EGW WritingsDeuteronomy 5

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 187, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 13

Chapter 5:1. Now in every place and test that they came to, all these things that I have read to you, and all through the things that were come, there stood Moses and repeated them all to the children of Israel. More than that, the important matters they composed in songs. The children and they went through the wilderness were educated to go there, and step by step as they sang these songs, it was important to them to keep the step as they went. It makes some difference whether we take heed to the Word of the living God or pay no attention to it.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Ms 136, 1909

Lodi, California

November 5, 1909

Fragment only; not on file.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 63, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 63, 1897, par. 16

“Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out hence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” [Deuteronomy 5:1, 12-15.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 12, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 12, 1904, par. 18

“Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” [Deuteronomy 5:1-21.]

19LtMs, Ms 12, 1904, par. 25

“Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Verses 22-33.]

19LtMs, Ms 12, 1904, par. 26

God’s desire for His people to obey His law is shown in the words, “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.” [Verse 29.] God’s statutes and judgments are given to His people for their good, to be a wall of protection round about them. It is by obedience to them that we gain eternal life.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 8 [Nos. 526-663]

MR No. 651—Our Church Paper

8MR 427.1

To all interested managers in our General Conference: I wish you to understand that I am every day grateful to our heavenly Father that our printing plant is to send forth the church paper from Takoma Park to all parts of our world, and more than this I am instructed to say that its circulation should be greatly increased. It is circulated in all places in a limited way. The Lord would have this paper come to many more families, in England, yes, in many places. It should go to Australia, where there are located large numbers of English-speaking people. And everything should be carefully written that light shall shine forth as a lamp that burneth. Much more should be written upon actual experiences and much more given in short articles, right to the point, on Bible present truth. The reasons why we are denominated people of God are to be repeated and repeated. Deuteronomy 4:1-13; 5:1-33.—Manuscript 175, 1905. (Diary, July 10, 1905.)

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 42—The Law Repeated

PP 462.1

The Lord announced to Moses that the appointed time for the possession of Canaan was at hand; and as the aged prophet stood upon the heights overlooking the river Jordan and the Promised Land, he gazed with deep interest upon the inheritance of his people. Would it be possible that the sentence pronounced against him for his sin at Kadesh might be revoked? With deep earnestness he pleaded, “O Lord God, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to Thy works, and according to Thy might? I pray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.” Deuteronomy 3:24-27.

PP 462.2

The answer was, “Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.”

PP 462.3

Without a murmur Moses submitted to the decree of God. And now his great anxiety was for Israel. Who would feel the interest for their welfare that he had felt? From a full heart he poured forth the prayer, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” Numbers 27:16, 17.

PP 462.4

The Lord hearkened to the prayer of His servant; and the answer came, “Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may be obedient.” Verses 18-20. Joshua had long attended Moses; and being a man of wisdom, ability, and faith, he was chosen to succeed him.

PP 463.1

Through the laying on of hands by Moses, accompanied by a most impressive charge, Joshua was solemnly set apart as the leader of Israel. He was also admitted to a present share in the government. The words of the Lord concerning Joshua came through Moses to the congregation, “He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him, after the judgment of Urim before the Lord. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Verses 21-23.

PP 463.2

Before relinquishing his position as the visible leader of Israel, Moses was directed to rehearse to them the history of their deliverance from Egypt and their journeyings in the wilderness, and also to recapitulate the law spoken from Sinai. When the law was given, but few of the present congregation were old enough to comprehend the awful solemnity of the occasion. As they were soon to pass over Jordan and take possession of the Promised Land, God would present before them the claims of His law and enjoin upon them obedience as the condition of prosperity.

PP 463.3

Moses stood before the people to repeat his last warnings and admonitions. His face was illumined with a holy light. His hair was white with age; but his form was erect, his countenance expressed the unabated vigor of health, and his eye was clear and undimmed. It was an important occasion, and with deep feeling he portrayed the love and mercy of their Almighty Protector:

PP 463.4

“Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him.”

PP 464.1

“The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:7-9.

