EGW WritingsDeuteronomy 1

Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers—No. 9

The Lord’s Standard

SpTA09 52.3

“For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” Read Deuteronomy 7:6. Read the whole chapter, also chapters 1 and 8. These were presented to me as the words of the Lord. These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 11, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 11, 1903, par. 6

We do not make enough of Deuteronomy and Exodus. These books record the dealings of God with Israel. God took the Israelites from slavery and led them through the wilderness to the promised land. They had almost reached the end of their journey. Spies were sent over the Jordan to view the land and bring back a report.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Lt 184, 1906

21LtMs, Lt 184, 1906, par. 4

I cannot at this time write all that I desire. But you are to realize your great responsibility to teach your children the way of the Lord. Study the directions given in the book of Deuteronomy and in the New Testament. The Lord will bless you in your efforts to heed His directions. We owe all to God, and let us praise His holy name.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 131, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 21

Turn to the book of Deuteronomy. In the fourth chapter we read: “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.” [Verse 1.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Lt 204, 1908

23LtMs, Lt 204, 1908, par. 3

The book of Deuteronomy is a most interesting book. We should rehearse more often the history of events that it contains. We do not dwell enough on these wonderful experiences. Moses was instructed to repeat over and over to Israel the history of their experiences—their failures and their victories.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 40, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 40, 1910, par. 1

Last Sabbath I spoke to the people in the San Diego church. I felt deeply in regard to the words in Deuteronomy, which I took for my text.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Lt 73, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 73, 1896, par. 31

“For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim; he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work: and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now, therefore, be ye not workers, lest your bands be made strong; for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even determined upon the whole earth.” [Isaiah 28:21, 22.] Read Deuteronomy 7:6. Read the whole chapter, also chapters 1 and 8. These were presented to me as the words of the Lord. These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 106, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 106, 1897, par. 21

The Lord promised the children of Israel: “Ye shall see the altering of my purpose.” (Margin) Thus we see that the Lord’s promises are upon condition of obedience. He says, “Ye shall do my judgments, and keep my ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord thy God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 18:4, 5.] Read the first chapter of Deuteronomy carefully, and see why the Lord refused to bring the adults of the army that left Egypt into the promised land. Also Deuteronomy 28.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 121, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 121, 1899, par. 21

Let those who believe the word of the Lord read the instruction contained in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. There they will learn what kind of an education was to leave its impress on the families of the nation of Israel. God’s chosen people were to stand forth distinct and holy, separate from the nations who knew not God. But they were given directions to treat the stranger kindly. He was not to be looked down on because he was not of Israel. The Israelites were to love the strangers, because Christ died as verily to save them as He did to save Israel. The Lord God of Israel would receive them if they chose the society of those who knew and acknowledged Him. In this way they would learn of Jehovah, and glorify Him as they beheld His works in behalf of His chosen people.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Lt 221, 1899

14LtMs, Lt 221, 1899, par. 2

I have things to send to you in writing that I deem very important, and I think it will be prepared in a form so that many may be benefited by it. I should oft be so pleased to have talks with you upon matters that are intensely interesting to me, that I am trying to write out, in reference to the specifications in Scriptural injunctions in regard to the duties one to another in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. We must just call to our minds those [precepts on] actual, practical missionary work, and work intelligently, and do the very principles of Christianity, the gospel of the Old Testament.

14LtMs, Lt 221, 1899, par. 5

I cannot write out all that is contained in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But I think our people in this enlightened age of 1899, if they would go back to the period they call the “Dark Ages” and bring into their practical life the lessons that Christ gave to the Hebrews, they would act out the obedience God required of them. Their hearts would not be so full of selfish principles that when His brethren working in hard fields should ask a favor, that they would close the door of their heart and say, No.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Ms 36, 1900

15LtMs, Ms 36, 1900, par. 9

The truth of God must be presented from His Word. It is a work of sacred importance to impress upon parents the need of teaching their children to obey the commandments of God, as directed by Christ before He assumed the garb of humanity. Read the Old Testament Scriptures, especially Deuteronomy, on this subject. God told Moses to say to the children of Israel.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 105, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 105, 1903, par. 3

I feel deeply over our present situation. We must now do a work that should have been done long ago. We must do as the Lord directed Moses to do, when the children of Israel, having crossed the desert, were encamped on the borders of Jordan. Moses was bidden to rehearse to them all the dealings of the Lord to them during their journeyings through the wilderness. The record of this rehearsal is found in the book of Deuteronomy.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 9, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 9, 1903, par. 1

The book of Deuteronomy should be carefully studied by those living on the earth today. It contains a record of the instruction given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. In it the law is repeated. At the time that the instruction that it contains was given, the people of Israel were encamped beside the Jordan. All but two of the adults who had left Egypt had died in the wilderness. Now the generation that had arisen during the forty years of journeying were about to pass over the Jordan to receive their inheritance in the promised land. But they must first hear from the lips of Moses the instruction given him by the Lord for them. The words of the law must be repeated to them, and they must hear again the conditions upon which they were to enter into and take possession of the promised land.

