EGW WritingsExodus 19

To Be Like Jesus

God’s Law Important for All Time, February 18

BLJ 57.1

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5, 6, NKJV.

BLJ 57.2

This covenant [Exodus 19:1-6] is a revelation of God’s goodness. The people had not sought for it. They were not reaching out their hands after God; but He Himself graciously extended His almighty arm, inviting them to link their arm with His, that He might be their defense. He voluntarily chose as His heritage a nation that had just come from Egyptian slavery, a people who must be educated and trained at every step. What an expression of omnipotent goodness and love! ...

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 259, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 259, 1903, par. 11

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:1, 3-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 13, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 13, 1906, par. 17

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:1, 3-8.]

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

Words for Us as Truly as for Israel

1MR 119.1

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself” (Exodus 19:1-4).

1MR 119.3

“Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” (Exodus 19:5-8).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 71, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 71, 1907, par. 1

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness: and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself.” [Exodus 19:1-4.]

22LtMs, Ms 71, 1907, par. 3

“Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine. And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verses 5-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 188, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 188, 1903, par. 15

We may with profit study the record of the preparation made by the congregation of Israel for the hearing of the law. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine.” [Exodus 19:1-5.]

18LtMs, Lt 188, 1903, par. 17

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.” [Verse 7.]

18LtMs, Lt 188, 1903, par. 19

“And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verse 8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 119, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 119, 1903, par. 1

We may with profit study the record of the preparation made by the congregation of Israel for the hearing of the law. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” [Exodus 19:1-5.]

18LtMs, Ms 119, 1903, par. 3

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.” [Verse 7.]

18LtMs, Ms 119, 1903, par. 5

“All the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verse 8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 65, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 65, 1906, par. 7

We may with profit study the record of the preparation made by the congregation of Israel for the hearing of the law. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine.” [Exodus 19:1-5.]

21LtMs, Ms 65, 1906, par. 9

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.” [Verse 7.]

21LtMs, Ms 65, 1906, par. 11

“And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verse 8.]

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

God’s Covenant with Israel

1MR 104.1

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:1-6).

1MR 105.3

The Lord recounts what He has already done for His people. “Ye have seen,” He says, “what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself” (Exodus 19:4). God had delivered His people gloriously. He had given them marked evidences of His power, that their faith in Him might be increased.

1MR 106.4

To Moses, as His mouthpiece, God gave His message; and Moses faithfully showed the children of Israel the advantages that they would receive by following the instruction that God had given them. He carefully pointed out to them the difference between right and wrong. Then He left it with them to decide whether they would comply with the conditions of God’s promises. They accepted the words of God, and said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 64, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 64, 1903, par. 1

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” [Exodus 19:1-6.]

18LtMs, Ms 64, 1903, par. 6

The Lord recounts what He has already done for His people. “Ye have seen,” He says, “what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself.” [Exodus 19:4.] God had delivered His people gloriously. He had given them marked evidences of His power, that their faith in Him might be increased.

18LtMs, Ms 64, 1903, par. 10

To Moses, as His mouthpiece, God gave His message; and Moses faithfully showed the children of Israel the advantages that they would receive by following the instruction that God had given them. He carefully pointed out to them the difference between right and wrong. Then He left it with them to decide whether they would comply with the conditions of God’s promises. They accepted the words of God, and said, “All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.” [Exodus 19:8; 24:3, 7.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 2, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 2, 1904, par. 8

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:1-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 407, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 407, 1904, par. 4

Read Exodus 19:1-8. Here the Lord calls to the armies of Israel to recall their leaving Egypt. “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” [Exodus 19:4.] While the Egyptians pursued them to overcome them and bring them back into bondage, the Lord destroyed every soul of the Egyptian host. Pharaoh and his army and chariots were hurled in the sea, but He made a path through the Red Sea for the children of Israel to pass over. They had been on their journey only three months, and the Lord’s promise comes down along the line to our time.

19LtMs, Lt 407, 1904, par. 5

God gives to Moses the message to give to that large number of above a million people: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all [these words which] the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:5-8.] This is the great charter the Lord made with Israel. This is the very covenant God hath made with every soul.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 141, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 3

We read in the 19th chapter of Exodus some verses. Exodus 19:1-3 quoted.

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 5

Verse 4 quoted. That is how the Egyptians followed Israel after Israel had been delivered from bondage by the miracles and the signs, and the judgments which God had wrought. Notwithstanding, after Israel was delivered, the Egyptians took the whole army, and went after them to bring them back again. That is what Moses refers to. Here they crossed the sea, and the Egyptians went hard after them; but Israel got safely over to the bank, and then it was that that whole wall of water that stood congealed, as it were, overflowed them, and they were destroyed, every one of them, Pharaoh and his host.

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 6

Verse 5 quoted. Now God is going to tell them, after accomplishing this great thing for them, what He will continue to do for them.

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 8

Verse 6 quoted. In (verse 5) we have the conditions.

21LtMs, Ms 141, 1906, par. 9

Verses 6-9 quoted.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 84, 1910

25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 3

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountains, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.” [Exodus 19:1-7.]

25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 5

“And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verses 8, 9.] What a wonderful condescension on the part of our holy God and carefully should Israel cherish this wonderful manifestation.

25LtMs, Ms 84, 1910, par. 6

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” [Verses 10, 11.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 81, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 81, 1903, par. 8

Read how Israel was chosen as the Lord’s peculiar people. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me, above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:1-6.]

18LtMs, Ms 81, 1903, par. 9

“These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” [Verse 6.]

18LtMs, Ms 81, 1903, par. 10

Obedient to the charge, Moses called for the elders of the people, “and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.” [Verse 7.]

18LtMs, Ms 81, 1903, par. 11

And in earnest, decided tones the people answered, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” [Verse 8.] Thus Israel took their stand under the divine theocracy, as God’s denominated people.

18LtMs, Ms 81, 1903, par. 13

“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall surely be put to death; there shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” [Verses 9-13.]

Lift Him Up

A Special, Distinguishing Sign, May 5

LHU 139.3

In Exodus 19 we read: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

The Story of Redemption

The Judgments and Statutes

SR 150.1

Moses had this in view when he said to Israel, “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?” Deuteronomy 4:5-8.

From Eternity Past

Chapter 27—God Gives His Law on Mount Sinai

EP 209.1

Soon after the encampment at Sinai, Moses was called up into the mountain to meet with God. Israel was now to be taken into a close and peculiar relation to the Most High—to be incorporated as a church and a nation under the government of God. “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”

EP 209.2

Moses returned to the camp, and to the elders of Israel he repeated the divine message. Their answer was, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” Thus they entered into a solemn covenant with God, pledging themselves to accept Him as their ruler, by which they became, in a special sense, the subjects of His authority.

EP 209.3

God purposed to make the occasion of speaking His law a scene of awful grandeur. Everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence. The Lord said to Moses, “Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, ... for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” All were to occupy the time in solemn preparation to appear before God. Their person and their clothing must be freed from impurity. They were to devote themselves to humiliation, fasting, and prayer that their hearts might be cleansed from iniquity.

EP 210.1

On the morning of the third day, Sinai’s summit was covered with a thick cloud, black and dense, sweeping downward until the entire mountain was wrapped in darkness and mystery. Then a sound as of a trumpet was heard, summoning the people to meet with God. From the thick darkness flashed lightnings, while peals of thunder echoed among the surrounding heights. “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: ... and the whole mount quaked greatly.” The hosts of Israel shook with fear and fell upon their faces before the Lord. Even Moses exclaimed, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” Hebrews 12:21.

EP 210.2

Now the thunders ceased; the trumpet was no longer heard; the earth was still. There was a period of solemn silence; then the voice of God was heard. Speaking out of the thick darkness as He stood upon the mount, surrounded by angels, the Lord made known His law.

EP 210.3

“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” He who had brought them forth from Egypt, making a way for them through the sea, and overthrowing Pharaoh and his hosts—He it was who now spoke His law.

EP 210.4

God honored the Hebrews 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 fellowman, 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. In the Ten Commandments these principles are made applicable to man.

EP 211.1

(1) “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Whatever we cherish that tends to lessen our love for God or to interfere with the service due Him, of that do we make a god.

EP 211.2

(2) “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.”

EP 211.3

Many heathen nations claimed that their images were mere symbols by which the Deity was worshiped; but God has declared such worship to be sin. The attempt to represent the Eternal One by material objects would lower man’s conception of God. The mind would be attracted to the creature rather than to the Creator. As his conceptions of God were lowered, so would man become degraded.

EP 211.4

“I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.” The close relation of God to His people is represented under the figure of marriage. Idolatry being spiritual adultery, the displeasure of God against it is fitly called jealousy.

EP 211.5

“Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and forth generation of them that hate Me.” Children are not punished for parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually the case, however, that by inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father’s sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy from father to son, to the third and fourth generation.

EP 211.6

“Showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.” To those who are faithful in His service, mercy is promised, not merely to the third and fourth generation as is the wrath threatened against those who hate Him, but to thousands of generations.

EP 212.1

(3) “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”

EP 212.3

(4) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 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, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

EP 212.4

The Sabbath is not introduced as a new institution but as having been founded at creation. Pointing to God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, it distinguishes the true God from false gods. Thus the Sabbath is the sign of man’s allegiance to God. The fourth commandment is the only one of the ten in which are found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver, the only one that shows by whose authority the law is given. Thus it contains the seal of God.

EP 212.5

God has given men six days wherein to labor, and He requires that their own work be done in the six working days. Acts of necessity and mercy are permitted on the Sabbath. The sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for; but unnecessary labor is to be strictly avoided. To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. And the commandment includes all within our “gates.” The inmates of the house are to lay aside their worldly business during the sacred hours. All should unite to honor God by willing service upon His holy day.

EP 213.1

(5) “Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

EP 213.2

Parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect due to no other person. He who rejects the rightful authority of his parents is rejecting the authority of God. The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age. It also enjoins respect for ministers and rulers.