PP 464.2

The people of Israel had been ready to ascribe their troubles to Moses; but now their suspicions that he was controlled by pride, ambition, or selfishness, were removed, and they listened with confidence to his words. Moses faithfully set before them their errors and the transgressions of their fathers. They had often felt impatient and rebellious because of their long wandering in the wilderness; but the Lord had not been chargeable with this delay in possessing Canaan; He was more grieved than they because He could not bring them into immediate possession of the Promised Land, and thus display before all nations His mighty power in the deliverance of His people. With their distrust of God, with their pride and unbelief, they had not been prepared to enter Canaan. They would in no way represent that people whose God is the Lord; for they did not bear His character of purity, goodness, and benevolence. Had their fathers yielded in faith to the direction of God, being governed by His judgments and walking in His ordinances, they would long before have been settled in Canaan, a prosperous, holy, happy people. Their delay to enter the goodly land dishonored God and detracted from His glory in the sight of surrounding nations.

PP 464.3

Moses, who understood the character and value of the law of God, assured the people that no other nation had such wise, righteous, and merciful rules as had been given to the Hebrews. “Behold,” he said, “I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

PP 465.1

Moses called their attention to the “day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb.” And he challenged the Hebrew host: “What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” Today the challenge to Israel might be repeated. The laws which God gave His ancient people were wiser, better, and more humane than those of the most civilized nations of the earth. The laws of the nations bear marks of the infirmities and passions of the unrenewed heart; but God’s law bears the stamp of the divine.

PP 465.2

“The Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace,” declared Moses, “to be unto Him a people of inheritance.” The land which they were soon to enter, and which was to be theirs on condition of obedience to the law of God, was thus described to them—and how must these words have moved the hearts of Israel, as they remembered that he who so glowingly pictured the blessings of the goodly land had been, through their sin, shut out from sharing the inheritance of his people:

PP 465.3

“The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land,” “not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: but the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven;” “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass;” “a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” Deuteronomy 8:7-9; 11:10-12.

PP 465.4

“And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord.” “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God.... For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” If they should do evil in the sight of the Lord, then, said Moses, “Ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it.”

PP 466.1

After the public rehearsal of the law, Moses completed the work of writing all the laws, the statutes, and the judgments which God had given him, and all the regulations concerning the sacrificial system. The book containing these was placed in charge of the proper officers, and was for safe keeping deposited in the side of the ark. Still the great leader was filled with fear that the people would depart from God. In a most sublime and thrilling address he set before them the blessings that would be theirs on condition of obedience, and the curses that would follow upon transgression:

PP 466.2

“If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day,” “blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field,” in “the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle.... Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face.... The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto.”

PP 466.3

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee,” “and thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.” “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.”

PP 467.1

By the Spirit of Inspiration, looking far down the ages, Moses pictured the terrible scenes of Israel’s final overthrow as a nation, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.”

PP 467.2

The utter wasting of the land and the horrible suffering of the people during the siege of Jerusalem under Titus centuries later, were vividly portrayed: “He shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed.... And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land.... Thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.” “The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, ... and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.”

PP 467.3

Moses closed with these impressive words: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him : for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.

PP 467.4

The more deeply to impress these truths upon all minds, the great leader embodied them in sacred verse. This song was not only historical, but prophetic. While it recounted the wonderful dealings of God with His people in the past, it also foreshadowed the great events of the future, the final victory of the faithful when Christ shall come the second time in power and glory. The people were directed to commit to memory this poetic history, and to teach it to their children and children’s children. It was to be chanted by the congregation when they assembled for worship, and to be repeated by the people as they went about their daily labors. It was the duty of parents to so impress these words upon the susceptible minds of their children that they might never be forgotten.

PP 468.1

Since the Israelites were to be, in a special sense, the guardians and keepers of God’s law, the significance of its precepts and the importance of obedience were especially to be impressed upon them, and through them, upon their children and children’s children. The Lord commanded concerning His statutes: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.... And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

PP 468.2

When their children should ask in time to come, “What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?” then the parents were to repeat the history of God’s gracious dealings with them—how the Lord had wrought for their deliverance that they might obey His Law—and to declare to them, “The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as He hath commanded us.”

From Eternity Past

Chapter 42—God Teaches His Law to a New Generation

EP 327.1

The Lord announced to Moses that the appointed time for the possession of Canaan was at hand. As the aged prophet stood upon the heights overlooking the Promised Land, with deep earnestness he pleaded, “O Lord God, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy mighty hand: for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to Thy works, and according to Thy might? I pray Thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.”

EP 327.2

The answer was, “Speak no more unto Me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.”

EP 327.3

Without a murmur Moses submitted to the decree of God. And now his great anxiety was for Israel. From a full heart he poured forth the prayer, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation ... which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” Numbers 27:16, 17.

