See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
God sets before Israel and before all people a real choice between life and good on one side and death and evil on the other, with blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. Life and good mean loving the Lord, walking in His ways and keeping His commandments, statutes and judgments, while death and evil mean turning the heart away, refusing to hear, and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods, which brings perishing, shortened days and loss of the land to be possessed. God Himself is life and the length of days, so obedience to His law is life itself, bringing spiritual and temporal prosperity in which people live and multiply and are blessed, given in love to prevent the sorrow and misery of sin. The death contrasted with everlasting life is the second death, the final penalty of sin and portion of the wicked, not the death that came through Adam's sin by which all alike go down into the grave. The same choice stands for those nearing the heavenly Canaan, where every soul enters the narrow way to life by receiving Christ, being given a new heart and spirit, overcoming sin and obeying God's law in constant self-denial, for obedience means life and disobedience means death.
Choice Set Before Israel
The choice is real and is set before Israel and before all people, life and good on one side and death and evil on the other, with blessing resting on obedience and curse following disobedience. Life and good mean loving the Lord, walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments and statutes and judgments, and this obedience brings living and increase and blessing in the land to be possessed. Death and evil mean the heart turning away and refusing to hear and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods, and that course brings perishing and shortened days and loss of the land. The required word and command are not hidden or far off but near, in the mouth and in the heart, so they can be obeyed by loving and cleaving to God.
It was taught as repeated law to the generation preparing to enter Canaan, declaring the conditions for possessing the promised land, that obedience would bring life and prosperity and disobedience would bring death. Israel's wilderness experience illustrated the same rule, for though led and protected, that generation grew lax in keeping the commandments, including the Sabbath, and punishment came upon them. The surrounding instructions define God's principles, so departing from them produces injustice and loss of mercy and love and brings dishonor to God. The blessing comes when people are willing and obedient and receive the light graciously given, thus choosing life and good and light, while the curse comes when they rebel and refuse that light, thus choosing death and evil and darkness. God will not be trifled with, and continued hardness and impenitence bring judgment near.
Life and Death Explained
God himself is life and the length of days and the life of the seed, so the setting of life and good against death and evil is made on condition of obedience. Life means loving the Lord, walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes, and judgments, that the people may live and multiply and be blessed in the land to be possessed, with both spiritual and temporal prosperity promised. Obedience to his law is life itself, and through obedience days are prolonged, while turning the heart away, refusing to hear, and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods brings perishing, shortened days, and loss of the land. The same truth was repeated by Christ that those who do his commandments will live in them. The commandments were given in love to prevent the sorrow and misery caused by sin, and obeying them leads to temperance, industry, economy, long life, health, happiness, peace, and prosperity, for his law is life, health, and prosperity to those who obey.
The choice reaches beyond the people themselves to their children and descendants, who are included in the call to choose life so that both generations may live. Parents are therefore to teach their children to obey and reverence his law, because obedience means life and disobedience means death, and strong reasons are given to choose life. The command and its way are not hidden or distant but near, in the mouth and heart, so it can be obeyed, and life depends on loving, obeying, and clinging to God rather than turning away to other gods unto death and loss of the promised land.
The death placed in contrast with everlasting life is the second death, the final penalty of sin and portion of the wicked involving final loss of existence forfeited by transgression. It is not the death that came through Adam's sin, by which all alike go down into the grave in consequence of his transgression, but the death set opposite everlasting life. Life in this contrast is the inheritance of the righteous. His word and covenant stand fast forever, as unalterable as his throne, for what has gone out of his lips has not been altered. When every case is decided in the courts of heaven this covenant plainly written will be brought forth, and the world will be arraigned before infinite justice to receive sentence, a life measuring with the life of God for obedience and death for transgression.
Choosing Life Today
The setting before Israel of life and good against death and evil is set also before those nearing the heavenly Canaan, for obedience is necessary to enter it while disobedience brings eternal death. Life is loving God, walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments, statutes, and judgments, and turning away to worship other gods brings death and loss of life in the land. The same probation faced the dwellers in Eden, who could retain their happy state only by faithfulness to the Creator's law, with power to obey and live or to disobey and perish.
God's law marks the two outcomes as clearly defined paths, like a signpost at a crossroads and like the plainly marked road to the city of refuge. One arm points to loving obedience to the Creator as the road to happiness and life, and the other points to disobedience, or sin, as the path to misery and death. In an evil hour for the race the great enemy turned the sign around, so that ever since multitudes mistake the true road to happiness for the wrong one even while professing to obey.
God gave His law to all the world to govern human minds, and what He requires of parents demands obedience. Parents must diligently instruct and train their children to become acquainted with the law and to love, fear, reverence, and obey God, because obedience means life and disobedience means death, and God gives strong reasons to choose life. Disregarding His laws and despising His Sabbath and trampling His commandments is rebellion against God that leaves the world in controversy with Him under His abhorrence and kindled wrath, as it was in the days of Noah, and such obedience would have kept the world from its present terrible state.
The whole matter centers here, that obedience means eternal life and disobedience means death. Because so much is at stake, those who claim to be God's delegated messengers must go to the word of life with honest, wise, prayerful research to know what the Lord says, and search undertaken in the Spirit of Christ will be rewarded. Teachers who voice the words of the great apostate will find it to their shame and ruin, and will carry with them those they have deceived, just as Satan in his rebellion carried out of the heavenly courts those who accepted his words instead of the words of God. Every soul lives out the choice by entering the narrow way to life through receiving Christ, being regenerated with a new heart and spirit, overcoming inherited traits and natural desires, putting away sin, and obeying God's law and Christ's teachings in constant self-denial, and those who follow that narrow way to heaven are to lead others toward it.
