Sunday
June 21
1. MOSES ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE
a. As Moses’ end was drawing near, with what encouraging words did he address first the people, and then Joshua? Deuteronomy 31:1–8.
“As the people gazed upon the aged man, so soon to be taken from them, they recalled, with a new and deeper appreciation, his parental tenderness, his wise counsels, and his untiring labors. How often, when their sins had invited the just judgments of God, the prayers of Moses had prevailed with Him to spare them! Their grief was heightened by remorse. They bitterly remembered that their own perversity had provoked Moses to the sin for which he must die.
“The removal of their beloved leader would be a far stronger rebuke to Israel than any which they could have received had his life and mission been continued. God would lead them to feel that they were not to make the life of their future leader as trying as they had made that of Moses. God speaks to His people in blessings bestowed; and when these are not appreciated, He speaks to them in blessings removed, that they may be led to see their sins, and return to Him with all the heart.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 470.
Monday
June 22
2. READING THE BOOK OF THE LAW
a. How often were the people required to listen to the reading of the laws, and which groups of people were to do so? Why? Deuteronomy 31:9–13.
“[God] requires parents to train up their children and with unceasing diligence to educate them with regard to the claims of His law and to instruct them in the knowledge and fear of God. These injunctions which God laid upon the Jews with so much solemnity, rest with equal weight upon Christian parents.”—Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 294.
b. What was the plan of God for Israel? What were the conditions upon which this promise was to be fulfilled? Deuteronomy 28:12–14.
“These promises given to Israel are also for God’s people today.”—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 351.
c. What was given to the Israelites as a continual reminder of their calling as God’s special people? Numbers 15:38, 39. Of what then should every piece of clothing we put on today remind us?
“The children of Israel, after they were brought out of Egypt, were commanded to have a simple ribbon of blue in the border of their garments, to distinguish them from the nations around them, and to signify that they were God’s peculiar people. The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments. But in the New Testament we are often referred to ancient Israel for examples. If God gave such definite directions to His ancient people in regard to their dress, will not the dress of His people in this age come under His notice? Should there not be in their dress a distinction from that of the world? Should not the people of God, who are His peculiar treasure, seek even in their dress to glorify God? And should they not be examples in point of dress, and by their simple style rebuke the pride, vanity, and extravagance of worldly, pleasure-loving professors? God requires this of His people. Pride is rebuked in His Word.”—The Review and Herald, January 23, 1900.
Tuesday
June 23
3. WRITING A NEW SONG
a. What aspects of God’s character are brought out in the song Moses wrote for the benefit of the people? Deuteronomy 32:3, 4, 6.
b. How is God’s care for His people shown in this song? Deuteronomy 32:9–12.
“God surrounded Israel with every facility, gave them every privilege, that would make them an honor to His name and a blessing to surrounding nations. If they would walk in the ways of obedience, He promised to make them ‘high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor.’”—Education, p. 40.
“[God] rescued them from their servile state, that He might bring them to a good land, a land which in His providence He had prepared for them as a refuge from their enemies. He would bring them to Himself and encircle them in His everlasting arms; and in return for His goodness and mercy they were to exalt His name and make it glorious in the earth.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 16.
c. In what sense was this song calculated to be a help to the people? Deuteronomy 31:19–22. What can we learn from this?
“The more deeply to impress these truths upon all minds, the great leader [Moses] embodied them in sacred verse. This song was not only historical, but prophetic. While it recounted the wonderful dealings of God with His people in the past, it also foreshadowed the great events of the future, the final victory of the faithful when Christ shall come the second time in power and glory. The people were directed to commit to memory this poetic history, and to teach it to their children and children’s children. It was to be chanted by the congregation when they assembled for worship, and to be repeated by the people as they went about their daily labors. It was the duty of parents to so impress these words upon the susceptible minds of their children that they might never be forgotten.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 467, 468.
Wednesday
June 24
4. THE COMING OF CHRIST PREDICTED
a. What did Moses say about the first coming of Jesus Christ? Deuteronomy 18:15, 18.
b. What rebuke did Jesus direct to the Jews in connection with this prophecy? John 5:45–47.
“There are those who profess to believe and to teach the truths of the Old Testament, while they reject the New. But in refusing to receive the teachings of Christ, they show that they do not believe that which patriarchs and prophets have spoken. ‘Had ye believed Moses,’ Christ said, ‘ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.’ John 5:46. Hence there is no real power in their teaching of even the Old Testament.
“Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel are in a similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, of which Christ declared, ‘They are they which testify of Me.’ John 5:39. In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both are parts of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root, the gospel is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bears.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 128.
c. In what sense was Moses a type of Christ? Hebrews 3:5, 6.
“Moses was a type of Christ. He himself had declared to Israel, ‘The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.’ Deuteronomy 18:15. God saw fit to discipline Moses in the school of affliction and poverty before he could be prepared to lead the hosts of Israel to the earthly Canaan. The Israel of God, journeying to the heavenly Canaan, have a Captain who needed no human teaching to prepare Him for His mission as a divine leader; yet He was made perfect through sufferings; and ‘in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.’ Hebrews 2:10, 18. Our Redeemer manifested no human weakness or imperfection; yet He died to obtain for us an entrance into the Promised Land.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 480.
Thursday
June 25
5. MOSES’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION
a. What command and assurance did Moses receive from the Lord when he had finished his work? Deuteronomy 32:49, 50, 52.
“In solitude Moses reviewed his life of vicissitudes and hardships since he turned from courtly honors and from a prospective kingdom in Egypt, to cast in his lot with God’s chosen people. . . .
“He did not regret the burdens he had borne. He knew that his mission and work were of God’s own appointing.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 471, 472.
b. How did God bring Moses back to life, and what classes of saints did Moses and Elijah each represent on the mount of transfiguration? Jude 9; Matthew 17:1–5.
“Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;’ when ‘this mortal must put on immortality,’ and ‘this corruptible must put on incorruption.’ 1 Corinthians 15:51–53.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 421, 422.
Friday
June 26
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. As Moses was about to die, how did the people now view him? Why?
2. How should our calling as children of the King, as God’s special, peculiar treasure, affect the way we dress and the way we dress our children?
3. What is one way parents can deeply impress truth on the minds of their children? How does Satan fiendishly try to use this same tool in an opposite direction?
4. How are we rejecting Christ if we set aside the Old Testament?
5. As Moses considered the riches and fame he had left behind in exchange for a life of toil and hardship, why did he have no regrets?