Day 1

And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee -- Exodus 15:26.

God desired to make of His people Israel a praise and a glory. Every spiritual advantage was given them. God withheld from them nothing favourable to the formation of character that would make them representatives of Himself.

Their obedience to the law of God would make them marvels of prosperity before the nations of the world. He who could give them wisdom and skill in all cunning work would continue to be their teacher, and would ennoble and elevate them through obedience to His laws. If obedient, they would be preserved from the diseases that afflicted other nations, and would be blessed with vigour of intellect. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth.

In the most definite manner Christ through Moses had set before them God's purpose, and had made plain the terms of their prosperity. "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God," He said; "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. . . . 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. . . . Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgements, which I command thee this day, to do them. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgements, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers; and He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people. . . . And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee." Deut. 7:6, 9, 11-15 -- Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 288, 289.

Day 2

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes -- Psalms 19:7, 8.

In every generation and in every land the true foundation and pattern for character building have been the same. The divine law, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, . . . and thy neighbour as thyself," the great principle made manifest in the character and life of our Saviour, is the only secure foundation, the only sure guide. Luke 10:27. "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation," the wisdom and knowledge which God's word alone can impart. Isaiah 33:6.

It is as true now as when the words were spoken to Israel of obedience to His commandments: "This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations." Deuteronomy 4:6. Here is the only safeguard for individual integrity, for the purity of the home, the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation. Amidst all life's perplexities and dangers and conflicting claims, the one safe and sure rule is to do what God says. "The statutes of the Lord are right," and "he that doeth these things shall never be moved." Psalms 19:8; 15:5.

Those who heed the warning of Solomon's apostasy will shun the first approach of those sins that overcame him. Only obedience to the requirements of Heaven will keep man from apostasy. God has bestowed upon man great light and many blessings; but unless this light and these blessings are accepted, they are no security against disobedience and apostasy. When those whom God has exalted to positions of high trust turn from Him to human wisdom, their light becomes darkness. Their entrusted capabilities become a snare -- Prophets and Kings, pp. 82, 83.

Day 3

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them -- Psalms 103:17, 18.

The law recorded in Ex 20:2-17, also called the Decalogue, which sums up what God requires of man, and defines his duty toward God and toward his fellow men (cf. Mt 22:34-40). The principles enunciated by the Ten Commandments are eternal, for they are based upon the character of God, but the form in which these principles were uttered at Sinai was adapted to the understanding and instruction of men in their state of sinfulness and natural nonconformity to the divine will. The 10 commands of the Decalogue have the unique distinction of being the only words addressed audibly by God to the entire congregation of Israel (see Ex 20:1, 18, 19; Deut 4:10-13; 5:22). All of the other laws and regulations God ordained at that time were communicated through Moses as an intermediary (see Ex 20:19-22; Deut 4:14; Deut 6:1). Subsequent to the oral delivery of the law God inscribed these 10 commands upon 2 tables of stone which He gave to Moses to be preserved in the ark (Ex 31:18; 32:19; 34:1-4; Deut 5:22; 10:1-5). Moses' original account of the law as proclaimed by God, and later engraved upon the tables of stone, gives the Decalogue in the wording of Ex 20:1-17. Later Moses repeated the law in oral form with slight variations in wording (Deut 5:6-21). The only noteworthy difference in this repetition of the law is the reason assigned for the observance of the 7th-day Sabbath- deliverance from Egyptian bondage, in place of the creation of the world in 6 days, as in the original form. The many civil regulations enacted at Mount Sinai were an application of the principles of the 2d table of the Decalogue to the society and needs of the Jewish people. The ceremonial law, which sets forth a divinely ordained system of worship appropriate to the period of earth's history when that law was given, was an extension and development of the principles enunciated in the Decalogue particularly with respect to man's relationship to his God -- Seventh-day Adventist Dictionary.

Day 4

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever -- Psalms 111:10.

It is a great thing to be wise toward God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is heart education, and is of more importance than the education gained merely from books. It is well and essential to obtain a knowledge of the world in which we live, but if we leave eternity out of our reckoning, we shall make a failure from which we can never recover. It will be as the knowledge gained by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree. . . .