EP 327.4

The answer came, “Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may be obedient.” Verses 18-20.

EP 328.1

Joshua, a man of wisdom, ability, and faith, was chosen to succeed him. He was solemnly set apart as the leader of Israel. The words of the Lord concerning Joshua came through Moses to the congregation, “At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Verse 21.

EP 328.2

Moses stood before the people to repeat his last warnings and admonitions. His face was illumined with a holy light, his hair white with age. But his form was erect, and his eye was clear and undimmed. With deep feeling he portrayed the love and mercy of their Almighty Protector.

EP 328.3

“Ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?”

EP 328.4

“Because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:8, 9.

EP 328.5

The people of Israel had often felt impatient and rebellious because of their long wandering in the wilderness; but the Lord had not been chargeable with this delay in possessing Canaan. He was more grieved than they because He could not bring them into immediate possession of the Promised Land and display before all nations His mighty power. With their distrust of God, they had not been prepared to enter Canaan. Had their fathers yielded in faith to the direction of God, walking in His ordinances, they would long before have been settled in Canaan, a prosperous, holy, happy people. Their delay dishonored God and detracted from His glory in the sight of surrounding nations.

EP 329.1

“Behold,” Moses said, “I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

EP 329.2

And he challenged the Hebrew host: “What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” The laws which God gave His ancient people were wiser, better, and more humane than those of the most civilized nations of the earth. God’s law bears the stamp of the divine.

EP 329.3

How must these words have moved the hearts of Israel as they remembered that he who so glowingly pictured the blessings of the goodly land had been, through their sin, shut out from sharing the inheritance of his people:

EP 329.4

“The land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven”; “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass”; “a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”

EP 329.5

“And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord.” “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord our God... . For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” If they should do evil in the sight of the Lord, then, said Moses, “Ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it.”

EP 330.1

Moses completed the work of writing all the laws, statutes, and judgments which God had given him, and regulations concerning the sacrificial system. The book containing these was placed for safe keeping in the side of the ark.

EP 330.2

Still the great leader was filled with fear that the people would depart from God. In a sublime and thrilling address he set before them the blessings that would be theirs on condition of obedience, and the curses that would follow upon transgression:

EP 330.3

“If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day,” “blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field,” in “the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle... . Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store... . The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face... . The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto.”

EP 330.4

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not ... observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee,” “and thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.” “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other... . And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! And at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning!”

EP 331.1

By the Spirit of Inspiration, looking far down the ages, Moses pictured the terrible scenes of Israel’s final overthrow as a nation and the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome. The horrible sufferings of the people during the siege of Jerusalem under Titus centuries later were vividly portrayed: “He shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land... . Thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters ... in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.” “The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, ... and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.”

EP 332.1

The more deeply to impress these truths upon all minds, the great leader embodied them in sacred verse. The people were to commit to memory this poetic history and teach it to their children and children’s children, that it might never be forgotten.

EP 332.2

When their children should ask in time to come, “What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God hath commanded you?” then the parents were to repeat the history of God’s gracious dealings with them—how the Lord had wrought for their deliverance that they might obey His law: “The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us.”

From Eternity Past

Blessings Conditional

EP 331.2

Moses closed with these impressive words: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 59, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 59, 1898, par. 7

In the fifth chapter of this book, the commandments of God are repeated, verses 6-21. The whole chapter is very definite. Read verses 29-33. Again the requirements of God are given in the eighth chapter verses 1-15.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 31, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 31, 1898, par. 24

Human philosophy declares that an indefinite period of time was taken in the creation of the world. Does God state the matter thus? No; He says, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days (not six indefinite periods of time, for then there would be no possible way for man to observe the day specified in the fourth commandment) the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh he rested and was refreshed.” [Verse 17.] Please read carefully the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. God says again, “Remember (do not forget) the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and sanctified it.” [Exodus 20:8, 11.]

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 29, 1900

15LtMs, Ms 29, 1900, par. 32

In Deuteronomy, chapters five and six, the Word of the Lord is given unto Moses to be given to the people of Israel. Chapter five contains the Word of God, definitely specifying His commandments. “Thou shalt ... keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” [Verses 11-15.]

15LtMs, Ms 29, 1900, par. 33

What could be stated more definitely than this requirement? The whole of chapter five is of sacred importance to all those who love and serve God. Chapter six continues this subject. “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy sons son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that you may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee in the land which floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” [Verses 1-5.]