EP 213.3

(6) “Thou shalt not kill.”

EP 213.4

All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life; the spirit of hatred and revenge, or the indulgence of any passion that leads to injurious acts toward others (even to wish them harm, for “whoso hateth his brother is a murderer”); a selfish neglect of caring for the needy; self-indulgence or excessive labor that tends to injure health—all these are, to a greater or less degree, violations of the sixth commandment.

EP 213.5

(7) “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

EP 213.6

Purity is demanded not only in the outward life but in the secret intents and emotions of the heart. Christ, who taught the far-reaching obligation of the law of God, declared the evil thought or look to be as truly sin as is the unlawful deed.

EP 213.7

(8) “Thou shalt not steal.”

EP 213.8

This prohibition condemns manstealing and slave dealing, wars of conquest, theft and robbery. It demands strict integrity in the minutest details of life. It forbids overreaching in trade and requires the payment of just debts or wages. Every attempt to advantage one’s self by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another is registered as fraud in the books of heaven.

EP 213.9

(9) “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

EP 213.10

An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words. Even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. Every effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation, slander or talebearing, the intentional suppression of truth by which injury may result to others is a violation of the ninth commandment.

EP 214.1

(10) “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

EP 214.2

The tenth commandment strikes at the very root of all sins, prohibiting the selfish desire, from which springs the sinful act. He who refrains from indulging even a sinful desire for that which belongs to another will not be guilty of an act of wrong toward his fellow creatures.

EP 214.3

God proclaimed His law with exhibitions of His power and glory, that His people might never forget the scene. He would show to all men the sacredness and permanence of His law.

EP 214.4

As God’s great rule of right was presented before them, the people realized as never before the offensive character of sin and their own guilt in the sight of a holy God. The multitude cried out to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” The leader answered, “Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.”

EP 214.5

Blinded and debased by slavery and heathenism, the people were not prepared to appreciate fully the far-reaching principles of God’s ten precepts. Additional precepts were given, illustrating and applying the principles of the Ten Commandments. These laws were called “judgments” because the magistrates were to give judgment according to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they were delivered privately to Moses.

EP 215.1

The first of these related to servants. A Hebrew could not be sold as a slave for life. His service was limited to six years; on the seventh he was to be set at liberty. The holding of slaves not of Israelitish birth was permitted, but their life and person were strictly guarded. The murderer of a slave was to be punished; an injury inflicted upon one by his master, though no more than the loss of a tooth, entitled him to his freedom.

EP 215.2

The Israelites were to beware of indulging the spirit of cruelty from which they had suffered under their Egyptian taskmasters. The memory of their own bitter servitude should enable them to put themselves in the servant’s place, to be kind and compassionate.

EP 215.3

The rights of widows and orphans were specially guarded. “If thou afflict them in any wise,” the Lord declared, “and they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” Aliens who united themselves with Israel were to be protected from wrong or oppression. “Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

EP 215.4

The taking of usury from the poor was forbidden. A poor man’s raiment or blanket taken as a pledge must be restored to him at nightfall. Judges were warned against perverting judgment, aiding a false cause, or receiving bribes. Slander was prohibited, and acts of kindness enjoined even toward personal enemies.

EP 215.5

The people were reminded of the sacred obligation of the Sabbath. Yearly feasts were appointed, at which all the men of the nation were to assemble before the Lord, bringing to Him their offerings of gratitude and the firstfruits of His bounties. The object of all these regulations was stated: all were given for the good of Israel. The Lord said, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.”

EP 215.6

These laws were to be recorded by Moses and carefully treasured as the foundation of the national law, and, with the ten precepts, the condition of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel.

EP 216.1

The message was now given, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not.” Christ in the pillar of cloud and of fire was their Leader. While there were types pointing to a Saviour to come, there was also a present Saviour, who gave commands to Moses for the people and was set forth before them as the only channel of blessing.

EP 216.2

Upon descending from the mountain, “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.”

EP 216.4

Moses had received the command, “Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.” The seventy elders were to assist Moses in the government of Israel, and God put upon them His Spirit. “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” They did not behold the Deity, but they saw the glory of His presence. They had been contemplating His glory, purity, and mercy, until they could approach nearer to Him.

EP 217.1

Moses and “his minister Joshua” were now summoned to meet with God. The leader appointed Aaron and Hur, assisted by the elders, to act in his stead. Moses waited for a summons to the presence chamber of the Most High. Though his patience and obedience were tested, he did not forsake his post. Even this favored servant of God could not at once approach into His presence and endure His glory. Six days must be employed in devoting himself to God by searching of heart, meditation, and prayer.

EP 217.2

Upon the seventh day, which was the Sabbath, Moses was called up into the cloud. “And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, ... and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” He fasted during the entire forty days.

EP 218.1

From a race of slaves the Israelites had been exalted above all peoples to be the peculiar treasure of the King of kings. God had separated them from the world, He had made them the depositaries of His law, and He purposed, through them, to preserve among men the knowledge of Himself.

EP 218.2

Thus the light of heaven was to shine out to a world in darkness. A voice was to be heard appealing to all peoples to turn from idolatry to serve the living God. If the Israelites would be true to their trust, God would be their defense, and He would exalt them above all other nations.

From Eternity Past

Conceptions of God Affect Human Behavior

EP 212.2

This commandment forbids us to use the name of God in a light or careless manner. By the thoughtless mention of God in common conversation, and by frequent, thoughtless repetition of His name, we dishonor Him. “Holy and reverend is His name.” Psalm 111:9. It should be uttered with reverence and solemnity.

From Eternity Past

How the “Old Covenant” Was Made

EP 216.3

Then followed the ratification of the covenant. An altar was built at the foot of the mountain, and beside it twelve pillars were set up, “according to the twelve tribes of Israel,” as a testimony of their acceptance of the covenant. Moses “took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people.” All were at liberty to choose whether they would comply with the conditions of the covenant. They had heard God’s law proclaimed, and its principles had been particularized, that they might know how much this covenant involved. Again the people answered with one accord, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” “When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood ... and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” Hebrews 9:19, 20.

From Eternity Past

God Exalts a Race of Slaves

EP 217.3

During his stay in the mount, Moses received directions for the building of a sanctuary in which the divine Presence would be specially manifested. “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” was the command of God. For the third time the observance of the Sabbath was enjoined: “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever,” the Lord declared, “that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: ... whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” Exodus 31:17, 13, 14.

EP 217.4

Henceforth the people were to be honored with the abiding presence of their King. “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God,” “and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” Exodus 29:45, 43.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 132, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 132, 1898, par. 1

The Bible lies at the foundation of all true education. The faithful student finds that Scripture can only be tested by Scripture. There is no contradiction in the Word of God. The entire revelation which Jesus Christ gave to John is rehearsed by Moses in the Exodus, and in the plagues which the Lord brought upon Egypt.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 152, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 152, 1901, par. 32

In the nineteenth of Exodus we read: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” [Verses 4-6.]

16LtMs, Ms 152, 1901, par. 33

Wonderful condescension is this! God offers to make the Israelites His “peculiar treasure,” if they obey His law and thus glorify His name. Observe the response they made to these words: “Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.” All this instruction was placed by the elders before the vast multitude assembled. “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verses 7, 8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 260, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 260, 1903, par. 8

Again and again recently have these words found in (Exodus 19) been brought to my attention:

18LtMs, Lt 260, 1903, par. 10

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all the words which the Lord had commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” [Verses 3-8.]

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 19 (1904)

Ms 170, 1904

Circa 1904

Previously unpublished.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 1

I wish to have all who claim to be the denominated people of God, as represented in Exodus 31:12-18, to see that which Jesus Christ, enshrouded in the pillowy cloud, charged Moses to speak to the children of Israel in regard to the importance of the Sabbath, as contained in the thirty-first chapter of Exodus.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 2

While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, satanic suggestions came through the captains and the elders. They looked on the unbelieving side and worked out their purposes to turn their course back to Egypt. Aaron’s experience and responsibilities were very great; not a thread of the speech of the people should have been woven into their present experience after beholding the great majesty and glory of God. [It] was of such greatness and power that they begged Moses to hear the words from God and give it to them, lest they, hearing [God’s] voice, should not live. All had heard the voice of God and trembled, and their hearts failed them as the words given with a loud voice rolled from the mountain covered with smoke and flame.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 3

Moses was afterward brought within that cloud, and God concealed His great glory, [so] that mortal man, by being [a] partaker of the divine nature, could be strengthened to behold of God all that he could endure. Moses was strengthened to hear, and then to give, the whole substance to the whole encampment.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 4

After the law had been given from Sinai, Moses stood with the people to hear the words of the Lord. Then he was commanded to come up into the mount to obtain the specifications of their service and the details of their obligation in service. [He was in the mount] forty days and forty nights. While all Israel, who had been denominated by their own consent as God’s special people, were awaiting the return of Moses, they themselves should have been in humble converse with God, teaching their children the solemn covenant God had made with them if they would be obedient to the words they had listened to from the mount.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 5

In the absence of Moses’ grand and authoritative influence, Aaron and Joshua found that they were deficient to manage that large congregation of more than a million people. Had every man in office been faithful to do his appointed office faithfully and prayerfully, Satan would not have had such power in his deceptive working on the minds of the people. They lost their faith that Moses would come to them again. They talked and they speculated; they had not the right spirit and did not keep their covenant with God as His denominated people, so that God could fulfill His covenant with them.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 6

While the people had this favorable opportunity to meditate and purify their souls from idolatry, Moses was in that cloud talking with God and receiving the Ten Commandments. Forty days was a limited time for God to communicate His judgment and laws in a book. The whole period could have been spent to the greatest profit in meditating upon the commandments spoken to them in a loud voice accompanied with the greatest magnitude of holy grandeur. There was certainly enough for them to talk about and to impress every officer, every prince in Israel, [who were over] the companies of thousands and hundreds and lesser numbers, but they were becoming jealous, envious, and they brought discouragement. They lost their love one for another and their very faith in the covenant made by the Lord. Supposing they were to speedily enter the promised land, they talked of the things which would [result from] their preeminence, when every man should have worked upon the principles involved.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 7

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord spake unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:3-8.]

