This small group Deuteronomy 6:8-25 Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 6:8-25 Bible Study Commentary And Discussion Questions
Outline
I. Create visual reminders (8-9)
II. Remember God’s goodness (10-15)
III. Diligently keep His commands (16-19)
IV. Teach your children (20-25)
I. Create visual reminders (8-9)
Discussion Questions
• What does “them” refer to in verses 8 and 9?
• Are these instructions to be taken literally?
• What is the purpose behind these instructions?
• What is the significance of binding them on the hand? How about in between the eyes?
• What is the significance of writing them on the doorposts? How about the gates?
• What do these verses tell us about the type of spiritual life we are to live?
• What are some practical ways you can apply the principles in these verses today?
• What are some various types of visual reminders of Scripture that help you?
• What are some types of visual reminders of Scripture that can open doors for witnessing or sharing testimony?
Cross-References
Psalms 66:16 – Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
Matthew 10:32-33 – So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. You shall bind them as a sign – It was imperative that the Israelites remember God’s commands. Moses repeatedly reminded them to be careful to listen to, diligent to obey, and faithful to teach God’s commands.
Reflect – Is this command to bind the Scriptures on their bodies to be taken literally?
Other Biblical authors give similar instructions.
Proverbs 3:3 – Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
It is physically impossible to literally write these things on one’s heart. Therefore this instruction must be taken figuratively. I believe that Moses’ instruction is also to be taken figuratively. We know that the heart is most important. It was about their attitude toward God’s law, not an external ritual.
In future generations, the Jews did take this instruction literally. Even now, many bind phylacteries onto their bodies. These are small boxes that contain written Scriptures. The practice itself is not a bad thing. However, the danger is in practicing an external ritual without a real relationship to God. Many think they are good because they practice rituals and yet they do not understand the meaning behind them.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had this problem. Jesus even specifically called out their attitude toward phylacteries.
Matthew 23:5 – For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
If binding a Scripture to your body helps you remember and obey God’s Word, by all means do it. But what is far more important than an external practice is the heart attitude. Moses is, in essence, telling them, “Do not forget God’s commandments. Remember them always. Do not be separated from them.”
We would do well to remember the most important command.
Deuteronomy 6:5 – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Obeying rules without love is not useful. At the same time, we should consider practical ways to ensure we remember God’s Word.
2. On your hand and between your eyes – We wear watches on our wrists because it is a convenient location for us to look at. A Scripture on our wrist would be a natural place for personal reminders. Thus, binding them on our hands means that we should always remind ourselves of God’s commands.
Your forehead, on the other hand, is difficult for you to see. But it is easy for others to see. Putting the commands on your forehead means that they would be publicly visible to others. They could instantly identify you as a believer. You would be a living, walking testimony. Therefore this command means that believers’ relationship with God should be natural and transparent, easy for all to see. You not only identify as a believer but your life and words point people to God.
Application – Set reminders for yourself to keep God’s commands. This could include writing down personal applications at church or Bible study, setting an alarm clock to remind you to read the Word or memorize Scripture, or putting events into a digital calendar to remind you of spiritual goals or evangelism appointments.
3. You shall write them on the doorposts and on the gates – God’s Word should permeate one’s home. These instructions remind us that the home is the center of one’s spiritual life. Most of your time will be spent there.
They were not to only be righteous in front of others when they went to worship God on Sabbath. It was to be an “all the time” thing. That starts in the home. Parents were to live out an authentic relationship with God at home. If the children saw that was not happening, no amount of preaching outside would be likely to influence the child in a positive way.
Signs are an important way to give information. They also can give directions. These signs were to give information and directions to both those outside and inside.
Their homes were likely surrounded by an outer wall or fence. The doorposts referred to the inner door into the home, while the gates would have been the opening to the outer wall. The gates would have been the first thing strangers saw when approaching the home.
Writing Scriptures on the gates would have told all passersby, “We believe in Yahweh.” The Scriptures would have been an encouragement and a blessing to anyone passing by on the road outside. At the same time, these would have been a visual reminder of the hospitality and blessing one could expect if they visited the home. Perhaps they would even serve as a sort of invitation to come in and fellowship with like-minded believers. Thus the inscriptions on the gates would be focused toward others. Our relationship with God is not a private thing. It is to be central in how we interact with friends, relatives, and even strangers.