What can the most learned in book lore know aright without a knowledge of the Word of God? Without the education found in the Bible, how shall we reach the next world, where we shall enter the presence of God and see His face? Nothing of this world's wisdom, the knowledge gained from books, presents a true and sure foundation upon which we can build for eternity. Nothing but the bread that comes down from heaven satisfies spiritual hunger. "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." . . . The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:33, 63). . . . As we eat the words of Christ we are eating the bread of life, which gives spiritual vitality.

The Word of the only true God is infallible. Infinite wisdom, holiness, power, and love are blended in pointing us to the standard by which God measures character. God's Word so plainly defines the laws of His kingdom that none need to walk in darkness. His law is the transcript of His character. It is the standard that all must reach if they would enter the kingdom of God. No one need walk in uncertainty. . . . The law of God is not abolished. It will live through the eternal ages. By Christ's death it was magnified, and sin was exposed in its true light -- In Heavenly Places, p. 137.

Day 5

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments -- Psalms 112:1.

Seventh-day Adventists have always distinguished the moral law, or Ten Commandments, from the ceremonial law, or the ritual requirements of the Jewish religious system. The moral law is a transcript in human language of the character and will of God, and of the principles by which His creatures are to live. Because the moral law comes from God and expresses His character, and because God's character is changeless, the principles this law sets forth are likewise eternal.

Both the OT and the NT sum up the 10 precepts of the moral law, though often worded in the form of two great commandments-love to God (the first four), and love to our fellowman (the last six; Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:34-40). In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ explained some of the principles of the moral law and made a practical explanation of them to life situations. Originally God implanted these principles in the very fibre and being of Adam and Eve, together with a natural inclination to live in harmony with them. The Creator also endowed humanity with the faculty of free choice; people might choose to acknowledge the lordship of the Creator by voluntary obedience, or they might choose to disobey. Obedience would guarantee eternal life; disobedience would incur condemnation and death. Humanity would find true liberty through obedience motivated by love. The moral law has never been against humanity; it is our guarantee of freedom in Christ.

The moral law requires righteousness and condemns unrighteousness. By His perfect life as a man, Christ met all the requirements of the law and demonstrated that it is just and good. By His vicarious death on the cross He satisfied the righteous demands of the law upon transgressors. By His grace He exchanges His own perfect righteousness for humankind's unrighteousness, and enables people to overcome every sinful tendency and to grow up, point by point, into the fullness of Christ's perfect character. All of this is accomplished by faith, apart from works of law -- Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopaedia.

Day 6

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life -- Proverbs 6:23.

In the heart of the repentant, forgiven sinner, transformed by divine grace, there will be a sincere desire, motivated by love, to live in harmony with all the divine requirements-not in order to be saved by any supposed works of merit on his or her part, but because he or she has already found salvation by faith in the infinite grace of Christ. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Rom. 3:31). Forgiveness for past transgressions of the divine law does not carry with it a plenary indulgence to keep on transgressing that law. "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:2).

The principles set forth in the moral law are eternal. As we have seen, the Creator implanted these principles in the hearts of our first parents when He created them. At Mount Sinai He set forth these principles in the form of 10 explicit commands, in language suitable to the condition of humanity, fallen in sin. These commands He uttered with His own voice and inscribed with His own finger upon two tables of stone.

Subsequently He revealed to Moses the ceremonial code, whose types and symbols were designed to point forward to Christ and to help humanity understand and lay firm hold on redemption through the infinite sacrifice of Christ. Its rites and sacrifices could neither actually take away sin nor set the conscience free, but they could lead to faith in the coming Redeemer, in whom they all met fulfilment and reality. Without faith in that one great Sacrifice, divinely provided and promised, they were meaningless (Heb 9:8-15).

The moral law is spiritual and can be kept only by those whose hearts have been renewed by the Spirit of God. Never in any age has its Author sought from humanity a mere outward response to the letter of the law. The moral law exercises its authority upon the inner person. It reveals sin as a conscious violation of the known will of God, thereby compelling sinners to acknowledge themselves as such, and thus to prepare to seek for, and receive, the mercy of God in Christ. It forbids not only outward acts of transgression, but every thought and motive that would lead to such acts. It requires submission of heart as well as life to God, and in so doing exposes sin at its source and in all its forms, and points the sinner to Christ for forgiveness. All attempts to earn righteousness by adhering scrupulously to legal requirements, even those of the moral law, are futile -- Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopaedia.

