deut. 6:9; Deut. 11:20; Deut. 24:1, 3). So from the earliest days of inspiration there was no difficulty finding writers or readers.
Grant moves from Israel's practice to what Christians hold today.
The laws given to Israel were not for public gatherings only. They were to be applied daily, and spoken of anywhere and at all times. They were even to write them on their doorposts and on their gates (v.20). So it was a matter of being constantly reminded. We today have more vital things than these to keep in remembrance, all the marvellous truths concerning the Lord Jesus.
- Heart first. The chain begins with the words laid up in the heart and soul; the doorpost is the end of that line, never the start of it.
- Then hands, eyes, day. Service, sight and the whole day come under the word before anything goes on the door.
- Then the gate. The doorpost is the outward step. It is a testimony to all, so anyone entering sees the standard of that house.
- Then the check. Whoever reads the words at the gate should find a life inside that agrees with them — otherwise it is "they say, and do not."
- Then the danger. Leather boxes keep the letter as outward ceremony. The command asked for commandments kept in the heart and practised.
that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens [which are] above the earth.
This promise closes a section that tells Israel to keep God's words in the heart, on the hand, before the eyes, on the doorposts, and on their lips at home and on the road. The reward is a long life in the land, and older translations end the verse with the phrase the writers below use: "the days of heaven upon the earth."
What kind of life does the verse promise? One writer answers by pointing to the same wording throughout the book.
They were to listen and to do. The result of obedience is life and possession of the land. "That you may live" does not mean the possession of eternal life, but a long earthly life in the promised land. See chapters 5:33; 6:2; 8:1; 11:21; 16:20; 25:15; 30:6, 16; 32:47.
Everything Israel could enjoy in the land hung on one thing, and it was not a burden.
Blessed days! And how eagerly the large, loving heart of Moses longed that the people might enjoy many such days! And how simple the condition! It was not a heavy yoke laid on them. It was the sweet privilege of treasuring up the precious commandments of the Lord their God in their hearts, and breathing the very atmosphere of His holy word. All was to hinge on this.
It works the other way too.
It is also pledged — and the pledge has been redeemed — that if they go away from Him, they will learn His faithfulness to the covenant they have despised. They will learn it in a closed heaven and a barren earth. Let them only lay up His word in their hearts, and confess it in their lives. Then in multiplied days they and their children will enjoy the fullness of a blessing of which He who knows heaven can say, "As the days of heaven upon the earth."
How does the promise reach the children? Through the teaching described just before it. One writer shows how that looked in his own home, and why the time is short.
These Scriptures may well help us understand how urgent it is to teach our children the Scriptures. As they get older, school work and homework will take up their time; and year by year you will find your opportunities grow less. While they are little children is the time to teach them this blessed Book. When we were children, my mother used to gather us every day, especially in our holidays. She would read aloud to us, and make the dear old Book live to each one of us.
The same writer sets this verse beside a king who had never seen the book his fathers should have written on their doorposts.
It is a joy to the heart to see the young king, when Hilkiah the priest finds the Bible. It had been lost and forgotten for so many years. He found it while they were cleaning up the House of the Lord and repairing it. Josiah had never seen or heard of it before. Such was the condition that Judah had come to; and what a lesson to us... In the days of Josiah, and in the days of his father, that blessed Book was so neglected that neither king nor priest even knew of its existence.
Moses' phrase left its mark on Israel's hope, and it echoes in the first Gospel.
In Matthew only we have the expression "kingdom of heaven." This is what the prophets taught the Jewish people to expect. Moses especially spoke of "the days of heaven upon earth." (Deut. 11:21.) The expression "kingdom of heaven" occurs about twenty-eight times in this Gospel.
Have those days ever come? One writer says the best days for this earth are still ahead.
It is a blinding delusion to look for better days while Jesus is away. There are good days in store, even for this poor world — days of heaven upon the earth; but the Lord must come before them.
The comparison with heaven also changed how Israel saw daily life, and one writer carries that on to today.
Obedience would multiply the days of the Israelites and their children in the land, "like the days of the heavens above the earth" (v.21). So their hearts would be lifted up in calm, lovely dignity above the level of their circumstances, to realise that their blessings really came from heaven. Today our blessings not only come from heaven; they are secured for us in heaven in the person of the risen Lord of glory.
- Days, not eternity. God promises a long life on earth in the land He swore to the fathers. It is not a promise of eternal life.
- Days conditioned. Everything hung on one simple thing: God's words treasured in the heart. Obedience opened heaven over the land; turning away closed it.
- Days passed on. The children's days depend on the parents' teaching — at home, on the road, on the doorposts. Josiah's lost book shows what one careless generation costs.
- Days named. "Days of heaven upon the earth" became Israel's hope of God's rule. It stands behind Matthew's phrase "kingdom of heaven."
- Days coming. Such days are still ahead for the earth, and the Lord must come first. Meanwhile the believer's blessings are already secured in heaven in the risen Christ.