The ones on the doorpost would have been reminders to the residents in the home. Whenever they entered or left, the written words could remind them of God’s blessing on the home as well as their obligation to keep the covenant and obey His commands. These signs would remind everyone in the home that God is the authority there.
In short, this verse can be summed up as, “Remind yourself and remind others of God’s commands and authority.”
Application – Believers should seek every way to both remind themselves continually and witness to others of God’s Word. Here are a few practical ways to do that.
• Hanging Scriptures on the walls of your home.
• Putting visible signs outside the home identifying you as a follower of Jesus.
• Making use of calligraphy or art to point people in your home to Jesus.
• Posting verses or phrases from Scripture in various locations in the home as visual reminders to reset your focus on the Lord.
• Ensuring that your home’s media, music, and books are edifying and point to God as the authority over everything in the home.
II. Remember God’s goodness (10-15)
Discussion Questions
• What was God going to bless them with?
• How might they be tempted to act when everything was going well?
• Is it easier to be thankful to and depend on God when things are going poorly or smoothly? Why?
• How were they to respond when they received these good things from God?
• What are some practical ways that will help you keep a humble and grateful attitude toward God when things are going well?
• Did the future generations obey verse 14?
• We often think of anger in a negative way. Is God’s anger positive or negative? How is it different from the anger we normally have?
Cross-References
James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Proverbs 30:7-9 – Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. When the Lord your God brings you into the land – It was not a question of “if” but “when.” God was going to accomplish it.
2. God would give them many good things – God had good plans for His people. He was pleased to bless them and give them good things. After hundreds of years as slaves and then wilderness wanderers, Israel’s situation would soon drastically change.
Our God is not stingy. He is pleased to give us gracious gifts out of His great treasury.
Ephesians 1:7-8 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
Application – Sometimes it is easy to focus on the negatives in our lives. When we are tempted to complain, we should remember the many blessings He has poured out on us.
3. Take care not to forget the Lord – Generally, trials and difficulties cause people to turn to the Lord for help. Many agnostics suddenly learn how to pray when they face life-threatening situations. In the United States, church attendance went up significantly in the weeks following 9/11/2001. However, in the months following that attack, many of the people who started to go to church because of the disaster then stopped again.
The Israelites regularly cried out to God for help both while they were oppressed as slaves in Egypt and in their desperate need in the wilderness.
Here Moses warned them not to forget God when everything started going well.
Prosperity has a way of making people become prideful. Jesus talked about how difficult it was for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:24 – Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
God wants us to acknowledge our need for Him. Unfortunately, riches tend to make us puffed up and self-reliant.
Application – We need to regularly acknowledge our weakness before the Lord. We need Him. The church in Laodicea was harshly rebuked because in their pride they thought they had it all. As a result, they didn’t come to God for help, but relied on themselves.
Revelation 3:17 – For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
The simple application is to keep humble and not forget God even when things go well. How can we do that?
4. God’s righteous anger –
Deuteronomy 6:15 – For the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
There are two types of anger, selfish anger and righteous anger. Selfish anger is also called “anger of man.”
James 1:20 – For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Selfish anger is sinful. It is the type we more commonly experience. We feel this type of anger when someone hurts us or violates our perceived rights. This is the type of anger when we are driving and another driver cuts in front of us suddenly.
Righteous anger is pure. It is motivated by a love of others and a hatred of sin. Jesus expressed righteous anger when He cleansed the temple.
In Ephesians 4:26, we are commanded to, “Be angry but do not sin.”
Child trafficking, for example, should cause us to be angry. An apathetic, “I don’t care” response is the selfish one in this case.
God’s anger is always of the pure and righteous variety. Sin deeply bothers Him. His holiness and justice do not allow Him to simply say, “I don’t care.”
Application – Evaluate your anger. What types of things make you angry? Is your anger typically selfish or righteous? Confess unrighteous anger to God and ask Him to give you a heart like His.
