General Conference Bulletin, vol. 2

THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL.—No. 5

A. T. JONES

(Sunday Evening, March 7, 1897.)

IN the lesson the other evening I stated that I had never seen until lately a copy of the ten commandments published by Seventh-day Adventists, outside of the Bible, that was as God spoke them. I am glad that the time has come when Seventh-day Adventists can have a copy of God’s law as God gave it. I am glad that Brother Howe has gotten out copies of the law of God, as God gave it. And now let us not leave ourselves open any longer to the same charge as others, of leaving out part of the law of God, when we go before the people. GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.4

You can see plainly enough that the man who first gave out that copy of the law of God that nearly everybody else uses, was an Egyptian. It says, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” But he said to himself, That does not apply to me, nor to anybody living nowadays; for we have never been brought out of Egypt. That was only for the Jews. He therefore left it out and printed the rest of the law, and thus presented to the world a mutilated copy of the law which the Lord himself gave. He thus caused it to appear that the only document that the Lord ever spoke from heaven began without telling who was the author of it, without even introducing him, but began just in a blunt, indefinite way “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The question might well at once arise, Who in the world are you? Who is it that is talking? Well, when the law is taken as it was given, God tells who it is that is talking. “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” That is who it is that is talking; you shall have no other gods before me, “who am able to redeem from the bondage of Egypt.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.5

Another thought just here is important: When the law is printed without the introduction that the Lord himself spoke, as it usually is on charts and cards, it is found necessary to place at the head of it the words, “The Law of God.” This shows that men realize the necessity that there shall be some sort of certificate as to whose law it is, and who it is that speaks these commandments. And, seeing this necessity, men put at the head of the law of God their certificate that it is the law of God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.6

But if they would only print the law as the Lord gave it, they would have the Lord’s own certificate that it is the law of God, and that it is he himself who speaks these commandments. He says: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” etc. And when men can have the Lord’s own certificate that it is his law, surely there will be no need of any man’s certificate that it is the law of God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.7

And is not the Lord’s certificate this is his law better than the certificate of any man or of all men together? And when men leave out the Lord’s own certificate that this is his law, and put their own certificate there, could there be any clearer case of men putting themselves in the place of God? O, let us put away this highhanded, bungling work; and let us take the holy law as its holy Author spoke it and wrote it! “I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Amen. Let it be so. GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.8

Having there all that the Lord spoke, the law of God then presents to the world both the Redeemer and the Creator. It then tells all men that he who is the Author of that law, that he who calls man to its observance, is both Redeemer and Creator. This is shown by the law itself. And when they leave out the part that reveals the Redeemer, it is no wonder that they are willing and ready to leave out the part that reveals the Creator of man. Satan always wanted to get rid of the law, and to hide from men its importance. He started with having the Redeemer left out of it; and now he ends with having the Creator left out of it. But the Lord wants us to know that it is he who delivered us from Egypt, so we shall be able to see both the Redeemer and the Creator in the law which he gave for man. GCB January 1, 1897, page 33.9

Another thing. When you and I can see, and do see, that Israel, when they went into the land, did not go at all into the land that the Lord intended for them, but missed it altogether, we can see how it was a disappointment to Moses not to go there. Now when it appears, as it does to some people, that Israel went into the land the Lord had prepared for them, and that that was exactly where the Lord wanted to take them, and then see that Moses died and went to heaven, they say that Moses had the best of the bargain after all; and that it was not so much of a disappointment to take him out of the land and take him to heaven. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.1

But when we understand that the Lord wanted to take him into his holy habitation, into the place he had made for himself to dwell in, into the sanctuary that his hands had established; then we can see how it was a disappointment even for Moses to die and go to heaven without entering into that land. When he could see that it was his sin that had something to do with keeping them out of the blessed land of promise; when he could see that Israel had missed what the Lord had for them: when he saw the glorious land, as he did from the top of Nebo, and was obliged to contemplate the long ages of wandering, of apostasy, and of trouble, through which the cause and people of God were to pass, and know that he had even a little to do with causing that long course of wandering; it is easy enough to see what a grievous disappointment it was to him not to enter that land without dying at all—even though he was taken to heaven from the grave. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.2

One other text, if any one were needed to settle the fact that Israel did not get out of Egypt as long as they were in the wilderness, is found in the book of Joshua. You remember the passage,—after they had crossed Jordan, then they were circumcised,—it is written, “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” Those people, you see, who left Egypt, never got out of Egypt till they had crossed Jordan; for not until then was the reproach of Egypt taken away. Then they were all converted men. That whole nation crossed Jordan by faith. It was a nation that believed God, and there was not a dissenting voice nor a doubting thought,—then they were out of Egypt. Thus you see that it is perfectly evident that spiritual Egypt is the literal Egypt of the Bible. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.3

