Deuteronomy 16 sets out Israel’s three great annual feasts (Passover with Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles) and insists that every household, including the poor, the foreigner, and the Levite, should keep them with gratitude and joy. These questions are built for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and they move from what the chapter says, to what it means, to how it shapes everyday life.
Deuteronomy 16 at a Glance
The chapter opens with the Passover, tied to the memory of the night God brought Israel out of Egypt. It then moves to the Feast of Weeks, counted seven weeks after the start of the harvest, and to the Feast of Tents, celebrated after the threshing floor and winepress are finished. Along the way Moses repeats the command that everyone attend in the place God chooses, and he gives the instruction that Israelites must not come before the Lord empty-handed.
The final section turns from worship to public life. Moses calls for judges and officers in every town who will judge with righteous judgment, refusing partiality and bribes. The chapter closes with a warning against planting Asherah poles or setting up sacred stones beside the altar, so worship stays wholly directed to the Lord.
Observation Questions
Use these first to anchor the group in the text itself. Ask people to point to the verse before offering any interpretation, and let quieter members answer first.
Q: In verses 1-3, what reason does Moses give for keeping the Passover, and what is the bread called?
1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God; for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste; that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
Deuteronomy 16:1-3 (WEB)
The reason is that the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by night, and Israel is to remember the day of their departure all their lives. The bread is unleavened, called the bread of affliction, because they left Egypt in haste. Ask the group which detail they find most striking and why it might matter that the bread recalls hardship.
Q: In verses 9-12, how is the Feast of Weeks timed, and who is included in the rejoicing?
9 You shall count for yourselves seven weeks. From the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain you shall begin to count seven weeks. 10 You shall keep the feast of weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 You shall rejoice before the LORD your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall observe and do these statutes.
Deuteronomy 16:9-12 (WEB)
The feast is timed by counting seven weeks from the start of the grain harvest, and the people bring a freewill offering according to the blessing they have received. The rejoicing includes sons and daughters, servants, the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. Notice that the list is not limited to family and property owners, and ask the group who in their own community might be on a similar list.
Q: In verses 16-17, how often must the males appear before the Lord, and what are they told not to do?
16 Three times in a year all of your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which he chooses: in the feast of unleavened bread, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents. They shall not appear before the LORD empty. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the LORD your God’s blessing which he has given you.
Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (WEB)
All the males must appear three times a year, at the three feasts, in the place the Lord chooses. They must not appear empty-handed, and each man gives as he is able according to the blessing he has received. Discuss how the principle of giving in proportion to blessing differs from giving out of obligation alone.
Q: In verses 21-22, what two forms of worship are forbidden, and where were they located?
21 You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the LORD your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves. 22 Neither shall you set yourself up a sacred stone which the LORD your God hates.
Deuteronomy 16:21-22 (WEB)
The Asherah trees and the sacred stones were forbidden, particularly when set up beside the Lord’s altar. Both were common features of the surrounding religions of the ancient Near East. Help the group see that the warning is about divided loyalty, not simply about objects, and that the concern is who receives the worship.
Interpretation Questions
These questions ask the group to weigh meaning. Allow disagreement, and steer the conversation back to what the text says when opinions drift away from it.
Q: In verses 3 and 12, why does Moses connect the feasts with Israel’s time as slaves in Egypt?
You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste; that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
Deuteronomy 16:3 (WEB)
The feasts are a form of memory, anchoring present worship in the story of deliverance. Verse 12 makes the point explicit: remembering slavery shapes how Israel treats the people around them. Ask the group how remembering one’s own past hardship can change the way someone treats the vulnerable today.
Q: In verses 11 and 14, why does the text insist that the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow rejoice alongside the family?
11 You shall rejoice before the LORD your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall observe and do these statutes. 13 You shall keep the feast of tents seven days, after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and from your wine press. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates.
Deuteronomy 16:11-14 (WEB)
The celebration is meant to be shared, not reserved for the wealthy or the native-born. Israel’s joy is supposed to be inclusive because God’s own care extends to those without advocates. Invite the group to consider what it would look like for their own gatherings to be as open.
Q: In verses 18-20, what qualities should the judges have, and why does the text say justice leads to life?
18 You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20 (WEB)
The judges must judge with righteous judgment, refusing partiality and bribes, because a corrupt bribe blinds the wise and bends the words of the righteous. Verse 20 links pursuing justice with living and inheriting the land. Ask the group how they understand the connection between a just society and the flourishing of the people within it.
Q: Why do you think worship and justice appear together in one chapter?
19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Deuteronomy 16:19-20 (WEB)
The feasts and the courts both reflect a God who is holy and who cares about how people treat one another. Neither can be separated from the other in the Lord’s eyes. Encourage the group to share examples of places where religious observance and fair dealing seem to have drifted apart, and what might bring them back together.
Application Questions
These questions move the group toward practice. Give each person a moment of quiet to think before inviting them to share, and avoid pressing anyone to reveal more than they wish.
Q: Which of the feasts or practices in this chapter could your household or church take up in a new way this year?
You shall keep a feast to the LORD your God seven days in the place which the LORD chooses; because the LORD your God will bless you in all your increase, and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful.
Deuteronomy 16:15 (WEB)
The Lord promises to bless the work of their hands and to make them joyful, which suggests that the feasts were meant to be celebrated with real delight. Ask each person to name one concrete step, such as a shared meal, a moment of thanksgiving, or a gift given with intention. Suggest that the step be small enough to actually happen.
Q: Who in your circle plays the role of the widow, the fatherless, or the foreigner, and how could you include them?
You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates.
Deuteronomy 16:14 (WEB)
The question makes the chapter’s inclusion concrete by naming real people in the group’s own life. Encourage honest answers and practical ideas, such as an invitation to a meal, a ride to worship, or help with a task. Remind the group that the chapter counts such people as essential to the celebration, not as an afterthought.
Q: Where in your work, school, or community do partiality or bribery tempt you, and what would following what is altogether just look like there?
You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
Deuteronomy 16:19 (WEB)
The verse names the temptations directly, so the question can be answered without vague generalities. Ask the group to identify one specific situation and one concrete choice that would honor righteous judgment. Let them consider who might hold them accountable in that setting.
Q: What does it look like in your life to give as you are able, in gratitude for the blessing you have received?
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the LORD your God’s blessing which he has given you.
Deuteronomy 16:17 (WEB)
Verse 17 ties generosity to God’s blessing rather than to a fixed amount or a sense of guilt. Invite the group to reflect on how they measure their giving and whether gratitude or fear shapes it more. Ask one person to share how their giving changed once they began to see it as a response to blessing.
Key Verses to Read Aloud
Deuteronomy 16:11
You shall rejoice before the LORD your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
(WEB)
This verse lists everyone who is to rejoice together, and hearing the full list aloud makes the inclusion of the vulnerable hard to ignore. Reading it slowly helps the group hear the names as deliberate and personal. Follow with a brief moment of silence to let the list settle.
Deuteronomy 16:20
You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.
(WEB)
Verse 20 is a compact summary of the chapter’s demand for justice and its promise of life in the land. Reading it on its own gives the group a clear sentence to carry out of the session. Close the reading with a question about what it would mean to pursue justice this week.
Memory Verse for Deuteronomy 16
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have been brought out of many kinds of bondage, and we remember the grace that set us free. Teach us to keep our feasts with joy, to include those who are often left out, and to give as we have been blessed. Make us people who pursue what is just, refusing partiality and every bribe that would bend our judgment. Keep our hearts fixed on you alone, free of every rival that would take your place. Amen.
