This small group Deuteronomy 8 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 8 Bible Study And Discussion Questions – Remember To Obey
Outline
I. Obey the whole commandment (1-10)
II. Do not forget the Lord your God (11-20)
I. Obey the whole commandment (1-10)
Discussion Questions
• Why do you think Moses stressed “the whole commandment?”
• Why do some people pick and choose which commands they want to follow?
• What does this attitude reveal about a person?
• Why did God test the people (verse 2)? Did He not already know how they would respond?
• What is the purpose of testing from God?
• What is the difference between tests from God and temptation?
• Where is verse 3 quoted in the New Testament?
• What does it mean that we live by the word of God?
• How did God supernaturally take care of them in the wilderness (4)?
• Why does God discipline people?
• What form might that discipline take today?
• What was the promised land like?
• How should they respond to God’s goodness?
• What are some ways God has blessed your life recently?
Cross-References
1 John 3:24 – Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Psalms 119:60 – I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.
Psalms 112:1 – Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
Psalms 25:9 – He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
Proverbs 17:3 – The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.
1 Peter 1:7 – So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Be careful to obey the whole commandment – The theme of Deuteronomy is obedience. It is repeated over and over throughout the book. God gave His law. The people were to obey it.
It is stressed that they are to obey the “whole” commandment. Sometimes we like to pick and choose. Certain instructions in Scripture are more attractive or naturally easier for us to obey. Others are extremely difficult or require making significant sacrifices.
This level of obedience separates the nominal believer from the zealous one. A nominal believer is happy to go to church occasionally. He may also quote a verse from time to time. He will pray when facing difficulties and perhaps as a tradition before meals.
But a zealous believer seeks to place his life in total subjection to God’s will by constantly applying God’s Word to his life. He seeks to obey all, even the inconvenient parts.
Application – Is there a command in Scripture that you are aware of, but unwilling to obey? Perhaps there is an area of your life that you know is wrong, but are unwilling to give up. If that is the case, you would do well to remember this passage. Be careful to obey the whole commandment.
2. Remember the whole way that God has led you – Deuteronomy, and Scripture as a whole, continually reminds God’s people to remember what He has done for them. They are also commanded not to forget it.
Reflect – What causes people to forget the good things others have done while remembering negative things?
We are creatures that often struggle with short-term memories. More accurately, our sin nature causes us to forget blessings and dwell on trials.
Many arguments in marriage center on some version of the complaint, “Why are you silent about the good I do and harp on my faults?”
Activity – Groups can spend some time to collectively remember a testimony or the blessings of God in their lives. Individuals can write down five things they are thankful for that God has done for them in the past year.
3. God humbled them – Here we see the motivation for why God led the previous generation through the wilderness for forty years. God desired to humble them. Everything had been going well. They had witnessed many supernatural signs. God had done miracles on their behalf. The mighty Egyptian army was defeated. Their neighbors in Egypt gave them gold and silver.
But in spite all this, they hardened their hearts before God. In their pride, they rebelled and complained.
Sometimes when everything is going well, the human heart puffs up with pride. God therefore brought them to a low place. Instead of receiving the Promised Land, they had to become vagrants wandering around in a desolate region. It was an ever-present reminder of their sin. In addition, they had to depend totally on the Lord just to survive.
There is a reason that large numbers of people do not live in wildernesses. These places do not have abundant food and water sources. Israel had to depend on God’s mercy. The Lord gave them food and water.
The goal of the forty years wilderness discipline was primarily to bring the people to a place of repentance and teach them to rely on the Lord.
Application – God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). We can either humble ourselves or be humbled by the Lord. What is one area of your life that you need more humility? How can you show humility in this area?
4. God tested you to know what was in your heart – The wilderness years were meant to test Israel. It was time to reveal and refine the thoughts and intentions of their hearts. People may never really understand their own faith or weaknesses until they go through a difficult trial.
Many products go through a stage of development called stress testing. Roller coasters, NASA shuttles, weapons, aircraft, steel rods for building, pistons, etc. all need to go through stress tests. They are tested in very intense situations which may include high heat, extreme cold, extra weight, in the water, etc. The goal is to reveal any flaws in their design which need to be fixed prior to final production.
God also puts His people through stress tests. The goal is to expose and then refine weaknesses. Real believers will learn more about themselves and be able to seek God’s help to grow. Sometimes these tests also sift the chaff from the wheat. Those without a real relationship with God may fail the test and turn away from Him. Even this result is good because it takes away their false sense of security and shows them their lost condition. Without knowing they are lost, they would not look to God for salvation.
James 1:2-3 – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Application – Evaluate one test or trial you have gone through recently. Consider what the test reveals about your own character and relationship with God. Are there weak points? Flaws? How might God be using this test to teach you? Write down your conclusions. Spend some time in prayer for God’s help in any weak areas identified.
4. He let you hunger and fed you – God is sovereign. He first let Israel go without and then He miraculously provided.
Reflect – Why did God both “let them hunger” and feed them with manna?
Going hungry humbled them. It removed any pretenses they might have of being able to provide for themselves. It showed them without any debt that they were 100% reliant upon God’s mercy. Eating is the most basic need known to man. Without God’s intervention, they could not even satisfy this need.
Times of difficulty are meant to bring us back to God. Do not be surprised if when your focus starts to turn away from Him, He allows you to go through a trial. Those trials are meant to recenter our attention on Him.
God did not leave them in this state. He also provided. His provision continued for forty years. The time of hunger was actually far shorter than the years of miraculous provision.
