EGW WritingsDeuteronomy 6
Ellen G. White
Read Deuteronomy 6 in the BibleDeuteronomy 6:1-2
Lift Him Up
Results of Obedience to Physical Laws, May 26
LHU 160.1
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 ... all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.Deuteronomy 6:1-7
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Ms 92, 1899
14LtMs, Ms 92, 1899, par. 32
“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. 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 6:1-7.]Deuteronomy 6:1-8
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 128, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 128, 1901, par. 57
“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that 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 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” [Deuteronomy 6:1-8.]Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Manuscript Releases, vol. 21 [Nos. 1501-1598]
MR No. 1585—The Importance of the Law of God
21MR 409.4
The sixth chapter of Deuteronomy contains instruction which it is important for all to follow. [Deuteronomy 6:1-9, quoted.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Lt 55, 1897
12LtMs, Lt 55, 1897, par. 11
Please read Isaiah 58; also Deuteronomy 4; 6:1-9; 15:1-15.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 69, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 69, 1897, par. 29
“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one God: 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 thou 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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:1-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Lt 141, 1897
12LtMs, Lt 141, 1897, par. 6
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one God: 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:1-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Lt 66, 1898
13LtMs, Lt 66, 1898, par. 8
I read (Exodus 31:13, 18), showing the importance of observing the seventh-day Sabbath. God declares, “It is a sign between me and you.” In observing this day, God’s people may know it is the Lord that doth sanctify them. I think we dwell too little upon the evidence of the origin of the Sabbath and its perpetuity. I then turned to Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and chapter 7:6-11; 8:1-4. Then I turned to John 14, and read the entire chapter, and remarked upon it. The Lord gave me tongue and utterance, and His Spirit was upon me.Deuteronomy 6:1-12
Sermons and Talks, vol. 2
Manuscript 26, 1894
2SAT 104.1
“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 son’s 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 ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.”2SAT 104.2
Here is a promise in keeping the commandments of God and teaching them to our children. What does that mean? Everyone who obeys the commandments of God from the heart, everyone who follows in the path of obedience, God makes the promise unto them. The heavenly intelligences are ready to cooperate with them. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” The Lord has declared, “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; and that thy days may be prolonged.” If not, how can God let His blessing and protecting care and guardianship be over you?2SAT 104.3
The enemy is after His possessions. He pleads that the race has transgressed the commandments and says, “Let me bring my power to bear upon them.” But God can protect His people that are obedient. If you are disobedient, it is important that [you] consider your situation. There is some importance attached to obeying God’s commandments. “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God” (with two-thirds of thy heart? or with half of thy heart? or with a quarter?), “with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”2SAT 104.4
Who gave this direction? The invisible Leader enshrouded in the billowy cloud. Fathers and mothers, we want you to hear sharply and with an understanding 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9; also 10-12).2SAT 105.1
We want you to take in just the directions. We want to inquire, Fathers and mothers, are we to all intents and purposes carrying out the requirements of God’s Word? Do we feel the necessity of surrendering our heart’s affections to God? Who is following the word and obeying the commandments which He has specified? The words of God are of the highest value. We cannot afford to be negligent. If parents feel the sacredness of the truth, will they not seek to educate their children to right principles? Abraham commanded his household after him.2SAT 105.2
Great consequences are to be met: to the disobedient, no promises, no blessings, but the threatening of the Lord. God cannot take them to His kingdom nor take them to the city of our God, because they would have a second rebellion in heaven. We must every one of us take heed to the instruction God has given us.2SAT 105.3
As I was speaking to my natural sister, the wife of a Methodist minister, in regard to the requirements of the Word of God, she said she would keep the Sabbath if the whole world would keep it. The duty of keeping the Sabbath is plainly laid down before us, and God does not say, “If it is convenient.” Parents know it is a sacred thing to carry out these principles in the household. And if the parent expects to bring up his children in the right way he cannot play the lad. He must have growing dignity that Christ gives to a man. God so appreciated every soul that He “gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”2SAT 105.4
Here the Son comes into our world to practice self-denial, and although His own nation did not receive Him He was the infinite Son of God. He was working for the uplifting of the human race. How much does God value man? I point you to Calvary. [The] most ignominious death my Lord suffered that He might rescue you, yet He does not force any of you to serve Him. He does not force the will or conscience of any soul. God has given Jesus to our world and He wants us to search the Scriptures. He can put His Holy Spirit upon us and He says, “I am at thy right hand to uphold thee”—to walk with our hand in the hand of Jesus Christ, to love Him and to glorify Him. His love is without a parallel. No comparison can be made to that love. He was one with the Father and was suffered to die for us.2SAT 106.1
Christ in God and God in Christ. All this was to take men and women and bring them up from a state of sin, disobedience, and transgression to favor with God. Man with Christ and Christ with God; the life and the obedience hid with Christ in God, that when He who is our life shall appear, we may appear with Him in glory.2SAT 106.2
Well-ordered and well-disciplined families are an example that God gives to our world. You want a well-ordered house. God wants the light of His love to rise upon you. He wants that His ministers should search for the careless ones—His heritage bought with His own blood. The children are God’s property that you have in charge. It is no light matter to know how you shall deal with God’s heritage—that you may have that wisdom that is from above, that at last you may be able to say, Here, Lord, are the children Thou hast committed to my charge.2SAT 106.3
What is your practice? Are you injuring your understanding through using narcotics, tobacco, wine, and liquor? I warn you of that path because God warns you all from it. You must give a good example to your children. It was sin that brought the agony upon the Son of the infinite God, taking the wrath of God upon His own divine soul. What hereditary trusts have you gathered? Have you gathered them up from Abel, Noah, Abraham? God says of Abraham, “I know him that he will command his children and his household after him.”2SAT 106.4
You want to train your children not only for this life but for the future, immortal life as well. You want to have a hold upon God. God will inquire in the judgment, What have you done with My possession? There is a judgment to come and everyone [is] to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. God knows that we cannot cleanse the soul from a sin; He knows that there is no power with us.2SAT 106.5
Just as soon as Abraham pitched his tent he erected his altar, where he offered his morning and evening sacrifices to God. Today God wants you to offer up your morning and evening petitions to Him. Are you weak in moral power? Man, a partaker of the divine nature, may overcome what? The corruptions that are in the world through lust. That man may do justice in everything, and teach his children to do justice in everything, not by being idle, but that God had given them hands [that do] not hang useless. He wants everyone to exercise the talents that God has given them, waiting, watching, praying, and working.2SAT 107.1
