This question was raised in our study of our lesson called “Present Truth in Deuteronomy” (for the most recent or past quarterlies available for download click Here). When thinking about the answer many reasons popped into my head and maybe for you, too.
Old Testament past
Moses was speaking with the Israelites here in Deuteronomy 6:1-8, which states “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightiest fear (honor) the LORD thy God, to keep all His statutes and commandments, which I commanded thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words , which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”
If only the Israelites had followed the words of Moses that came from God, they would have prospered just as God promised. But as we get further in the Bible, we see that they didn’t remember and do. They forgot the teaching and ended up in idol worship and more. So when we have the Word in our hearts, we stay close to God. Notice we have them as “frontlets between the eyes.” Meaning our thoughts are focused on the Lord and our actions (hand) will show that we are the children of God.
Jesus’s time to Present
When tempted by the enemy, Jesus uses the words from Deuteronomy. Matthew 4:1 states, “Then was Jesus led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” Why do you suppose that is? For Jesus to be our Savior He needed to know what we go through. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NKJV). He knows us and what we go through. He knows our struggle and He covers us with His righteousness.
Continuing on, Matthew 4:2-4 says, “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered.” (When we are at our weakest the devil will come to tempt us, too.) “And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Words from Deuteronomy 8:3).
If we break this down, we see that the devil wanted to cause doubt with the word “if” and he wanted Jesus to prove Himself. If Jesus had done that, He would have been relying on His own self or in His own strength. His hunger for food would have been more important than our Father. Our Father would not have been glorified in what He sent His Son to do for us. We would have been lost.
Matthew 4:5-7, “Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou at any time dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”(Words from Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus knew the Father would take care of Him and He did not need to prove it. Why tempt God if you already know He will be there for you. When you tempt God isn’t that showing just a bit of doubt in His ability to take care of you?
Matthew 4:8-10, “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Words from Deuteronomy 6:13). Here is the real reason for the devil’s temptation—worship. That is what Satan wanted from the beginning (see Isaiah 14:12-15). If he could not get it in heaven he wanted it here on earth.
Notice in each of these temptations, Jesus does not get into a lengthy discussion with the devil. Jesus just quotes the Scripture and leaves it at that. If only Eve had hid the Word of God in her heart and just said, God said not to eat of that tree and left it at that how different this world would be. Jesus’s answer to the temptations shows that He had the Word in His heart and was able to access it to ward off the temptations of Satan. When Jesus died on the cross for us all, the devil realized he only had a short time before he was destroyed so he is coming after the children of God. How do you hurt a father? Simple, you hurt his children. The devil will try to separate us from our Father God. He will try, by any means, to get us to sin. Emotions such as anger and jealousy (see Gen 4-6-8), pride and arrogance (see the story of Samson – Judges Chapter 16), and jealousy and fear (see 1 Samuel 18:1-12) are just a few examples of the devils tools he will use get us to sin and, therefore, separate us from God.
The Future Events
We’ll start with Matt 10:16-22 in which Jesus states to His disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye there for wise as serpents, and harmless of doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how and what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all for My name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
Some may say but wait, this was for their time (only one of the disciples was not put to death, however; they did try to kill him by boiling him in oil). Of course, we also know about the dark ages, in which people were turning on each other (you can read Foxes Book of Martyrs for more information). We have strong warnings that this will happen in the last days before Jesus comes. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Revelation 13:15). “Speak” in this case is a law that passes and “cause” is using force. Think about this a minute. If there is a law wouldn’t some think that enforcing that law is the correct action even if it was against a friend or family member?
The next verses are more telling, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast or the number of his name.” In other words, he forces all to agree (the right hand is used to shake hands) or they will think that they are in the right (thinking is in the forehead correct?).
At this point we realize that some, for fear of their own lives, might turn on one another. That is what was happening back with the inquisitions. Even some families were not safe in that because they turned each other. This is why a total reliance on our Savior is so important, and the only way to have total trust is to study the Word which points to Jesus.
Now let’s go back to the question: Why is it important to have the Word of God in our hearts? First, if the Word is not there, we would not know our Jesus. Second, we cannot stand in these last days without Jesus by our side. WE need Him to strengthen us for the times of trouble even now, but even more so in the last days of earth. And third, if we are to be one of those that are brought before the governors or kings, how can the Holy Spirit access what we do not have? We need to hide His words in our hearts. That is why studying the Word, now, is so very important!