Week of May 24, 2026
Sharing God’s Grace with Others
The grace that God had given to Israel in making a covenant relationship with them was to be extended to others, especially those on the margin of society: the poor, the enslaved, the widows and orphans, and the foreigners. Israel and God’s people today are called to be gracious and generous to those in need, as we demonstrate the Gospel we’ve received.
Monday | Deuteronomy 10:12-22
What was to motivate the people of Israel in their obedience to God? A reminder from a previous Scripture passage in this series: What does it mean to have an “uncircumcised heart”? What is the attitude of God toward those on the margins of society? How was Israel to treat those on the margins? What is one practical way that you extend grace to those on the margin in Chippewa Valley?
Tuesday | Psalm 10:14-18
In the ancient world, a common attitude was that those who were suffering affliction must have offended or disobeyed the gods. What was the psalm writer’s understanding regarding those who are suffering? What does it mean to you that God is a “helper to the fatherless” (10:14) ? What is the role of the church today in defending or seeking justice for the fatherless and the oppressed? (10:18)
Wednesday | Deuteronomy 15:1-18
On the one hand, in this passage, Moses states that there should be no poor in the land of Israel (15:4) and yet recognizes that there will always be poor people. (15: 11) How do you reconcile these two statements? How would the sabbatical year of canceling debts have addressed the reality of poverty? What would it have meant in the mostly agrarian world of the Old Testament for farmers and shepherds to be openhanded toward the poor? What does it mean for you today?
Thursday | Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 23:3-8; 27:19
If you just read the first passage for the week from Deuteronomy 15, you might get the idea that Israel was supposed to open wide their doors to outsiders and immigrants. Yet God’s word directed to them is more complicated than that. What was a major spiritual danger that foreigners brought with them? (7:1-5) Who did God tell Israel that they should stay away from, and why? (23:3) Yet how were they treating foreigners who lived among them? (27:19) What’s your view regarding our nation’s immigration policy? What are our responsibilities as Christians toward legal immigrants in our nation?
Friday | Deuteronomy 24:10-15, 17-22
If Israel had any notion that God expected a different attitude toward and different treatment of the poor and marginalized than was common in the ancient world, this passage should have made it clear. How were the wealthy (those capable of loaning money) to preserve the dignity of someone in need? How were they to protect the poor person from suffering from a cold night in the desert? How was economic justice to be practiced with regard to workers? How were the landless and the jobless to be provided food? What in Israel’s history was to remind them of the importance of justice and mercy? How does our history of receiving “grace upon grace” from Jesus impact our treatment of others?
