The Order of Events in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (And What it Means for Your Mothering)

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” ~Deuteronomy 6:6-7

You know firsthand just how alive and active the Word of God truly is when you read a passage a hundred times, but on the hundred and first, something that you had never noticed before stands out to you and hits you square between the eyes! This has very much been the case for me recently with this passage from Deuteronomy 6.

I have been familiar with these verses for a number of years, especially since becoming a mom and seeing the importance of this teaching in light of my mission to raise up my children in the truths of God’s Word. I’ve talked about these words before on my Instagram and have even shared about them on a podcast in light of how they inspire and direct me in my homeschooling journey.

But what had always stood out to me in the past was the portion of this passage that tells me what my mission is in regards to my children – to teach them God’s Word in a natural and regular way, regularly applying it to the happenings of everyday life. Never before, though, (until recently!) had I backed up and really realized the order of events in this passage.

BEFORE God ever tells us as parents to teach His Word to our children, He FIRST says this: “And these words which I command you today shall be in YOUR heart.” Did you catch that? God is saying that we as moms must be immersing ourselves in His Word and growing in our own Bible literacy and *then*, from *that* place, we teach our children God’s truths.

The Hebrew word translated “heart” in verse 6 is “lebab”, and literally means “inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding; inner part, midst, mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory”. God’s Word is to be in our memory, in our mind, comprising our knowledge, the source of our own reflection, before it can be something we transfer to our children.

While you certainly do not have to be a Bible scholar in order to teach your children about God, there nevertheless is an order of events in this passage which must not be missed. We as moms are so adept at saying we are too busy to be in God’s Word, but friends, if I’m going to shoot straight with you, I must tell you this: that excuse will not work with God. He is telling us unequivocally to hide His Word in *our* hearts first, before then faithfully and intentionally teaching it to our children.

I’ve said before on podcasts and in Lies Moms Believe that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 has shown me that it is God’s Word that equips me for the daily work of mothering, and that if I, as a mom, am not in that Word, I truly am ill equipped for “every good work” that I may seek to live out with my children.

Friends, it is God’s Word that equips us for motherhood, and it is God’s Word that you must first hide in your heart in order to ever be able to faithfully share it with your children. I understand, though, just how daunting this probably feels for you, as a busy mama, so to close today, I want to leave you with the following articles I’ve written and podcast episodes I’ve produced over the years pertaining to this topic, which I pray will be an encouragement and inspiration to you. Remember – God’s Word never returns void (see Isaiah 55:11), which means that it will not return void in your life, either! The power is not in the amount of time you spend in the Word each day or in the atmosphere surrounding your time in the Word. The power is in the Word itself, and is accessible to you each and every time you open it up!

May God bless you as you go forth in your mission to hide God’s Word in your heart, Mama!

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