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 16 (1901)

Ms 79, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 79, 1901, par. 2

Please read the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Deuteronomy. “Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-7.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 152, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 152, 1901, par. 34

Here the agreement was made by a most solemn covenant. But because Israel, on their part, failed of fulfilling this agreement, God in His mercy did not destroy them, but gave them another opportunity to obey Him. Again He instructed Moses to repeat the decalogue to the whole encampment. We have a record of this in the fifth of Deuteronomy. Moses summoned the people in solemn assembly and commanded all to give special attention, for he desired to communicate to them matters that concerned their eternal welfare. They were to listen attentively to that which they would bind themselves to observe. The trumpet gave a certain sound, demanding most earnest attention. Then Moses began to speak.

16LtMs, Ms 152, 1901, par. 35

“Hear, O Israel,” he declared, “the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.” [Verses 1-4.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 151, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 25

Comparatively speaking, only a few honor God on the Sabbath day, according to His commandment. In the fifth of Deuteronomy we read that Moses called the children of Israel together, “and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep them, and do them.” [Verse 1.] Then he referred to the covenant that they made with the Lord when they received His commandments at Sinai. “The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.” [Verses 2-4.] Then Moses repeated to the assembled multitude the words that the Lord had spoken to them at mount Sinai, even the ten holy precepts.

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 26

We who are living in the year 1901 should often repeat the words that are recorded in this chapter. That God who talked with Israel face to face is speaking to us. Every requirement, every caution, every restraint given them, is recorded for us to study and to put into practice in principle. Let us read attentively the words that He spake to ancient Israel. There is altogether too great a willingness to forget these words. And when those who heed not the instruction given to Israel are reproved for the good of their souls, that they shall not corrupt their ways and suffer the sure result of disobedience and unsanctified works, they often feel that they are dealt with harshly. But in this chapter are specified the commandments that will make the path plain before them and shield them from the temptations of the enemy. He who gives these commandments introduces Himself in the following words: “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” [Verse 6.] Then follow the ten commandments.

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 30

After repeating the first four precepts of the Decalogue, which relate to man’s duty to his Creator; and the last six precepts, which relate to man’s duty to his fellow men, Moses declared: “These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” [Deuteronomy 5:22.]

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 31

The people pleaded with Moses when they heard the voice from Sinai. “Ye came near unto me,” said Moses, “and ye said, ... Why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” [Verses 23-29.]

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 33

After telling the Israelites to return to their tents, the Lord said to Moses: “As for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Verses 31-33.]

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 34

These closing verses of the fifth of Deuteronomy plainly specify that Israel’s prosperity depended upon their obedience to the commandments of God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 222, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 222, 1902, par. 1

This morning Sara McEnterfer accompanied me to the place where a school building is being built to give advantage to the children in this locality to attend. The law has been passed that there should be no Bible education given, that no religious instruction should be allowed in the school. Brother Anthony is an excellent teacher, beloved and respected by all who have been acquainted with him. But being prohibited from doing the very work he would be glad to do makes the matter a necessity to have a school building where the children can be instructed in understanding the Scriptures, especially in accordance with the Word of the Lord in Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 5. All through this book of sacred history is the special Word of the Lord.

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 20 (1905)

Ms 175, 1905

20LtMs, Ms 175, 1905, par. 3

To all interested managers in our General Conference: I wish you to understand that I am every day grateful to our heavenly Father that our printing plant is to send forth the church paper from Takoma Park to all parts of our world, and more than this I am instructed to say that its circulation should be greatly increased. It is circulated in all places in a limited way. The Lord would have this paper come to many more families in England, yes, in many places. It should go to Australia, where there are located large numbers of English-speaking people. And everything should be carefully written, that light shall shine forth as a lamp that burneth. Much more should be written upon actual experiences and much more given in short articles, right to the point, on Bible present truth. The reasons why we are the denominated people of God are to be repeated and repeated. Deuteronomy 4:1-13; 5:1-33.

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.]

22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 29

In the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy, the ten commandments are repeated. (Verses 11-14): “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, not thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.”

22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 30

(Verses 24, 25): “And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us His glory, and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.” These words indicated unbelief. God desired that they should hear His voice; but they were so fearful, they begged Moses that they might not hear it. “Who is there of all flesh,” they inquired, “that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 31

“Go thou near,” they pleaded with Moses, “and hear all that the Lord our God shall say; and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; [and the Lord said unto me,] I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. Oh, that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, [and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them,] and with their children forever!” [Verses 26-29.]