God sets before Israel and before all people a real choice between life and good on one side and death and evil on the other, with blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. Life and good mean loving the Lord, walking in His ways and keeping His commandments, statutes and judgments, while death and evil mean turning the heart away, refusing to hear, and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods, which brings perishing, shortened days and loss of the land to be possessed. God Himself is life and the length of days, so obedience to His law is life itself, bringing spiritual and temporal prosperity in which people live and multiply and are blessed, given in love to prevent the sorrow and misery of sin. The death contrasted with everlasting life is the second death, the final penalty of sin and portion of the wicked, not the death that came through Adam's sin by which all alike go down into the grave. The same choice stands for those nearing the heavenly Canaan, where every soul enters the narrow way to life by receiving Christ, being given a new heart and spirit, overcoming sin and obeying God's law in constant self-denial, for obedience means life and disobedience means death.
Choice Set Before Israel
The choice is real and is set before Israel and before all people, life and good on one side and death and evil on the other, with blessing resting on obedience and curse following disobedience. Life and good mean loving the Lord, walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments and statutes and judgments, and this obedience brings living and increase and blessing in the land to be possessed. Death and evil mean the heart turning away and refusing to hear and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods, and that course brings perishing and shortened days and loss of the land. The required word and command are not hidden or far off but near, in the mouth and in the heart, so they can be obeyed by loving and cleaving to God.
It was taught as repeated law to the generation preparing to enter Canaan, declaring the conditions for possessing the promised land, that obedience would bring life and prosperity and disobedience would bring death. Israel's wilderness experience illustrated the same rule, for though led and protected, that generation grew lax in keeping the commandments, including the Sabbath, and punishment came upon them. The surrounding instructions define God's principles, so departing from them produces injustice and loss of mercy and love and brings dishonor to God. The blessing comes when people are willing and obedient and receive the light graciously given, thus choosing life and good and light, while the curse comes when they rebel and refuse that light, thus choosing death and evil and darkness. God will not be trifled with, and continued hardness and impenitence bring judgment near.
Life and Death Explained
God himself is life and the length of days and the life of the seed, so the setting of life and good against death and evil is made on condition of obedience. Life means loving the Lord, walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes, and judgments, that the people may live and multiply and be blessed in the land to be possessed, with both spiritual and temporal prosperity promised. Obedience to his law is life itself, and through obedience days are prolonged, while turning the heart away, refusing to hear, and being drawn away to worship and serve other gods brings perishing, shortened days, and loss of the land. The same truth was repeated by Christ that those who do his commandments will live in them. The commandments were given in love to prevent the sorrow and misery caused by sin, and obeying them leads to temperance, industry, economy, long life, health, happiness, peace, and prosperity, for his law is life, health, and prosperity to those who obey.
The choice reaches beyond the people themselves to their children and descendants, who are included in the call to choose life so that both generations may live. Parents are therefore to teach their children to obey and reverence his law, because obedience means life and disobedience means death, and strong reasons are given to choose life. The command and its way are not hidden or distant but near, in the mouth and heart, so it can be obeyed, and life depends on loving, obeying, and clinging to God rather than turning away to other gods unto death and loss of the promised land.
The death placed in contrast with everlasting life is the second death, the final penalty of sin and portion of the wicked involving final loss of existence forfeited by transgression. It is not the death that came through Adam's sin, by which all alike go down into the grave in consequence of his transgression, but the death set opposite everlasting life. Life in this contrast is the inheritance of the righteous. His word and covenant stand fast forever, as unalterable as his throne, for what has gone out of his lips has not been altered. When every case is decided in the courts of heaven this covenant plainly written will be brought forth, and the world will be arraigned before infinite justice to receive sentence, a life measuring with the life of God for obedience and death for transgression.
Choosing Life Today
The setting before Israel of life and good against death and evil is set also before those nearing the heavenly Canaan, for obedience is necessary to enter it while disobedience brings eternal death. Life is loving God, walking in His ways, and keeping His commandments, statutes, and judgments, and turning away to worship other gods brings death and loss of life in the land. The same probation faced the dwellers in Eden, who could retain their happy state only by faithfulness to the Creator's law, with power to obey and live or to disobey and perish.
God's law marks the two outcomes as clearly defined paths, like a signpost at a crossroads and like the plainly marked road to the city of refuge. One arm points to loving obedience to the Creator as the road to happiness and life, and the other points to disobedience, or sin, as the path to misery and death. In an evil hour for the race the great enemy turned the sign around, so that ever since multitudes mistake the true road to happiness for the wrong one even while professing to obey.
God gave His law to all the world to govern human minds, and what He requires of parents demands obedience. Parents must diligently instruct and train their children to become acquainted with the law and to love, fear, reverence, and obey God, because obedience means life and disobedience means death, and God gives strong reasons to choose life. Disregarding His laws and despising His Sabbath and trampling His commandments is rebellion against God that leaves the world in controversy with Him under His abhorrence and kindled wrath, as it was in the days of Noah, and such obedience would have kept the world from its present terrible state.
The whole matter centers here, that obedience means eternal life and disobedience means death. Because so much is at stake, those who claim to be God's delegated messengers must go to the word of life with honest, wise, prayerful research to know what the Lord says, and search undertaken in the Spirit of Christ will be rewarded. Teachers who voice the words of the great apostate will find it to their shame and ruin, and will carry with them those they have deceived, just as Satan in his rebellion carried out of the heavenly courts those who accepted his words instead of the words of God. Every soul lives out the choice by entering the narrow way to life through receiving Christ, being regenerated with a new heart and spirit, overcoming inherited traits and natural desires, putting away sin, and obeying God's law and Christ's teachings in constant self-denial, and those who follow that narrow way to heaven are to lead others toward it.