10:2Deuteronomy 10:2

God Himself traced with lasting permanence on the second tables Moses had hewn the same ten commandments He had spoken at Sinai, and Moses placed them in the wooden ark he had made where they have been kept and preserved.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+2 That ark is the sacred chest made to keep the ten commandments, and that law represents God Himself.1SP 398.1+1 The tables deposited in the earthly ark are in the ark in the sanctuary in heaven, where they still remain to be revealed in the heavenly temple.Ms 20, 1906, par. 30+2 They will be brought forth and displayed when judgment sits and the books are opened, standing as an unanswerable witness to the binding claims of the law by which all shall be judged and sentenced according to their works.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+2 They are therefore to be understood and obeyed, for knowing and doing the will of God in accordance with every word that proceeds from His mouth is the test of true religion.15MR 40.3–4+2

The verse commands Moses to hew two tables of stone like the first, to make an ark of wood, shittim wood, and to bring the tables up into the mount.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29 God Himself wrote on the second tables with His own finger, with indelible permanence, the same words that were in the first tables which Moses broke, according to the first writing.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+4 Those were the ten commandments which the Lord spoke out of the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly, spoken from Sinai amidst scenes of awful grandeur and given to Moses.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+1 God had the commandments written again on replacement stone tablets after the breaking, engraved by His finger rather than entrusted to human custody.15MR 40.3–4+3

Moses put the new tables in the ark of wood he had made, and there they were to be as the Lord commanded.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+2 There God has kept them hidden and preserved, the sacred law written by His own hand preserved in the ark, the stone tablets bearing God's law placed in the ark where the law represented God's presence.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+4 That counsel which God brought down from the highest heaven to Mount Sinai to give His people, precept by precept and commandment by commandment, was written upon tables of stone and put in the ark of the testimony to be immortalized.Ms 187, 1907, par. 22

The ark belongs to the account of the ark made in the wilderness and carried from Horeb toward Jerusalem during Israel's forty-year journey, at the time described remaining in the tabernacle.Ms 23, 1886, par. 1–2 The sacred ark containing the tables of stone inscribed with the precepts of the Decalogue was still in Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian captivity.PK 453.2 Then righteous men remaining in the city, with mourning and sadness, hid it in a cave to place it beyond the reach of ruthless hands, hidden from the people of Israel and Judah because of their sins and to be no more restored to them, and it remains hidden and has never been disturbed since it was secreted.PK 453.2

While thus preserved there, the same sacred law was also written publicly on memorial stones so that all Israel could read the covenant's terms and understand the blessings for obedience and curses for neglect.PP 500.4

The ark is a sacred chest made to keep the ten commandments, and that law represents God Himself.1SP 398.1+1 It was the glory and strength of Israel, with the token of the Divine Presence resting upon it day and night.1SP 398.1 Before it ministered priests sacredly consecrated to the holy office, wearing a breastplate bordered with precious stones of different materials like those forming the twelve foundations of the city of God, with the names of the twelve tribes engraved on stones set in gold within the border.1SP 398.1

The law in the ark represented God's presence, but the ark itself had no power to protect Israel when the people disobeyed the commandments it contained.PP 584.1–2 The tables deposited in the earthly ark are in the ark in the sanctuary in heaven, where they still remain.Ms 20, 1906, par. 30+1 They will be revealed in the heavenly temple.20MR 221.3–4+1

The preserved tables will be brought forth and displayed in the day when the judgment shall sit and the books with the record of every man's deeds shall be opened.Ms 20, 1906, par. 30+2 They stand as an unanswerable witness to the truth and binding claims of the law.19MR 265.3+1 By that law all shall be judged and receive sentence according to their works whether good or evil, hidden and preserved to justify the obedient and condemn the disobedient.Lt 98, 1900, par. 28–29+2 This includes sentence against every evil, seducing science produced by Satan, the father of lies.Lt 90, 1906, par. 12

The holy law in the ark is the standard of righteousness, and departure from its right principles blinds the understanding as to what is truth.13MR 381.2–382.1+1 When the law appears before the obedient and the disobedient in the last great day, all the wicked will be convicted.13MR 381.2–382.1+1 They will see their actions proceeded from a depraved character, served to carry on the rebellion begun in the heavenly courts, and dishonored their Creator with cruelty and wickedness that brought about the wretchedness filling the world.13MR 381.2–382.1+1 They will see that the law they disobeyed was their life.13MR 381.2–382.1+1

Obedience to it would have made character as fine gold and principles as the golden wedge of Ophir, and would have kept men in happiness and peace.13MR 381.2–382.1+1 It would have borne fruit in sanctified love and beauty of character, and the world would have been filled with holiness and purity.13MR 381.2–382.1+1

God had the commandments written again on stone tablets after Moses broke the first tablets, and those tablets were placed in the ark for preservation.15MR 40.3–4+1 He Himself wrote a second time with His own finger the same words that were on the first tables, and commanded that the new tables be put in the ark of wood, where He has kept His commandments preserved.15MR 40.3–4+1 The tables of stone inscribed by the finger of God with the law spoken from Sinai amidst scenes of awful grandeur and given to Moses to be deposited in the ark are in the ark in the sanctuary in heaven.Ms 20, 1906, par. 30 Because they are thus preserved, they are to be understood and obeyed.15MR 40.3–4+1 The test of true religion is knowing and doing the will of God in accordance with every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.Ms 20, 1906, par. 30

The promises of God belonging with the commandments so preserved are to be repeated again and again.Ms 63, 1899, par. 37–38 The blessings of obedience and the warnings against disobedience are to be set before all.Ms 63, 1899, par. 37–38 The sacred law written by God's own hand was preserved in the ark while also written publicly on memorial stones, so that all Israel could read the terms of the covenant.Ms 63, 1899, par. 37–38+1 In this way all are to understand the blessings for obedience and the curses for neglect.Ms 63, 1899, par. 37–38+1

The counsel brought down from the highest heaven to Sinai precept by precept and commandment by commandment was written upon tables of stone and put in the ark of the testimony to be immortalized.Ms 187, 1907, par. 22 Every departure from that counsel is written in the book.Ms 187, 1907, par. 22 Families who claim to believe that the Lord is at the door and that the judgments of God are in the world must therefore examine what they are doing.Ms 187, 1907, par. 22 They must not let temporal business overwhelm them so that they disobey the counsel of God, because the Lord is coming.Ms 187, 1907, par. 22