Day 7

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man -- Ecclesiastes 12:13.

The commandments of God are comprehensive and far reaching; in a few words they unfold the whole duty of man. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mark 12:30, 31). In these words the length and breadth, the depth and height, of the law of God is comprehended; for Paul declares, "Love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:10). The only definition we find in the Bible for sin is that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). The Word of God declares, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). "There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3: 12). Many are deceived concerning the condition of their hearts. They do not realise that the natural heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. They wrap themselves about with their own righteousness, and are satisfied in reaching their own human standard of character; but how fatally they fail when they do not reach the divine standard, and of themselves they cannot meet the requirements of God.

We may measure ourselves by ourselves, we may compare ourselves among ourselves, we may say we do as well as this one or that one, but the question to which the judgement will call for an answer is, Do we meet the claims of high heaven? Do we reach the divine standard? Are our hearts in harmony with the God of heaven?

The human family have all transgressed the law of God, and as transgressors of the law, man is hopelessly ruined; for he is the enemy of God, without strength to do any good thing. "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). Looking into the moral mirror--God's holy law--man sees himself a sinner, and is convicted of his state of evil, his hopeless doom under the just penalty of the law. But he has not been left in a state of hopeless distress in which sin has plunged him; for it was to save the transgressor from ruin that He who was equal with God offered up His life on Calvary. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16) -- Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 320, 321.

Day 8

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil -- Matthew 5:17.

In the commission to His disciples, Christ not only outlined their work, but gave them their message. Teach the people, He said, "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were to teach what Christ had taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament, is here included. Human teaching is shut out. There is no place for tradition, for man's theories and conclusions, or for church legislation. No laws ordained by ecclesiastical authority are included in the commission. None of these are Christ's servants to teach. "The law and the prophets," with the record of His own words and deeds, are the treasure committed to the disciples to be given to the world. Christ's name is their watchword, their badge of distinction, their bond of union, the authority for their course of action, and the source of their success. Nothing that does not bear His superscription is to be recognised in His kingdom -- Desire of Ages, p. 823.

Day 9

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled -- Matthew 5:18.

In answer to the claim that at the death of Christ the precepts of the Decalogue had been abolished with the ceremonial law, Wesley said: "The moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which 'stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven.' . . . This was from the beginning of the world, being 'written not on tables of stone,' but on the hearts of all the children of men, when they came out of the hands of the Creator. And however the letters once wrote by the finger of God are now in a great measure defaced by sin, yet can they not wholly be blotted out, while we have any consciousness of good and evil. Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.

"'I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.' . . . Without question, His meaning in this place is (consistently with all that goes before and follows after),--I am come to establish it in its fullness, in spite of all the glosses of men: I am come to place in a full and clear view whatsoever was dark or obscure therein: I am come to declare the true and full import of every part of it; to show the length and breadth, the entire extent, of every commandment contained therein, and the height and depth, the inconceivable purity and spirituality of it in all its branches."--Wesley, sermon 25 -- Great Controversy, pp. 262, 263.

Day 10

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven -- Matthew 5:19.

"Till heaven and earth pass," said Jesus, "one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." By His own obedience to the law, Christ testified to its immutable character and proved that through His grace it could be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam. On the mount He declared that not the smallest iota should pass from the law till all things should be accomplished --all things that concern the human race, all that relates to the plan of redemption. He does not teach that the law is ever to be abrogated, but He fixes the eye upon the utmost verge of man's horizon and assures us that until this point is reached the law will retain its authority so that none may suppose it was His mission to abolish the precepts of the law. So long as heaven and earth continue, the holy principles of God's law will remain. His righteousness, "like the great mountains" (Psalm 36:6), will continue, a source of blessing, sending forth streams to refresh the earth.

Because the law of the Lord is perfect, and therefore changeless, it is impossible for sinful men, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. This was why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, by making men partakers of the divine nature, to bring them into harmony with the principles of the law of heaven. When we forsake our sins and receive Christ as our Saviour, the law is exalted. The apostle Paul asks, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Romans 3:31 -- Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 49, 50.