Lesson 71: Deuteronomy 27–34
Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual, 2014
Introduction
Before the Israelites entered the promised land, Moses
explained to them the consequences of obedience and disobedience to
God’s laws. Moses counseled the Israelites to be strong and courageous,
and he left a blessing upon each of the tribes of Israel.
Suggestions for Teaching
I. Deuteronomy 27–28 Moses explains the consequences of obedience and disobedience to God’s laws
All together:
Place
two paper bags on a table at the front of the classroom, and invite a
student to come to the table. Explain that one bag contains a treat or
prize and the other bag contains a rock. Ask the student which bag they
think has the treat in it. Explain that you really want him or her to
have the treat and ask:
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What could I do to help you choose the bag with the treat in it? (If the student does not suggest letting him or her look in the bags, offer him or her the opportunity to look in both bags.)
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How did knowing what was in both bags influence your ability to choose?
After the student looks in both bags and selects what he or she wants, ask:
Draw the following diagram on the board:
---As Moses was nearing the end of his mortal life, he wanted the
Israelites to be able to choose to be blessed instead of cursed, just as
the student was able to choose the treat instead of the rock. To help
the Israelites choose to be blessed, he instructed Joshua to set up a
learning experience for Israel. In Deuteronomy 27, the Lord gave instructions about what was to happen
once the children of Israel entered the promised land. They were to go
to Shechem, which was located in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount
Gerizim. Moses instructed that half of the tribes of Israel should stand
on Mount Gerizim and the other half should stand on Mount Ebal. The
Levites were to stand in the valley between the two mountains and recite
the actions that would result in blessings and those that would result
in curses as designated by God. When actions resulting in curses were
recited, as described in Deuteronomy 27:14–26, the tribes on Mount Ebal were to say “amen.” Although not specifically stated in the scriptures, it may have been
that when the actions resulting in blessings were recited, the tribes on
Mount Gerizim responded with “amen” as well. Deuteronomy 28 further clarifies what the Lord wanted the Israelites to learn from this experience.
Break into groups.
1.
Have one student read Deuteronomy 28:1 and the other read Deuteronomy 28:15. Look for what the Lord said would bring either blessings or curses upon the people.
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What did the Lord command the people to do to obtain the blessings and avoid the curses?
---Write the word If between the words Disobey and Obey on the diagram on your paper.
2.
Have one student look at Deuteronomy 28:2–14, looking for the blessings the Israelites would receive if they obeyed God’s commandments while the other looks at Deuteronomy 28:15–25, looking for the consequences the Israelites would experience if they disobeyed God’s commandments.
---Mark what you find and share it with your partner. On your diagram, write under Mount Gerizim the consequences for obeying God’s commandments and under Mount Ebal the consequences for disobeying them.
2.
Have one student look at Deuteronomy 28:2–14, looking for the blessings the Israelites would receive if they obeyed God’s commandments while the other looks at Deuteronomy 28:15–25, looking for the consequences the Israelites would experience if they disobeyed God’s commandments.
---Mark what you find and share it with your partner. On your diagram, write under Mount Gerizim the consequences for obeying God’s commandments and under Mount Ebal the consequences for disobeying them.
3.
---Read aloud the following statement by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to understand the importance of obeying all of God’s commandments.
---Read aloud the following statement by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to understand the importance of obeying all of God’s commandments.
“[Have] faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy [see 2 Nephi 2:25].
[You] will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep
and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria
approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not
work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments” (“Face the Future with Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 34).
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Why do you think that in order to be prepared to meet God, we need to keep all of His commandments?
Although keeping all of God’s commandments may seem overwhelming,
President Harold B. Lee offered counsel that can help:
“The
most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you are
having the most difficulty keeping today. If it is one of dishonesty, if
it is one of unchastity, if it is one of falsifying, not telling the
truth, today is the day for you to work on that until you have been able
to conquer that weakness. … Then you start on the next one that is most
difficult for you to keep” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 30).
Think about which commandment you are struggling with the most
and how you can work on more fully keeping that commandment.
---Write in your student notebook your goal for more fully keeping that commandment.
---Write in your student notebook your goal for more fully keeping that commandment.
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How can the lost lamb in this painting represent each of us?
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What qualities or attributes of the Savior come to mind as you contemplate this picture?
Moses prophesied that Israel would become lost if the people sinned. In Deuteronomy 29:1–24, the Israelites covenanted with God to keep His commandments. Moses promised that if they kept this covenant they would be blessed and prospered.
---Read Deuteronomy 29:25–28
aloud looking for what Moses warned
would happen if the Israelites broke their covenant with the Lord.
-
According to verse 28, what would happen if the Israelites broke their covenant?
As you continue to study the Old Testament, you will
discover that the Israelites did break this covenant and then were
scattered throughout the world.The scattering and captivity of the ancient Israelites resulted
from their disobedience. Similarly, if we disobey God’s commandments, we
become further separated from God and are captive to sin.
5.
5.
---Read aloud from Deuteronomy 30:1–6 with one of you looking for
what the Lord promised He would do for scattered Israel and the other looking for what Israel needed to do for these promises to be
fulfilled.
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What can these verses teach us about deliverance from the captivity of sin?
As we return to the Lord with all our hearts and souls, He will ________________________.
---You might want to write it in your scriptures.
---Scan Deuteronomy 30:6–8, 15–16, 19–20,
looking for additional words and phrases that help you understand this
principle and share with your partner.
