4:5Deuteronomy 4:5

Moses passed on the statutes and judgments exactly as the Lord commanded him, to be kept and lived by in the land Israel was about to possess.CT 428.1+2 They are righteous, wise, just, merciful and true, higher than the laws of any other nation and expressing God's own character and the principles of heaven.Lt 95, 1899, par. 11–12+4 Keeping and doing them is Israel's wisdom and understanding before the nations, revealing the nearness of God, elevating character and life, and bringing health, prosperity and influence.CT 428.1+4 Israel was to guard them diligently without adding to them or taking from them, keep them in the heart for life, and teach them to sons and grandsons, beginning in the home from earliest childhood.CT 428.1+3 The same charge rests on God's covenant people in every age, whose obedience to all His commandments, including the Sabbath, distinguishes them from the world and reveals His goodness, mercy and justice.RH Sep 5, 1907+4

Behold marks Moses teaching Israel statutes and judgments exactly as the Lord his God commanded him, to be kept and done in the land they were going to possess.CT 428.1+4 That teaching was God's instruction as essential higher education and part of what He required to make them a holy people to Himself.FE 478.1+2

It was spoken near the close of the wilderness wandering at Baal-peor on the borders of the promised land, after many had fallen to temptation, to those who remained faithful and renewed their vows of allegiance.PK 293.2–294.1 It repeats the conditions of the covenant made at Sinai, warning against temptations to come and exhorting Israel to remain separate from the surrounding nations and to worship God alone.PK 293.2–294.1 It was given that they might live and go in and possess the land.PK 293.2–294.1

The reproofs, warnings, encouragements, statutes and judgments were not spoken by Moses' own authority but were the words of God.ST Mar 3, 1881 They were given in his last testimony when Israel's suspicions of pride, ambition and selfishness were removed and they listened with confidence.ST Mar 3, 1881

Moses, though educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, taught exactly what he was commanded.CT 428.1+1 He stood as the divinely appointed teacher to a multitude of more than a million people.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9

The instruction was the instruction of Jesus Christ enshrouded in the cloudy pillar speaking through him as the only begotten Son of God.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9 Christ as Israel's invisible leader in the wilderness taught the people God's statutes and judgments and required them to teach and practice every requirement.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9+1

The verse means separation from the world by keeping and doing God's law without adding to it or diminishing from it.Ms 132, 1903, par. 1–6+3

The statutes and judgments taught for life in the land to be possessed were righteous, and keeping and doing them was to display wisdom and understanding before other nations who would recognize that wisdom.Lt 95, 1899, par. 11–12+2 They were wiser, better, more righteous and more merciful than those of any other nation, given to guide the people and to display divine wisdom, justice and mercy so that Israel would appear wise and understanding to surrounding nations.ST Mar 3, 1881+2 They were wiser, better and more humane than those of even the most civilized nations on earth.PP 464.3–465.1 Obedience was also to display Israel's closeness to God shown by His answering them when they called upon Him.Lt 31, 1898, par. 37–40+1

In contrast to cruel man-made laws of surrounding idolatrous nations, which permitted human sacrifice and visited small offenses with cruel punishment, these statutes and judgments were righteous.ST Jun 17, 1880 Their righteousness showed God to be a wise, compassionate lawgiver who judged cases fairly and without partiality.SG3 302.1–303.1+1 Human laws bear the marks of the infirmities and passions of the unrenewed heart, while God's law bears the stamp of the divine.PP 464.3–465.1

The law given at Sinai was to remain unchanged and be obeyed, and keeping it was wisdom and understanding before other nations which could recognize the justice of its laws.RH Sep 5, 1907 The commandments were part of God's covenant, spoken at Horeb and written by God on stone, not to be erased or changed, and every person will one day face them and understand their meaning.Ms 93, 1908, par. 38–41 The law proclaimed at Sinai is the law given in Eden, written on stone by God, and a transcript of His character, given so Israel could live by it in the land and make the principles of His government known to every nation.Ms 166, 1899, par. 2–3

This instruction from God is essential higher education.Ms 12b, 1896, par. 26 It is to be studied and made the man of counsel, for it is words of truth and righteousness and true science, not false science.Ms 130, 1906, par. 8 Obeying its requirements did not make Israel foolish or unable to prosper in this life or the next; it placed them in God's school, where they could receive the highest education and stand obediently before the surrounding nations.Ms 141, 1906, par. 26–28

These laws were given as the standard of character by which Israel was to represent God's government and bear witness to other nations.Ms 125, 1901, par. 1–2 They are to be regarded as God's words and taught diligently to the young, expressing a standard of complete character reflected in Christ.Ms 92, 1899, par. 28–32 By following the principles that govern heaven, Israel was meant to display true righteousness to other nations and become a model for God's church.Ms 98a, 1905, par. 8–9

The directions in the chapter state what should and should not be done, and their principles apply to religious service and conduct toward God and one another.Ms 40, 1891, par. 42–45 They remain binding expressions of God's mind, given by His command as sacred truth for His people to practice.Ms 40, 1891, par. 42–45 They are therefore to be cherished and lived out through justice, love, liberality, tenderness, compassion, and courtesy.Ms 40, 1891, par. 42–45

