What does God really want from us? 'Just' unending commitment based on unswerving belief. It would seem that God is not asking something 'for Himself', but rather for us and for our own good.
Chapter 10 does not really exist, because the first part completes Chapter 9, and the second part (from verse 12 onward) is an introduction to Chapter 11 in which we return to Chapter (6) of the Shema. The entire unit (from Chapter 6 to the end of Chapter 11) is an expanded 'Kriat Shema'-- or, rather, what we say in the 'Kriat Shema' is but a shortened version: the beginning and end of the commandment of belief as appears in Devarim.
The opening verse defines and lays out the commandment of belief in a clear and complete manner – "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, demand of you? Only to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to worship the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, which I command you this day, for your good." (10:12-13)
The wording is truly astounding – 'What does He really want from us?' 'Just' unending commitment based on unswerving belief. It would seem that God is not asking something 'for Himself', but rather for us and for our own good, "In order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth." (11:21)
What is the source of the commandment of belief? It is set out in the order of the Torah in an astoundingly precise manner: From creation of "the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth, and all that is on it" (10:14), from choosing "your forefathers" (10:15), from the "Exodus from Egypt" (10:22; 11:3), from the deliverance at "the Red Sea" (11:4) from the miracles "in the desert" (11:5-7) and from praises of the "good Land" (11:10-12).
Thus, even before "And it will be, if you listen to", we already revert to an in-depth explanation (from 10:12) of the commandment of belief. A nice example of this is seen in verse 6:13 which states: "You shall fear the Lord, your God, worship Him, and swear by His name" and only later (10:20) we read: You shall fear the Lord, your God, worship Him, and cleave to Him and swear by His Name."