“The night cometh, when no man can work.” You know not how soon the time will come when your hands will be folded on your breast until you come forth in the resurrection. You know not how soon you may be called. Every day you are to go on a progressive work of sanctification. It is a work of a lifetime. Today we are to sow the fruits of the Spirit of Christ in our own character. His goings forth are prepared as the morning. As you follow on to know the Lord you will understand more and more the light that is in reserve for you.2SAT 107.2
Why not honor the Creator of the heavens and the earth in obeying the fourth commandment? Why not, as the Sabbath is approaching, Friday, have our business over before the sun goes down? And from the beginning of every week we shall be preparing our lessons for the Sabbath school. Abraham worshiped the Lord and erected an altar which was a living testimony wherever he went, so that even the roving Canaanites recognized it. We want that every one should have his altar erected. Children should pray for the guardianship of the angels through the night. When next Sabbath comes, what will you do, fathers and mothers?2SAT 107.3
When my children were small we had a large family of adopted children. We would have our work away before the setting of the sun. The children would hail the Sabbath as a joy. They would say, Now father and mother will give us some of their time. We would take them out for a walk. We would take the Bible and some religious instruction to read to them, and explain to them the Scriptures. We would keep praying that they should know the truth of God’s Word. We would not lie abed Sabbath mornings because it was Sabbath. We would have our preparations all ready the day before so that we could go to service without the hurry and worry. We would not stroll off and have a nice time to ourselves. We wanted our children to have all the privileges and blessings of God’s sanctified rest day.2SAT 107.4
I’ll read you what God wants us to consider. Let us read of what work should be done. We might as well set ourselves to it. I feel it is a sin to be idle. If I did not see the necessities of God’s cause, I need not work so constantly. I draw in every line to raise the standard higher. We must love our neighbors as ourselves. We should work with the right hand and the left so that we might give to those who are in need. Christ tells us that we must help our brother that is falling into decay. If we fold our hands and be as butterflies, we can do no good in this world. We want you to see the importance that we should live to please somebody else. Just as soon as we see the necessities of those around us, we should take hold and help them.2SAT 108.1
[Isaiah 58:3-8, quoted.]2SAT 108.2
Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Every step that Christ takes and we follow, the glory of the Lord is our rereward. “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry,” (now what?) “Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity,” then there will be answers to our prayers.2SAT 108.3
We should not condemn the brother who falls into decay. There should be no judging. “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day.” Do you want it thus? Do you want that the cloud of reproach should be rolled away? Lay up your treasure in heaven that when your Lord shall appear you may have the eternal weight of glory.2SAT 108.4
“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” How many I have heard talk of the dearth of their souls. They did not seem to feel any burden for the souls for whom Christ died.2SAT 108.5
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” Who is it that has torn down the fourth commandment, covered it up so that man should forget God? After He had created the world in six days He rested on the seventh. Every tree, shrub, and flower that God made testifies that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He tells us that in six days He made heaven and earth. But a spy is on our track.2SAT 108.6
If one is arrested for working on the first day and keeping the Sabbath, do you hear him say, I will not keep the Sabbath any more? They are glad for the privilege of bringing the truth before the people. Shall we take the spurious and trample on the divine? No. If the prison is to be our home, we shall sing within the prison walls. Is it any more than the King of glory endured on our behalf?2SAT 108.7
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” What God says is to be obeyed, irrespective of consequences and the commands of men.2SAT 109.1
That is why Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. The universe of heaven knew all about it. These men were singing praises to God. It was a new note the jailers heard. They were laid upon their backs, and their feet put in the stocks, and yet they touched a new note. Heaven’s army approaches, and to their tread earth begins to quake. The jailer knew that those who kept the prison when Peter escaped were put to death. As the doors opened Paul did not say to the frightened jailer that it would be good enough for him to be put to death, but he did say, “Do thyself no harm.” Then the jailer comes in and acknowledges the power of God and asks forgiveness for his cruelty and says, “What must I do to be saved?” He gives himself to God, washes the backs of Paul and Silas, and puts them in as comfortable a position as possible.2SAT 109.2
There was a desire on the part of the officers [magistrates] that Paul and Silas should quietly leave the jail; but Paul says No, you have scourged us, and though uncondemned you have imprisoned us; now take us out yourselves. That God lives today who wrought for Paul and Silas. May God help us to establish the fear of God in our homes. God help us that we may make straight paths for our feet. May God help us to help one another, and the Lord of Hosts will be with us and give us victory.—Ms 26, 1894 (MR 900.67).Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)
Ms 26, 1894
9LtMs, Ms 26, 1894, par. 1
“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 son’s 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 ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.” [Deuteronomy 6:1-3.]9LtMs, Ms 26, 1894, par. 2
Here is a promise in keeping the commandments of God, and teaching them to our children. What does that mean? Every one who obeys the commandments of God from the heart, every one who follows in the path of obedience, God makes the promise unto them. The heavenly intelligences are ready to co-operate with them. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” [Hebrews 1:14.] The Lord has declared, “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; and that thy days may be prolonged.” [Deuteronomy 6:2.] If not, how can God let His blessing and protecting care and guardianship be over you?9LtMs, Ms 26, 1894, par. 3
The enemy is after His possessions. He pleads that the race has transgressed the commandments, and says, “Let me bring my power to bear upon them.” But God can protect His people that are obedient. If you are disobedient, it is important that [you] consider your situation. There is some importance attached to obeying God’s commandments. “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God (with two-thirds of thy heart? or with half of thy heart? or with a quarter of thy [heart?]) with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” [Verses 3-5.]9LtMs, Ms 26, 1894, par. 4
Who gave this direction? The invisible Leader enshrouded in the pillowy cloud. Fathers and mothers, we want you to hear sharply and with an understanding 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Verses 7-9.] Also Deuteronomy 6:10, 11, 12.Deuteronomy 6:1-17
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)
Ms 93, 1908
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.]23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 51
“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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” [Verses 6-8.] These commandments were to be kept constantly before them; they were to be as frontlets between their eyes, that they might be kept from every false way.23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 53
“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and sware by His name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Ye shall not tempt the Lord thy God, as ye tempted Him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded you.” [Verses 9-17.]Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 151, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 35
Sixth chapter: “Now these are the commandments (written in the tables of stone), 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; and that thy days may be prolonged.” [Verses 1, 2.]16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 39
“Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers.” [Verses 3-18.]16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 40
The whole chapter is a lesson for us to study. In the twentieth verse, and onward, we read: “When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.” [Verses 20-23.] Parents should understand this instruction, and be prepared to speak to their children words that will give them correct impressions in regard to the Lord’s dealings with His chosen people.16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 41