22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 33

“Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Verses 30-33.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Lt 292, 1908

23LtMs, Lt 292, 1908, par. 13

The instruction of chapter five should also come to us with special force. That which the Lord required of His people as He led them through the wilderness was sanctification—sanctification of mind and soul and body. This He requires of every soul today. There is to be rendered to Him by His people perfect obedience to His will. No excuse will be accepted for disobedience to His holy commandments.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Ms 93, 1908

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 37

We need to ask ourselves constantly, What word hath God spoken? Has He said that we shall observe Sunday? There is no such requirement given in His Word. Not the first day, but the seventh is the day that He bids us observe. How can He regard those who claim that Sunday is the Sabbath of the Lord, and who oppress the people of God who obey His specified law? They take the minds of the people from the very day that He has blessed and present the first day of the week as the day that they must honor. But God declares, “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” [Deuteronomy 5:13, 14.]

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 50

Read the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. “These are the commandments, the statutes and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life.” [Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.]

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 151, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 151, 1910, par. 4

Now all this movement on the Sabbath was in the Lord’s order to make an impression upon the people. That is the very work the Lord would have done; and when the suggestion was made by Elder Andross for me to speak in the hall, I was then suffering—sick upon my bed in Loma Linda; but I consented and went through all that confusion, for the Lord healed me and gave them the truth definite and clear from Deuteronomy 5, 6. There was perfect attention. An old gentleman rose and said he wished I would speak on the fifteenth of John, but he was quieted. Next time I will do this, but now I was upon another subject of highest importance. I had strength given me to speak one hour and a little over. Never was there better interest manifested than on that occasion. There was the upper floor of the house, the gallery, full, and the whole lower part of the hall, and a few were standing.

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 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 146, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 146, 1910, par. 6

The Lord gave me voice and clearness of mind as I spoke from the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy with portions from the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters. The congregation was very attentive. I spoke a little more than an hour, and all listened with the greatest respect. The Lord gave me the freedom of His Holy Spirit, and many in the audience were deeply affected.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 84, 1910

25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 58

I want to say that our God is a living God. In the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy are words which He wants us to heed:

25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 60

“Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commandment thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” [Verses 11-16.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 42, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 42, 1910, par. 6

Brother Parsons, we have a most solemn work before us. Let us, my brother, lift up the standard, beginning with full surrender and continuing in the simplicity of obedience to all the Lord’s commandments, according to His special directions. None of the important things specified in His Word are to be neglected. Read to the people the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. Read this chapter carefully, and regard the charge. O what a lesson is in this chapter! Read also chapters five, six, seven, and eight. Let the special lesson be our interest to do them. I feel intensely over this matter. All are to search the Scriptures for themselves, to make the Word of the Lord their study book, lest they also be found in rebellion. Let every soul sanctify himself daily, according to the Word of the Lord. Then the Lord will be glorified through us.

Lift Him Up

Always a Witness in the Church, October 27

LHU 314.1

The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire. Deuteronomy 5:4.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 18 [Nos. 1301-1359]

MR No. 1352—No Safety in Eating Meat; Diseases Prevalent; Drawing Nigh to God

18MR 353.2

[Deuteronomy 4:1-9, quoted.] In the fifth chapter of this book, the commandments of God are repeated. (Verses 6-21.) The whole chapter is very definite. Read verses 29-33. Again, the requirements of God are given in the eighth chapter, verses 1-15.

Lift Him Up

Keeping the Sabbath, May 3

LHU 137.4

Before entering the Promised Land, the Israelites were admonished by Moses to “keep the sabbath day to sanctify it” (Deuteronomy 5:12). The Lord designed that by a faithful observance of the Sabbath command, Israel should continually be reminded of their accountability to Him as their Creator and their Redeemer. While they should keep the Sabbath in the proper spirit, idolatry could not exist; but should the claims of this precept of the Decalogue be set aside as no longer binding, the Creator would be forgotten and men would worship other gods.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 14—“In the Spirit and Power of Elias”

PK 181.1

Before entering the Promised Land, the Israelites were admonished by Moses to “keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it.” Deuteronomy 5:12. The Lord designed that by a faithful observance of the Sabbath command, Israel should continually be reminded of their accountability to Him as their Creator and their Redeemer. While they should keep the Sabbath in the proper spirit, idolatry could not exist; but should the claims of this precept of the Decalogue be set aside as no longer binding, the Creator would be forgotten and men would worship other gods. “I gave them My Sabbaths,” God declared, “to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Yet “they despised My judgments, and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.” And in His appeal to them to return to Him, He called their attention anew to the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy. “I am the Lord your God,” He said; “walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20:12, 16, 19, 20.