Keeping and doing the statutes taught for life in the land to be possessed is Israel's wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations, giving a reputation for wisdom so that the nations hearing all these statutes declare this great nation a wise and understanding people.CT 428.1+4 The law given was to remain unchanged and be obeyed, and its keeping displayed wisdom before other nations who could recognize the justice of its laws.RH Sep 5, 1907+2 The reason is that no other nation has God so near in all that they call upon Him for, and no other nation has statutes and judgments so righteous as this law, whose own laws could not compare in righteousness.CT 428.1+4

Obedience works an elevation of character and life that even the heathen world recognizes and commends, showing the Hebrew religion to be elevating and ennobling and revealing the superiority of those who serve and worship the living God above every other people.COL 289.2–3+3 Faithful obedience would ensure God's presence and give Israel influence over the nations of the earth, convicting honest beholders who would have joined God's people if Israel had proved true.Lt 34, 1899, par. 34–38 By faithful performance of duty Israel might have shown honor to God and received honor from Him, with obligations proportionate to privileges and to the light given by Christ their invisible leader.Lt 34, 1899, par. 34–38 Faithful obedience would have exalted God and stamped Israel with purity and holiness, revealing God as merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and by no means clearing the guilty.Lt 34, 1899, par. 34–38

Following the instruction would restore the land to fertility and beauty, with God Himself directing the culture of the soil and His people cooperating with Him in its restoration, so the whole land under God's control would teach spiritual truth.COL 289.2–3 As the earth yields its treasures through obedience to natural laws, hearts would reflect the attributes of God's character through obedience to His moral law.COL 289.2–3 By following the principles that govern heaven, they would receive health and prosperity from God, who would be their Physician, and would be honored above other nations as a model of true righteousness.Ms 98a, 1905, par. 8–9 From a race of slaves Israel was exalted above all peoples to be a peculiar treasure, separated to receive a sacred trust as depositaries of priceless truth to preserve a knowledge of God, so that the light of heaven would shine to a world in darkness calling all peoples from idolatry to serve the living God.ST May 7, 1902 God entrusted the Hebrew nation with His commandments, statutes and judgments for their faith to be communicated to all peoples, with leaders responsible for the work through which His glory would be revealed to the nations.Ms 128, 1899, par. 15

Israel was charged to take heed to itself and to keep its soul diligently, to guard what its eyes had seen, to not forget those things nor let them depart from the heart through all the days of life, and to preserve the commandments without adding to them or diminishing from them.CT 428.1+4 This keeping in the heart was inseparable from obedience in the land they were going to possess, for the statutes and judgments taught exactly as commanded were to be kept and done there.CT 428.1+4 Their keeping and doing would be their wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations, who hearing these righteous statutes would call them a wise and understanding great people, with God near in all they called upon Him for and with laws more righteous than those of any other nation.CT 428.1+4

What had been seen and learned was to be taught to sons and to sons' sons, with remembrance of God's acts, with the instruction kept in the heart, obeyed in life, and handed on so that reverence for Him would continue.CT 428.1+4 The teaching was not to be left to others, for the first duty rests on fathers and mothers to work humbly and devotedly in the home.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9 They are to bring children up from earliest babyhood through childhood and youth in nurture and admonition, teaching that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, kindly and patiently keeping the instruction ever before them and guarding them from careless associations and wrong habits.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9

Country homes among fields and trees and flowers are most favorable for this education, while all who have held the word lightly and failed to give it stand reproved.Ms 201, 1903, par. 5–9 Fathers in particular must take up the teaching to their sons and their sons' sons, taking heed and keeping their souls diligently lest they forget what their eyes have seen.5MR 78.4–80.1+1 This charge requires keeping the Sabbath holy and distinct from the six working days, and refusing to send children to schoolroom or academy on the Sabbath or to consent to their attending school on any part of it as on a common weekday.5MR 78.4–80.1+1

To attend school on the Sabbath brings it down to a level with common working days, makes void the law of God, and breaks harmony with the directions given through Moses.5MR 78.4–80.1 To refuse at personal sacrifice draws the line between the loyal and the disloyal, lifts the cross of sacrifice, and bears testimony to the world of allegiance to the Creator and Governor and of the truthfulness of the Sabbath.5MR 78.4–80.1+1

The statutes and judgments were taught to guide Israel's life and faithful conduct in the land they were going to possess, to be practiced, observed and lived by there in harmony with God's will.Lt 162, 1903, par. 2–5+4 They were rules of life to be done in that land, preserving harmony between person and person and between humanity and God.ST Mar 3, 1881+1 The people were to enter the land in strict obedience to the commandments and remain determined to follow closely after arrival.Ms 120, 1909, par. 4–7