“And 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.” [Verses 24, 25.] The fear here spoken of is not a servile fear, but a godly fear.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Lt 178, 1903
18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 8
“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; and that thy days may be prolonged.” [Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.]18LtMs, Lt 178, 1903, par. 10
“Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as ye tempted Him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: and He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers. And 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.” [Verses 3-25.]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 9 (1894)
Ms 71, 1894
9LtMs, Ms 71, 1894, par. 2
Slept well at George’s Terrace, St. Kilda Road. I awoke Emily early that we may ride out to camp five miles and go into the morning meeting. Emily harnessed the horse. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed the ride very much. We had a remnant of the social meeting. I had written a few lines in reference to the picture-taker coming on the grounds and our people getting their pictures taken. This put a stop to that business. I attended ministers’ meeting and bore a very decided testimony to the ministers. See Deuteronomy 6.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 14 (1899)
Ms 133, 1899
14LtMs, Ms 133, 1899, par. 11
The sixth chapter of Deuteronomy contains instruction which it is important for all to follow. “These are the commandments, and 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. ... Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of your fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.14LtMs, Ms 133, 1899, par. 12
“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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Verses 1, 3-9.]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.]15LtMs, Ms 29, 1900, par. 34
This requirement takes the whole man into covenant relation with God. “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, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shalt be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Verses 6-9.]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.15LtMs, Ms 36, 1900, par. 10
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hands, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:5-9.]15LtMs, Ms 36, 1900, par. 13
“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.” [Verses 24, 25.] Is not this the best receipt to bear to families? Is it not the highest kind of medical missionary work to show men and women the great blessing, physical and spiritual, which comes by obeying the law of God? If this law, given to establish righteousness, were taught in the home, if obedience were enjoined upon children from their earliest years, how different the world would be today. If God’s commandments were obeyed with a willing mind, temperance, industry, and economy would be seen. Evil would be avoided; virtue would be preserved.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 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 170, 1907
22LtMs, Ms 170, 1907, par. 8
Let parents study the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, for it contains definite instruction for them. If its counsels are faithfully followed, the saving grace of God will be brought to children and youth. The children who are trained to habits of obedience, and who yield themselves to the molding power of the Word of God, are the objects of God’s special care and blessing.22LtMs, Ms 170, 1907, par. 11
“And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and before all His household before our eyes: and he brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers. And 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.” [Verses 6-9, 17-25.]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. 34
Moses specified carefully the will of God concerning His people. “Now these,” he declared, “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; and that thy days be prolonged.” [Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.]22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 36
“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that 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 thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” [Verses 3-5.]22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 38
“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.” [Verses 6, 7.]22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 40
“These words, which I command thee, ... thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. ... And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 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.” [Verses 6-12.]22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 43
“Houses full of all good things.” [Verse 12.] What else could we think of, but this scripture, when we first visited this place and went into room after room, room after room, and saw the beautiful furniture and nearly everything else necessary for the convenience and comfort of sanitarium patients? When I saw these things, and remembered God’s promises, I had not a doubt but that the money would be forthcoming for the purchase of this place, although at first the discouragement was tremendous.22LtMs, Ms 131, 1907, par. 50
“Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee.” [Verses 10, 11, 13-17.]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)
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.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Ms 201, 1903
18LtMs, Ms 201, 1903, par. 6
“Behold, 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. For 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?” (Deut. 4:5-8.) [See also] Deut. 6:1-9, 13-25.Deuteronomy 6:2-9
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 193, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 193, 1897, par. 7
There should be no disorder, no haphazard work in the family; for those who profess to be followers of Christ are to reveal the fact to the church, to the world, and to the heavenly universe. There are a great many families bearing the displeasure of God because they follow their own imperfect way, and do not obey the words of Christ given for the instruction of parents in the Old Testament. “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; that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers promised thee, in the land that 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 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:2-9.]Deuteronomy 6:2-18
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Lt 67, 1902
17LtMs, Lt 67, 1902, par. 25
Long life and prosperity are promised to those who are faithful in keeping the commandments of God. “Thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord; that it may be well with thee,” “and that thy days may be prolonged.” [Deuteronomy 6:18, 2.]Deuteronomy 6:2-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)
Ms 110, 1893
8LtMs, Ms 110, 1893, par. 8
The world and the church are taken captive, and a rival, spurious sabbath is instituted by the papacy. This false sabbath has led to contention and controversy and when this heresy of a false sabbath shall not be able [to] show the claims of sanctity from the Bible, to vindicate the world in worshiping on that day, they declare the law of God is not binding, but abolished. There is reiterated throughout our world [and] in the pulpits in our land that the whole law is done away. The children are taught this falsehood and for generations the youth coming upon the stage of action in their lax, loose morals indicate the future of society. Thus it has been from generation to generation. Parents have not made it a practice to teach their children the statutes and commandments of God. Deuteronomy 6:2-9, 17-25.Deuteronomy 6:3-8
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 195, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 195, 1901, par. 11
“Hear therefore, 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine head, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” [Deuteronomy 6:3-8.]Deuteronomy 6:3-9
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Ms 163a, 1898
13LtMs, Ms 163a, 1898, par. 4
“And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:3-9.] Upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Those who keep the first four commandments will not transgress the other six, for supreme love to God involves all other requirements.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Lt 267, 1903
18LtMs, Lt 267, 1903, par. 2
“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it (His commandments) that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that 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 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:3-9.]Deuteronomy 6:3-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Lt 259, 1902
