◄ Deuteronomy 5:29 ►
If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.
Study Bible
If only they had such a heart to fear Me

God heard Israel’s fearful response at Sinai and desired that their reverence would become a settled disposition rather than a temporary reaction to His visible majesty. In Scripture, the heart encompasses the mind, desires, will, and moral direction of a person. Fear of the Lord means humble awe before His holiness, authority, and righteous judgment. Such reverence is the beginning of wisdom and produces willing obedience rather than mere outward conformity.

Jer 32:39-40 I will give them one heart and one way.…
Deu 10:12-13 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you…
Psa 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth.…

and keep all My commandments always,

Israel had entered a covenant with the Lord who redeemed them from Egypt and gave them His law at Sinai. Their obedience was to be continual, extending beyond moments of danger, national crisis, or material blessing. God’s commands revealed His character and set Israel apart from the idolatry and corruption of the surrounding nations. Love for God was to be demonstrated through faithful obedience, a principle later affirmed by Jesus.

Deu 11:1 You shall therefore love the LORD your God…
Jos 22:5 But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law…

so that it might be well with them

Covenant obedience brought God’s favor upon Israel in the land, including security, fruitful harvests, peace, and protection from their enemies. God’s commands were not burdens designed to diminish His people, but the wise and righteous path by which they could live under His blessing. Israel’s later history repeatedly showed the consequences of abandoning that path, as rebellion brought discipline, oppression, and exile.

Deu 4:40 Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you…
Jer 7:23 Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people.…

and with their children forever.

Faithfulness to God was intended to shape generations. Parents were commanded to teach God’s words diligently to their children, recounting His deliverance from Egypt and His covenant faithfulness. A reverent, obedient people would preserve a heritage of faith and blessing for their descendants. Israel’s failures exposed the need for the New Covenant, in which God writes His law upon the hearts of His people through the saving work of Christ.

Gen 17:7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant…
Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites who is delivering God's commandments to the people.

2. Israelites
The chosen people of God, receiving the law and commandments through Moses.

3. Mount Sinai
The place where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.

4. God
The speaker of the verse, expressing His desire for the Israelites' obedience and reverence.

5. The Covenant
The agreement between God and the Israelites, which includes the commandments and laws.
Teaching Points
The Heart's Inclination
God desires not just outward obedience but a heart that is genuinely inclined to fear and love Him. This involves a transformation that starts from within.

The Fear of the Lord
This is not about being afraid but having a deep respect and reverence for God, recognizing His authority and holiness.

Generational Blessing
Obedience to God's commandments brings blessings not only to the individual but also to their descendants, highlighting the impact of faithfulness across generations.

Consistency in Obedience
The call to keep God's commandments "always" suggests a lifestyle of continuous faithfulness, not just occasional adherence.

The Role of the Law
The commandments serve as a guide for living a life that is pleasing to God, reflecting His character and will.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of fearing the Lord in Deuteronomy 5:29 compare to other biblical references to the fear of the Lord?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our hearts are inclined to obey God consistently in our daily lives?

3. How does the promise of well-being for obedience in Deuteronomy 5:29 relate to the New Testament teachings on blessings and obedience?

4. What practical steps can we take to pass on a legacy of faith and obedience to future generations?

5. How does understanding the original Hebrew word for "heart" (levav) deepen our comprehension of what God desires from His people?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:5
This verse emphasizes the command to love God with all one's heart, soul, and strength, which aligns with the call for a heart inclined to fear God.

Proverbs 1:7
Highlights the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, connecting to the importance of fearing God as mentioned in Deuteronomy 5:29.

Jeremiah 31:33
Speaks of God writing His law on the hearts of His people, reflecting the desire for internalized obedience.

Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus summarizes the law as loving God and neighbor, which is the essence of keeping God's commandments.

Ephesians 6:1-3
Discusses the promise of well-being and long life for those who honor their parents, echoing the promise of well-being for obedience in Deuteronomy 5:29.
Sermons
Reminiscences of HorebJ. Orr Deuteronomy 5:1-33
Character Determines EnvironmentD. Davies Deuteronomy 5:21-33
How Moses Became MediatorR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 5:22-33
A Sacramental MeditationJ. Orton.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Character not to be Estimated by SpeechW. Jay.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Divine Solicitude for Man's SalvationPreacher's AnalystDeuteronomy 5:28-29
Free WillG. F. Prescott, M. A.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
God's Desires for Man's GoodJ. Orr Deuteronomy 5:28, 29
God's Hearing the Voice of the Words of His PeopleJ. Henderson, D. D.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Good Resolutions Heard by GodW. Jay.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Human HappinessHomilistDeuteronomy 5:28-29
Man's True Attitude Before GodH. Melvill, B. D.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
National Happiness and ProsperityAbp. John Sharp.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Perfect ObedienceJ. K. Miller.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
The Anxiety of God for the Welfare of His PeopleJ. Sandford, M. A.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
The Blessings that Attend a Religious LifeA. B. Evans, D. D.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
The Heart DepravedJ. Foot, D. D.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
The Inward Frame Should Correspond with the Outward ProfessionDeuteronomy 5:28-29
The Young Christian ArmedE. Garbett, M. A.Deuteronomy 5:28-29
People
Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt, Horeb
Topics
Age, Alway, Always, Commandments, Commands, Continually, Fear, Forever, Heart, Hearts, Inclined, Mind, O, Oh, Orders, Sons, Thus
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 5:29

     6185   imagination, desires
     8454   obedience, to God

Deuteronomy 5:28-29

     5923   public opinion

Library
Prayer and Obedience
"An obedience discovered itself in Fletcher of Madeley, which I wish I could describe or imitate. It produced in him a ready mind to embrace every cross with alacrity and pleasure. He had a singular love for the lambs of the flock, and applied himself with the greatest diligence to their instruction, for which he had a peculiar gift. . . . All his intercourse with me was so mingled with prayer and praise, that every employment, and every meal was, as it were, perfumed therewith." -- JOHN WESLEY. …
Edward M. Bounds—The Necessity of Prayer

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
AND PROOF, THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'The Son of man is lord also of the Sabbath day.' London: Printed for Nath, Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1685. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. All our inquiries into divine commands are required to be made personally, solemnly, prayerful. To 'prove all things,' and 'hold fast' and obey 'that which is good,' is a precept, equally binding upon the clown, as it is upon the philosopher. Satisfied from our observations …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

"They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Everlasting Covenant of the Spirit
"They shall be My people, and l will be their God. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."--JER. xxxii. 38, 40. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
Scribes Reproach Him for Disregarding Tradition. (Galilee, Probably Capernaum, Spring a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 1-20; ^B Mark VII. 1-23; ^D John VII. 1. ^d 1 And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. [John told us in his last chapter that the passover was near at hand. He here makes a general statement which shows that Jesus did not attend this passover. The reason for his absence is given at John v. 18.] ^a 1 Then there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Mount Zion.
"For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Foundations of Good Citizenship.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.--Ex. 20:1-17. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible I, 194-198. Prin. of Politics, Chap. II. Lowell, Essay on "Democracy." Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Deuteronomy 5:29 NIV
Deuteronomy 5:29 NLT
Deuteronomy 5:29 ESV
Deuteronomy 5:29 NASB
Deuteronomy 5:29 KJV

Deuteronomy 5:29 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Deuteronomy 5:28
Top of Page
Top of Page