Their life and prosperity depended on obedience, including acting righteously toward one another, for they could not be sustained in disobedience.Ms 127, 1899, par. 50–51 Keeping the commandments is wisdom and understanding, not foolishness or ignorance, and obedience to sacred truth identifies God's people as distinct from the world.Ms 116, 1902, par. 21–27 Obeying the requirements did not make them foolish or unable to prosper in this life or the next, but placed them in God's school for the highest education to stand obediently before surrounding nations, calling them not to separate from God.Ms 141, 1906, par. 26–28

Obedience to the law was the only condition upon which the promises would be fulfilled, and submission to divine authority would have allowed Israel to enter Canaan sooner and become a prosperous, holy, happy people, remaining free from the sins of the nations to be displaced.Ms 2, 1904, par. 31–35+1 Disobedience delayed that blessing and dishonored God before other nations, keeping Israel from representing His purity, goodness and benevolence.ST Mar 3, 1881 Keeping the commandments is tied to well-being for the people and their children and to long life and continued life in the land, as the terms of covenant life as God's special and holy people.7MR 309.1–3+4 These commands were part of what was required to make them a holy people, to be preserved without adding to or taking away, remembered, obeyed and taught to children, displaying the nearness and righteousness of God.Lt 178, 1903, par. 6–11

The verse belongs among the stated reasons for Israel's identity as God's people, setting out what God wanted His people to be.Ms 187, 1907, par. 2+1 The contrast between those destroyed for following Baal-peor and those who remained faithful shows that judgments may be delayed to give time to return to the truth, and shows power to shield and guard those who obey.Ms 146, 1906, par. 29–33 The disobedience in the wilderness, when all but two of the adults who left Egypt died before entering Canaan, warns that the word will be vindicated if the people and their leaders depart from the commandments.FE 508.1–4

Departing from the commandments brings harmful consequences, including disease and a curse affecting people, animals and the earth.18MR 353.1–4 As a tree is known by its fruit, actions reveal the quality of the fruit in life, and obedience enables fallen people through Christ to bear precious fruit and be distinguished from other peoples.Ms 162, 1903, par. 9–12 Belief must not remain merely theoretical but must be joined with works, walking in the light given by doing the practical service specified, especially medical missionary work for others and educating others to serve the Lord, with the Spirit and favor given to those who work.Lt 55, 1897, par. 9–11

These words belong to God's people as well as to ancient Israel, to present institutions, to an obedient people throughout history and in the last days, and to all who would be counted among His covenant-keeping people.RH Sep 5, 1907+4
The same purpose holds for God's people today as for Israel brought out of Egypt, that by living out His holy precepts and manifesting the principles of His kingdom in life and character they reveal His character.6T 12.1+1
Separated from the customs, habits and practices of the world and brought nearer to Himself to know His will, they make known His goodness, mercy, justice and love, and are recognized as distinguished by loving, fearing and serving Him above every other people.6T 12.1+1
The chapter calls for careful study by those who would belong to His covenant-keeping people, for its teaching of God's law given at Sinai is joined to the Sabbath commandment which God gave humanity to keep holy.Lt 6, 1909, par. 5+1
Its instruction is to be read diligently and used to bring the people back to the true platform of faithfulness to God, as a safeguard against deception and a call to stand with the truth, which will triumph.Lt 116, 1906, par. 3

The recorded instruction warns God's people in later generations to heed the commandments without adding to them or taking from them and to learn from Israel's history, and those who have heard the truth for the last days are urged to study and heed its warnings, for truth is not to be put on at certain times and laid aside at will.Ms 110, 1899, par. 6–9+1
Obedience is joined to the Old Testament history of God blessing those who obey His statutes, judgments and commandments and to the promises given to Israel, while disobedience brings consequences and God will vindicate His word if His people and their leaders depart from His commandments.Ms 65, 1906, par. 21–22+3
The directions, including those that might seem least important, are to be observed carefully and instruct those carrying responsibilities in sacred work, expressing heaven's requirements to be brought prominently before the people.STB 628.4–629.2+1
Obedient loyalty is still binding, for if the law had not been binding God would not have given His Son to die on Calvary to redeem men from the penalty of transgression, and through that accepted sacrifice men by accepting Jesus receive pardon for sin and power to become sons of God.Ms 2, 1904, par. 31–35
That keeping includes the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, which cannot be treated as a matter of little importance.Ms 2, 1904, par. 31–35

That condition refutes the assertion that a man once in grace is always in grace and other teachings on justification that turn souls away from a plain Thus saith the Lord.Ms 2, 1904, par. 31–35
Doing God's commandments transforms character in all ages, and in these last days when iniquity abounds on every hand wisdom and understanding before all people still consists in obedience to the standard of righteousness.ST Jan 6, 1888
Conforming life to the holy laws of heaven refines, ennobles and elevates, makes courteous and self-forgetting for the blessing of others, and makes like Jesus Christ in perfect obedience.ST Jan 6, 1888
God wanted His people to stand out through this recognized wisdom rather than seek the favor of worldlings through close association with them.Ms 15, 1903, par. 3–4
Teaching people to transgress God's holy law stands in direct contrast to Moses' teaching and leads to terror and despair when every work is brought into judgment.ST Mar 3, 1881