October 11, 2015
Guide #2-5
Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-6
Leader Guide
You would think that the chosen people, the Israelites, who have been enslaved by
the pharaoh, would be delighted to be free. Freedom, after years of slavery, has
miraculously been delivered by the Lord.
Moses goes to the pharaoh in the book of Exodus and there are ten plagues that the
Lord sends, but none of them can turn pharaoh’s heart enough to free these slaves
until the tenth plague, when the Lord struck down the firstborn of each house that
wasn’t marked with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts.
Pharaoh sends the Israelites away and Moses brings them out of the land of Egypt,
even though the pharaoh changes his mind and sends his army after them. In a
dramatic moment, God parts the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites make it
across safely, but pharaoh’s army is drowned while trying to catch up to their former
slaves.
But freedom has its cost. Life wandering in the wilderness is not all it’s cracked up to
be and eventually, the Lord’s chosen people start to get restless. They are hungry, so
the Lord sends them manna and quail. When they are thirsty and demand water,
Moses asks them why they test the Lord. The Lord tells him to strike a rock and
water will come out of it.
The Lord then gives Moses the Ten Commandments on top of Mount Sinai.
The Ten Commandments feel like a heavy dose of law – but the chosen people have
been complaining and, now that they are free, have started to get restless with Moses,
who has led them out of slavery. The Lord gives Moses the laws in order to provide
instruction and guidance to these people who have no other rules or authority to
dictate how they should treat each other.
The Lord loved the chosen people and wanted to put order into their lives. In order
to treat each other with respect and love, each commandment ultimately points back
to our relationship with the Lord. The first law is “You shall have no other gods
before me” because the Lord is claiming us. God wants YOU! Isn’t that the best news
you’ve ever heard?
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In the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, we are provided the last chapter of
Moses’ life and a review of the Ten Commandments that are also listed in the book of
Exodus. In Deuteronomy, we also read a verse called the Shema (pronounced shuhMAH), which states “Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and
with all your strength.” This is a command to live your life with the Lord being at the
center of all you do through your love of the Lord and the world.
But then it says that these commandments are to be on your hearts. This may sound
like a strange expression, but think about it: God wants us to have these
commandments in our hearts and to fully live out obedient lives for God so that
everyone may see that we are obedient to God. This means that God is always with
us; God is in our hearts wherever we go.
Not only are we claimed by God, we are
sent into the world with God written all
Since the Torah was meant to be an
over us.
instruction, Martin Luther, a former
German monk, wanted to make sure
that the people in his community could
understand
how
the
Ten
? How do these commandments affect Commandments were intended to be
lived in people’s daily lives. Luther
your relationships with each other
constructed something called a
and the Lord? Why does the Lord
catechism, which was designed for the
provide so many rules?
head of each household to read to his
family to provide instruction on how to
? What are some ways that you wear
live for the Lord. Luther went through
God on your heart? What does it
each commandment and asks the
mean to live a virtuous life, knowing
question “what does this mean for us?”
that you can never be perfect?
as a way of going deeper into the
meaning of the commandment and how
 Exodus 20: 1-21 is the other location it affects our relationships with one
another.
of the Ten Commandments in the
Pentateuch (the Torah, or first five
Look at each of the commandments and
books of the Bible).
evaluate why you feel each law is
 The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew important, but then brainstorm ways in
which the law itself can be good news.
5:17-20). Jesus teaches that he has
What are the positive outcomes if we
not come to abolish the law and
follow each of the commandments and
commandments, but to fulfill them.
how do our communities look if the
commandments are followed?
Kinsmen Lutheran Church
© 2014-2015 Spirit and Truth Publishing – All Rights Reserved
October 11, 2015
Guide #2-5
Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-6
Participant Guide
In society, we are organized by laws. Whether
you like them or not, laws are in place to
govern the way we treat each other and to set
normative behaviors. Are you someone that
follows all the rules? Are there certain rules or
laws that you think are unfair or should be
changed to create more fairness? What do you
think of laws, like speed limits, that are not
usually strictly enforced? Does that mean we
don’t need to follow them?
From the Bible, we’re also aware of laws that have been
put in place for us to treat each other and to please the
Lord. The Lord keeps making covenants with God’s
chosen people and they keep messing up! Maybe these
people are not clear on the Lord’s expectations on how
to live in righteousness. God has also made a new
covenant with Israel at Horeb, not just with the
ancestors. The Lord calls on Moses once more to deliver
the law on stone tablets for the Israelites.
The Torah, also known as the
Pentateuch, is the first five books of the
Old
Testament.
Torah
means
“instruction”, thus the teachings in the
Torah are meant to serve as an
instruction on how to live one’s life,
using the stories of the Lord’s chosen
people to demonstrate that, even
through slavery and wandering through
the wilderness, the covenant with the
Lord is a gift. A critical element of the
Torah is the presence of the moral
obligations and rules to remain clean
and righteous before the Lord, as seen
in the book of Leviticus as well as the
Ten Commandments. Moses receives
the teaching directly from the Lord as
the chosen people have strayed from
the Lord and need instruction.
Read Deuteronomy 5:1-21
? This is a long list of rules, but rules help maintain good order and can lead to
safety. Some of the commandments contain only a few words; some have more
words and an explanation. Which ones stand out? Why do you think God cares
this much about how we behave?
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-6
? What images come to mind as you consider wearing the commandments on
your heart? Are those images positive or negative? In what ways do you think
God wants us to wear our love for God on our hearts?
? In the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is forced to
wear the letter “A” over her heart to shame her for adultery. How do you deal
with feelings of shame or embarrassment when you make mistakes or know
© 2014-2015 Spirit and Truth Publishing – All Rights Reserved
that you are doing something wrong? Do you feel like this is a healthy way to
cope or are there different ways that you could address these feelings?
Just as the Lord had high expectations for the chosen people and made a covenant
with them, we live with the promises of the Lord extended to us. How are we
supposed to live our lives knowing the Lord loves us, unconditionally? Theologian
Martin Luther said that our good works, or actions, are a natural byproduct of the
Lord’s love in our lives. How can you live out this love through your actions this
week?
 Through your words. In what ways can you show others what God means
to you? How can your daily life be an example of God’s power working
through you? Could you attend your congregation’s confirmation class or faith
formation group and share your story of faith?
 Through your deeds. Is there a cause that your group is particularly drawn
to? For example, if you have a passion for art, could you lead a group to a
local art show and reflect on how God is moving you through this expression?
Are there opportunities in your congregation or community to serve a meal or
to gather supplies for the homeless or reach out to the community?
 Through your love. Because the Lord has high expectations for us
through the law, we know that we are loved. We are given grace. Through
this grace, we wear the commandments, but we also wear our love on our
hearts. How will you love others? How will you respond to others in love
instead of anger, even when you’ve been wronged or when you know you are
right?
Last week, a young Moses is called by the Lord to bring the chosen people, the
Israelites, out of slavery under the Pharaoh in Egypt. That story connects the Israelites
to the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As you read today’s
verses, a new covenant is formed with those freed Israelites in the wilderness. Moses
is nearing the end of his earthly journey. He will die before reaching the Promised
Land, but in next week’s lesson, we hear the story of a foreigner named Ruth who,
with her mother-in-law Naomi, hears about this loving God who gives food to his
people. Ruth has the opportunity to go back to her own people, but stays with Naomi
and “their” Lord becomes “her” Lord.
Kinsmen Lutheran Church
© 2014-2015 Spirit and Truth Publishing – All Rights Reserved