17LtMs, Lt 259, 1902, par. 4
Supposing that the commandments of God should be illustrated and placed upon the first page of Review and Herald where they can speak to the people, such would be an appropriate illustration. Let such words as are of highest importance come first to the eye and teach the requirements of heaven. (Exodus 31:12-18) should appear in every paper published. (Deuteronomy 6:3-9, 20-25; 7:5-11, 24-26), should also appear.Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Patriarchs and Prophets
Chapter 27—The Law Given to Israel
PP 305.2
The law was not spoken at this time exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews. God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world. The precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of love. “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.” Luke 10:27. See also Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Leviticus 19:18. In the Ten Commandments these principles are carried out in detail, and made applicable to the condition and circumstances of man.Patriarchs and Prophets
Chapter 32—The Law and the Covenants
PP 373.2
God’s work is the same in all time, although there are different degrees of development and different manifestations of His power, to meet the wants of men in the different ages. Beginning with the first gospel promise, and coming down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages, and even to the present time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the plan of redemption. The Saviour typified in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law is the very same that is revealed in the gospel. The clouds that enveloped His divine form have rolled back; the mists and shades have disappeared; and Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, stands revealed. He who proclaimed the law from Sinai, and delivered to Moses the precepts of the ritual law, is the same that spoke the Sermon on the Mount. The great principles of love to God, which He set forth as the foundation of the law and the prophets, are only a reiteration of what He had spoken through Moses to the Hebrew people: “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.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18. The teacher is the same in both dispensations. God’s claims are the same. The principles of His government are the same. For all proceed from Him “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17.This Day With God
Complete Commitment, April 29
TDG 128.1
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. Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.The Review and Herald
October 17, 1907
RH October 17, 1907, par. 12
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Leviticus 19:18. The teacher is the same in both dispensations. God’s claims are the same. The principles of his government are the same. For all proceed from him “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17; Patriarchs and Prophets, 373.The Review and Herald
March 18, 1915
RH March 18, 1915, par. 5
Till the close of his long life of patient ministry, Moses continued his exhortations to Israel to keep their eyes fixed on their divine Ruler. “Hear, O Israel,” he pleaded: “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.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord.” Deuteronomy 7:6. “What doth the Lord thy God require of thee,” he asked, “but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him?” Deuteronomy 10:12.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Lt 79, 1898
13LtMs, Lt 79, 1898, par. 4
God speaks to Harmon Lindsay. “Hear, oh 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.] “Behold, A certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This question was framed by the priests, in the hope that Christ’s answer would give them an occasion to accuse and condemn Him. Christ reads all hearts, and He understood this plan. He laid the burden of the answer upon the lawyer himself, knowing that he understood the claims of God’s law. “What is written in the law?” He said, “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.” [Luke 10:25-28.]Deuteronomy 6:4-6
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
Lt 82, 1895
10LtMs, Lt 82, 1895, par. 24
Christ enshrouded in the cloudy pillar spoke to ancient Israel saying, “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 thy heart.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-6.] That which the Lord spoke to His ancient people He repeated when the Word was made flesh and dwelt in the world, to teach men how to be saved.Deuteronomy 6:4-7
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 152, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 152, 1901, par. 37
These are the commandments and ordinances repeated by Moses before his death. On this solemn occasion, after repeating the holy precepts, he declared: “Hear, O Israel: ... 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, 6, 7.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Ms 34, 1903
18LtMs, Ms 34, 1903, par. 4
These words had been given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. We read in 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.]18LtMs, Ms 34, 1903, par. 5
Of the words of the law, Moses said further, “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” [Verse 7.] Parents need to realize fully the responsibility resting upon them to teach their children to obey and reverence God’s law. Through the obedience of parents to this law, united with careful and thorough instruction, the children will be led to become loyal subjects of God’s kingdom.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
Lt 14, 1910
25LtMs, Lt 14, 1910, par. 6
“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.]Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Manuscript Releases, vol. 15 [Nos. 1136-1185]
MR No. 1142—Physicians Are Reformers and Are to Follow Christ’s Example; The Sabbath a Sign; The Importance Of Attention to Little Things
15MR 35.4
The marketplaces, the merchandise stores, need cleansing. Courts of justice, lawyers’ offices, the medical fraternity, need purifying. Shall we say that the medical missionary work needs cleansing? Christ, who came to our world to reveal the Father’s heart of tender compassion, has shown us the methods which Sabbathkeepers are to follow in their work. These are plainly specified in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. God will not be a party to any dishonest transaction. The soul who keeps the Sabbath is stamped with the sign of God’s government, and he must not dishonor this sign. By closely examining the Word of God, we may know whether we have the King’s mark—whether we have been chosen and set apart to honor God. Please read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Ezekiel 20:12-20.Medical Ministry
Exorbitant Fees
MM 123.2
The marketplaces, the merchandise stores, need cleansing. Courts of justice, lawyers’ offices, the medical fraternity, need purifying. Shall we say that the medical missionary work needs cleansing? Christ, who came to our world to reveal the Father’s heart of tender compassion, has shown us the methods which Sabbath keepers are to follow in their work. These are plainly specified in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. God will not be a party to any dishonest transaction. The soul who keeps the Sabbath is stamped with the sign of God’s government, and he must not dishonor this sign. By closely examining the word of God, we may know whether we have the King’s mark, whether we have been chosen and set apart to honor God. Please read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Ezekiel 20:12-20....Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 8, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 8, 1897, par. 2
The same principles which Christ gave to Moses when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud were to be repeated to the children of Israel. He declared, “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 thine soul, and with all thine 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 riseth up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 146, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 146, 1897, par. 13
Temptations are ever laid as a snare to take souls in an unexpected form to give the affections of the heart, and the thoughts of the heart to the creature in the place of the Creator. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.” And Christ said to the lawyer, “Thou hast answered right, this do and thou shalt live.” [Luke 10:27, 28.] Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The standard of character which God requires of His children is not a lowered standard in the gospel. The same Saviour that has given His requests in the cloudy pillar on Sinai’s mount gives the same requests in the gospel as is plainly stated in the terms of eternal life.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Lt 31, 1898