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 8

Here is the first date of that great charter by which Israel was incorporated. The date was “the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. ... they came to the desert of Sinai, and pitched in the wilderness.” [Verses 1, 2.]

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 9

The law had been given in such awful majesty that the people had entreated that the words might come to them through Moses and not direct from the voice of God, for they could not endure it. After [such] manifestation and such power from Sinai, was there not enough for them to solemnly contemplate—to feel their humiliation—because they had talked again and again their unbelief whenever they were tried and proved? How much had they treasured up of all their experience to establish them and make them certain that the Lord was leading them by Moses and the He would establish His servant Moses, that they should believe Him forever?

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 10

One thing I wish to impress upon all minds—that the first power, their Maker, was the One who ordained the covenant between Himself and His people. The people had revealed their weakness and instability; they were not true and loyal to their God. The more humble are the people of God in their own opinion, the more will the Lord Jesus place them in positions of security, to be persons that can be trusted, if they will make God alone their trust.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 11

When the people were alone, while Moses was in the mount, was the very time God was proving their capabilities to be trusted. They took the words of the Lord, given them on condition of faithfulness and perfect obedience, and lifted themselves up into self-importance, as to be depended upon. How many times must the [Lord] be disappointed through the perverse, unsanctified characters the leaders developed? They became lifted up unto vanity and self-importance, and then came emulation and strife.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 12

In the idolatry expressed in making a golden calf, Aaron was the man responsible, receiving the gifts and fashioning the golden calf. The officers and appointed leaders said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings ... and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” [Exodus 32:4-6.] [They] mingled their sacred services with their apostasy and rebellion against the Lord. Here we see the ill-effects of a rebellious movement. If God had not commanded Moses to come to Him in the mount and then kept him in His presence, the people might have had cause for complaint.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 13

Ministers in responsible positions are to understand that Satan in watching his opportunity to create disturbances through his rebellious [followers] and get advantage thereby. All can see that the enemy of God and Christ stands watching for his opportunity to obtain advantage. How speedily, when the brakes are not [put] on by men whom God has trusted with His work, will fury and violence, deception and idolatrous actions, reveal the true state of a man’s heart. [They are so] influenced and corrupted by the father of lies who is prepared to act with such zeal and such determination that some will consider these men, who lead away from the truth, are the men who have a zeal for God. The responsible men, in responsible places, are the men who are to be true as steel to their trust. Men who will venture to take steps decidedly opposed to the light God as given, when once they start in a path God has forbidden, will lead many in the same way. And then the disorderly elements will be developed. The man who would never had supposed or thought of such things will be influenced and corrupted by such men as ought to know better; they ought to have distinguished between the true and the false. Oh, may God pity His flock, for they are in need of men solid as a rock, who stand unmoved by any of the pretenses Satan may devise! But many go over on Satan’s side and lie in wait to deceive.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 14

Such a multitude was carried down in the wrong course, the few who abhorred the course dared not open their lips; the rebellion ran so high, [they] feared it would arouse a more fierce determination. They walked contrary to God.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 15

Every kind of supposition was set afloat, every deceptive influence working out the reason for Moses’ detention. Men who were not truly and genuinely converted framed groundless reasons in regard to Moses’ continued absence. “Make us gods to go before us,” [they said.] [They were] weary of waiting for the instruction Moses would bring them, when the Lord had given them the very instruction He wanted them to have. They had [promised that] all that the Lord had said they would obey. But here is their self-assurance. The leaders of Israel, when the call [came,] “Make us gods to go before us,” virtually threw off the charter by which Israel was incorporated. When they said, “Make us gods to go before us,” they exchanged the living God for gods created by the apostasy of Israel; in [their] hearts they returned to Egypt. See Acts 7:39, 40.

*****

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 16

We read Exodus 18:13-24. “And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.” [Verses 25-27.]

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 17

Moses, having been called of God to redeem Israel from the house of bondage, was not the law-giver. The Lord Jesus Christ was their Redeemer from the house of bondage, through Moses to act as His agent, receiving the words from Christ and ever stating before the people his authority—the words of the law of God: “The Lord saith. ...” Moses was to answer the questions and make known the will of God.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 18

I would speak to those who have had all the privileges to hear and understand and to live the truth. Those who have had great light should have a high sense of their accountability to God to use that light by setting it on a candlestick that it may give light to all that are in the house—in this world. I have a report to leave, for I am not well. I have been made to understand the position of those at Battle Creek who have had great light and are not walking in the light God’s Word has outlined for them. There will not be a vestige of excuse for one or many that have made a failure.

19LtMs, Ms 170, 1904, par. 19

I have not been able to sleep since 12 o’clock, but I have a message from the Lord to bear to our people. Present to the people everywhere at this time the perpetuity of the law of Jehovah. Present to them that the only foundation for Sunday observance has its origin not in the Word of God, but in the papal authority. Now let all consider that the time has come to reason from cause to effect. We must, as ministers of the Word, delay not to impress the people more decidedly in defining our authority for keeping the original Sabbath of Jehovah. Please read the word in Genesis.

NP

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Ms 151, 1905

20LtMs, Ms 151, 1905, par. 10

Suppose that for a time the students cannot be sent out as fully accredited physicians. They can work in connection with other physicians; and if they follow the Lord’s guiding, such valuable opportunities will present themselves that they will gain a better experience perhaps than if they had gone out with a diploma. It is the man’s real value that will give him standing room and influence. The nurse or physician who works with the Lord Jesus will gain success. Read the history of the children of Israel as given in the book of Exodus, and let each soul place himself fully on the Lord’s side. The experience of the Israelites is to be considered by the people of God living in these last days.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Lt 154, 1906

21LtMs, Lt 154, 1906, par. 34

The patient tenderness with which God instructed the Israelites and prepared them for receiving His law is revealed in the nineteenth of Exodus: “Ye have seen,” He declared, “what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles’ wings ... the people unto the Lord” (end vs. 9).

21LtMs, Lt 154, 1906, par. 37

(Quote Exodus 19:17-24.)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Lt 160, 1906

21LtMs, Lt 160, 1906, par. 3

The teachings of the Word that God gave to Moses in the mount contain the instruction that men should obey. Study chapters nineteen to twenty-four of the book of Exodus, and present them before the people. All contention is to cease. We are to love as brethren; we are to soften and subdue our hearts.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 17, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 17, 1906, par. 3

If men had studied the Bible, if they had read the book of Exodus, they would have seen that in the proclamation of God’s law, the seventh day was specified as the day that is to be observed as the memorial of creation. In the fourth commandment, the true and living God is shown to be the one who created the world in six days; and the seventh day is pointed out as the day on which God rested, blessing and hallowing it.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 187, 1907

Los Angeles, California

May 19, 1907

Previously unpublished.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 1

Exodus 19:1-6. Now that takes us all in, every one of us.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 2

Verse 7. This means just what it says. Now I come to Deuteronomy 4:1-8. I wonder if most of us have forgotten that all these particulars are given in the Old Testament Scriptures in regard to a people that shall be obedient in these last days and all through history. God came down with His power and His glory upon Mount Sinai to express the very things that He would have them to be. It is the Word of the living God that we are to keep in mind, and if we studied the Scriptures one-hundredth part of what we do now, we should have one of the greatest reformations that was ever seen among our people. But there are so many that depart from the Word of the Lord.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 3

Verses 7-9. Children and grandchildren are to be taught and educated. We have no right to get into commercialism, to give our whole attention to that business and let our children come up without the sacred repetition of God’s requirements to them. Take heed to this. It begins with individual self. It is for the highest interest of our souls today and tomorrow and so on until the time of Christ’s coming in the clouds of heaven.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 4

Verses 9, 10. Sons and daughters are to be taught.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 5

Verses 11-15. Now, I want everything of these words that come straight from the lips of God to Moses on the mount, I want you to study them for your profit, for the Lord has presented to me that unless His people shall come up to a higher standard, idolatry will be in their midst in one shape or another that will cut them away from the strength of Israel.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 6

Verses 15, 16. Supposing we have less pictures taken. Supposing we shall bring ourselves into covenant relation to God, and the money we spend in getting our own pictures produced we should bring it right into the missionary work and have a missionary box in every house. In the place of committing the idolatry we should bring our children to understand that this picture-taking and these magazines that are brought into our houses are wrong. They need to keep their minds on the living God, to serve Him, lest what? Lest they should commit idolatry over humanity, over anything on the face of the earth.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 7

Verses 16-19. What He wants is His image produced in mind, in words, in regard to character; we are to carry that out. Judgment upon judgment is coming upon our earth, and I entreat of you for Christ’s sake that you begin at the Old Testament, and what God has said with His own lips that you shall pay some heed unto it.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 8

Verses 20-22. Now there was the one sin—that the man whom God had trusted and given light and evidence and power and grace, there was one sin—that he was giving glory to himself. He was angry. Should he not have been angry? He smote that rock with a rod, when God had not told him to. Speak to the rock, and it shall give forth its waters. Well, he was angry with their continual murmurings, so that instead of speaking to the rock, he smote it. Shall I bring you water out of this rock, ye rebels? There was the meekest man upon the face of the earth that forgot. It will not pay to forget. It will not pay to become careless in any of God’s requirements.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 9

My dear friends, I see you before me, whether I can make you all hear I do not know, but I want to tell you that we want to study the Bible a great deal more than we do. It is the Word of God. It has the conditions laid down for our salvation, and we need not be ignorant in this matter.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 10

Verses 23-26, 27-30. We are in the latter days.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 11

Verses 30-35. Will the rest of us know it? Isn’t it the highest consequence that the highest member of the family know God? I read this to you because I am afraid that you do not understand the claims of God.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 12

Verses 36, 37. Now, I wish that you would take these things and read them.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 13

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

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 14

There is much here. And I do not know as I can get through with it all. I will not read it all, but a few things more I might read. But this I want to say: We make little account of God’s Word. We read it but very little; we are not students of prophecy, very many are not, and that is the reason that your hearts are so easily diverted on many things.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 15

Now, as I travel from place to place, and as I see now when I am nearly eighty years old the great work that is essential to be done in homes, in families, O, how I long to have every father and mother realize their accountability. The father is the priest of the household. The father is where he must take the Word of God and educate his children. The mother is the queen of the household. She is not to be made a slave. But there is a mistake; the mothers let the children do just about as they please, to play all the time, and nothing serious is taught them in usefulness. Here is a mother with a large family of children; unless these children are educated from childhood to take their responsibilities and to act a part in the home to lighten the mother’s cares, let me tell you that mother is worn out before her time. She is taken away from her children.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 16

Fathers and mothers unitedly should educate their children to take charge of the younger children and thus they are obtaining an education. Educate them to be kind, to be courteous. Educate them to modulate the voice so that it shall not create a disturbance with the little ones. And here is the education coming right on in the home, and just that which is essential.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 17

I have been in many a home where the mother must hunt for everything that the children have mislaid. Fathers and mothers, unitedly take up your work if you ever want your children to be Christians and to come into line to be laborers together with God. Teach them self-denial. Teach them self-sacrifice. In the name of the Lord, do this. There are coming from all countries letters saying, We are trying to enter these new fields. Cannot you help us?

