Deuteronomy 6:1 introduces the instructions that Moses was about to give Israel: God’s commandments, statutes, and ordinances, given so the people would learn them and live by them in the land they were about to enter. The verse is a kind of heading for everything that follows in the chapter, and it tells you that God’s laws were given for teaching and for practice, not just for memorizing.
Moses speaks this verse to the Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they cross the Jordan River into Canaan. The book of Deuteronomy is presented as a series of speeches Moses gave to the whole nation as they stood at the edge of the promised land.
Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it…
Deuteronomy 6:1 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 6:1 Means
The verse begins with “Now this is the commandment,” which signals that what follows is a summary or focal point. The word “commandment” is singular here, gathering up the whole body of God’s instruction into one purpose. The next words, “the statutes, and the ordinances,” name two related kinds of law: statutes are fixed rules that God set down, and ordinances are the decisions and judgments that apply those rules to daily life.
The purpose clause is the heart of the verse. God gave these laws “to teach you,” and they were meant to be done “in the land where you go over to possess it.” In other words, the commands were intended to shape how Israel would live once it settled in Canaan. The verse does not promise that obeying the law will automatically produce blessing, though the chapter goes on to say that it will lead to a good life. What the verse does tell you is that God’s instruction is practical and meant to be lived out in a particular place and time.
The Context of Deuteronomy 6:1
Deuteronomy is traditionally attributed to Moses and presents itself as his farewell address to Israel. Its name means “second law” and reflects how it restates and expands the law first given at Sinai. The audience is the new generation who grew up in the wilderness, since the generation that left Egypt had largely died off. These listeners needed to hear the covenant again and to know that they were now responsible for keeping it.
The verses just before this one describe the wider setting of God’s commands and the promised land. Verses 2 through 4, which follow, make the purpose explicit: that Israel would fear the LORD, keep his statutes across generations, and prosper. Verse 4 then opens the great confession, “Hear, Israel: The LORD is our God. The LORD is one.” Read this way, verse 1 is not a bare list of rules but the doorway into a teaching about loving and obeying the one God.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 6:1
Deuteronomy 30:11
For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant.
(WEB)
This verse says the commandment is not too hard or far away for Israel to keep. It pairs well with 6:1 because both affirm that God’s instruction is given to be lived, and that the people can actually carry it out in their own land and lives.
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
(WEB)
Joshua is told to keep the book of the law on his lips and meditate on it day and night as he leads Israel into the land. This connects directly to 6:1, since both passages tie God’s teaching to the moment Israel is about to take possession of the promised land.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 6:1
Lord, you gave your people instruction not as a burden but as a way to live well in the place you had prepared for them. Help me to see your commands as teaching meant for my actual days, my choices, my work, and my home. Make me willing to learn from you and to put what I learn into practice where I am right now. Keep my heart turned toward you, so that my obedience grows out of trust in your faithfulness. Amen.
