Sabbath afternoon Introduction

The word “Deuteronomy,” the title of the book, is derived from the Greek translation (the Septuagint) of a phrase found in Deuteronomy 17:18, “a copy of this law,” which means literally “a second [i.e., a repetition] of this law.” The title indicates both a repetition of the law they had received at Sinai, and a review of God’s teachings.

The Hebrew title of the book, Debarim, “words” refers to the prophetic words of Moses in verse 3. This echoes the last words of the book of Numbers, which read “these are the commandments” (Num. 36:13). These “words” are the commandments of God.

Deuteronomy is one of the most significant books in the Old Testament. Judging from the number of quotations or citations of Deuteronomy in the New Testament.

Inspiration says,

Study Deuteronomy Carefully: The book of Deuteronomy should be carefully studied by those living on the earth today. It contains a record of the instruction given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. In it the law is repeated. . . . {1BC 1117.5}

Study Deuteronomy and Exodus More: 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 (MS 11, 1903). {1BC 1117.8}

The book of Deuteronomy should be carefully studied by those living on the earth today. It contains a record of the instruction given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. In it the law is repeated. At the time when the instruction which it contains was given, the people of Israel were encamped beside the Jordan. All but two of the adults who had left Egypt had died in the wilderness. Now the generation that had arisen during the forty years of journeying were about to pass over the Jordan to receive their inheritance in the promised land. But they must first hear from the lips of Moses the instruction given him by the Lord for them. The words of the law must be repeated to them, and they must hear again the conditions upon which they were to enter into and take possession of the promised land. {RH, December 31, 1903 par. 1}

This week’s SSLesson will gaze on the history which portrays years back in time which relates to the present truth in our time. The circumstances which paves the emergent faith of Abram and other heroes in the holy scripture. Lessons will be learned as we dig on the deeper side of inspiration and let the Spirit guide us to internalize and exemplified in our lives.

“These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness.” (Deuteronomy 1:1)

Outline of the Study

Sunday: Love, to be Loved (The Great Controversy - 1John 4:8; Deut. 6:5; Mk 12:30; Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-17)

Monday: The Fall and the Flood (Rebel Humanity - Gen. 2:16, 17; Gen. 3:1-7)

Tuesday: The Call of Abram (The seed of Abraham - Gen. 12:1-3; Gal. 3:7-9; Acts 7:20=36)

Wednesday: The Covenant at Sinai (The Covenant at Sinai - Exo. 19:4; Deut. 4:34; Exo. 19:4-8)

Thursday: Apostasy and Punishment (40 years in the Desert - Exo. 19:4, 5, 8; 24:3, 7; Num. 14:28-35)

Friday: Further Study

Prayer Thought

The Spirit that Regenerate

The Spirit is given as a regenerating agency, to make effectual the salvation wrought by the death of our Redeemer. The Spirit is constantly seeking to draw the attention of men to the great offering that was made on the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God, and to open to the convicted soul the precious things of the Scriptures. {AA 52.4}

Having brought conviction of sin, and presented before the mind the standard of righteousness, the Holy Spirit withdraws the affections from the things of this earth and fills the soul with a desire for holiness. "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13), the Saviour declared. If men are willing to be molded, there will be brought about a sanctification of the whole being. The Spirit will take the things of God and stamp them on the soul. By His power the way of life will be made so plain that none need err therein. {AA 52.5}

Having made this declaration, Paul said, "Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him." {AA 171.1}

Memory Verse

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8, NKJV)

Words of Assurance

The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God's plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to "the principalities and powers in heavenly places," the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10. {AA 9.1}

Sunday: Love, to be Loved (The Great Controversy - 1John 4:8; Deut. 6:5; Mk 12:30; Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-17)

“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” (Ezekiel 28:15)

