🪔 Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.

Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall observe and do these statutes.” Deuteronomy 16 opens with these words: “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by…” The line to keep is Deuteronomy 16:21: “You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.” Carry the word “plant” from that verse into the rest of the day.

The line worth learning out loud is Deuteronomy 16:21: “You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.

What happens first in Deuteronomy 16? Then try this: Read “You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.