Bible study · Deuteronomy 17:1-20
Deuteronomy 17: A king with a book
Read Deuteronomy 17:1-20 before you meet.
In a few lines
Israel's king was told what not to gather, horses, wives, silver and gold, and told to write out the law himself and read it all his life, "that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers" (17:18-20), and not to turn "to the right hand, or to the left" (17:20), as the people were told of the verdict (17:11).
The verse to carry
“It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;”
Deuteronomy 17:19
To talk about
1. No one was to be put to death "at the mouth of one witness" (17:6), and a report had to be checked first (17:4). When you hear something bad about someone, how quickly do you believe it, and what would checking look like?
2. The king was not to multiply horses, wives, or silver and gold (17:16-17), and of the wives the law says, "that his heart not turn away" (17:17). What are you most tempted to gather more of, and what does it do to your heart?
3. The king was to read God's law "all the days of his life" (17:19). What would it take for you to read Scripture every day this week, and what gets in the way?