"When Jesus was asked, 'Which is the first commandment of all?' he responded by quoting from Deuteronomy: 'The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
"'And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.' (Mark 12:28-30; see Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27; Deut. 6:4-5.)
"While this is probably the most well-known citation from Deuteronomy in the New Testament, it is by no means the only one. In fact, that testament cites only the Psalms, Isaiah, and Exodus more frequently. The New Testament contains more than eighty references to or quotations from Deuteronomy, and all but four of its books cite it. The interest New Testament writers had in the book is not surprising, since Deuteronomy is 'a testimony to the primacy of love in God’s dealing with men.'
"Deuteronomy is a book about covenant-making. Its setting is the east side of the Jordan River as the second generation of the Israelites who came out of Egypt is about to enter the promised land. Years of experience in the wilderness had chastened them and trained them to keep their covenants."
This is from an Ensign article by Stephen D. Ricks. If you would like to read the entire article click this link (Deuteronomy A Covenant of Love - Ensign Apr. 1990.)