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 18

Well, I have tried to do it. I started out in Europe. I told them if they would listen to what I told them, I would just as surely help them in every way possible. They told me only to go around once. I went three times around the whole region, to Denmark and Sweden, and Norway, and Italy, and all these countries. I went around with my interpreter. I took an interpreter standing by my side, and I took pains to educate, educate, educate. And that is what I want to see done now. That is the matter with us today, why we are in so low an ebb of Christianity. Educate, educate, educate in your homes with the missionary spirit. It is not all commercialism that is going to ripen you for the kingdom of God. No. I want to say, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, that I bring you the Word of the Lord. There are too many Eli’s in the congregation of Israel that let the children do just as they please, notwithstanding God has commissioned them what they should do.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 19

But here was Eli. The curse of God came upon his children. The father hearing the battle was lost fell backwards and died. But fathers, mothers, you are to show your religious standing in your own house. Show kindness; no need to have a violent word, a scolding word. God forbids it. Your tongue is a talent. Your words are a talent. Your brain is a talent. Your speech is a talent. And God wants you to educate that talent, that it should be exercised to His name’s glory.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 20

Drunkenness is everywhere. And we see what judgments are coming upon the earth. I have been in San Francisco. I have spoken several times there in the mercy of God, in the meetinghouse my husband and I and two or three others united in building. The fire came almost to it—to Van Ness Avenue. But it stopped, and there stands our meetinghouse. There was a baptism when I was there. And I could make appeals to them of the self-denial, the self-sacrifice that we had to make to bring things in shape so that we could have a meetinghouse. And souls were converted. Well, that was many years ago, but it stands there, with only just a little plaster off from the house.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 21

They are drifting right into Oakland. From the light that I have had, Oakland will come under judgments of God for wickedness. Wickedness is revealing itself in every line. In one case, a couple married, and he got drunk, and do you know the liquor is drugged now? No one can use it, but it makes them mad, and they do not know what they are doing. He got up and took a knife and cut her fingers right off from one hand, and then from the other, and she goes into court, and she pleads for that husband, Do not punish him; he did not know what he was doing. Temperance! Why isn’t it revived? Why isn’t it being ever more extended and powerful than it is today? I ask you. It is because these Scriptures that are given here are just passed by, and not noticed at all. You cannot afford it.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 22

Fathers, mothers, you cannot afford it. It is all written in the book, every departure from the counsel of God that He came down from the highest heaven to Mount Sinai to give to His people—precept by precept, commandment by commandment. There it was written upon tables of stone, and put in the ark of the testimony to be immortalized. And we want to know what families are doing who claim to believe the truth that the Lord is at the door, and that the judgments of God are in our world. We want to know what every soul is doing. Do you let your temporal business so overwhelm you that you will not obey the counsel of God? The Lord is coming.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 23

When I was here the last time at Loma Linda, during the night season there was an awful scene presented to me. In the morning when they got up, they said, “Sister White, are you going to Los Angeles?” “Yes,” said I, “I suppose so.” And there I sat. “Well then, it is best for you to get ready.” “I cannot do a thing, not a thing. Something has been presented to me and it has taken all my life and courage away from me. Whatever is done you must do it.” So they packed up my things, and we came to this place. The first thing after we got into the place we heard the news that San Francisco was destroyed. Well, now that almost paralyzed me, the sight that was presented. The souls that were lost, eternally lost! They died without hope in the world. Not every life that was taken, but every soul that was not ready. Now it becomes us to be sensible. It becomes every one to consider we have a God, and His requirements are in His Word.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 24

At some future time I may be able to speak with you again. I have been speaking now almost continually for weeks, and we have seen the representation of the Spirit of God in our midst. And we have seen attention given to those that have no special light in regard to our field, that the Lord is soon coming. Well, there was such interest around in the places that I have entered, new places, and I want to see missionaries raised up. I am glad there is a school that is at Loma Linda, that beautiful place. I am glad there is a school there, and they are educating young men and young women to become laborers together, not aside from God, but together with God. There should be a school everywhere there is a sanitarium. And there the books should unite in the education and training of the work of physicians—physicians and also the work to be Bible doctors, so as to be missionaries. We try in every place to establish this.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 25

When we went to Australia we took a whole 1,500 acres of land, and they laughed at us. But we know we had a work to do there. And we know that we have had a work to do here in purchasing the Loma Linda property that was brought within our reach, and we want to furnish that school. And we want in every way, everything possible done to have the educating power there that shall be of a sanctified order. We want not trivial work done there. We are working for eternity, and we know not how soon the judgments of God will be in Los Angeles. From the light given me of God it is not long. It will follow.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 26

Wickedness, idolatry, drunkenness, self-indulgence are all through our cities, and God wants those that claim to believe the truth to be sanctified through the truth. “Ye are,” said Christ, “the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:14.] Now, what is the church? Let your light so shine before men that they by seeing your good works may glorify your Father which is in heaven. Will you do it? We are straining every nerve. I am up hours before any one else is stirring in the house, to trace upon paper that which will come out in books. My son and Professor Magan are at work in St. Helena. We are trying in every way that we can to create funds, that we may send men. I want to go, says one, but there is no money to take me. I want to work for the Lord.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 27

I told them in Europe when I went there, “If you will promise me that you will do your best, I will help you.” Well, they wanted a laborer; I got it for them. And then two or three thousand dollars more to carry on the work. I provided it for them. And up to this time I have not received one dollar of royalty on my books for the whole of Europe, and I say, Just as long as you work, I will not take a dollar from the royalty. You just work the best you can, and souls are coming into the truth and openings are being made everywhere. Now I cannot do everything. I have felt O so strongly that I wished that for every extra laid out for the indulgence of self, you could see before you the hungering and thirsting of others for the truth. I told Elder Matteson, “If you will take a class and educate them, I will see that you are supported in it. Will you do it?” Well, he said he would. After the last visit was made, he told me, Don’t you leave this place till you come up and see my school. Well, there were about twenty-five people, men and women, and every man had his insignia of his nationality. They did not ask them to destroy that. And he brought them; he had taught every one of them to meet me in words of English that I could understand. And they would come one after another to speak to me in English, and O how thankful I was. I felt as though nothing was lost. These young men have been working, working.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 28

One sends to me, Now I have a thousand dollars from the sale of your books, and will you let me have a part of it to educate others? I wrote right back, Don’t you ever send me a dollar. You use it for educating, educating. I believe you will, said I. So the work is extending, entering new places, opening the Scriptures, and teaching the people.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 29

I want to say about the contribution boxes, as I have written to Nashville years ago. Make it after a pattern and put it in your house; educate your children to put right in that box the pennies and the silver bits and what they are tempted to use for the indulgence of appetite. We have to have something to sustain the work in the Southern states, and to educate the colored people. Many thousands of dollars have been brought in in that way. Now I advise fathers and mothers to begin a fund, contribution boxes which have been planned for the education, and see if you cannot be self-denying as Christ was. He walked on foot from city to city and from place to place. I wanted to tell you all about here, but I am getting hoarse, and I shall have to stop. Now I want to say, The Lord lives and reigns.

22LtMs, Ms 187, 1907, par. 30

Now we read here in Deuteronomy 7:6. We want the spirit of self-sacrifice. We forget, some of us, that there are souls to be saved, and that God calls for missionaries. I want you to come right up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. If you have money in the banks, it is God’s money; it is not yours; every dollar, every dollar is the Lord’s. The gold and the silver, He says, is Mine. We want you to have a spirit of generosity, and to act your part in the conversion of souls. That is what we want you to do. God help you to put on the armor of His righteousness. I will not attempt to say more now.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 27—The Law Given to Israel

PP 303.1

Soon after the encampment at Sinai, Moses was called up into the mountain to meet with God. Alone he climbed the steep and rugged path, and drew near to the cloud that marked the place of Jehovah’s presence. Israel was now to be taken into a close and peculiar relation to the Most High—to be incorporated as a church and a nation under the government of God. The message to Moses for the people was:

PP 303.2

“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”

PP 303.3

Moses returned to the camp, and having summoned the elders of Israel, he repeated to them the divine message. Their answer was, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” Thus they entered into a solemn covenant with God, pledging themselves to accept Him as their ruler, by which they became, in a special sense, the subjects of His authority.

PP 303.4

Again their leader ascended the mountain, and the Lord said unto him, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” When they met with difficulties in the way, they were disposed to murmur against Moses and Aaron, and accuse them of leading the hosts of Israel from Egypt to destroy them. The Lord would honor Moses before them, that they might be led to confide in his instructions.