Union with Christ there’s Strength

What was the strength of those who in the past have suffered persecution for Christ's sake? It was union with God, union with the Holy Spirit, union with Christ. Reproach and persecution have separated many from earthly friends, but never from the love of Christ. Never is the tempest-tried soul more dearly loved by His Saviour than when he is suffering reproach for the truth's sake. "I will love him," Christ said, "and will manifest Myself to him." John 14:21. When for the truth's sake the believer stands at the bar of earthly tribunals, Christ stands by his side. When he is confined within prison walls, Christ manifests Himself to him and cheers his heart with His love. When he suffers death for Christ's sake, the Saviour says to him, They may kill the body, but they cannot hurt the soul. "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." John 16:33; Isaiah 41:10. {AA 85.1}

God is Our Defense in Times of Controversy

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even forever." "He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight." Psalm 125:1-3; 72:14. {AA 86.1}

"The Lord of hosts shall defend them; . . . the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land." Zechariah 9:15, 16. {AA 86.2}

God Governs the Universe

As the Supreme Ruler of the universe, God has ordained laws for the government not only of all living beings, but of all the operations of nature. Everything, whether great or small, animate or inanimate, is under fixed laws which cannot be disregarded. There are no exceptions to this rule; for nothing that the divine hand has made has been forgotten by the divine mind. But while everything in nature is governed by natural law, man alone, as an intelligent being, capable of understanding its requirements, is amenable to moral law. To man alone, the crowning work of His creation, God has given a conscience to realize the sacred claims of the divine law, and a heart capable of loving it as holy, just, and good; and of man prompt and perfect obedience is required. Yet God does not compel him to obey; he is left a free moral agent. {NL 30.1}

Disobedience Caused Loss of Eden

The history of Adam and Eve's disobedience in the very beginning of this earth's history is fully given. By that one act of disobedience our first parents lost their beautiful Eden home. And it was such a little thing! We have reason to be thankful that it was not a larger matter, because if it had been, little disregards in disobedience would have been multiplied. It was the least test that God could give the holy pair in Eden. {CG 79.5}

Consider the following

God is love. Everything coming from Him is love. He wants His creatures to love Him with all their heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).

However, only voluntarily loving is love. Therefore, God created free and rational beings who could understand and choose.

Freedom came with a risk. A free perfect being could decide to stop loving God, to question God’s sovereignty, and to rebel against his Creator.

That is how Lucifer’s rebellion began. He was a perfect and beautiful angel in an elevated position, but he coveted an even higher position (Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15).

Monday: The Fall and the Flood (Rebel Humanity - Gen. 2:16, 17; Gen. 3:1-7)

“So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” (Genesis 6:12)

The Family - The School After the Fall

In the divine plan of education as adapted to man's condition after the fall, Christ stands as the representative of the Father, the connecting link between God and man; He is the great teacher of mankind. And He ordained that men and women should be His representatives. The family was the school, and the parents were the teachers. {AH 181.2}

Christ Take the Initiative Intercede

The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”{CSA 33.5}

He Overcome of Sin, Now is the Saviour

The fall of our first parents broke the golden chain of implicit obedience of the human will to the Divine. Obedience has no longer been deemed an absolute necessity. The human agents follow their own imaginations, which the Lord said of the inhabitants of the old world were evil and that continually. The Lord Jesus declares, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” How? As a man. “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” To the accusations of the Jews He stood forth in His pure, virtuous, holy character and challenged them, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?”. . . {CTr 25.5}

Questions to Ponder

Let’s consider some questions here:

1. Gazing at the enormous transgression of the law, which causes alienation from the source of life, how can we be victorious against it?

2. How does sin exist amidst a perfect environment? Does it reveals a powerful truth about the freedom inherent in love?

3. To repeople the desolate earth, which the Flood had so lately swept from its moral corruption, God had preserved but one family, the household of Noah, to whom He had declared, "Thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation." Genesis 7:1. Yet in the three sons of Noah was speedily developed the same great distinction seen in the world before the Flood. In Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who were to be the founders of the human race, was foreshadowed the character of their posterity. {PP 117.1} Does the experience of the flood affected changes in the lives of Noah’s sons? Why there’s an emergent of the same moral corruption?