III. Diligently keep His commands (16-19)
Discussion Questions
• How did they put God to the test at Massah?
• How do people put God to the test today? Why is this dangerous?
• Why does Moses give so many reminders to the people to obey the commands? Don’t they all know it already?
• What would be the results of obedience?
Cross-References
1 John 5:3 – For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Revelation 14:12 – Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 – The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Do not put your God to the test as you did at Massah – Jesus quoted this in Luke 4:12.
The story that Moses is alluding to can be found in Exodus 17.
Exodus 17:2 – Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The people of Israel had disobeyed God by refusing to go into the Promised Land. At Massah, they quarreled with Moses because of a lack of water. They demanded a sign proving God was among them. This was a way of testing God. Basically, they said that God had to prove His existence by granting them their wish.
Moses was very unhappy with their attitude, which demonstrated their lack of faith. Rather than sincerely obeying and trusting in God, the people were sparring with Him.
Moses would call that place “Massah,” which means “testing.”
There is only one case in Scripture where testing God is mentioned in a positive way.
Malachi 3:10 – Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Application – Do not test God. Do not approach God in a haughty manner. Do not barter with Him or demand a sign. He is God and we are not. We are His creation, the sheep of His pasture, the clay in His hands. Let us act like it.
2. Diligently keep His commands – Once again, Moses stresses the importance of obedience. The key theme in the whole book of Deuteronomy is the significance of obedience. The people knew God’s commands. What was left was to obey.
IV. Teach your children (20-25)
Discussion Questions
• What was the parents’ responsibility toward their children?
• Why was it important that future generations know the meaning behind the rules?
• Was each generation faithful to teach their children these things?
• Why do many parents neglect this task?
• Looking at this whole chapter in context, what would you say is the key for parents if they want raise up a godly family?
Cross-References
Isaiah 54:13 – All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. When they ask you… then you shall say – Here again, we see the importance of teaching our children the things of God. It wasn’t only necessary to teach them the rules, but it was vital to tell them the meaning and the history behind them. In this chapter, we can see that the internal things, heart, relationship, and motivations, are all more important than the external things such as rules. When the heart is right with God, external practices will follow.
Parents are responsible to shepherd their children’s hearts. The Jews were to tell the future generations about all of the things God had done for them in the past.
Today, we too, need to actively share testimonies of God’s goodness in our lives with our children. Make use of every opportunity to tell them the “why” of our faith.
So did they do it? Did they train up the next generation to follow after God.
Judges 2:7-8,10 – The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten… After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.
This was the very next generation after Deuteronomy 6! When I read this, it’s so sad. In only one generation, the people turned away from God. And it says they didn’t even know what God had done for Israel. The parents failed. They failed God. And they failed their children.
What is your goal for your children? For most parents in the world, they want their children to be successful. That is a good goal. But how do you define success? Most parents want their children to be smart and to become well-educated. They hope their kids go to a famous school, get great scores, and have a well-paying job. Perhaps a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, a politician. They would view that as success.
But Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” One day our children will stand before God. They will be called to give an account. Some may hold up their degrees and diplomas. Others owned fancy cars and gadgets. Perhaps others were famous and influential in their fields. Others may point to their hefty bank accounts. But if they did not have a relationship with Jesus, God will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
As a parent, I can think of nothing worse than this moment, hearing God say, “Depart from me, I never knew you” to my child and then casting him into eternal hell.
My wife and I would always pray together, “God do not give us a child unless that child will one day be your child.”
Brothers and sisters, this is something that may feel far off and intangible right now. But it is real. The judgment is coming. Are you doing everything you can to make sure you child is ready? When your child has an exam coming up, you make sure he is ready, right? You give her the materials she needs. You make her study. You make sure she gets a good rest. How can you do less for the final exam?
When we look around us, the world is running faster and faster away from God. This week one brother told me, “Our society is lost!” Sometimes it’s scary thinking about what the world will look like in 10-20-30 years as our kids grow up. This is why we must train our children up now.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Matthew 19:14 – But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Application – What will you do this week to help prepare your children to be successful in God’s sight?