The Review and Herald

November 6, 1913

RH November 6, 1913, Art. A, par. 10

Before entering the promised land, the Israelites were admonished by Moses to “keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it.” Deuteronomy 5:12. The Lord designed that by a faithful observance of the Sabbath command, Israel should keep in mind their accountability to him as their Creator and their Redeemer. While they kept the Sabbath in the proper spirit, there could exist no idolatry. But should the claims of this precept be set aside as no longer binding, the Creator would be forgotten, and men would worship other gods.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 12, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 12, 1893, par. 14

God has said, “Thou shalt keep the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” [See Deuteronomy 5:12, 14.] Yet some say it makes no difference <what day we keep.> We want to show that it does make a decided difference. The Word of God is made of no account by such.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Ms 99, 1908

23LtMs, Ms 99, 1908, par. 4

“Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle; nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” [Deuteronomy 5:12-15.]

To Be Like Jesus

A Vision of the Sabbath Commandment, May 28

BLJ 159.1

The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. Deuteronomy 5:14, NKJV.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Appendix

PP 757.2

In Deuteronomy 5:14, 15 we find special emphasis given to that portion of the fourth commandment which requires the manservant and the maidservant to rest, and the Israelite was told to remember that he had been a servant in the land of Egypt. The Lord said, “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” In Exodus 5:5 we learn that Moses and Aaron made the people “rest from their burdens.”

From Eternity Past

Appendix

EP 549.2

The Lord told the Israelites that in keeping His Sabbath day, they should “remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and for that reason the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:15, NEB.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 34, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 34, 1903, par. 7

“These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and He added no more. And He wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” [Deuteronomy 5:22.] This law was binding before Israel went down into Egypt. God’s commandments are not a yoke of bondage. Obedience brings a great blessing. The principles of God’s law, carried out in practical life, will bring men into harmony with his Maker, qualifying him to be received as a member of the heavenly family.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 21 [Nos. 1501-1598]

MR No. 1585—The Importance of the Law of God

21MR 408.2

Moses told the people how the Lord had declared to them His holy commandments. After repeating the words of the law, he said, [Deuteronomy 5:22-33, quoted].

21MR 409.3

The Lord said to Israel, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess” [Deuteronomy 5:32, 33]. Are not these words spoken just as surely to us as to the children of Israel? Then let us take heed to the instruction given by Him who purchased the world with His own life.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 133, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 133, 1899, par. 5

“But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, which they shall do in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Deuteronomy 5:22-33.]

14LtMs, Ms 133, 1899, par. 10

The Lord said to Israel, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Deuteronomy 5:32, 33.] Are not these words spoken just as surely to us as to the children of Israel? Then let us take heed to the instruction given by Him who purchased the world with His own life.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 141, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 36

Deuteronomy 5:25 quoted. We see it; there is an unbelief there.

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 37

Verses 22-33 quoted.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 75, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 75, 1898, par. 12

“Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words when ye spake unto me, and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” [Deuteronomy 5:24-29.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 12b, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 12b, 1896, par. 27

“For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” “O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” [Deuteronomy 5:26, 29.] “For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

In Heavenly Places

The Heavenly Father’s Claim, May 1

HP 128.1

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Deuteronomy 5:29.

The Faith I Live By

Waywardness of Man, March 8

FLB 73.1

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Deuteronomy 5:29.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 26, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 26, 1896, par. 9

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord.” This authority is undisputed. “The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.” [Verses 18, 34-37.] “Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy; for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.” “And ye shall be holy unto me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” [Leviticus 20:7, 8, 26.] “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Deuteronomy 5:32, 33.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Ms 33, 1900

15LtMs, Ms 33, 1900, par. 32

Christ gave the lawyer the same instruction that He gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel. He gave the commandments from Sinai, and these commandments were once more rehearsed to the people by Moses, who said, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” [Deuteronomy 5:32, 33.]

To Be Like Jesus

Live Unselfishly, and Teach People to Love Jesus, July 25

BLJ 219.1

You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. Deuteronomy 5:33, NKJV.