Lessons of the Old Testament
Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .
| Lessons of the Old Testament |
| Through nature, through types and symbols, through patriarchs and prophets, God had spoken to the world. Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The Messenger of the covenant must speak. His voice must be heard in His own temple. Christ must come to utter words which should be clearly and definitely understood. He, the author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man's utterance, which had made it of no effect. The principles of God's government and the plan of redemption must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men. {DA 34.1} |
| |
| Heaven's councils decided that Christ, the great Teacher, must Himself come to the world. God had spoken through nature, through types and symbols, patriarchs and prophets. Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The messenger of the covenant, the Sun of Righteousness, must rise upon the world. His voice must be heard in His own temple. Christ must come to utter words which would be clearly and definitely understood. He, the Author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man's utterance, which had made it of none effect. The principles of God's moral government, and the plan of redemption, must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men. {BEcho, March 8, 1897 par. 3} {ST, April 15, 1897 par. 3} |
| |
| "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word" [Ps. 119:9]. Why, then, do the teachers in our colleges and schools depend upon books for the education of children and youth that are filled with falsehood and cheapness, with fairy tales and stories, and which fill the minds of the young with desires for the unreal? Why should not the lessons which children and youth learn be pure, elevating, and ennobling? Cannot books be written that are free from every species of error? Is there not talent enough among Seventh-day Adventists to write books containing the simple lessons of the Old and New Testaments? {19MR 73.1} |
| |
|
The word of God is to be the man of our counsel, and is to guide our experience. The lessons of the Old Testament history, if faithfully studied, will teach us how this can be. Christ, enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, was the guide and the light of the children of Israel, in their wilderness-wandering. Here was an unerring guide. In all their experiences, God was trying to teach them obedience to their heavenly Guide, and faith in His power to deliver them. Their deliverance from affliction in Egypt, and their passage through the Red Sea, revealed to them His power to save. When they rebelled against Him, and went contrary to His will, God punished them. When they persisted in their rebellion, and were determined to have their own way, God gave them that for which they asked, and in this way showed them that that which He withheld from them He withheld for their own good. Every judgment that came as a result of their murmurings was a lesson to that vast multitude that sorrow and suffering are always the result of transgression of the laws of God. {LLM 256.6}
|
| |
|
This is the work God has given to every teacher. As educators you have not that knowledge that comes from God. Had you this knowledge, your whole being would proclaim the truth of the living God to a world dead in trespasses and sins. You know not the message God has given for this time. You are as blind men leading the blind. Students leave the school with a false education, which it takes them years to unlearn. The past has shown that both teachers and students know very little in regard to the message which should be proclaimed at this time. Should the third angel's message be proclaimed in all its lines to many who profess to be educated, it would not be understood by them. Human theories and wisdom are exalted, and men are becoming too wise to follow a plain "Thus saith the Lord." I read from a certain writer, "The old theology of Old Testament Scripture has been left a long way behind by the teachings of Jesus Christ. The ethics of the Old Testament fall far short of the holiness of the New." But it was He who gave to the New Testament its sacredness that spoke the lessons of the Old Testament. {13MR 267.2}
|
| Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The Messenger of the covenant must speak. His voice must be heard in His own temple. He, the author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man's utterance, which had made it of no effect. The principles of God's government and the plan of redemption must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men. {PK 700.3} |
| |
| the Lessons of the Old and New Testaments |
| The Lord has His appointed agencies to meet men in their errors and backslidings. His messengers are sent to bear a plain testimony to arouse them from their sleepy condition and to open the precious words of life, the Holy Scriptures, to their understanding. These men are not to be preachers merely, but ministers, light bearers, faithful watchmen, who will see the threatened danger and warn the people. They must resemble Christ in their earnest zeal, in their thoughtful tact, in their personal efforts--in short, in all their ministry. They are to have a vital connection with God, and are to become so familiar with the prophecies and the practical lessons of the Old and the New Testament that they may bring from the treasure house of God's word things new and old. {5T 251.1} |
| |
| Why should not the lessons which children and youth learn be pure, elevating, and ennobling? Cannot books be written that are free from every species of error? Is there not talent enough among Seventh-day Adventists to write books containing the simple lessons of the Old and New Testaments? [SDA LITERATURE EVANGELISTS NOW HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF QUALITY CHILDREN'S BOOKS TO SELL TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, AND DENOMINATIONAL ABCS OFFER EXCELLENT BIBLE STORYBOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.] -- MS 5, 1890. |
| |
| The human agent must cooperate with the Divine. Your thoughts will become pure and heavenly as you diligently peruse the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. The Word of inspiration should be your daily food. It alone is the tree of life.-- Ms. 54, 1898, pp. 1, 2. ("Our School," May 2, 1898.) {11MR 170.1} |
| The key text for this phrase appears in the first highlighted box. If you think another text should appear in the box or if you want to suggest a new text with this phrase, feel free to contact us. |