Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!
We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!
The Passage
Deuteronomy 7:6-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. 12 “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.
The Questions
1) Who initiated the relationship between Israel and God?
2) According to this passage, what are some reasons that the Israelites should obey God’s commandments?
3) How do we interpret the negative side of this passage in verse 10-11?
4) Where does this passage fit into the whole story of the Bible?
The Findings for Intention
1) This passage makes it clear that God was the one who chose Israel to be His people. The Israelites had done nothing to deserve this treasured status—it was only because of His love.
2) Going verse by verse, we see that the Israelites should obey God because they were holy (which means, set apart) and that they were chosen and treasured by God. They were his possession. They were undeserving, yet loved. They should obey Him because He was keeping His oath with their forefathers, and because He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They should obey Him because He is God! He is faithful and His love is steadfast.
3) We prefer to think about God’s faithfulness only in its positive terms, but the truth is that God is always faithful, or true to Himself. He is constant and unchanging, and He keeps His promises. Therefore, when God promises blessing to those who faithfully serve Him, we can be sure He will bless us, but when He promises punishment to those who reject Him, we can be sure that He will punish them. He is holy, and He cannot allow for sin to go unchecked—just as a good judge would not let a criminal go free.
4) The whole Bible is one big story of how God is redeeming His people through His Son, Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy was written long before Christ came, just before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. It was Moses reminding them of the law they had been given, and urging them to follow God’s commands. In those days, the Israelites were living under the Abrahamic covenant, which promised them blessing if they obeyed God’s commands. Here, Moses is reminding them of the faithfulness of their God, and that He rewards people with the reward they deserve—whether good or bad.
The Everyday Application
1) This calling of Israel to be God’s people was undeserved—just as our calling to be a child of God is undeserved. We are entirely broken and wholly separated from a righteous God because of our sin….which we can not remove! No one deserves the lavish love of grace given through Jesus, but unfathomably, He offers Himself to us. Praise God, who gives us so much undeserved grace!
2) The reasons that should have motivated Israel to follow God were things that were true about them, regardless of their behavior. God had chosen them and loved them, they were holy to Him, they were His possession. These things are true of Christians, as well. Sisters, let’s see God’s grace as the motivation to be He calls us to be — holy! We are too deeply loved to walk away and strive for anything less than loving others the way we have been loved!
3) It’s a sobering truth that punishment awaits those who reject God’s offer of total pardon through the sacrifice of His perfect Son, Jesus. The reality is that none of us can even hope to be good enough for God, we would need to be perfect in every thought, every action, every motivation. Utterly Impossible! If you have not yet trusted in Christ’s death and resurrection for your salvation, do not delay! And if you are already secure in Christ, let this truth motivate you to care about your lost friends and neighbors and to share Christ with them. May your compassion for their hearts and souls outweigh any fears you may have in sharing real, eternal hope!
4) Although the Old Testament prescribed rules by which Israel was to honor God, it was the faith behind their actions that saved them — just as it is faith in Christ, apart from works, that saves us today. Praise God that He is faithful to forgive us, and that we don’t have to earn our salvation!
Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
I Can Do That!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!
The Community!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Sketched Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
The Tools!
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources. Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
The Why!
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.
Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Sketched!