Deuteronomy 26 explains how Israel was to bring the first of its harvest to the place God chose, and what to say when it did. The chapter ends with a call to wholehearted obedience and God’s promise to set his people high among the nations. These questions are for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and they follow the chapter in the order a reader meets it.
Deuteronomy 26 at a Glance
The chapter opens with the firstfruits ceremony. An Israelite brings a basket of the first produce from the land to the priest at the sanctuary, and speaks a short confession that retells the family’s story, from Jacob’s descendants going down to Egypt, through slavery and the Lord’s rescue, to the gift of the land. The worshiper then rejoices with the household, the Levite and the foreigner.
The second half covers the tithe given every third year to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, followed by a declaration of obedience and a blessing. The chapter closes by describing the relationship between God and his people as a covenant of mutual commitment.
Observation Questions
Use these first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to the text, read the verse aloud, and only then name what they noticed. Keep answers short and factual at this stage.
Deuteronomy 26:1-2
1 It shall be, when you have come in to the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
(WEB)
Read this first to set the scene. It establishes the basic act of bringing firstfruits to the chosen place, which every later discussion depends on.
Deuteronomy 26:5-9
5 You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers. The LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; 9 and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(WEB)
This is the heart of the confession and the longest passage to read aloud. Hearing the whole story in one sitting helps the group feel the arc from affliction to rescue to gift.
Deuteronomy 26:11
You shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.
(WEB)
A short verse with a big idea. Reading it aloud reminds the group that worship is meant to be joyful and shared with others, including those outside the family.
Deuteronomy 26:12
When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.
(WEB)
This verse names the vulnerable people who receive the tithe. Pausing here invites the group to think about who is included in their own generosity.
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
16 Today the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice. 18 The LORD has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments. 19 He will make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor; and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, as he has spoken.
(WEB)
Ending the reading on the covenant summary gives the group a clear closing statement of God’s promise and his call. It works well as a transition into prayer.
Memory Verse for Deuteronomy 26
Deuteronomy 26:8
The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders…
(WEB)
This verse captures the chapter’s central claim that the Lord himself brought his people out with power. Memorizing it helps keep the story of rescue at the center of how we understand every gift we receive.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you grateful for the good things you have placed in our lives, and we confess that we often hold them more tightly than we hold you. Thank you for remembering us when we were in trouble and for hearing our cry. Help us to give you the first of what we have, to share our joy with those who have less, and to keep your ways with our whole heart. Let the memory of your faithfulness shape how we live this week. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
