Israel and the Law

The Lord gave the Israelites evidences of his presence with them, that they might know that he was leading them, and that they might fear his name and obey his voice. Great and radical changes were to be wrought in the lives of these demoralized people, upon whose characters, habits, and appetites, servitude and the idolatrous associations of Egypt had left their mark. God was lifting them to a higher moral level by giving them a knowledge of himself through the manifestations of divine power seen in his dealings with them, and an acquaintance with his will as expressed in the laws given for their government.

Moses, who under the divine direction was leading the children of Israel through to the promised land, understood the character and value of the law of God. He assured the people that no other nation had such wise, righteous, and merciful rules as had been given to the Hebrews. «Behold,» he says, «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.»

Moses called their attention to the «day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb.» «And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments.» And he challenged the Hebrew host: «What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?»

When Moses was about to relinquish the position that he had so long held as the visible leader of the hosts of Israel, he rehearsed in the hearing of the people the dealings of God with them and the rules and regulations he had given them. He endeavored to impress upon their minds the importance of obeying the law of God, and urged them to make its sacred precepts the rule of their daily life. As children of God, they should be willing to suffer any inconvenience, rather than to break one of his commandments. Such a course would be more pleasing to him than mere professions of loyalty or words of praise.

Obedience to God would preserve harmony between man and man and between man and his Maker, and would cause Israel to be regarded as a wise and understanding people. And in the path of obedience alone was there safety for them either as individuals or as a nation; for nothing but obedience would secure the divine favor, and insure to them happiness and prosperity in the land to which they were going. God had plainly stated this to them. If they did not keep his commandments, he would not—he could not—fulfill the rich promises which were given them on condition of obedience.

Israel was highly honored of God, and the surrounding nations looked upon them with wonder and admiration. Their laws and discipline, when compared with the laws of other nations, seemed, even to their enemies, in every way superior to their own. And Moses, as their visible leader and lawgiver, appears on the page of history as superior in wisdom and integrity to all the sovereigns and statesmen of earth; yet Moses ever recognizes that he is the servant of God, speaking and acting according to divine direction. He claims no credit for himself, but points the people to God as the source of power and wisdom.

When the law was given to Israel, the Sabbath was made specially prominent. It had been instituted in Eden as a memorial of God’s creative work. After he had wrought six days, God rested on the seventh; and he blessed and sanctified that day, setting it apart as a day of rest and worship for mankind. And at Sinai he commanded: » Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.» «In it thou shalt not do any work.» Man was to rest from his labor, and as he should look upon the earth beneath, and the heavens above, his thoughts were to be directed toward Him who brought all these wonderful and beautiful things into existence; and his heart was to be filled with love and reverence to his Maker, as he should behold the tangible proofs of his infinite wisdom and goodness.

The Sabbath was placed in the decalogue as the seal of the living God, pointing out the Law-giver, and making known his right to rule. It was a sign between God and his people, a test of their loyalty to him. Moses was commanded to say to them from the Lord: «Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.» And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, «How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?»

Particular directions were given in regard to the manner of observing the Sabbath. All unnecessary work was strictly forbidden, and the day before the Sabbath was made a day of preparation, that everything might be in readiness for its sacred hours. «This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.»

The Israelites were not in any case to do their own work on the Sabbath. The divine direction was, «Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.» In the busiest seasons of the year, when their fruits and grains were to be secured, they were not to trespass on holy time. They were to remember that their temporal blessings came from the bountiful hand of their Creator, and he could increase or diminish them according to their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in his service.

The Lord places a high estimate upon his Sabbath. Through his prophet he has promised: «If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.»

God is merciful. His requirements are reasonable, in accordance with the goodness and benevolence of his character. He claims the Sabbath as his own, and will not let his blessing rest upon those who disregard his holy day; yet the Sabbath institution was designed as a blessing to mankind. Man was not made to fit the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made after his creation, to meet the necessities of his nature. The Sabbath should stand before the people in its moral power, answering its original design—to keep in remembrance the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. But the Sabbath has been treated with great disrespect. Men have dared to detract from its dignity; they have ventured to remove the sanctity placed upon it by the Creator himself.

Temporal affairs must come under divine restrictions. The Sabbath is not to be moulded to meet men’s business arrangements, but business affairs are to be arranged to meet God’s great standard of righteousness. But the god of this world has confused the minds of many on this subject. They need to come into the divine presence, and listen to the voice of the great I Am.

With God there is no respect of persons. Those who fear him and work righteousness are precious in his sight; but he requires his people to show their allegiance by strict obedience to all the precepts of the moral law, the Sabbath commandment with the rest. God is jealous of his honor, and let men beware how they remove one jot or tittle of that law that he spoke with his own voice and wrote with his own finger upon tables of stone, and that he has pronounced holy, just, and good. —