18LtMs, Ms 9, 1903, par. 3

“These be the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red Sea. ... The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount; turn ye, and take your journey, and go into the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in, and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone; the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. ... How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously; ... but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s; and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.” [Deuteronomy 1:1, 6-10, 12-18.]

18LtMs, Ms 9, 1903, par. 5

These chosen were appointed rulers over the people—rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. Speaking of their appointment, Moses declared: “I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the cause between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. And the cause that is too hard for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.” [Deuteronomy 1:16-18.]

18LtMs, Ms 9, 1903, par. 8

“And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search out the land and bring us word again by what way we must come up, and into what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe, and they turned, and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eschol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandments of the Lord your God; and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.” [Verses 19-28.]

18LtMs, Ms 9, 1903, par. 10

“Then said I unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God, which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt, before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bare his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou shalt not go in thither.” [Verses 29-37.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Lt 9, 1899

14LtMs, Lt 9, 1899, par. 8

“So I took of the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.” [Deuteronomy 1:9-17.]

Education

Chapter 5—The Education of Israel

Ed 37.4

From the outset of the journey from Egypt, lessons had been given for their training and discipline. Even before they left Egypt a temporary organization had been effected, and the people were arranged in companies, under appointed leaders. At Sinai the arrangements for organization were completed. The order so strikingly displayed in all the works of God was manifest in the Hebrew economy. God was the center of authority and government. Moses, as His representative, was to administer the laws in His name. Then came the council of seventy, then the priests and the princes, under these “captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens” (Numbers 11:16, 17; Deuteronomy 1:15), and, lastly, officers appointed for special duties. The camp was arranged in exact order, the tabernacle, the abiding place of God, in the midst, and around it the tents of the priests and the Levites. Outside of these each tribe encamped beside its own standard.

From Eternity Past

Chapter 33—The Terrible Murmurings of God’s People

EP 262.1

The government of Israel was characterized by thorough organization, wonderful for its completeness and simplicity. God was the center of government, the sovereign of Israel. Moses stood as leader to administer the law in His name. A council of seventy was afterward chosen to assist Moses in the general affairs of the nation. Next came the priests, who consulted the Lord in the sanctuary. Chiefs, or princes, ruled over the tribes. Under these were “captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens.” Deuteronomy 1:15.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 33—From Sinai to Kadesh

PP 374.2

The government of Israel was characterized by the most thorough organization, wonderful alike for its completeness and its simplicity. The order so strikingly displayed in the perfection and arrangement of all God’s created works was manifest in the Hebrew economy. God was the center of authority and government, the sovereign of Israel. Moses stood as their visible leader, by God’s appointment, to administer the laws in His name. From the elders of the tribes a council of seventy was afterward chosen to assist Moses in the general affairs of the nation. Next came the priests, who consulted the Lord in the sanctuary. Chiefs, or princes, ruled over the tribes. Under these were “captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens,” and, lastly, officers who might be employed for special duties. Deuteronomy 1:15.

PP 381.3

Moses repeated to the congregation the words of the Lord, and announced the appointment of the seventy elders. The great leader’s charge to these chosen men might well serve as a model of judicial integrity for the judges and legislators of modern times: “Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.” Deuteronomy 1:16, 17.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 13 [Nos. 1000-1080]

MR No. 1027—Words of Counsel Regarding the Management of the Work of God

13MR 181.2

“Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people.” Speaking to the congregation afterward, he said, “I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him” [Deuteronomy 1:16].

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 91, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 91, 1899, par. 9

“Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people.” [Verse 25.] Speaking to the congregation afterward, he said, “I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.” [Deuteronomy 1:16.]

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 9—The Seven Deacons

AA 94.1

Later, when choosing seventy elders to share with him the responsibilities of leadership, Moses was careful to select, as his helpers, men possessing dignity, sound judgment, and experience. In his charge to these elders at the time of their ordination, he outlined some of the qualifications that fit a man to be a wise ruler in the church. “Hear the causes between your brethren,” said Moses, “and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.” Deuteronomy 1:16, 17.

