March 13, 2022 – Deuteronomy 4

Lesson Date: March 13, 2022

Focal Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 9-13, 23-40

AIM: To lead students to discover and list the five things God warned the Israelites not to forget, and to decide how those warnings relate to their lives.

Before class: Read the notes on Deuteronomy 4 found in the Sunday School Teacher Book.  Have enough copies of the “Take Heed … Lest Thou Forget” study guide for your anticipated attendance.  Have some pencils or pens available.  Ask a volunteer to look up and read Numbers 25:1-9, and be prepared to tell the class what Israel did and how God punished them.  Ask another volunteer to look up Romans 2:4 and be prepared to read it to the class when called upon.

INTRODUCTION (Create Learning Readiness): Tell the students of a time when you received a long list of reminders and warnings not to forget certain things.  This may have been when you were a young person and went away on an overnight retreat or camp, or when you first went out to drive “solo” after receiving your driver’s license.  It could have been when you moved away to college or to start a new job, or when your supervisor gave you a big task to handle on your own.

Ask: “Has someone ever given you a list of reminders and warnings?” (that has probably happened to everyone).  Tell the class that often those warnings and reminders were things they had heard many times before.  Ask: “Why did your parents (or boss) review and repeat all of those instructions?” (because they cared about your safety and well-being: they wanted what was best for you and a good outcome to your efforts).  That’s why those instructions and warnings were recited to them.

Tell the students Moses had invested much of his life in the nation of Israel and he cared very much about them, but God was not going to allow him to lead the people into the Promised Land.    Before sending them off on their own, God inspired him to give the Israelites some very important instructions and warnings.

Tell the class in today’s lesson from Deuteronomy 4 we will discover five things God warned the Israelites not to forget.  The title of today’s lesson is Take Heed … Lest Thou Forget.

HEART OF THE LESSON (Bible Study):