4. Do we still have hope overcoming evil by God’s grace?

5. Will human perversion be pursued in the course of profess Christian by their innate nature? Or they need an outside power to do it?

Inspirations says, A Perversion of an Original Faculty

The desire to accumulate wealth is an original affection of our nature, implanted there by our heavenly Father for noble ends. If you ask the capitalist who has directed all his energies to the one object of securing wealth, and who is persevering and industrious to add to his property, with what design he thus labors, he could not give you a reason for this, a definite purpose for which he is gaining earthly treasures and heaping up riches. He cannot define any great aim or purpose he has in view, or any new source of happiness he expects to attain. He goes on accumulating because he has turned all his abilities and all his powers in this direction. {CS 148.4}

Artful Perversion Cast Doubt upon God’s Word

God permitted Satan to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and tendency might be seen by all. . . . His power to deceive was very great. By disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he had gained an advantage. All his acts were so clothed with mystery, that it was difficult to disclose to the angels the true nature of his work. . . . It was his policy to perplex with subtle arguments concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah. {FLB 69.2}

Confused Understanding

When the Word of God is laid aside for books that lead away from God and that confuse the understanding regarding the principles of the kingdom of heaven, the education given is a perversion of the name. Unless the student has pure mental food, thoroughly winnowed from the so-called higher education, which is mingled with infidel sentiments, he cannot truly know God. Only those who cooperate with heaven in the plan of salvation can know what true education in its simplicity means.--CT 15 (1913). {1MCP 109.1}

The Only Course of Safety

My brethren, you need to study more carefully the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter marks out the only course that we can follow with safety. . . . {4BC 1149.2}

The prophet receives this word from the Lord--a message startling in its clearness and force: {4BC 1149.3}

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Though they are called the people of God, the house of Jacob, though they profess to be linked with God in obedience and fellowship, they are far from Him. Wonderful privileges and promises have been given to them, but they have betrayed their trust. With no words of flattery must the message be given them. "Show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Show them where they are making a mistake. Set their danger before them. Tell them of the sins they are committing, while at the same time they pride themselves on their righteousness. Apparently seeking God, they are forgetting Him, forgetting that He is a God of love and compassion, long suffering and goodness, dealing justly and loving mercy. Worldly policy has come into their business and religious life. Their hearts are not purified through the truth. God looks on their outward ceremonies of humility as a solemn mockery. He regards all religious sham as an insult to Himself. {4BC 1149.4}

By perversion and misrepresentation of the Word of God, they have caused the people to commit sin. God will reward them according to their works. Even as did the priests and rulers in the time of Christ, they have caused the people to err. Christ says of them as He said of the Jewish leaders, "In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (MS 28, 1900). {4BC 1149.1}

Consider the following

One third of the angels supported Lucifer’s rebellion (Revelation 12:4). Unfortunately, Adam and Eve also decided to believe him instead of trusting God (Genesis 3:4-6).

Almost all human beings stopped loving and honoring God, and perverted increasingly. Then, God decided to destroy the rebel beings with a flood (Genesis 6:13).

However, they began to worship their idols and to feel proud of their own works soon after the Flood. God had to intervene again. He destroyed the Tower of Babel, made their communication difficult through different languages, and scattered them (Genesis 11:5-8).

Tuesday: The Call of Abram (The seed of Abraham - Gen. 12:1-3; Gal. 3:7-9; Acts 7:20=36)

“in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

Abraham a Worthy Example

It was no light test that was thus brought upon Abraham, no small sacrifice that was required of him. There were strong ties to bind him to his country, his kindred, and his home. But he did not hesitate to obey the call. He had no question to ask concerning the Land of Promise,-- whether the soil was fertile, and the climate healthful; whether the country offered agreeable surroundings, and would afford opportunities for amassing wealth. God had spoken, and His servant must obey; the happiest place on earth for him was the place where God would have him to be. {ChS 181.2}

Questions to Ponder

1. Who is ready at the call of Providence to renounce cherished plans and familiar associations?

2. Who will accept new duties and enter untried fields, doing God's work with firm and willing hearts, for Christ's sake counting His losses again?