13LtMs, Lt 31, 1898, par. 39
“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. 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 sitteth in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Ms 63, 1899
14LtMs, Ms 63, 1899, par. 22
The market places, the merchandise stores need cleansing. Courts of justice, lawyers’ offices, the medical fraternity, need purifying. Shall we say that the medical missionary work needs cleansing? Christ, who came to our world to reveal the Father’s heart of tender compassion, has shown us the methods which Sabbathkeepers are to follow in their work. These are plainly specified in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. God will not be a party to any dishonest transaction. The soul who keeps the Sabbath is stamped with the sign of God’s government, and he must not dishonor this sign. By closely examining the Word of God, we may know whether we have the King’s mark—whether we have been chosen and set apart to honor God. Please read Deuteronomy 6:4-9; and Ezekiel 20:12-20.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Ms 33, 1900
15LtMs, Ms 33, 1900, par. 33
“The Lord our God is one God; 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hands, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-9.]Deuteronomy 6:4-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Ms 75, 1898
13LtMs, Ms 75, 1898, par. 3
“And recovering of sight to the blind.” [Verse 18.] The Jewish nation were spiritually blind. By their wicked works they had separated themselves from God. They were great sticklers for the law, but they were continually transgressing the law, and teaching maxims, traditions, and doctrines of men for the commandments of God, thus misleading the people. [As] the religionists of that day, they claimed the oracles of God as their authority. Christ exposed their blindness, declaring to them, “Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.” [Matthew 22:29.] They kept neither of the great principles of the law: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Upon these two great principles hang all the law and the prophets. “This do,” said Christ, “and ye shall live.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Luke 10:26-28.13LtMs, Ms 75, 1898, par. 4
“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 walkest by the way, and when the liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9.]13LtMs, Ms 75, 1898, par. 6
Had the Jews done as Christ commanded them, the principles of His law would have been woven into life and character, becoming a part of the very being. He charged them to beware lest they forgot Him. “Ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are round about you; (for the Lord thy God is a jealous god among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.” [Verses 14, 15.] This command is just as valid today as when God gave it to Moses to give to the children of Israel. The sins against which ancient Israel were warned have led modern Israel into bye and forbidden paths.13LtMs, Ms 75, 1898, par. 8
“It shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” [Verse 25.] “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. ... 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; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.” [Deuteronomy 7:7, 9, 10.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)
Ms 12b, 1896
11LtMs, Ms 12b, 1896, par. 21
Parents are in no way excused by leaving their God-given work to the teachers in day school and Sabbath school. These may help the parents in their solemn, sacred work, but by precept and example parents are required to be teachers in their homes. The words spoken by the Lord are ever to be kept before the children. Speaking face to face with Moses in the mount the Lord said, “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. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-9.]11LtMs, Ms 12b, 1896, par. 22
Will parents compare their work, by precept and example, with this teaching? What has been the nature and character of the principles presented in the home life? What account will they have to meet in the judgment when God shall ask, What have you done with my flock, my beautiful flock? The world today would be sown with truth and righteousness if people would keep the words of the Lord. “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.” [Verses 24, 25.] But in the world today the teaching given by parents to their children is in direct opposition to the word of God. Children are taught that God has no law, and in doing this parents work in the lines of the great deceiver, who compassed the fall of our first parents. As they believed the words of the fallen apostate in the place of the words of God, so the churches of today believe the words of Satan and reject the words of God, and sad indeed will be the result. God has not changed one jot or tittle of His law.Deuteronomy 6:5
Christ’s Object Lessons
Chapter 21—“A Great Gulf Fixed”
COL 261.4
God had made the rich man a steward of His means, and it was his duty to attend to just such cases as that of the beggar. The command had been given, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5); and “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). The rich man was a Jew, and he was acquainted with the command of God. But he forgot that he was accountable for the use of his entrusted means and capabilities. The Lord’s blessings rested upon him abundantly, but he employed them selfishly, to honor himself, not his Maker. In proportion to his abundance was his obligation to use his gifts for the uplifting of humanity. This was the Lord’s command, but the rich man had no thought of his obligation to God. He lent money, and took interest for what he loaned; but he returned no interest for what God had lent him. He had knowledge and talents, but did not improve them. Forgetful of his accountability to God, he devoted all his powers to pleasure. Everything with which he was surrounded, his round of amusements, the praise and flattery of his friends, ministered to his selfish enjoyment. So engrossed was he in the society of his friends that he lost all sense of his responsibility to co-operate with God in His ministry of mercy. He had opportunity to understand the word of God, and to practice its teachings; but the pleasure-loving society he chose so occupied his time that he forgot the God of eternity.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)
Ms 12, 1883
4LtMs, Ms 12, 1883, par. 7
I wrote 20 pages on Vol. 4. Sunday evening spoke in College chapel to a crowded house. They listened as if spellbound. My text was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, & c.” [Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37.] I had great liberty in addressing the people. Wrote 12 pages for Vol. 4.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 122, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 122, 1897, par. 31
And this early education was to these four children the means of their preservation. The lessons learned in their earliest years were the means of their remaining uncorrupted in the courts of Babylon. The truth was truth to them. Its principles were stamped upon their hearts. It was understood by them that with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the lips confession is made unto salvation. The first and great commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” was truth to them; and it must be obeyed. [Deuteronomy 6:5.]Deuteronomy 6:5-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
Lt 8, 1895
10LtMs, Lt 8, 1895, par. 23
Christ revealed to His hearers their deficiency in fulfilling the law of God. With them self-love was supreme. These same principles Christ had spoken to Moses from the pillar of cloud: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” “Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded you. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” [Deuteronomy 6:5, 17, 25.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Lt 74, 1900
15LtMs, Lt 74, 1900, par. 34
But in spite of opposition, all are to hear the words of truth. God told Moses to say to the children of Israel, “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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” [Deuteronomy 6:5-8.]15LtMs, Lt 74, 1900, par. 35
The law of God is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a most solemn obligation to walk in all the commandments of God, setting their children an example of the strictest integrity. Men in responsible positions, whose influence is wide, are to guard well their ways and works, keeping the fear of the Lord ever before them. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” [Psalm 111:10.] Those who hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and cheerfully keep His commandments will be among the number who see God. “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.” [Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.]Manuscript Releases, vol. 19 [Nos. 1360-1419]
