Deuteronomy 6:20-25 – Testifying for God

Moses anticipated a time would come when a new generation of children of Israel would ask why they must live according to the instructions of the Lord. They would want to know the meaning and even the reason for their beliefs. In these verses, Moses was preparing the existing generation of Israelites how they ought to answer. This would be an excellent opportunity to give reasons for why they must remain committed to God. This presupposes that they need to have experienced them personally. If they did not personally practice them, they would be hard put when the question was asked.

In this passage, Moses gave the guidelines on how they could tackle the question. They must firstly tell their children about their redemptive history of God’s mercy. They must make known how God had miraculously delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. Their children must know that it was God who had brought them out of the land of bondage to bring them into the promised land. And that God’s redemptive plan for them had a purpose. He took them out of their land to give them a new one which He had promised to their fathers. Like them, we have also been drawn out of the world of darkness and planted in the Kingdom of God’s marvelous light. We are to be a people of His own possession to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us to Himself.   

Secondly, the instructions that God had given were for their good to help them survive in the new land.  Living out those instructions of God would ensure their preservation. Bear in mind that Israel would be navigating through a pagan world. They would be encountering many tricky situations. The temptation to follow the pagans would be there. Knowing God’s instruction would help them to survive and prosper in those worldly environments. Hence, it would also be just as needful for the new generation to appreciate and know God’s commandments. It would help them to distinguish between the will of God and the standards of the world. So that they would not be conformed to the world but instead be preserved in God

Thirdly, in verse 25, Moses assured them that it would be righteousness for them if they were careful to do all that God had commanded. God’s commandments, know it or not, are manifestations of  His righteous character.  And obeying them will help us to cultivate His kind of righteousness. Knowing and living out God’s instructions will help us to be just and upright in conduct.

Knowing our past always prepares us for the present. Living well in the present helps us to build our future. As we journey with God, don’t neglect to impart what God has done for us to our children so that they too can experience His goodness. To do that effectively, we must not neglect our own walk with Him so that we will have a proven story to tell. A personal experience is the most effective testimony!