Thought question: Are there any blessings you have experienced as you have turned your hearts to the Lord?
6.
In Deuteronomy 31–34, Moses gave his final counsel to the Israelites and blessed each tribe. He counseled them to be strong and courageous as they entered the land of Canaan. The Lord told Moses that Israel would eventually turn away from God and worship other gods.Deuteronomy is the last of the books of Moses.
---Read Deuteronomy 34:5–6 and look for what this account says happened to Moses.
In Deuteronomy 31–34, Moses gave his final counsel to the Israelites and blessed each tribe. He counseled them to be strong and courageous as they entered the land of Canaan. The Lord told Moses that Israel would eventually turn away from God and worship other gods.Deuteronomy is the last of the books of Moses.
In Deuteronomy 33
we read that Moses blessed the tribes of Israel. As a part of these
blessings, the tribe of Joseph was given a special responsibility.
---Read Deuteronomy 33:16–17
aloud and look for the responsibility
the tribe of Joseph was given.
Remember that Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons and represented his tribe.
Remember that Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons and represented his tribe.
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What do you think the phrase “he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth” means?
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What do these verses say happened to Moses?
---Read Deuteronomy 34:9–12
aloud and find phrases that describe why
Moses is held in such high esteem.
Back to regular seats.
To help you understand what happened to Moses and why verse 6 declares that “no man knoweth of his [grave],” read aloud the following explanation by President Joseph Fielding Smith:
Back to regular seats.
To help you understand what happened to Moses and why verse 6 declares that “no man knoweth of his [grave],” read aloud the following explanation by President Joseph Fielding Smith:
“Moses, like Elijah, was taken up without tasting death, because he had a mission to perform. …
“When
Moses and Elijah came to the Savior and to Peter, James, and John upon
the Mount, what was their coming for? Was it just some spiritual
manifestation to strengthen these three apostles? Or did they come
merely to give comfort unto the Son of God in his ministry and to
prepare him for his crucifixion? No! That was not the purpose. I will
read it to you. The Prophet Joseph Smith has explained it as follows:
“‘The Priesthood is everlasting. The
Savior, Moses, and Elias [Elijah], gave the keys to Peter, James, and
John, on the mount, when they were transfigured before him. The
Priesthood is everlasting—without beginning of days or end of years;
without father, mother, etc. If there is no change of ordinances, there
is no change of Priesthood. Wherever the ordinances of the Gospel are
administered, there is the Priesthood. … Christ is the Great High
Priest; Adam next’...
“From that we understand why Elijah and Moses were preserved from death: because they had a mission to perform, and it had to be performed before the crucifixion of the Son of God, and it could not be done in the spirit. They had to have tangible bodies. Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection;
therefore if any former prophets had a work to perform preparatory to
the mission of the Son of God, or to the dispensation of the meridian of
times, it was essential that they be preserved to fulfill that mission in the flesh. For that reason Moses disappeared from among the people and was taken up into the mountain, and the people thought he was buried by the Lord. The Lord preserved him, so that he could come at the proper time and restore his keys, on the heads of Peter, James, and John, who stood at the head of the dispensation of the meridian of time.
if time: Dreidel activity
Rules of the game
Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, we will be used dried beans.
- At the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot". Every player puts one in the pot after every turn.
- Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on
which player side is facing up when it stops spinning, they give or take
game pieces from the pot:
- a) If נ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing.
- b) If ג (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot.
- c) If ה (hay) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. (If there are an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes the half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number)
- d) If ש (shin) or פ (pei) is facing up, the player adds a game piece to the pot
- If the player is out of pieces, they are either "out" or may ask another player for a "loan".
Dreidel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wooden dreidel
Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (He), ש (Shin), which together form the acronym for "נס גדול היה שם" (Nes Gadol Hayah Sham – "a great miracle happened there"). These letters were originally a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nisht ("nothing"), He stands for halb ("half"), Gimel for gants ("all"), and Shin for shtel ayn ("put in"). In Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ (Pei), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Hayah Poh—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the miracle occurring in the Land of Israel. Some stores in Haredi neighborhoods sell the ש dreidels.
Origins
According to Jewish tradition, when the Jews were in caves learning Torah, hiding from the Seleucids under Antiochus IV, dreidel became a popular game to play. Legend has it that whenever the Jews heard the Seleucid officials approaching, they would hide their Torah scrolls and take out their dreidels instead.[2][3]The game dates from the Medieval period at earliest, since it is a Judaized version of a Germanic teetotum, whose rules were: N = Nichts = nothing; G = Ganz = all; H = Halb = half; and S = Stell ein = put in.[4]
Etymology
In the lexicon of Ashkenazi Jews from Udmurtia and Tatarstan the local historian A.V. Altyntsev was fixed several other appellations of a dreidel such as "volchok", "khanuke-volchok", "fargl", "varfl", "dzihe" and "zabavke". [6]
Symbolism
Some rabbis ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four nations to which the House of Judah was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Seleucid Empire and Rome.[7] While not mandated (a mitzvah) for Hanukkah (the only mandated mitzvot are lighting candles and saying the full hallel), spinning the dreidel is a traditional game played during the holiday.[8]Hallel (Hebrew: הלל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113-118, which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays. Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which are recited as a unit, on joyous occasions.[1] These occasions include the following: The three pilgrim festivals Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot (the "bigger" Jewish holy days, mentioned in the Torah) and Hanukkah and Rosh Chodesh (beginnings of the new month).
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