PP 303.5

God purposed to make the occasion of speaking His law a scene of awful grandeur, in keeping with its exalted character. The people were to be impressed that everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence. The Lord said to Moses, “Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” During these intervening days all were to occupy the time in solemn preparation to appear before God. Their person and their clothing must be freed from impurity. And as Moses should point out their sins, they were to devote themselves to humiliation, fasting, and prayer, that their hearts might be cleansed from iniquity.

PP 304.1

The preparations were made, according to the command; and in obedience to a further injunction, Moses directed that a barrier be placed about the mount, that neither man nor beast might intrude upon the sacred precinct. If any ventured so much as to touch it, the penalty was instant death.

PP 304.2

On the morning of the third day, as the eyes of all the people were turned toward the mount, its summit was covered with a thick cloud, which grew more black and dense, sweeping downward until the entire mountain was wrapped in darkness and awful mystery. Then a sound as of a trumpet was heard, summoning the people to meet with God; and Moses led them forth to the base of the mountain. From the thick darkness flashed vivid lightnings, while peals of thunder echoed and re-echoed among the surrounding heights. “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” “The glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount” in the sight of the assembled multitude. And “the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder.” So terrible were the tokens of Jehovah’s presence that the hosts of Israel shook with fear, and fell upon their faces before the Lord. Even Moses exclaimed, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” Hebrews 12:21.

PP 304.3

And now the thunders ceased; the trumpet was no longer heard; the earth was still. There was a period of solemn silence, and then the voice of God was heard. Speaking out of the thick darkness that enshrouded Him, as He stood upon the mount, surrounded by a retinue of angels, the Lord made known His law. Moses, describing the scene, says: “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand: and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.” Deuteronomy 33:2, 3.

PP 305.1

Jehovah revealed Himself, not alone in the awful majesty of the judge and lawgiver, but as the compassionate guardian of His people: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” He whom they had already known as their Guide and Deliverer, who had brought them forth from Egypt, making a way for them through the sea, and overthrowing Pharaoh and his hosts, who had thus shown Himself to be above all the gods of Egypt—He it was who now spoke His law.

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.

PP 305.3

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”

PP 305.4

Jehovah, the eternal, self-existent, uncreated One, Himself the Source and Sustainer of all, is alone entitled to supreme reverence and worship. Man is forbidden to give to any other object the first place in his affections or his service. Whatever we cherish that tends to lessen our love for God or to interfere with the service due Him, of that do we make a god.

PP 305.5

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.”

PP 306.1

The second commandment forbids the worship of the true God by images or similitudes. Many heathen nations claimed that their images were mere figures or symbols by which the Deity was worshiped, but God has declared such worship to be sin. The attempt to represent the Eternal One by material objects would lower man’s conception of God. The mind, turned away from the infinite perfection of Jehovah, would be attracted to the creature rather than to the Creator. And as his conceptions of God were lowered, so would man become degraded.

PP 306.2

“I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.” The close and sacred relation of God to His people is represented under the figure of marriage. Idolatry being spiritual adultery, the displeasure of God against it is fitly called jealousy.

PP 306.3

“Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me.” It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually the case, however, that children walk in the steps of their parents. By inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father’s sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy from father to son, to the third and fourth generation. This fearful truth should have a solemn power to restrain men from following a course of sin.

PP 306.4

“Showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.” In prohibiting the worship of false gods, the second commandment by implication enjoins the worship of the true God. And to those who are faithful in His service, mercy is promised, not merely to the third and fourth generation as is the wrath threatened against those who hate Him, but to thousands of generations.

PP 306.5

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”

PP 306.6

This commandment not only prohibits false oaths and common swearing, but it forbids us to use the name of God in a light or careless manner, without regard to its awful significance. By the thoughtless mention of God in common conversation, by appeals to Him in trivial matters, and by the frequent and thoughtless repetition of His name, we dishonor Him. “Holy and reverend is His name.” Psalm 111:9. All should meditate upon His majesty, His purity and holiness, that the heart may be impressed with a sense of His exalted character; and His holy name should be uttered with reverence and solemnity.

PP 307.1

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 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, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

PP 307.2

The Sabbath is not introduced as a new institution but as having been founded at creation. It is to be remembered and observed as the memorial of the Creator’s work. Pointing to God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, it distinguishes the true God from all false gods. All who keep the seventh day signify by this act that they are worshipers of Jehovah. Thus the Sabbath is the sign of man’s allegiance to God as long as there are any upon the earth to serve Him. The fourth commandment is the only one of all the ten in which are found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one that shows by whose authority the law is given. Thus it contains the seal of God, affixed to His law as evidence of its authenticity and binding force.

PP 307.3

God has given men six days wherein to labor, and He requires that their own work be done in the six working days. Acts of necessity and mercy are permitted on the Sabbath, the sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for; but unnecessary labor is to be strictly avoided. “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 ... honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure.” Isaiah 58:13. Nor does the prohibition end here. “Nor speaking thine own words,” says the prophet. Those who discuss business matters or lay plans on the Sabbath are regarded by God as though engaged in the actual transaction of business. To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. And the commandment includes all within our gates. The inmates of the house are to lay aside their worldly business during the sacred hours. All should unite to honor God by willing service upon His holy day.

PP 308.1

“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

PP 308.2

Parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect which is due to no other person. God Himself, who has placed upon them a responsibility for the souls committed to their charge, has ordained that during the earlier years of life, parents shall stand in the place of God to their children. And he who rejects the rightful authority of his parents is rejecting the authority of God. The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age. It also enjoins respect for ministers and rulers and for all others to whom God has delegated authority.

PP 308.3

This, says the apostle, “is the first commandment with promise.” Ephesians 6:2. To Israel, expecting soon to enter Canaan, it was a pledge to the obedient, of long life in that good land; but it has a wider meaning, including all the Israel of God, and promising eternal life upon the earth when it shall be freed from the curse of sin.

PP 308.4

“Thou shalt not kill.”

PP 308.5

All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life; the spirit of hatred and revenge, or the indulgence of any passion that leads to injurious acts toward others, or causes us even to wish them harm (for “whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer”); a selfish neglect of caring for the needy or suffering; all self-indulgence or unnecessary deprivation or excessive labor that tends to injure health—all these are, to a greater or less degree, violations of the sixth commandment.

PP 308.6

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

PP 308.7

This commandment forbids not only acts of impurity, but sensual thoughts and desires, or any practice that tends to excite them. Purity is demanded not only in the outward life but in the secret intents and emotions of the heart. Christ, who taught the far-reaching obligation of the law of God, declared the evil thought or look to be as truly sin as is the unlawful deed.

PP 308.8

“Thou shalt not steal.”

PP 309.1

Both public and private sins are included in this prohibition. The eighth commandment condemns manstealing and slave dealing, and forbids wars of conquest. It condemns theft and robbery. It demands strict integrity in the minutest details of the affairs of life. It forbids overreaching in trade, and requires the payment of just debts or wages. It declares that every attempt to advantage oneself by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another is registered as fraud in the books of heaven.

PP 309.2

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

PP 309.3

False speaking in any matter, every attempt or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here included. An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words. All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation calculated to convey an erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. This precept forbids every effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmising, by slander or tale bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others, is a violation of the ninth commandment.

PP 309.4

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

PP 309.5

The tenth commandment strikes at the very root of all sins, prohibiting the selfish desire, from which springs the sinful act. He who in obedience to God’s law refrains from indulging even a sinful desire for that which belongs to another will not be guilty of an act of wrong toward his fellow creatures.

PP 309.6

Such were the sacred precepts of the Decalogue, spoken amid thunder and flame, and with a wonderful display of the power and majesty of the great Lawgiver. God accompanied the proclamation of His law with exhibitions of His power and glory, that His people might never forget the scene, and that they might be impressed with profound veneration for the Author of the law, the Creator of heaven and earth. He would also show to all men the sacredness, the importance, and the permanence of His law.

PP 309.7

The people of Israel were overwhelmed with terror. The awful power of God’s utterances seemed more than their trembling hearts could bear. For as God’s great rule of right was presented before them, they realized as never before the offensive character of sin, and their own guilt in the sight of a holy God. They shrank away from the mountain in fear and awe. The multitude cried out to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” The leader answered, “Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” The people, however, remained at a distance, gazing in terror upon the scene, while Moses “drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”

PP 310.1

The minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery and heathenism, were not prepared to appreciate fully the far-reaching principles of God’s ten precepts. That the obligations of the Decalogue might be more fully understood and enforced, additional precepts were given, illustrating and applying the principles of the Ten Commandments. These laws were called judgments, both because they were framed in infinite wisdom and equity and because the magistrates were to give judgment according to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they were delivered privately to Moses, who was to communicate them to the people.

PP 310.2

The first of these laws related to servants. In ancient times criminals were sometimes sold into slavery by the judges; in some cases, debtors were sold by their creditors; and poverty even led persons to sell themselves or their children. But a Hebrew could not be sold as a slave for life. His term of service was limited to six years; on the seventh he was to be set at liberty. Manstealing, deliberate murder, and rebellion against parental authority were to be punished with death. The holding of slaves not of Israelitish birth was permitted, but their life and person were strictly guarded. The murderer of a slave was to be punished; an injury inflicted upon one by his master, though no more than the loss of a tooth, entitled him to his freedom.

PP 310.3

The Israelites had lately been servants themselves, and now that they were to have servants under them, they were to beware of indulging the spirit of cruelty and exaction from which they had suffered under their Egyptian taskmasters. The memory of their own bitter servitude should enable them to put themselves in the servant’s place, leading them to be kind and compassionate, to deal with others as they would wish to be dealt with.

PP 310.4

The rights of widows and orphans were especially guarded, and a tender regard for their helpless condition was enjoined. “If thou afflict them in any wise,” the Lord declared, “and they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” Aliens who united themselves with Israel were to be protected from wrong or oppression. “Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

PP 311.1

The taking of usury from the poor was forbidden. A poor man’s raiment or blanket taken as a pledge, must be restored to him at nightfall. He who was guilty of theft was required to restore double. Respect for magistrates and rulers was enjoined, and judges were warned against perverting judgment, aiding a false cause, or receiving bribes. Calumny and slander were prohibited, and acts of kindness enjoined, even toward personal enemies.