3. "What doest thou here?" I commissioned you to go into all the world and preach the gospel, to prepare a people for the day of God. Why are you here? Who sent you?--Prophets and Kings, pp. 171, 172.

He who will do this has the faith of Abraham, and will share with him that "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," with which "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared."--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 126, 127. {ChS 181.4}

The Remnant of Jacob - The Chosen People

In the call of Abraham the Lord had said, "I will bless thee; . . . and thou shalt be a blessing: . . . and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:2, 3. The same teaching was repeated through the prophets. Even after Israel had been wasted by war and captivity, the promise was theirs, "The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men." Micah 5:7. Concerning the temple at Jerusalem, the Lord declared through Isaiah, "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples." Isaiah 56:7, R. V. {DA 27.3}

Abraham’s Call to Service

As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, "not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. {DA 60.2}

As He had called Abraham out from a heathen people, so He could call others to His service. Their hearts might now appear as lifeless as the stones of the desert, but His Spirit could quicken them to do His will, and receive the fulfillment of His promise. {DA 106.4}

Strive for a Heavenly Inheritance

"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." {AA 60.1}

To Abraham was given the promise that of his line the Saviour of the world should come: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16. {AA 222.2}

Seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness

God promised to Abraham, and his seed after him, that they should have possessions and lands, and yet they were only strangers and sojourners. The inheritance and lands that are to be given not only to Abraham but to the children of Abraham will not be until after this earth is purified. Abraham will then receive the title to his farm, his possessions; and the children of Abraham will have a title to their possessions. Every one of us should constantly bear in mind that this earth is not our dwelling place, but that we are to have an inheritance in the earth made new. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah symbolizes to us how this world will be destroyed by fire. It is not safe for any one of us to build our hopes in this life. We want first to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. . . . {CTr 80.2}

Consider the following

After the scattering at Babel, God called a man—Abram, i.e. Abraham—so he and his descendants would preserve the knowledge about God and share the Plan of Salvation with everyone else.

Abraham’s family was not a perfect one, and they were enslaved in Egypt. However, God was still in control.

The seed of Abraham (the people of Israel) lived far from the truth amid ignorance and mistakes. However, God liberated them from Egypt with His powerful hand through His servant Moses. Their mission was to inherit the Promised Land and to be a light that should bless all the other nations.

Wednesday: The Covenant at Sinai (The Covenant at Sinai - Exo. 19:4; Deut. 4:34; Exo. 19:4-8)

“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)

Compacted Covenant Ratified By Christ’s Blood

Another compact--called in Scripture the "old" covenant--was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. . . . {FLB 78.2}

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. . . . {FLB 78.3}

The Pledge of Obedience to an Agreement

The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense....This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel.... {AG 142.2}

This is the pledge that God's people are to make in these last days. Their acceptance with God depends on a faithful fulfillment of the terms of their agreement with Him. God includes in His covenant all who will obey Him. To all who will do justice and judgment, keeping their hand from doing any evil, the promise is, "Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 56:5). {AG 142.3}

God's Covenant Our Refuge

The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. The Lord said to Moses:-- {1BC 1103.6}

"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, than 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." {1BC 1103.7}

Covenant at Sinai in Force Today

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). {1MR 122.1}

Consider the following

God led His people to Mount Sinai, miracle after miracle. He made a special covenant with them there.

The covenant stipulated the commitment to obey the Ten Commandments and the rest of the laws, but it was a covenant of grace. The people of Israel were special because God had chosen them, not because they had unique qualities or could offer something special (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

The people of Israel solemnly committed to keep the covenant. God used blood again to seal the covenant again by spraying them with it (Exodus 24:7-8).

