What if the future of your family’s faith doesn’t depend on your church—but on you? Discover the ancient command that could change how you raise your kids forever.
As Israel stood on the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses gathered the people to deliver final instructions. After forty years of wandering, they were finally ready to inherit their long-awaited home. At this critical moment, Moses reminded them of their history and reinforced the most important command: to love God above all else.
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 that I command you today shall be on 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. 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.
—Deuteronomy 6:4–9
This passage, known as the Shema (from the Hebrew word meaning “hear”), is more than a call to listen—it’s a call to obey. Moses wasn’t simply sharing information; he was urging transformation. The declaration that Yahweh is one set Israel apart from surrounding nations and served as the foundation for a monotheistic faith. In response to God’s unique nature and covenantal love, the people were to love Him with their entire being.
The command to love God with all the heart, soul, and strength wasn’t emotional alone—it was volitional. In Hebrew thought, the heart represented the mind and will. Loving God with all the soul meant devoting one’s entire life, and strength referred not to physical ability, but to the intensity and entirety of one’s devotion. God had loved Israel with a total love, and He expected the same in return.
Moses emphasized that teaching this love should begin in the home. Parents were not to outsource spiritual formation to public rituals or institutions but to take personal responsibility for passing on God’s truth. The commands were to be discussed daily—at home, on the road, in the morning, and at night. Parents were to shape their children’s hearts like artists chiseling stone—diligently and intentionally.
The goal was generational faithfulness. The spiritual health of future generations hinged on present obedience. Fathers were to teach their sons, who would then teach their sons, creating an unbroken legacy of devotion.
To reinforce these truths, Moses instructed the people to integrate Scripture into their daily lives—writing them on doorposts, wearing them as reminders, and weaving them into the rhythm of home life. While many Jews took these commands literally through the use of phylacteries, God’s deeper intent was clear: His Word was to permeate every area of life, not just adorn it.
Moses’ model remains relevant today. Just as Israel’s success in the Promised Land depended on a generation of parents teaching their children to love God, so does the spiritual future of our families today. Faithful parents must lead by example—loving God with all their heart, soul, and strength—and teaching their children to do the same.
Churches may assist, but they can never replace the God-given role of the family in spiritual formation.
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