PP 311.2

Again the people were reminded of the sacred obligation of the Sabbath. Yearly feasts were appointed, at which all the men of the nation were to assemble before the Lord, bringing to Him their offerings of gratitude and the first fruits of His bounties. The object of all these regulations was stated: they proceeded from no exercise of mere arbitrary sovereignty; all were given for the good of Israel. The Lord said, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me”—worthy to be acknowledged by a holy God.

PP 311.3

These laws were to be recorded by Moses, and carefully treasured as the foundation of the national law, and, with the ten precepts which they were given to illustrate, the condition of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel.

PP 311.4

The message was now given them from Jehovah: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in Him. But if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” During all the wanderings of Israel, Christ, in the pillar of cloud and of fire, was their Leader. While there were types pointing to a Saviour to come, there was also a present Saviour, who gave commands to Moses for the people, and who was set forth before them as the only channel of blessing.

PP 311.5

Upon descending from the mountain, “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” This pledge, together with the words of the Lord which it bound them to obey, was written by Moses in a book.

PP 312.1

Then followed the ratification of the covenant. An altar was built at the foot of the mountain, and beside it twelve pillars were set up, “according to the twelve tribes of Israel,” as a testimony to their acceptance of the covenant. Sacrifices were then presented by young men chosen for the service.

PP 312.2

Having sprinkled the altar with the blood of the offerings, Moses “took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people.” Thus the conditions of the covenant were solemnly repeated, and all were at liberty to choose whether or not they would comply with them. They had at the first promised to obey the voice of God; but they had since heard His law proclaimed; and its principles had been particularized, that they might know how much this covenant involved. Again the people answered with one accord, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” “When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood, ... and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” Hebrews 9:19, 20.

PP 312.3

Arrangements were now to be made for the full establishment of the chosen nation under Jehovah as their king. Moses had received the command, “Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord.” While the people worshiped at its foot, these chosen men were called up into the mount. The seventy elders were to assist Moses in the government of Israel, and God put upon them His Spirit, and honored them with a view of His power and greatness. “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” They did not behold the Deity, but they saw the glory of His presence. Before this they could not have endured such a scene; but the exhibition of God’s power had awed them to repentance; they had been contemplating His glory, purity, and mercy, until they could approach nearer to Him who was the subject of their meditations.

PP 313.1

Moses and “his minister Joshua” were now summoned to meet with God. And as they were to be some time absent, the leader appointed Aaron and Hur, assisted by the elders, to act in his stead. “And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai.” For six days the cloud covered the mountain as a token of God’s special presence; yet there was no revelation of Himself or communication of His will. During this time Moses remained in waiting for a summons to the presence chamber of the Most High. He had been directed, “Come up to Me into the mount, and be there,” and though his patience and obedience were tested, he did not grow weary of watching, or forsake his post. This period of waiting was to him a time of preparation, of close self-examination. Even this favored servant of God could not at once approach into His presence and endure the exhibitions of His glory. Six days must be employed in devoting himself to God by searching of heart, meditation, and prayer before he could be prepared for direct communication with his Maker.

PP 313.2

Upon the seventh day, which was the Sabbath, Moses was called up into the cloud. The thick cloud opened in the sight of all Israel, and the glory of the Lord broke forth like devouring fire. “And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” The forty days’ tarry in the mount did not include the six days of preparation. During the six days Joshua was with Moses, and together they ate of the manna and drank of “the brook that descended out of the mount.” But Joshua did not enter with Moses into the cloud. He remained without, and continued to eat and drink daily while awaiting the return of Moses, but Moses fasted during the entire forty days.

PP 313.3

During his stay in the mount, Moses received directions for the building of a sanctuary in which the divine presence would be specially manifested. “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8), was the command of God. For the third time the observance of the Sabbath was enjoined. “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever,” the Lord declared, “that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you.... Whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” Exodus 31:17,13, 14. Directions had just been given for the immediate erection of the tabernacle for the service of God; and now the people might conclude, because the object had in view was the glory of God, and also because of their great need of a place of worship, that they would be justified in working at the building upon the Sabbath. To guard them from this error, the warning was given. Even the sacredness and urgency of that special work for God must not lead them to infringe upon His holy rest day.

PP 314.1

Henceforth the people were to be honored with the abiding presence of their King. “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God,” “and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory” (Exodus 29:45, 43), was the assurance given to Moses. As the symbol of God’s authority and the embodiment of His will, there was delivered to Moses a copy of the Decalogue engraved by the finger of God Himself upon two tables of stone (Deuteronomy 9:10; Exodus 32:15, 16), to be sacredly enshrined in the sanctuary, which, when made, was to be the visible center of the nation’s worship.

PP 314.2

From a race of slaves the Israelites had been exalted above all peoples to be the peculiar treasure of the King of kings. God had separated them from the world, that He might commit to them a sacred trust. He had made them the depositaries of His law, and He purposed, through them, to preserve among men the knowledge of Himself. Thus the light of heaven was to shine out to a world enshrouded in darkness, and a voice was to be heard appealing to all peoples to turn from their idolatry to serve the living God. If the Israelites would be true to their trust, they would become a power in the world. God would be their defense, and He would exalt them above all other nations. His light and truth would be revealed through them, and they would stand forth under His wise and holy rule as an example of the superiority of His worship over every form of idolatry.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 176, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 176, 1907, par. 12

I spoke from the nineteenth chapter of Exodus and the fourth of Deuteronomy, relating how the Lord came down on Mount Sinai before the mighty host of Israel, gave them His law, making to them wonderful promises if they would observe His commandments. Never before have I felt so intensely the importance of this subject. I know that the Lord blessed me and that His angels were present. By the time I had spoken about an hour, I became very hoarse and was obliged to cease.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 185, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 185, 1907, par. 5

And there will be many discouraging things. The helpers may sometimes feel a spirit to rise against this or that or the other. I have found whole institutions nearly ruined by one talking with another, and another talking with another, and stirring up the jealousy and evil surmisings. Now, do not let this come in, because if you do, you are not learning of Christ. What we want is to be preparing for that city—that is out of sight now, but by faith we can view it—that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now, if we expect a place in that city, we can have it if we will be obedient to the requirements of God. He has given us the special direction to denominate us as His people. In Exodus we read the conditions.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 83, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 83, 1907, par. 6

Read carefully the first nine verses of the nineteenth chapter of Exodus where Moses records the promise God made to His people on condition of their obedience to His commandments. And the people responded, “All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.” “I come to thee in a thick cloud,” God declared to Moses, “that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” [Verses 8, 9.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Lt 168, 1909

24LtMs, Lt 168, 1909, par. 17

The nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus are of great importance. They should be often repeated, and the instruction given should be sacredly observed. The Lord is the only true God, and He demands that His people shall be obedient to His Word. At this time when Satan is using every device to draw people away from truth and righteousness, let all who would stand on the Lord’s side keep holy the memorial of creation.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Lt 143, 1909

24LtMs, Lt 143, 1909, par. 13

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6.

24LtMs, Lt 143, 1909, par. 14

The nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus are of great importance. They should be often repeated, and the instruction given should be sacredly observed. The Lord is the only true God, and He demands that His people shall be obedient to His Word. At this time when Satan is using every device to draw people away from truth and righteousness, let all who would stand on the Lord’s side keep holy the memorial of the Sabbath. Satan is working to place before the people the first day of the week and by its observance exalt a power that is opposed to God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 164, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 164, 1910, par. 6

Now comes the Word to the truly sanctified souls, every soul in the family that is living the Word of God. They will be educated, taught of God. “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Verses 20, 21. All who are transferred from this world to the highest grade of education above will have learned their lessons not from human, unsanctified teachers who refuse to accept the higher education—which is obedience to all of God’s commandments, but from the highest, grandest court, from God’s law, pronounced in awful grandeur from Sinai’s Mount. Read Exodus 19 and 20.

The Story of Redemption

Chapter 18—The Law of God

SR 137.1

After the children of Israel left Rephidim, they came to the “desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”

SR 137.2

The people here entered into a solemn covenant with God and accepted Him as their ruler, by which they became the peculiar subjects of His divine authority. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever.” When the Hebrews had met with difficulties in the way, they were disposed to murmur against Moses and Aaron, and accuse them of leading the host of Israel from Egypt to destroy them. God would honor Moses before them, that they might be led to confide in his instructions, and know that He had put His Spirit upon him.

SR 138.1

The Lord then gave Moses express directions in regard to preparing the people for Him to approach nigh to them, that they might hear His law spoken, not by angels, but by Himself. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.”

SR 138.2

The people were required to refrain from worldly labor and care, and to possess devotional thoughts. God required them also to wash their clothes. He is no less particular now than He was then. He is a God of order, and requires His people now upon the earth to observe habits of strict cleanliness. And those who worship God with unclean garments and persons do not come before Him in an acceptable manner. He is not pleased with their lack of reverence for Him, and He will not accept the service of filthy worshipers, for they insult their Maker. The Creator of the heavens and of the earth considered cleanliness of so much importance that He said, “And let them wash their clothes.”

SR 138.3

“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: there shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” This command was designed to impress the minds of this rebellious people with a profound veneration for God, the author and authority of their laws.

SR 139.1

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.” The angelic host that attended the divine Majesty summoned the people by a sound resembling that of a trumpet, which waxed louder and louder until the whole earth trembled.

SR 139.2

“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” The divine Majesty descended in a cloud with a glorious retinue of angels, who appeared as flames of fire.

SR 139.3

“And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.”

SR 140.1

Thus the Lord, in awful grandeur, spoke His law from Sinai, that the people might believe. He then accompanied the giving of His law with sublime exhibitions of His authority, that they might know that He is the only true and living God. Moses was not permitted to enter within the cloud of glory, but only draw nigh and enter the thick darkness which surrounded it. And he stood between the people and the Lord.

