Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Moses speaks to a people about to enter a land full of blessings they did not work for. This verse tells them what to do with all that goodness. It is also the verse the Lord Jesus reached for when Satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world.
The warning is not against poverty but against plenty.
But sadly, then as now, the very fullness of the blessing enjoyed might make a person forget the gracious hand it came from. "Fullness of bread" had long ago been the destruction of Sodom. Trial and need wake up a man's awareness that he depends on God. A man without want can easily lose the sense of a dependence that is still real.
Verse 5 asked for love with the whole heart. Verse 13 now asks for fear. One writer treats these as the pair that shapes a whole life.
There are two great motives set before the congregation in our chapter: "love" in verse 5, and "fear" in verse 13. These are found all through Scripture. Their importance in guiding the life and forming the character cannot be valued too highly. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
One writer presses this down to what comes out of the mouth.
Remembering that the eye of God rests on us would shape our life and our conduct far more than the presence of all the saints on earth and all the angels in heaven. We could not speak falsely. We could not say with our lips what we do not feel in the heart. We could not talk foolishly. We could not speak evil of our brother or our neighbour — if only we felt ourselves in the presence of God.
Israel's confession of one God was never meant to stay an idea.
The point for the Jew was the one true God. "The LORD God who brought you out of the land of Egypt" — He was the only God. What were they always inclined to do? Set up other gods in the wilderness... "It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by His name you shall swear." It was to be a real loyalty. It was not merely a teaching on its own, but something to be known as a fact.
Under the law an oath was sometimes not just allowed but required.
On the other hand, the law required an oath on several occasions. In such cases God required His people to swear by His name (Deut. 6:13; compare Ex. 22:11; Lev. 5:1; Num. 5:19-21). The oath did more than confirm the truth. It was also a solemn vow made in the knowledge of the presence of the LORD, who had once taken an oath Himself before Abraham (Gen. 22:16; Heb. 6:13-20).
Jesus later spoke about oaths Himself.
Taking oaths was consistent with their being under law. But the Lord Jesus changed this. He said, "But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King" (Matt. 5:34-35).
God will not share His people's hearts.
They are warned about this beforehand, so that they may keep Him in their fear, serve Him, and swear by His name. The God who loves them is jealous of their affections. They must choose between that love which has been so fruitful to them and the wrath which will be just as fruitful. He cannot be indifferent.
Jesus met Satan with Scripture, and He chose one book only.
The Lord might have drawn His arguments from the five books of Moses. He uses only one — Deuteronomy — and from it selects the weapon that both exposes and defeats the enemy... So Scripture holds guidance and instruction for the believer, for every circumstance or difficulty that may come up in his path. But he must know where to find it.
His refusal was total.
He would not take an empire or a kingdom from anyone else. He would not take glory, pleasure, or honour from Satan... How blessed to hear Him say, "It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only." Him only! Are you as exclusive as that, dear friends?
- Gift first. The very fullness of the blessing is what tempts a heart to forget the hand that gave it.
- Fear guards the gift. Love (v.5) and fear (v.13) are the two motives that form character. Living as if God's eye is on you guards your speech.
- Service proves the fear. Owning one God was to be real loyalty, not a doctrine held at arm's length.
- The name is the pledge. Under the law, swearing by His name was a solemn vow made before Him. The Lord Jesus later told His followers not to take oaths at all.
- "Him only" is the test. God is jealous of the affections He loves. Christ met Satan's offer of every kingdom with this one verse. He would take nothing from any other hand.
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;
Israel was about to enter a land where other nations already served their own gods. The warning names the gods next door, and it comes with a reason: the Lord among His people is a jealous God.
Israel had no ground for confidence in itself. One writer explains why:
These directions were given to guide the people of Israel in the land they were about to enter. The warnings come again and again — against the idolatry of the nations they were to drive out, and against the evil practices that flow from it. They could have no self-confidence here. The worship of the golden calf that Aaron made had already shown the tendency of their own hearts.
The ban on other gods stands between two forces that drive the whole chapter:
Our chapter sets two great motives before the people: "love" in verse 5, and "fear" in verse 13. Both run all through Scripture. Their importance for guiding a life and forming a character cannot be overstated.
The temptation was not strange religion but the wish to fit in. One writer turns that on the reader:
Israel was to grow a real fear of the Lord and serve Him. They were not to let the gods the nations served sway them. What a temptation it is for believers today too, to want to be a little like the nations! We see what they do and what they have. Then we let our eyes wander from the Lord, and we are tempted to copy people who live without God. But the Lord is a jealous God. He is jealous of our love, and cool disobedience may bring His judgment now.
The reason given in the next verse is that the Lord in their midst is jealous. Commentators tie that jealousy not to insecurity but to love, and to God's own character:
God is a jealous God. His jealousy springs from His love for His chosen people. "For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14). He is jealous over His people lest they serve other gods. And because He is a jealous God, a holy, sin-hating God, He must be an avenger of what is against His character.
Satan tempted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. He answered every time from this book, and these very verses were among His answers. One writer shows where that strength came from:
It is a very remarkable thing that the Lord drew all His answers to Satan from the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 8:3; Deut. 6:16, and 13, 14). The Lord gained the victory in every instance by the Word of God. It was the outcome of His blessed, simple dependence on God, and of having the Word of God in His heart. He proved the truth of the word, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). The secret of strength lies very much in this: having the Word of God hidden in the heart, and obeying it without question.
Israel broke this command. One writer points to the One who never did:
Christ could say, "your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). He had set the Lord continually before Him and would have no other gods as His God.
An idol today need not be a statue:
And let us remember that the same tendency is at work with us today. So the first letter of John ends with the words, "keep yourselves from idols." For us an idol is anything that traps us. It takes over the place in our hearts that belongs to God alone.
- Nearness. The gods forbidden here are the neighbours' gods. The danger is the ordinary wish to be like the people around you.
- Motive. The chapter drives obedience by two forces, love in verse 5 and fear in verse 13; the ban on other gods rests on both.
- Jealousy. God's jealousy comes from His love. He is jealous over His people so that they will not serve other gods.
- Weapon. Christ met Satan with these very words from Deuteronomy. He would have no other gods, and He won by having God's Word stored in His heart.
- Today. An idol is anything that traps you and takes the place in your heart that belongs to God alone. That is why 1 John ends, "keep yourselves from idols."