1. Review.
   • Use the Map of Egypt, Sinai, and Canaan to remind the class that God used Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the border of the Promised Land.
   • Use the Map of the Promised Land to remind the students that the book of Deuteronomy consists of sermons God inspired Moses to preach to the Israelites while they were camped in the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River from Jericho.
   • Ask: “What was last week’s lesson about?” (learning from the past).
   • Ask if any volunteer would recite last week’s memory verses (Prov. 3:5-6).
2. Remember God’s Commands.
   • Give everyone a copy of the study guide (and a pen or pencil if necessary).
   • Ask a volunteer to read Deuteronomy 4:1-2.
   • Ask: “What did Moses tell them to remember?” (God’s Commands).
   • Ask everyone to write this on his or her study guide.
   • Ask: “How does this warning to remember God’s commands relate to us? What are some commands God has given us that we must remember to obey?”
   • Allow time for some responses and discussion.
   • Explain the following:
     • Israel was forbidden from adding to or taking away from God’s Word.
     • The same warning has been given to us (Rev. 22:18-19).
     • The Bible is true, accurate, authoritative, and complete.
   • Ask: “In what ways do people today add to or take away from God’s Word?” (they take away from it by not reading it or by ignoring its teachings; they add to it by inserting their opinions to make it “say” what they think it should).
   • Summarize: God warned the Israelites to be careful not to forget His commands. We must heed the same warning.
3. Remember God’s Awesome Power.
   • Read Deuteronomy 4:9-13.
   • Ask: “What did Moses warn them not to forget?” (God’s awesome Power).
   • Ask everyone to write this on his or her study guide.
   • Tell the class the amazing demonstrations of God’s power Israel had seen should have:
     • Made them afraid to disobey God, and
     • Encouraged them to obey God because He has power to keep His promises.
   • Ask: “How does this reminder relate to us? What are some ways we have seen God’s awesome power?  What does the reminder of His power encourage you to do?”
   • Allow time for some responses and discussion.
   • Summarize: God warned the Israelites to be careful not to forget His awesome power. We must heed the same warning.
4. Remember God’s Promise of Punishment.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Deuteronomy 4:23-28.
   • Ask: “What did God warn the Israelites about in these verses?” (idolatry).
   • Ask: “What did He promise to do if they turned away from Him to worship idols?” (remove them from their land and scatter them among the heathen nations)
   • Tell the class these verses contain God’s promise of Punishment.
   • Ask everyone to write this on his or her study guide.
   • As another example of this, read Deuteronomy 4:3 and ask the previously enlisted volunteer to tell what happened in Numbers 25:1-9.
   • Ask: “How does this reminder relate to us? Has God promised to punish us if we let other things become more important to us than our relationship with Him?  In what ways?”
   • Allow time for some responses and discussion.
   • Summarize: God warned the Israelites to be careful not to forget His promise of punishment. We must heed the same warning.
5. Remember God’s Offer of Repentance.
   • Tell the students God wanted Israel to remember that He promised to punish them if they sinned, but He also wanted them to remember an important offer.
   • Read Deuteronomy 4:29-31.
   • Ask: “What did God want them to remember?” (His offer of Repentance).
   • Ask everyone to write that on his or her study guide.
   • Stress the fact that even after their sin would cause them to be scattered from their land, God would still be willing to forgive and bless Israel again if they repented and turned back to Him.
   • Ask: “In what ways does this reminder relate to us? Has God offered to let us repent and return to Him after we stray?  How do you know this?”
   • Allow time for some responses and discussion.
   • Ask the previously enlisted volunteer to read Romans 2:4.
   • Tell the class the fact that we ever repent and turn from our sins is evidence of God’s goodness and mercy toward us.
   • Summarize: God warned the Israelites to be careful not to forget His offer of repentance. We must heed the same warning.
6. Remember Our Position in Jesus Christ.
   • Read Deuteronomy 4:32-38.
   • Explain the following:
     • Israel was unique because of their special relation to the Lord.
     • God never chose any other nation to establish a special, personal relationship with.
     • He never let another nation hear His voice.
     • God never brought another nation out of cruel bondage in a foreign land to give them a new inheritance in a land of abundance.
     • The Israelites enjoyed a special, privileged position.
     • Just as Israel held a special, privileged position in God’s eyes, those who belong to Jesus enjoy a special, privileged position in Christ.
   • Tell the students God wants us to remember our Position in Jesus Christ.
   • Ask everyone to write this on his or her study guide.
   • Ask: “What are some things God has told us about our position in Christ? What is special about our position in Jesus Christ?  How should realizing who we are in Christ affect the way we live?”
   • Allow time for some responses and discussion.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Deuteronomy 4:39-40.
   • Ask: “What are the last things God said to Israel in these verses?” (know with certainty that there is no God like Him; obey His commands so things will go well for you).
   • Ask: “Should we heed those same warnings?” (definitely).
   • Summarize: Through His admonition to the Israelites, God has warned us to be careful not to forget our position in Jesus Christ.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: Remind the class of the urgency and importance of the parental warnings mentioned in the introductory step of this lesson.  Tell them our parents were insistent and urgent in their warnings and reminders because they were concerned for our safety and well-being.  Stress the fact that God is much more concerned for us than our parents were.

Read the reminders written on the completed study guide sheet.  As you read each one, ask the students to tell how that reminder relates to us.

The Israelites rebelled and disobeyed because that is human nature.  Unless we are yielded to the Holy Spirit, we can easily do the same.  Stress the fact that it is urgent and important and necessary that we remember the same things God told the Israelites.

Ask: “Have you forgotten any of these things?  Do you need to confess disobedience and recommit yourself to God?  Do you need to thank God for reminding you of these things, and then commit to remembering them and living by them in the future?”

Ask the students to bow their head and close their eyes.  Encourage them to privately make whatever commitments they need to make to God.  Allow a few moments for silent prayer, and then lead a closing prayer.

CONCLUSION: Ask everyone to memorize Romans 2:4.  Tell them if we love other believers, we will warn them when they go astray.  If we have friends or loved ones who have forgotten some of these important warnings, we should go to them and lovingly urge them to remember.