Thursday: Apostasy and Punishment (40 years in the Desert - Exo. 19:4, 5, 8; 24:3, 7; Num. 14:28-35)

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” (Deuteronomy 2:7)

Backsliding and Apostasy: Others Raised Up for the Promised Land

It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the wilderness; he desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But “they could not enter in because of unbelief.” [Hebrews 3:19.] Because of their backsliding and apostasy, they perished in the desert, and others were raised up to enter the promised land. In like manner, it was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long delayed, and his people should remain so many years in this world of sin and sorrow. But unbelief separated them from God. As they refused to do the work which he had appointed them, others were raised up to proclaim the message. In mercy to the world, Jesus delays his coming, that sinners may have an opportunity to hear the warning, and find in him a shelter before the wrath of God shall be poured out. {GC88 458.1}

Amidst the Solitude of Dry Land there’s Blessing

As the years rolled on, and he wandered with his flocks in solitary places, pondering upon the oppressed condition of his people, he recounted the dealings of God with his fathers and the promises that were the heritage of the chosen nation, and his prayers for Israel ascended by day and by night. Heavenly angels shed their light around him. Here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book of Genesis. The long years spent amid the desert solitudes were rich in blessing, not alone to Moses and his people, but to the world in all succeeding ages. {PP 251.1}

In the Wilderness: Discipline for the Rising Generation

For nearly forty years the children of Israel are lost to view in the obscurity of the desert. "The space," says Moses, "in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed." Deuteronomy 2:14, 15. {PP 406.1}

The wilderness wandering was not only ordained as a judgment upon the rebels and murmurers, but it was to serve as a discipline for the rising generation, preparatory to their entrance into the Promised Land. Moses declared to them, "As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee," "to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. And He . . . suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Deuteronomy 8:5, 2, 3. {PP 407.1}

Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory.

{Mar 241.8}

Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.

{Mar 241.9}

Consider the following

Although the people had good intentions, they were unable to keep the covenant. The first time Moses was away, they built an idol and worshipped it (Exodus 32:1).

When they were about to enter Canaan, they lost faith (Numbers 14:3-4). Despite all the marvelous things they had seen, they refused to obey God.

God kept them in the desert for 40 years as a punishment, until a new generation was ready to inherit the Promised Land.

Moses was in charge of encouraging the new generation and to renew the covenant with them. This is what Deuteronomy is about.

Friday: Meditation

The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all flow life and light and gladness throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.—The Great Controversy, pp. 673-678. {CTr 372.7}

Eden to Be Restored.--The Garden of Eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths. The fallen race were long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocence, their entrance barred only by the watching angels. At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the divine glory was revealed. Hither came Adam and his sons to worship God. Here they renewed their vows of obedience to that law the transgression of which had banished them from Eden. When the tide of iniquity overspread the world, and the wickedness of men determined their destruction by a flood of waters, the hand that had planted Eden withdrew it from the earth. But in the final restitution, when there shall be "a new heaven and a new earth," it is to be restored more gloriously adorned than at the beginning. {AH 539.1}

Questions to Ponder

1. God is Love - Why does a loving God allows suffering, then if He loves us? How do you answer this challenge?

2. All things, as it is animate or inanimate, how could we see amidst solitary road of life?

3. The experience of Israel is a lesson to us Seventh-day Adventist. What are the similarities or parallels we can see, and why we’re concerned about them?

4. In Thursday lesson, the experience of the older generation is a sort of discipline to the rising generation. What should we do then?

5. How can we avoid being legalistic of His word and commandments, as obedience is the central theme of all the Bible?

From the Pen of Inspiration

“The principles set forth in Deuteronomy for the instruction of Israel are to be followed by God’s people to the end of time. True prosperity is dependent on the continuance of our covenant relationship with God.”

E. G. W. (Prophets and Kings, cp. 46, p. 570)

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