SR 140.2

After the Lord had given them such evidences of His power, He told them who He was: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” The same God who exalted His power among the Egyptians now spoke His law:

SR 140.3

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

SR 140.4

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.

SR 140.5

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

SR 140.6

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, 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, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

SR 141.1

“Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

SR 141.2

“Thou shalt not kill.

SR 141.3

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.

SR 141.4

“Thou shalt not steal.

SR 141.5

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

SR 141.6

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.”

SR 141.7

The first and second commandments spoken by Jehovah are precepts against idolatry; for idolatry, if practiced, would lead men to great lengths in sin and rebellion, and result in the offering of human sacrifices. God would guard against the least approach to such abominations. The first four commandments were given to show men their duty to God. The fourth is the connecting link between the great God and man. The Sabbath, especially, was given for the benefit of man and for the honor of God. The last six precepts show the duty of man to his fellow man.

SR 141.8

The Sabbath was to be a sign between God and His people forever. In this manner was it to be a sign—all who should observe the Sabbath, signified by such observance that they were worshipers of the living God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. The Sabbath was to be a sign between God and His people as long as He should have a people upon the earth to serve Him.

SR 142.1

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

SR 142.2

“And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.” The majestic presence of God at Sinai, and the commotions in the earth occasioned by His presence, the fearful thunderings and lightnings which accompanied this visitation of God, so impressed the minds of the people with fear and reverence to His sacred majesty that they instinctively drew back from the awful presence of God, lest they should not be able to endure His terrible glory.

SR 142.3

Again, God would guard the children of Israel from idolatry. He said unto them, “Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.” They were in danger of imitating the example of the Egyptians, and making to themselves images to represent God.

SR 143.1

God would have His people understand that He alone should be the object of their worship; and when they should overcome the idolatrous nations around them, they should not preserve any of the images of their worship, but utterly destroy them. Many of these heathen deities were very costly, and of beautiful workmanship, which might tempt those who had witnessed idol worship, so common in Egypt, to even regard these senseless objects with some degree of reverence. The Lord would have His people know that it was because of the idolatry of these nations, which had led them to every degree of wickedness, that He would use the Israelites as His instruments to punish them and destroy their gods.

SR 145.1

The law of God existed before man was created. The angels were governed by it. Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of God’s government. After Adam and Eve were created, God made known to them His law. It was not then written, but was rehearsed to them by Jehovah.

SR 145.2

The Sabbath of the fourth commandment was instituted in Eden. After God had made the world and created man upon the earth, He made the Sabbath for man. After Adam’s sin and fall nothing was taken from the law of God. The principles of the Ten Commandments existed before the fall and were of a character suited to the condition of a holy order of beings. After the fall the principles of those precepts were not changed, but additional precepts were given to meet man in his fallen state.

SR 145.3

A system was then established requiring the sacrificing of beasts, to keep before fallen man that which the serpent made Eve disbelieve, that the penalty of disobedience is death. The transgression of God’s law made it necessary for Christ to die a sacrifice, and thus make a way possible for man to escape the penalty, and yet the honor of God’s law be preserved. The system of sacrifices was to teach man humility, in view of his fallen condition, and lead him to repentance and to trust in God alone, through the promised Redeemer, for pardon for past transgression of His law. If the law of God had not been transgressed, there never would have been death, and there would have been no need of additional precepts to suit man’s fallen condition.

SR 146.1

Adam taught his descendants the law of God, which law was handed down to the faithful through successive generations. The continual transgression of God’s law called for a flood of waters upon the earth. The law was preserved by Noah and his family, who for right-doing were saved in the ark by a miracle of God. Noah taught his descendants the Ten Commandments. The Lord preserved a people for Himself from Adam down, in whose hearts was His law. He says of Abraham, He “obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Genesis 26:5.

SR 146.2

The Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said unto him:

SR 146.3

“I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” Genesis 17:1, 2. “And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Genesis 17:7.

SR 146.4

He then required of Abraham and his seed, circumcision, which was a circle cut in the flesh, as a token that God had cut them out and separated them from all nations as His peculiar treasure. By this sign they solemnly pledged themselves that they would not intermarry with other nations, for by so doing they would lose their reverence for God and His holy law, and would become like the idolatrous nations around them.

SR 147.1

By the act of circumcision they solemnly agreed to fulfill on their part the conditions of the covenant made with Abraham, to be separate from all nations and to be perfect. If the descendants of Abraham had kept separate from other nations, they would not have been seduced into idolatry. By keeping separate from other nations, a great temptation to engage in their sinful practices and rebel against God would be removed from them. They lost in a great measure their peculiar, holy character by mingling with the nations around them. To punish them, the Lord brought a famine upon their land, which compelled them to go down into Egypt to preserve their lives. But God did not forsake them while they were in Egypt, because of His covenant with Abraham. He suffered them to be oppressed by the Egyptians, that they might turn to Him in their distress, choose His righteous and merciful government, and obey His requirements.

SR 147.2

There were but a few families that first went down into Egypt. These increased to a great multitude. Some were careful to instruct their children in the law of God, but many of the Israelites had witnessed so much idolatry that they had confused ideas of God’s law. Those who feared God cried to Him in anguish of spirit to break their yoke of grievous bondage and bring them from the land of their captivity, that they might be free to serve Him. God heard their cries and raised up Moses as His instrument to accomplish the deliverance of His people. After they had left Egypt, and the waters of the Red Sea had been divided before them, the Lord proved them to see if they would trust in Him who had taken them, a nation from another nation, by signs, temptations, and wonders. But they failed to endure the trial. They murmured against God because of difficulties in the way and wished to return again to Egypt.

SR 148.1

To leave them without excuse, the Lord Himself condescended to come down upon Sinai, enshrouded in glory and surrounded by His angels, and in a most sublime and awful manner made known His law of Ten Commandments. He did not trust them to be taught by anyone, not even His angels, but spoke His law with an audible voice in the hearing of all the people. He did not, even then, trust them to the short memory of a people who were prone to forget His requirements, but wrote them with His own holy finger upon tables of stone. He would remove from them all possibility of mingling with His holy precepts any tradition, or of confusing His requirements with the practices of men.

SR 148.2

He then came still closer to His people, who were so readily led astray, and would not leave them with merely the ten precepts of the Decalogue. He commanded Moses to write, as He should bid him, judgments and laws, giving minute directions in regard to what He required them to perform, and thereby guarded the ten precepts which He had engraved upon the tables of stone. These specific directions and requirements were given to draw erring man to the obedience of the moral law, which he is so prone to transgress.

SR 148.3

If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved in the ark by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a token or pledge, they would never have gone into idolatry or been suffered to go down into Egypt, and there would have been no necessity of God’s proclaiming His law from Sinai and engraving it upon tables of stone and guarding it by definite directions in the judgments and statutes of Moses.

SR 149.1

Moses wrote these judgments and statutes from the mouth of God while he was with Him in the mount. If the people of God had obeyed the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the specific directions given to Moses, which he wrote in a book, relative to their duty to God and to one another. The definite directions which the Lord gave to Moses in regard to the duty of His people to one another, and to the stranger, are the principles of the Ten Commandments simplified and given in a definite manner, that they need not err.

SR 149.2

The Lord instructed Moses definitely in regard to the ceremonial sacrifices which were to cease at the death of Christ. The system of sacrifices foreshadowed the offering of Christ as a Lamb without blemish.

SR 149.3

The Lord first established the system of sacrificial offerings with Adam after his fall, which he taught to his descendants. This system was corrupted before the Flood, and by those who separated themselves from the faithful followers of God and engaged in the building of the tower of Babel. They sacrificed to gods of their own [making] instead of the God of heaven. They offered sacrifices not because they had faith in the Redeemer to come but because they thought they should please their gods by offering a great many beasts upon polluted idol altars. Their superstition led them to great extravagances. They taught the people that the more valuable the sacrifice the greater pleasure would it give their idol gods, and the greater would be the prosperity and riches of their nation. Hence, human beings were often sacrificed to these senseless idols. Those nations had laws and regulations to control the actions of the people, which were cruel in the extreme. Their laws were made by those whose hearts were not softened by grace; and while they would pass over the most debasing crimes, a small offense would call forth the most cruel punishment from those in authority.

The Story of Redemption

The Peril of Idolatry

SR 142.4

The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in Him. But if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries; for Mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.” The angel who went before Israel was the Lord Jesus Christ. “Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” Exodus 23:24, 25.

SR 143.2

“I will send My fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against Me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” Exodus 23:27-33. These promises of God to His people were on condition of their obedience. If they would serve the Lord fully, He would do great things for them.

SR 144.1

After Moses had received the judgments from the Lord, and had written them for the people, also the promises, on condition of obedience, the Lord said unto him, “Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Exodus 24:1-3.

SR 144.2

Moses had written, not the Ten Commandments, but the judgments which God would have them observe, and the promises on condition that they would obey Him. He read this to the people, and they pledged themselves to obey all the words which the Lord had said. Moses then wrote their solemn pledge in a book and offered sacrifice unto God for the people. “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” The people repeated their solemn pledge to the Lord to do all that He had said, and to be obedient. (Exodus 24:7, 8.)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Ms 125, 1909

24LtMs, Ms 125, 1909, par. 20

Verses 2, 3. That is just the history that they were to carry out. I have read the last part of this to you. Now I want to go on to Exodus 19:1-8. Some of us pledge ourselves, but when we come into a hard place, how many of us stand the proving? How many begin to murmur, how many begin to complain, how many commence to fret against the Lord? Wouldn’t it be better when we come into these perplexities to get down in simplicity upon our knees and ask the Lord God of Israel to give us the water that He had given us to show His great kindness still to us? The Lord would have been pleased with that.

24LtMs, Ms 125, 1909, par. 21

Verses 8, 9. You see that the Lord calculates that they would believe in the Lord forever. Verse 9 last part, verses 10-14. The Lord is pleased with cleanliness always.

