EGW WritingsDeuteronomy 24

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 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 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.

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.]

Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing

“Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”—Matthew 5:39, R. V.

MB 72.1

Jesus bade His disciples, instead of resisting the demands of those in authority, to do even more than was required of them. And, so far as possible, they should discharge every obligation, even if it were beyond what the law of the land required. The law, as given through Moses, enjoined a very tender regard for the poor. When a poor man gave his garment as a pledge, or as security for a debt, the creditor was not permitted to enter the dwelling to obtain it; he must wait in the street for the pledge to be brought to him. And whatever the circumstances the pledge must be returned to its owner at nightfall. Deuteronomy 24:10-13. In the days of Christ these merciful provisions were little regarded; but Jesus taught His disciples to submit to the decision of the court, even though this should demand more than the law of Moses authorized. Though it should demand a part of their raiment, they were to yield. More than this, they were to give to the creditor his due, if necessary surrendering even more than the court gave him authority to seize. “If any man would go to law with thee,” He said, “and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” R.V. And if the couriers require you to go a mile with them, go two miles.

The Ministry of Healing

Business Principles

MH 187.3

“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge.” “When thou dost lend thy brother anything, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge.” “If thou at all take thy neighbor’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only: ... wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto Me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.” “If thou sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buyest aught of thy neighbor’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another” Deuteronomy 24:17, 10-12; Exodus 22:26, 27; Leviticus 25:14.

To Be Like Jesus

Never Take Advantage of Another’s Misfortune, June 5

BLJ 168.1

You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:17, NKJV.

BLJ 168.3

“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:17). “When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge” (Verses 10-12). “If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only ...: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious” (Exodus 22:26, 27). “If thou sell aught unto thy neighbour, or buyest aught of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another” (Leviticus 25:14).

The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters

September, 1895

PC 412.3

The Lord Jesus spoke from the pillar of cloud, “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? For the Lord your God is a God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh regards: he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, and giveth him food and raiment.” Compare this with the words of Christ in the New Testament: “A certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law, how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” “A father of the fatherless and a judge of the widow is God in his holy habitation.” “The Lord preserveth the strangers: he relieveth the fatherless and the widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.” “If thy brother be waxen poor, and falleth into decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee; Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. Thou shalt not rule over him with vigor, but shall fear thy God.” See also Deuteronomy 15:7-11; 24:14, 15, 19-21; Leviticus 19:32-37. “Owe no man anything, but to love one another.” The oppression of the poor, which is nothing less than actual robbery, is not punishable by human course, except in very extreme cases; but it is marked by the God of heaven as the abhorred practise which he would in no case tolerate.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 4, 1895

10LtMs, Lt 4, 1895, par. 18

“Take no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.” “Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shall fear thy God.” [Leviticus 25:35-38, 43.] See also Deuteronomy 15:7-11; 24:14, 15, 19-21; Leviticus 19:32-37. “Owe no man anything, but to love one another.” [Romans 13:8.] The oppression of the poor, which is nothing less than actual robbery, is not punishable by human courts, except in very extreme cases; but it is marked by the God of heaven as the abhorred practice which He would in no case tolerate.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 51—God’s Care for the Poor

PP 531.2

All the gleanings of harvest field, orchard, and vineyard, belonged to the poor. “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,” said Moses, “and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it.... When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again.... When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 24:19-22; Leviticus 19:9, 10.

PP 532.3

The hire of a laborer was to be promptly paid: “Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land: ... at his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it.” Deuteronomy 24:14, 15.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 87, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 87, 1894, par. 6

“Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: at his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.” [Deuteronomy 24:14, 15.] “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” [Leviticus 19:13.] “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” [James 5:4.]

9LtMs, Ms 87, 1894, par. 21

Jesus had said in the Old Testament, “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take the widow’s raiment to pledge: but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes in thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing.” [Deuteronomy 24:17-22.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 29, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 29, 1898, par. 23

“When thou cuttest down thy harvest in the field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the work of thy hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing.” [Deuteronomy 24:14, 15, 17-22.]

From Eternity Past

The Mercy of God to Poor People

EP 382.1

The hire of a laborer was to be promptly paid. “At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and setteth his heart upon it.” Deuteronomy 24:15.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Appendix

PP 757.3

From these facts we may conclude that the Sabbath was one of the things in which they could not serve the Lord in Egypt; and when Moses and Aaron came with the message of God (Exodus 4:29-31), they attempted a reform, which only increased the oppression. The Israelites were delivered that they might observe the statutes of the Lord, including the fourth commandment, and this placed upon them an additional obligation to keep the Sabbath strictly, as well as to keep all the commandments. Thus in Deuteronomy 24:17, 18 the fact of their deliverance from Egypt is cited as placing them under special obligation to show kindness to the widow and the fatherless: “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: Therefore I command thee to do this thing.”

From Eternity Past

Appendix

EP 549.3

The observance of the Sabbath was not to be a commemoration of their slavery in Egypt, however. Its observance in remembrance of creation was to include a joyful remembrance of deliverance from religious oppression in Egypt that made Sabbath observance difficult. In the same way, their deliverance from slavery was forever to kindle in their hearts a tender regard for the poor and oppressed, the fatherless and widows: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. . . ; that is why I command you to do this.” Deuteronomy 24:17, 18.

To Be Like Jesus

Character Tested by Presence of the Less Fortunate, June 6

BLJ 169.1

When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 24:19, NKJV.

The Ministry of Healing

Consideration for the Poor

MH 186.5

“When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field.” “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it.... When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again.... When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.” Leviticus 19:9; Deuteronomy 24:19-21.

From Eternity Past

Chapter 51—God’s Care for the Economically Disadvantaged

EP 381.1

All the gleanings of harvest field, orchard, and vineyard, belonged to the poor. “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,” said Moses, “and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it... . When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again... . When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 24:19-22. Also see Leviticus 19:9, 10.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Lt 34, 1899

14LtMs, Lt 34, 1899, par. 51

“When thou beatest thy olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger: for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterwards: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.” [Deuteronomy 24:19-22.] The joy of the harvester was always to be connected with praise and songs of thanksgiving because of the lovingkindness and mercy of God.