Deuteronomy 6:20 describes a future conversation in which a child asks a parent why God’s commands matter, and it sets out the parent’s duty to answer with the story of what God has done. Moses speaks these words to the people of Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. He is preparing them to pass their faith on to the next generation.
When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you mean?”
Deuteronomy 6:20 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 6:20 Means
The verse begins with “When your son asks you in time to come.” Moses is looking ahead. He expects that children will someday notice the laws their parents keep and wonder about them. The verse assumes curiosity is normal and healthy, and it treats the child’s question as an opening rather than a nuisance.
The question itself names three terms: “testimonies,” “statutes,” and “ordinances.” These words cover the whole body of God’s instructions, from the moral commands to the rules for worship and daily life. The child is asking what all of it is for. The verse does not promise that the child will understand everything at once, but it does set up a moment when the parent is expected to explain.
What the verse does not do is give a formula for raising perfect children or guarantee how the child will respond. It describes a responsibility and a relationship. The answer that follows in the next verses is a history lesson about rescue and promise, not a list of rules to memorize.
The Context of Deuteronomy 6:20
Deuteronomy is presented as Moses’s final series of speeches to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they cross the Jordan River. Traditionally Moses is named as the author, and the original audience is the generation that grew up in the wilderness and is about to enter the land. Most of the book is framed as Moses reminding them of God’s law and God’s faithfulness.
The verses just before this one (6:17-19) call the people to keep God’s commands carefully so that they may live well and take the land God promised. The verses just after (6:21-23) supply the answer the parent is to give: “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt,” followed by the account of the exodus. That context changes the verse. The commands are not arbitrary. They are the response of a people who were freed, and the child’s question leads straight into that story of deliverance.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 6:20
Exodus 13:14
It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.
(WEB)
This verse shows Israel’s earlier instruction to explain the Passover to their children when they ask what the rite means. It reflects the same pattern found in Deuteronomy 6:20, where the parent’s answer rests on the story of God’s deliverance from Egypt.
Psalm 78:4
We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
(WEB)
Psalm 78 speaks of telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord so they will put their trust in God. It expresses the same goal found in Deuteronomy 6:20: that faith be handed from one generation to the next through honest, faithful storytelling.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 6:20
Lord, thank you for the story of your faithfulness that you have given us to tell. Help me to welcome the questions of the children and young people in my life, and give me words that are honest and warm. Let my own life show what your commands are for, so that when they ask, I can point to your goodness and your rescue. Keep me patient and attentive. Amen.