24LtMs, Ms 125, 1909, par. 22

Verses 15-19. There is God talking with the people through Moses. Verses 20-25; Exodus 20:1. He wants all of us to understand what He was telling them.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 17, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 17, 1899, par. 21

“God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” [2 Corinthians 4:6.] In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. “And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:3-6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 92, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 92, 1899, par. 29

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:3-6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 11, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 11, 1904, par. 46

“Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine, and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:3-6.]

19LtMs, Lt 11, 1904, par. 47

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words.” [Verse 7.]

19LtMs, Lt 11, 1904, par. 48

“And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” [Verse 8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 78, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 78, 1904, par. 4

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:3-6.]

19LtMs, Ms 78, 1904, par. 5

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all the words which the Lord commanded Him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verses 7, 8.]

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

The Pledge for these Last Days

1MR 116.3

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:3-8).

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

Covenant at Sinai in Force Today

1MR 122.1

The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. The Lord said to Moses: “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.... And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words.... And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:3-8).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 263, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 263, 1903, par. 20

“And Moses came, and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” [Exodus 19:3-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 408, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 408, 1907, par. 7

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” [Exodus 19:3-9.] This covenant between God and the people was to be a perpetual one, to be held sacred to a thousand generations.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Lt 198, 1908

23LtMs, Lt 198, 1908, par. 7

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Exodus 19:3-8.]

23LtMs, Lt 198, 1908, par. 8

With upraised hand the people here made a solemn covenant with the Lord; and they became His denominated people, pledged to obey all the commandments of the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verse 9.]

23LtMs, Lt 198, 1908, par. 11

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for Thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest He break forth upon them.” [Verses 16-24.] Then was the great work done of giving the ten commandments to Israel.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Ms 93, 1908

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 4

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” [Exodus 19:3-5.]

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 5

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.” [Verses 7-9.] There the children of Israel denominated themselves for God as a nation that would obey Him.

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 6

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today, and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people on Mt. Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” [Verses 10-13.]

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 7

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people forth from the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” [Verses 16-18.]

23LtMs, Ms 93, 1908, par. 9

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord, to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near unto the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mt. Sinai; for Thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest He break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.” [Verses 19-25.]

God’s Amazing Grace

The Promises of Men, May 7

AG 135.1

All the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. Exodus 19:8.

AG 135.3

Soon after the encampment at Sinai, Moses was called up into the mountain to meet with God.... Israel was now to be taken into a close and peculiar relation to the Most High—to be incorporated as a church and a nation under the government of God. The message to Moses for the people was: “... if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:4-6).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 258, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 258, 1907, par. 19

“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:4-6.]

22LtMs, Lt 258, 1907, par. 20

Moses returned to the camp, and summoned the elders of Israel, and repeated to them the divine message. “And all the people answered together, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.” [Verse 8.] Thus they entered into a solemn covenant with God, pledging themselves to accept the Lord God as their ruler. They became in a special sense the subjects of His authority.

22LtMs, Lt 258, 1907, par. 21

Then Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I am come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” [Verse 9.]

God’s Amazing Grace

Terms of the Covenant, May 6

AG 134.1

If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. Exodus 19:5.

Homeward Bound

Obedience, a Condition for Happiness, June 3

HB 176.1

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.—Exodus 19:5.

Our Father Cares

Terms of the Covenant, August 10

OFC 234.1

If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. Exodus 19:5.

Our High Calling

Promises to those Who Obey, January 18

OHC 24.1

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. Exodus 19:5.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Appendix

PP 760.3

Note 5. Page 329. The Ten Commandments were the “covenant” to which the Lord referred when, in proposing a covenant with Israel, He said, “If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant,” etc. Exodus 19:5. The ten commandments were termed God’s “covenant” before the covenant was made with Israel. They were not an agreement made, but something which God commanded them to perform. Thusthe Ten Commandments—God’s covenant—became the basis of the covenant made between Him and Israel. The Ten Commandments in all their details are “all these words,” concerning which the covenant was made. See Exodus 24:8.

Reflecting Christ

Obedience, the Fruit of Faith, September 17

RC 274.1

If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. Exodus 19:5.

Ye Shall Receive Power

Chosen to Be Saved, February 2

YRP 41.2

We are to believe that we are chosen of God to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His unmerited favor. It is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ to be graciously received and presented to His Father. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the divine relationship between God and the sinner is renewed. Our heavenly Father says, “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. I will exercise forgiving love toward them, and bestow upon them My joy. They shall be to Me a peculiar treasure; for this people whom I have formed for Myself shall show forth My praise” (see: Jeremiah 30:22; 31:1, 33; Exodus 19:5).

The Review and Herald

February 19, 1914

RH February 19, 1914, par. 2

God’s favor toward Israel had always been conditional on their obedience. At the foot of Sinai, the hosts of Israel had entered into covenant relation with God as his “peculiar treasure ... above all people.” Exodus 19:5. They were to be to him “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Solemnly they had promised to follow in the path of obedience. “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do,” they said. And when, a few days afterward, God’s law was spoken from Sinai, and additional instruction in the form of statutes and judgments was communicated through Moses, the Israelites with one voice again promised, “All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Exodus 24:3. At the ratification of the covenant, the people once more united in declaring, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Verse 7. God had chosen Israel as his people, and they had chosen him as their King.

A Solemn Appeal

Chapter 3—Obedience to the Law of God

SA 141.2

The Lord made this special covenant with ancient Israel: “Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. He addresses his commandment-keeping people in these last days, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” 1 Peter 2:9, 11.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 82, 1895

10LtMs, Lt 82, 1895, par. 25

“Now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” [Exodus 19:5, 6.] “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” [1 Peter 2:9.] The Lord has shown us that obedience to His law is essential to the reception of His favor and blessing. The obedience of Abraham has been recorded in Bible history. At the command of God he gave up his beloved son, and in commendation of his obedience the Lord said, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Why? “Because thou hast obeyed my voice.” [Genesis 22:18.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Lt 81, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 81, 1896, par. 33

“I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord, and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” [Verses 18-21.] “Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.” “Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.” [Isaiah 48:1, 8.] “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:5, 6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 157, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 157, 1899, par. 18

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 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 hath sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen. 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 7:6-9.] “Now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:5, 6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 110, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 110, 1904, par. 35

Before the giving of the law at Sinai, God made a solemn covenant with the Israelites on condition of obedience to His commandments. “If ye will obey My voice indeed,” the Lord declared, “and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:5, 6.] These promises are made to us as verily as they were to the Israelites. Why are we so weak? God cannot lie; He will fulfil every promise made. O our weakness is the result of disobedience. Those who have professed to be the children of God have neglected duties in the home life. They have failed to unite with Him who is mighty, and in their own strength they have been unable to train their children for heaven.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 4, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 4, 1904, par. 21

“Now therefore,” God declares, “if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” [Exodus 19:5, 6.]

Christ Triumphant

God’s Law Not Given for Israel Only, April 17

CTr 114.1

If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5, 6.

Counsels on Health

Social Purity

CH 567.1

The Lord made a special covenant with ancient Israel: “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. He addresses His commandment-keeping people in these last days, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1 Peter 2:9, 11.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 32—The Law and the Covenants

PP 371.4

God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave them His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ... ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Exodus 24:7. They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant.

The Faith I Live By

Man’s Inability to Save Himself, March 13

FLB 78.3

God ... gave them [Israel] His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ... ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Exodus 24:7. They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant, and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings....

The Review and Herald

October 17, 1907

RH October 17, 1907, par. 7

God brought them to Sinai; he manifested his glory; he gave them his law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ... ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Exodus 24:7. They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant, and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant.

From Eternity Past

Why God Worked With Israel

EP 260.2

God gave them His law with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, ... ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law. Feeling able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Exodus 24:7. They readily entered into covenant with God. Yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant and bowed down to worship a graven image. Now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 101, 1895

10LtMs, Lt 101, 1895, par. 7

There is a word that is to be kept prominent before the eye and mind of those who love Christ—that word is obedience. The Word which the Lord spoke to His ancient people is to be obeyed by us as much as by those to whom it was spoken. Obedience involves every covenant mercy, and is the only way we can show our love to our gracious heavenly Father. Let us listen to Him, for He says, “Now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 24—“Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”

PK 293.1

God’s favor toward Israel had always been conditional on their obedience. At the foot of Sinai they had entered into covenant relationship with Him as His “peculiar treasure... above all people.” Solemnly they had promised to follow in the path of obedience. “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do,” they had said. Exodus 19:5, 8. And when, a few days afterward, God’s law was spoken from Sinai, and additional instruction in the form of statutes and judgments was communicated through Moses, the Israelites with one voice had again promised, “All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” At the ratification of the covenant, the people had once more united in declaring, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient,” Exodus 24:3, 7. God had chosen Israel as His people, and they had chosen Him as their King.

From Splendor to Shadow

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

SS 157.1

God’s favor toward Israel had always been conditional on their obedience. At Sinai they had entered into covenant with Him as His “own possession among all peoples.” “All that the Lord has spoken we will do,” they had promised. Exodus 19:5, 8, RSV. God had chosen Israel as His people, and they had chosen Him as their King.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 35—Approaching Doom

PK 426.1

The children of Judah were numbered among those of whom God had declared, “Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:6. Never did Jeremiah in his ministry lose sight of the vital importance of heart holiness in the varied relationships of life, and especially in the service of the most high God. Plainly he foresaw the downfall of the kingdom and a scattering of the inhabitants of Judah among the nations; but with the eye of faith he looked beyond all this to the times of restoration. Ringing in his ears was the divine promise: “I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds.... Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:3-6.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

With Upraised Hand

1MR 120.1

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” (Exodus 19:7, 8).

1MR 120.2

With upraised hand the people here made a solemn covenant with the Lord; and they became His denominated people, pledged to obey all the commandments of the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with Thee, and believe Thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord” (Exodus 19:9). Letter 198, 1908, p. 3. (To Our Brethren in Oakland, June 16, 1908.)