In the terrible judgments brought upon the ten tribes, the Lord had a wise and merciful purpose. That which he could no longer accomplish through them in the land of their fathers, he would seek to accomplish by scattering them among the heathen. His plan for his people must be fulfilled; and in the afflictions brought upon Israel, he was preparing the way for his glory to be revealed to the nations of earth. Not all who were carried captive were wholly impenitent. Among them were some who humbled themselves before God, and who sought for pardon and peace; and these were numbered as “sons of the living God.” Hosea 1:10.RH February 19, 1914, par. 1

God's favor toward Israel had always been conditional on their obedience. At the foot of Sinai, the hosts of Israel had entered into covenant relation with God as his “peculiar treasure ... above all people.” Exodus 19:5. They were to be to him “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Solemnly they had promised to follow in the path of obedience. “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do,” they said. And when, a few days afterward, God's law was spoken from Sinai, and additional instruction in the form of statutes and judgments was communicated through Moses, the Israelites with one voice again promised, “All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Exodus 24:3. At the ratification of the covenant, the people once more united in declaring, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Verse 7. God had chosen Israel as his people, and they had chosen him as their King.RH February 19, 1914, par. 2

Near the close of the wilderness wandering the conditions of the covenant were repeated. At Baal-peor, on the very borders of the Promised Land, many had fallen a prey to subtle temptation. Those who had remained faithful now renewed their vows of allegiance. Through Moses they were instructed concerning the temptations that would assail them in the future; and they were earnestly exhorted to remain separate from the surrounding nations, and to worship God alone.RH February 19, 1914, par. 3

“Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.RH February 19, 1914, par. 4

“Behold, 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. For 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?”RH February 19, 1914, par. 5

The Israelites were specially charged not to lose sight of the commandments of God, in obedience to which they would find strength and blessing. “Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently,” was the word of the Lord to them through Moses, “lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”RH February 19, 1914, par. 6

The awe-inspiring scenes connected with the giving of the law at Sinai were never to be forgotten. “Ye came near,” the Israelites were reminded, “and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. 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 wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.”RH February 19, 1914, par. 7

The Israelites were about to possess a land where idolatry had reigned supreme; and they were warned not to follow after the gods of the heathen. “Take ye ... good heed unto yourselves,” was the counsel given; “for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, ... and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.”RH February 19, 1914, par. 8

Moses was inspired to utter a prophecy outlining the sure result of apostasy. Plainly he traced the evils that would result from a departure from the statutes of Jehovah. Calling heaven and earth to witness against the people, he declared that if, after having dwelt long in the Land of Promise, they should introduce things which thine eyes have seen, and to graven images, and should refuse to return to the worship of the true God, the anger of the Lord would be aroused, and they would be carried away captive and scattered among the heathen. “Ye shall soon utterly perish,” he warned them, “from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, ... whither the Lord shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.”RH February 19, 1914, par. 9

This prophecy, fulfilled in part in the time of the judges of Israel, met a more complete and terrible fulfillment in the captivity of Israel in Assyria and of Judah in Babylon. During the passing centuries, from generation to generation, Satan made repeated attempts to cause Israel to forget “the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments” (Deuteronomy 6:1) that they had promised to keep forever; for he knew that if he could only lead Israel to forget God, and to “walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them,” the chosen nation would surely perish. Deuteronomy 8:19. But the enemy of all souls had not taken into account the long-suffering of Him who “will by no means clear the guilty,” yet whose glory it is to be “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Exodus 34:6, 7. Despite the efforts of Satan to thwart God's purpose for his chosen people, yet even in some of the darkest hours of Israel's history, when it seemed as if the forces of evil were about to gain the victory, the Lord graciously revealed himself. He spread before Israel the things that were for their welfare as a nation. “I have written to him the great things of my law,” he declared, of Israel through Hosea, “but they were counted as a strange thing.” Hosea 8:12. “I taught Ephraim also to go,” he declared “taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.” Hosea 11:3. Tenderly the Lord dealt with them, instructing them by his prophets, line upon line, and precept upon precept.RH February 19, 1914, par. 10

(To be concluded.)

February 12, 1914

February 26, 1914