MR No. 1385—Diary—The Canvassing Work
19MR 153.4
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: [Deuteronomy 6:5-9, quoted].19MR 154.3
“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” [Deuteronomy 6:24, 25].Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Education
Chapter 5—The Education of Israel
Ed 40.3
In the laws committed to Israel, explicit instruction was given concerning education. To Moses at Sinai God had revealed Himself as “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6. These principles, embodied in His law, the fathers and mothers in Israel were to teach their children. Moses by divine direction declared to them: “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 6:6, 7.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)
Ms 88, 1886
4LtMs, Ms 88, 1886, par. 4
Satan is playing the game of life for the souls of both parents and children. Mothers are drawn away from the duties of home and the careful training of their children, to the service of self and the world. Vanity, fashion, and matters of minor importance are allowed to absorb the attention, and the education of the precious children is neglected. It is not enough that your children are sent to school and to the house of God; you are to teach them the statutes of Jehovah by precept and example. The Lord says, “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, when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou riseth up.” [Deuteronomy 6:6, 7.] The requirements of God are of deep significance, and those who value the salvation of their children will seek to fulfill them in the strength of Christ.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
Ms 68, 1895
10LtMs, Ms 68, 1895, par. 16
If your children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, you raise about them that which will be as a wall of protection. He who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud gave Moses instruction on this point, saying, “These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall 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 6:6, 7.] Thus their life here may be an education for the future immortal life. It is for you to teach the lisping tongues of your children the language of Jesus. Sing to them the heavenly songs while they are babes in your arms. Let the heavenly current circulate through your dwelling as it circulated through the tent of Abraham.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
Ms 28, 1895
10LtMs, Ms 28, 1895, par. 5
Centuries before, when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, He had given the children of israel instruction as to how they were to teach their children. “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 6:6, 7.] If our youth had that knowledge they could attain all the rest that was essential, but if they did not have that knowledge, all the knowledge that they could obtain from the world would not place them in the ranks of the Lord. They might gather all the knowledge books could give, and yet be ignorant of the first principles of that righteousness which would give them a character which God could approve.Education
Chapter 20—Bible Teaching and Study
Ed 185.3
In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “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 6:7.Ed 187.1
As a preparation for teaching His precepts, God commands that they be hidden in the hearts of the parents. “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart,” He says; “and thou shalt teach them diligently.” Deuteronomy 6:6, 7. In order to interest our children in the Bible, we ourselves must be interested in it. To awaken in them a love for its study, we must love it. Our instruction to them will have only the weight of influence given it by our own example and spirit.In Heavenly Places
A Message to Parents, July 20
HP 208.1
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 6:6, 7.My Life Today
Teach Them Diligently, January 26
ML 30.1
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. Deuteronomy 6:6, 7.Our High Calling
Truth an Antidote for Evil, July 15
OHC 202.1
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 6:6, 7.Reflecting Christ
Study the Divine Guidebook in Worship, June 16
RC 181.6
Parents should take time daily for Bible study with their children. No doubt it will require effort and planning and some sacrifice to accomplish this; but the effort will be richly repaid. As a preparation for teaching His precepts, God commands that they be hidden in the hearts of the parents. “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart,” He says: “and thou shalt teach them diligently” (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7). In order to interest our children in the Bible, we ourselves must be interested in it. To awaken in them a love for its study, we must love it.... All that God’s Word commands, we are to obey. All that it promises, we may claim.—Education, 186-189.The Faith I Live By
Feasting on God’s Word, September 22
FLB 271.1
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 6:6, 7.To Be Like Jesus
Set Example of Sabbath Sacredness, and Teach It, May 19
BLJ 150.1
These words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:6, 7, NKJV.Ye Shall Receive Power
Answering Prayers for Divine Help, May 9
YRP 138.1
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 6:6, 7.Deuteronomy 6:6-8
Selected Messages Book 1
Chapter 47—The Truth as It Is in Jesus
1SM 315.3
The same law was proclaimed in grandeur by His own voice from Sinai. He said: “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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8). How impatient the transgressors of God’s law become when the law is mentioned; they are irritated to have it spoken of.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)
Ms 99, 1908
23LtMs, Ms 99, 1908, par. 7
“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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-8.]Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Manuscript Releases, vol. 7 [Nos. 419-525]
MR No. 508—Exhortation to Faithfulness to Church Members and Elders
7MR 357.2
The man who makes the working of miracles the test of his faith, will find that Satan can, through a species of deceptions, perform wonders that will appear to be genuine miracles. It was this he hoped to make a test question with the Israelites at the time of their deliverance from Egypt. The instruction given to Moses for Israel is timely instruction for us: “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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)
Ms 43, 1907
22LtMs, Ms 43, 1907, par. 13
The man who makes the working of miracles the test of his faith will find that Satan can, through a species of deceptions, perform wonders that will appear to be genuine miracles. It was this he hoped to make a test question with the Israelites at the time of their deliverance from Egypt. The instruction given to Moses for Israel is timely instruction for us: “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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)
Ms 29, 1896
11LtMs, Ms 29, 1896, par. 22
“And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou 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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 34, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 34, 1897, par. 25
In Norway the children are taught to do some kind of work in the schools they attend. Young ladies are taught to sew and knit, etc. Some of our brethren, while having a knowledge of this, have made arrangements, and sent their children to school on the Sabbath, to learn to study and to work. In doing this, did they, as Abraham, command their household and their children after them? How does this course of action correspond with the words of holy Writ: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall 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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Ms 100, 1902
17LtMs, Ms 100, 1902, par. 27
As the Israelites kept their children within their houses during the time when the judgments of God were in the land of Egypt, so in this time of peril we are to keep our children separate and distinct from the world. We are to teach them that the commandments of God mean much more than we realize. Those who keep them will not imitate the practices of the transgressors of God’s law. Parents must regard God’s Word with respect, obeying its teachings. To the parents in this day, as well as to the Israelites, God declares: “These words ... 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9.]Deuteronomy 6:6-24
The Ministry of Healing
Rejoicing
MH 283.2
“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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9.MH 283.3
“And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, ... 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.” Verses 20-24.Deuteronomy 6:6-25