Application – We will all go through ups and downs in our lives. In both times of abundance and need, we should remember that God is on the throne. He is sovereign and He has a purpose for the circumstances He allows you to go through. It may be you need to learn humility. Or perhaps you need to learn gratitude. God’s presence is with you both while you are in green pastures and when you are in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).
5. Man does not live by bread alone – Jesus quoted this verse in His response to Satan’s temptation in the wilderness.
Matthew 4:3-4 – And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus passed the test that the Israelites failed to pass. They complained and sinned in their hunger. Jesus instead subjected His physical hunger to God’s will. He knew that physical food only gives physical life while spiritual food gives spiritual life. Obedience to and gratitude toward the Lord are more important than satisfying one’s fleshly hunger.
The manna, while it was food, reminded them of their dependance on the Lord for physical and spiritual life. It was meant as a physical sign to cause them to lift up their heads and remember God.
Jesus then compared Himself to the manna.
John 6:48-51 – I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
We live not by manna, but by Jesus.
Application – What are you living for? Jesus lived to do the will of the Father. Many people live to make money and satisfy their earthly desires for pleasure and stuff. Look beyond the “good life” or the “American dream” that many pursue and consider how you can invest in the kingdom of God.
6. The Lord disciplines you – God disciplines His people because He loves them.
Hebrews 12:7-9 – It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
The goal of discipline is restoration. He encourages His people to repent and be restored in their relationship with Him. Discipline is not easy or enjoyable, but God gives it because He loves us.
Many fathers do not care enough to spend the time necessary to discipline their sons.
Proverbs 13:24 – Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Discipline is not evidence of God’s lack of care. It is evidence of His care. He cares enough to try to pull us back to the right way. While that can hurt, it is much more painful to be allowed to go our own way.
Application – Identify a time in your life when God has disciplined you. Thank Him for His love even in the midst of that time.
7. The Lord is bringing you into a good land – The promised land would be a place of great blessing.
Descriptions of this land include the following.
• Brooks and water
• Fountains and springs
• Wheat and barley
• Vines and fig trees
• Pomegranates
• Olive trees
• Honey
• Plentiful bread
• Iron resources
• Copper resources
8. You shall eat and be full and bless the Lord – Verse 10 is a reminder that when they receive all these good things they should not forget to thank God. That is important because it is easy to forget the Lord when things are going well.
Proverbs 30:8-9 – 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.
It is common courtesy to thank those who do something nice for you. My parents taught me from a young age to say, “Thank you” when people gave me a gift. At birthday parties, we were supposed to stop after opening each gift and say, “Thank you.”
It is common for people to pray for God’s help when they are down and forget Him when they are up. Let us not do that.
Application – Develop a habit of saying, “Thank you” to God immediately when a good thing happens in your life. Let each day be filled with moments of gratitude. When we do it right away after receiving these blessings, it will help us not forget. It will also help us keep Christ in the center of our thoughts throughout the busyness of everyday life.
II. Do not forget the Lord your God (11-20)
Discussion Questions
• What would cause a person to forget God’s blessings?
• How could a people forget God who had done such amazing things on their behalf?
• How can a person keep focus on God even during successes?
• In these verses, Moses summarizes some of the highlights of God’s blessings in their lives. What would a similar summary of your life include?
• What temptation does wealth bring (17)
• What power does he give us to get wealth (18)?
• What are “other gods” that professing believers might go after today?
Cross-References
Jeremiah 2:32 – Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Mark 10:25 – 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.”
1 Timothy 6:17-19 – As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
1 Corinthians 10:12 – Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
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.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Take care lest you forget the commandments of the Lord – Here is a double reminder of the key themes in Deuteronomy to remember to obey!
2. Do not forget the Lord when you are successful –
Deuteronomy 8:12-14 – Lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God.
When things are going well it is easy to forget God. Rich people are more likely to be prideful. They are likely to credit themselves for their success.
Poor people, on the other hand, are generally more open to the gospel. They have nothing and know that they have nothing.
Reflect – What advice would you give a rich person who thinks that he is a “self-made man?”
Every thing we have is from God. That includes our health, abilities, opportunities, knowledge, brain, body, talents, connections and resources. Without the breath of life in us we are but dust. People are literally made from the dirt. Without Him, we are only dirt.
Psalms 8:3-5 – When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
In this vast universe, man is just a speck. Without Him we are nothing. But yet He values us. He cared about us so much He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us (John 3:16).
Israel did forget about God after things started going well. The very next generation after Joshua turned away from God.
Application – How can you keep focus on and gratitude toward God even when things are going well?
3. Do not become puffed up –
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
This is the same warning as in verses 11-14. No one is immune to this temptation. We need to stand on the alert against pride, which can come in so craftily.
We should regularly pray to the Lord for humility. When we are successful, we should also evaluate how God helped us to achieve that success. Give Him the glory. That starts in the secret place of our own heart. If we truly give God glory there, the same attitude will show in our communication of these achievements to others. We will be testifying of God’s goodness rather than building ourselves up.
4. God will punish them if they forget – In Deuteronomy, the people are often reminded that obedience will result in blessing and disobedience will result in a curse. God is showing them the carrot or the stick. Even with all of these reminders, the nation would soon fall away from God. Why?
We also see a similar phenomenon today. The younger generation in many areas, which once had strong and healthy churches, are rapidly falling away from God. This is happening especially in Europe and North America. What is causing so many people to stop practicing the Christian faith in these regions?
Application – The key principle from Deuteronomy 8 is to be humble! In your closing prayer, thank God for His blessings and ask Him to help you be humble whether you have plenty or little.