From Eternity Past

Their Demands Become Rebellious

EP 266.2

Moses announced the appointment of the seventy elders. The great leader’s charge to these chosen men might well serve as a model of judicial integrity for the judges and legislators of modern times: “Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.” Deuteronomy 1:16, 17.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 103, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 103, 1894, par. 1

“And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren and judge righteously between man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s; and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, (Moses) and I will hear it.” [Deuteronomy 1:16, 17.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Lt 80, 1893

8LtMs, Lt 80, 1893, par. 2

Let us believe the Lord will hear our united petitions. With Him nothing is impossible. The words spoken [by] Moses, the Mighty Counselor speaks to us, “And the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto Me, and I will hear it.” [Deuteronomy 1:17.] What a cheering, hopeful message is this. Shall not we comply with this gracious invitation? One greater than Moses speaks these words, and it comes down along the line of ages to the Israel of God in these days. The case that is baffling to human wisdom, too difficult for the acutest skill of man, take it then to Jesus, and He who has spoken so encouragingly “bring it unto Me” will not disappoint our expectations.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 33, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 33, 1898, par. 8

This parable places before us a Christlike character in contrast with character of the unjust judge. Those who fear God and accept Christ as their personal Saviour will reveal a Christlike character. The character of God will speak through them, in vindication of righteousness. From this parable God would have us learn to respect the cause of the poor. “Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,” He declares, “but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s.” [Deuteronomy 1:17.] “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Master, but he that honoreth him hath mercy on the poor.” [Proverbs 14:31.] This is the lesson we are to learn from the parable of the unjust judge. The presentation of a man as a judge, who feared not God neither regarded man, is an admonition to all who claim to be righteous. “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise.” [Psalm 12:5.] “Wherefore turn thou to thy God, and keep mercy, and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.” [Hosea 12:6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 72, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 72, 1898, par. 10

“Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,” God declares, “but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. Ye shall not [as a judge] be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s.” [Deuteronomy 1:17.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

One Greater Than Moses, November 16

JNN 337.1

“The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.”—Deuteronomy 1:17

JNN 337.2

Let us believe the Lord will hear our united petitions. With Him nothing is impossible. The words spoken by Moses, the Mighty Counselor speaks to us, “And the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto Me, and I will hear it” (Deuteronomy 1:17). What a cheering, hopeful message is this. Shall not we comply with this gracious invitation? One greater than Moses speaks these words, and it comes down along the line of ages to the Israel of God in these days. The case that is baffling to human wisdom, too difficult for the acutest skill of human beings, take it then to Jesus, and He who has spoken so encouragingly “bring it unto Me” will not disappoint our expectations.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 10, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 10, 1903, par. 23

The lesson of this record is for us. The Lord had prepared the way before His people. They were very near the promised land. A little while, and they would have entered Canaan. They themselves delayed the entering. In the first place it was they who requested that spies should be sent up to search the land. Rehearsing to them the history of the unbelief and the trouble that it brought to them, Moses said, “And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.” [Deuteronomy 1:22.]

From Splendor to Shadow

Chapter 24—A Nation “Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”

SS 157.4

Calling heaven and earth to witness, Moses declared that if, after having dwelt long in the Land of Promise, the people should bow down to graven images and refuse to return to the worship of the true God, they would be carried away captive and scattered among the heathen. “Ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it,” he warned them. “Ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.” Verses 26, 27.

From Eternity Past

An Example of False Repentance

EP 274.2

God had made it their privilege and duty to enter the land at the time of His appointment, but through their willful neglect that permission had been withdrawn. Satan now urged them on to do the very thing in the face of divine prohibition which they had refused to do when God required it, leading them to rebel the second time. “We have sinned against the Lord,” they cried. “We will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us.” Deuteronomy 1:41. So terribly blinded had they become! The Lord had never commanded them to “go up and fight.” It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 34—The Twelve Spies

PP 392.3

God had made it their privilege and their duty to enter the land at the time of His appointment, but through their willful neglect that permission had been withdrawn. Satan had gained his object in preventing them from entering Canaan; and now he urged them on to do the very thing, in the face of the divine prohibition, which they had refused to do when God required it. Thus the great deceiver gained the victory by leading them to rebellion the second time. They had distrusted the power of God to work with their efforts in gaining possession of Canaan; yet now they presumed upon their own strength to accomplish the work independent of divine aid. “We have sinned against the Lord,” they cried; “we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us.” Deuteronomy 1:41. So terribly blinded had they become by transgression. The Lord had never commanded them to “go up and fight.” It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.

PP 394.3

Forced to submission at last, the survivors “returned, and wept before the Lord;” but “the Lord would not hearken” to their voice. Deuteronomy 1:45. By their signal victory the enemies of Israel, who had before awaited with trembling the approach of that mighty host, were inspired with confidence to resist them. All the reports they had heard concerning the marvelous things that God had wrought for His people, they now regarded as false, and they felt that there was no cause for fear. That first defeat of Israel, by inspiring the Canaanites with courage and resolution, had greatly increased the difficulties of the conquest. Nothing remained for Israel but to fall back from the face of their victorious foes, into the wilderness, knowing that here must be the grave of a whole generation.