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
Ms 63, 1897
12LtMs, Ms 63, 1897, par. 18
“And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. And 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:6-9, 17-25.]Deuteronomy 6:7
Child Guidance
Chapter 77—The Bible in the Home
CG 514.4
In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “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 6:7.Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students
The Family Altar
CT 110.2
In the church at home the children are to learn to pray and to trust in God. Teach them to repeat God’s law. Concerning the commandments the Israelites were instructed: “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 6:7. Come in humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers before yourselves and your children; by faith bind them to the altar, entreating for them the care of the Lord. Train the children to offer their simple words of prayer. Tell them that God delights to have them call upon Him.Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students
The Bible Lesson
CT 181.1
In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible? In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in the thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:7.Prayer
Chapter 17—Prayer in the Home Circle
Pr 191.1
In the church at home the children are to learn to pray and to trust in God. Teach them to repeat God’s law. Concerning the commandments the Israelites were instructed: “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 6:7. Come in humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers before yourselves and your children; by faith bind them to the altar, entreating for them the care of the Lord. Train the children to offer their simple words of prayer. Tell them that God delights to have them call upon Him.—(Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 110.)The Voice in Speech and Song
Chapter 47—Illustrations and Visual Aids
VSS 278.2
Comprehension by Children—In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible? In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “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 6:7.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 181.To Be Like Jesus
Daily Family Worship Yields Precious Results, November 4
BLJ 325.5
In the church at home the children are to learn to pray and to trust in God. Teach them to repeat God’s law. Concerning the commandments the Israelites were instructed: “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 6:7).The Publishing Ministry
Chapter 19—Book Sales and Illustrations
PM 211.4
In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “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 6:7.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 100, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 100, 1901, par. 13
Parents, teach your children the way of the Lord. In your morning and evening devotions, join with them in reading the Bible and singing beautiful songs of praise. Let them learn to repeat God’s law. Concerning the commandments, the Israelites were instructed: “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 6:7.] In accordance with this command, Moses directed the Israelites to set to music the words of the law. While the older ones played on instruments, the younger children marched, singing in concert the song of the commandments of God. In later years they retained in their minds the words of the law which they learned during childhood.Deuteronomy 6:7-9
Christ’s Object Lessons
Chapter 1—Teaching in Parables
COL 23.2
It was Christ who directed the education of Israel. Concerning the commandments and ordinances of the Lord He said, “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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deuteronomy 6:7-9. In His own teaching, Jesus showed how this command is to be fulfilled—how the laws and principles of God’s kingdom can be so presented as to reveal their beauty and preciousness. When the Lord was training Israel to be the special representatives of Himself, He gave them homes among the hills and valleys. In their home life and their religious service they were brought in constant contact with nature and with the word of God. So Christ taught His disciples by the lake, on the mountainside, in the fields and groves, where they could look upon the things of nature by which He illustrated His teachings. And as they learned of Christ, they put their knowledge to use by co-operating with Him in His work.Sermons and Talks, vol. 2
Manuscript 96, 1902
2SAT 208.4
We cannot afford to be careless and indifferent in regard to our spiritual welfare. It has been presented to me that the work of grace first begins in the home, in individual hearts. A knowledge of God and His law should be given the children from their earliest years. The instruction that God gave to the fathers and mothers of Israel in regard to teaching His precepts to their children, is for the parents of this time. God says, Thou shalt teach these words “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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” [Deuteronomy 6:7-9].Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Ms 96, 1902
17LtMs, Ms 96, 1902, par. 24
We cannot afford to be careless and indifferent in regard to our spiritual welfare. It has been presented to me that the work of grace first begins in the home, in individual hearts. A knowledge of God and His law should be given the children from their earliest years. The instruction that God gave to the fathers and mothers of Israel in regard to teaching His precepts to their children is for the parents of this time. God says: Thou shalt teach these words “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 bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:7-9.] Why is God so particular about a knowledge of His law?—Because a departure from it means destruction, not only to the transgressor, but to many others as well who have transgressed through his misleading influence.Deuteronomy 6:7-10
Special Testimonies on Church Schools
A Brief History of Christian Schools
PH081 34.3
Israel’s School System—To learn the plan of ancient Israel read Deuteronomy 6:7-10 where instruction is given on the home school. All the teachers of the secondary and higher schools were tobe Levites, and were paid from the tithes. To show that they had a school in every church, read 2 Chronicles 17:7-9.Deuteronomy 6:8
The Desire of Ages
Chapter 67—Woes on the Pharisees
DA 612.3
To make a show of their piety was their constant aim. Nothing was held too sacred to serve this end. To Moses God had said concerning His commandments, “Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Deuteronomy 6:8. These words have a deep meaning. As the word of God is meditated upon and practiced, the whole man will be ennobled. In righteous and merciful dealing, the hands will reveal, as a signet, the principles of God’s law. They will be kept clean from bribes, and from all that is corrupt and deceptive. They will be active in works of love and compassion. The eyes, directed toward a noble purpose, will be clear and true. The expressive countenance, the speaking eye, will testify to the blameless character of him who loves and honors the word of God. But by the Jews of Christ’s day all this was undiscerned. The command given to Moses was construed into a direction that the precepts of Scripture should be worn upon the person. They were accordingly written upon strips of parchment, and bound in a conspicuous manner about the head and wrists. But this did not cause the law of God to take a firmer hold of the mind and heart. These parchments were worn merely as badges, to attract attention. They were thought to give the wearers an air of devotion which would command the reverence of the people. Jesus struck a blow at this vain pretense:Deuteronomy 6:9
Sons and Daughters of God
In the Home, February 6
SD 43.1
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deuteronomy 6:9.Deuteronomy 6:11
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
Ms 84, 1910
25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 39
I present before our people and before all to whom I speak, that the higher education is to fashion your souls in living obedience to the Word of the living God. You take that Word and follow out its teachings, and the first thing you who have enlightened intelligence will do is to awaken men and women conscientiously [to] responsibilities. [This] is just what we have been doing. The Lord has said, “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.” [Deuteronomy 6:11.]Deuteronomy 6:13
Christ Triumphant
Christ Knows Just How to Help Us Overcome, July 30
CTr 218.1
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him. Deuteronomy 6:13.Deuteronomy 6:17
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Ms 24, 1902
17LtMs, Ms 24, 1902, par. 18
“Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God.” [Deuteronomy 6:17.] Every one who transgresses the laws of health will surely be visited with God’s displeasure. Oh, how much of the Holy Spirit we might have day by day, if we would walk circumspectly, denying self, and practicing the virtues of Christ’s character!Deuteronomy 6:17-18
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)
Ms 106, 1893
8LtMs, Ms 106, 1893, par. 9
“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your hearts and in your soul and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thine house, and upon thy gates.” “Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord thy God that it may be well with thee.” “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day; and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God.” [Deuteronomy 11:18-20; 6:17, 18; 11:26-28.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
Lt 12, 1910
25LtMs, Lt 12, 1910, par. 6
The message given me for our people is, “Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land.” [Deuteronomy 6:17, 18.]Deuteronomy 6:24
Sons and Daughters of God
Statutes Given for Our Good Always, February 9
SD 46.1
And 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. Deuteronomy 6:24.The Desire of Ages
Chapter 29—The Sabbath
DA 288.1
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,” Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. “All things are for your sakes.” “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. “The Lord commanded us,” said Moses, “to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive.” Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, “Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep “the Sabbath from polluting it,” the Lord declares, “Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.” Isaiah 56:6, 7.To Be Like Jesus
Jesus Kept the Sabbath by Doing Good, May 21
BLJ 152.7
“The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath,” Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of humankind.... The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. “The Lord commanded us,” said Moses, “to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive” (Deuteronomy 6:24).—The Desire of Ages, 287, 288.From Heaven With Love
Greater Care Shown Animals
HLv 190.3
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,” Jesus said. The Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. See Deuteronomy 6:24. Of all who keep “the Sabbath from polluting it,” the Lord declares, “even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.” Isaiah 56:6, 7.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)
Ms 8, 1896
11LtMs, Ms 8, 1896, par. 27
If God’s commandments are to be binding for a thousand generations, it will take them into the kingdom of God, into the presence of God and His holy angels. This is an argument that cannot be controverted. The commandments of God will endure through all time and eternity. Are they, then, given us as a burden? No. “And 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:24.] The Lord gave His people commandments in order that by obeying them they might preserve their physical, mental, and moral health. They were to live by obedience, but death is the sure result of the disobedience of the law of God.Deuteronomy 6:24-25
Counsels on Health
The Foundation of Enduring Reformation
CH 359.4
The law of God is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a most solemn obligation to obey this law, setting their children an example of the strictest integrity. Men in responsible positions, whose influence is far-reaching, are to guard well their ways and works, keeping the fear of the Lord ever before them. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10. Those who hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and cheerfully keep His commandments will be among the number who see God. “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.” Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
Ms 83, 1910
25LtMs, Ms 83, 1910, par. 19
“And 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.] That is the very position we must be in.My Life Today
Obedience, June 7
ML 162.1
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. Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8
The Sign of Our Relationship to God
8T 199.3
The law of God is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a most solemn obligation to obey this law, setting their children an example of the strictest integrity. Men in responsible positions, whose influence is far-reaching, are to guard well their ways and works, keeping the fear of the Lord ever before them. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10. Those who hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and cheerfully keep His commandments will be among the number who see God. “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.” Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.Letters to Physicians and Ministers
Our Message
SpTB01 7.4
The law of God is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a most solemn obligation to obey this law, setting their children an example of the strictest integrity. Men in responsible positions, whose influence is far-reaching, are to guard well their ways and works, keeping the fear of the Lord ever before them. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10. Those who hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and cheerfully keep His commandments, will be among the number who see God. “The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear 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.” Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)
Lt 9, 1892
7LtMs, Lt 9, 1892, par. 89
I have not dared to suppress the message I have received from God for you. You may think it is of a character to discourage you; not so, it is to give you hope and courage, to increase your faith and confidence in God. “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 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.” [Deuteronomy 6:24, 25.]Deuteronomy 6:25
Sons and Daughters of God
It Shall Be Our Righteousness, February 29
SD 66.1
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. Deuteronomy 6:25.EGW Writings — Ellen G. White. Ellen G. White Estate · all rights reserved
Deuteronomy 6:1
Prophets and Kings
Chapter 24—“Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”
PK 296.2
The apostasy of Israel had developed gradually. From generation to generation, Satan had made repeated attempts to cause the chosen nation to forget “the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments” that they had promised to keep forever. Deuteronomy 6:1. He knew that if he could only lead Israel to forget God, and to “walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them,” they would “surely perish.” Deuteronomy 8:19.The Review and Herald
February 19, 1914
RH February 19, 1914, par. 10
This prophecy, fulfilled in part in the time of the judges of Israel, met a more complete and terrible fulfillment in the captivity of Israel in Assyria and of Judah in Babylon. During the passing centuries, from generation to generation, Satan made repeated attempts to cause Israel to forget “the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments” (Deuteronomy 6:1) that they had promised to keep forever; for he knew that if he could only lead Israel to forget God, and to “walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them,” the chosen nation would surely perish. Deuteronomy 8:19. But the enemy of all souls had not taken into account the long-suffering of Him who “will by no means clear the guilty,” yet whose glory it is to be “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Exodus 34:6, 7. Despite the efforts of Satan to thwart God’s purpose for his chosen people, yet even in some of the darkest hours of Israel’s history, when it seemed as if the forces of evil were about to gain the victory, the Lord graciously revealed himself. He spread before Israel the things that were for their welfare as a nation. “I have written to him the great things of my law,” he declared, of Israel through Hosea, “but they were counted as a strange thing.” Hosea 8:12. “I taught Ephraim also to go,” he declared “taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.” Hosea 11:3. Tenderly the Lord dealt with them, instructing them by his prophets, line upon line, and precept upon precept.From Splendor to Shadow
Chapter 24—A Nation “Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”
SS 158.1
This prophecy, fulfilled in part in the time of the judges, met a more complete and literal fulfillment in the captivity of Israel in Assyria and of Judah in Babylon. Satan had made repeated attempts to cause the chosen nation to forget “the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments” that they had promised to keep forever. Deuteronomy 6:1. He knew that if he could lead Israel to “walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them,” they would “surely perish.” Deuteronomy 8:19.