Now we turn to the text for to-night. This is Numbers 23:9. I begin to read with the seventh verse. It is Balaam as he is prophesying for Balak, king of Moab. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.4

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram. out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: LO, THE PEOPLE SHALL DWELL ALONE, AND SHALL NOT BE RECKONED AMONG THE NATIONS. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.5

This text is spoken to us here to-night. This is present truth. This was God’s expressed will concerning his people when they were on the border of the land to which he wanted to take them when he had called them out of the land of Egypt. They had wandered in the wilderness forty years, and now had come to the border of the land. And this is his will concerning them, that they should dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.6

The fundamental reason for that, or one of the reasons, we would better say, you will get hold of by turning to the seventh chapter of Acts. Stephen was speaking that day, and told that the Lord brought the people out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage with wonders and signs, and in the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth verses you have these words; in the thirty-eighth verse is the particular passage:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.7

This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye bear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.8

Then what was Israel in the wilderness?—The church. What was it to be when they had crossed the river and had entered the land?—The church. What was that saying but that there should be a separation between church and state?—just as, when he brought Abraham out of that country, the Lord taught the world separation between church and state, and just as he showed by Abraham that separation of church and state must begin in the heart of the individual. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.9

If I am not separated in my heart from the state, there will be a union of church and state wherever I am. And so, even though I do not hold office in the state, or run for office there, I will be a politician in the church; and I will run for office there, and wire-pull there. So that if a man is not in heart separated from the state, and yet belongs to the church, he would better take part in the politics of the world and be a politician there, than to run his politics into the church. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.10

So when the Lord called Abraham, he said, first of all, “Get thee out of thy country.” And now that Abraham has increased and become the church, and that church is about to enter the special service of the Lord before the nations, he declares that that church should not be reckoned among the nations; they should dwell alone. You can see how the Lord wanted the people to hold to that, because he knew what the nations were; and he knew how the nations had reached that condition. He wanted his church to dwell alone, to have no ruler but himself, no law but his law, no legislation of any kind but the Lord’s word, no government but the Lord’s. GCB January 1, 1897, page 34.11

God intended, when he brought them into the land, to be the head of the church. Jesus Christ was the head of the church, of course, just as really as he is now. You know from the lessons we have studied, how the people got into kingship, monarchy, and so on; it was by departing from him, by failing to recognize God as their only Ruler, his law as the only law. They became idolators, and so lost the government of God over themselves, and the power of his law upon them; and having separated from God, there had to be a government among them to satisfy the ambition of those who wanted to rule their fellows, and to protect them from themselves in their savagery, because of having departed from God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.1

But the Lord separated Israel from all people and governments, unto himself. The Lord started Israel now just where he started Abraham, to be separated from the kings and rulers all around them, from all sorts of earthly government round about them. He wanted his people to dwell alone, and not to be such as could be reckoned among any of the nations, so that when the nations looked on them, they should see that Israel could not be reckoned as of their kind. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.2

He wanted Israel to stand before the world so distinctly—and this would make them distinct from all other nations—that all the nations looking upon them would say, That is singular; that is not the kind of government ours is. They have no king; each one just seems to get along without any ruler. And they would begin to inquire into that; they would say, What is the cause of this? How is it you get along without all this paraphernalia of a king, and armies, and taxes, and all these things that we have to endure? The answer would be, Why, God is our king. And it doesn’t take nearly such an expense to run his government as it does yours; for we don’t have any such troubles as you have. Yes; we have no taxes, and he is so good that we love to give to him everything we have, to support and spread abroad the blessings of his government. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.3

And when his people should tell the heathen that, the heathen would say, Surely this nation is a wise and understanding people; and what nation on the earth is so great, that hath judgments so wise, so God, as all this law? And what nation has Good so nigh unto them as the Lord thy God is, in all things that we call upon him for? That is what the Lord intended. And he said. Israel “shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” He intended to teach all the world a separation of church and state, not only in the church, but among the nations, as respects the states, and also as respects the church itself. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.4

Just look here at the scripture, and you will see that. Deuteronomy 4. A few verses tell the whole that I have sketched. Beginning with the first verse, reading to the eighth:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.5

Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 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. 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? GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.6

Then was there any place for the making of any kind of law or legislation among Israel?—“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” They were to do just that. Their laws were all made for them. Their legislation was all completed, and was perfect; and as long as they had that, they needed no other, and just as soon as it came about that they needed another, that was evidence itself that they had forsaken God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.7

So long as they needed any kind of legislation, of themselves, among themselves, that was evidence that they had forsaken God, that his law was not enough for them any more, and that his government was not sufficient for them any more. That is precisely the way it is with all the rest of the heathen. That is the way with all the nations. That is how they became heathen. And you know that Israel went over that very same course. They forgot God and went into idolatry, and then said, We must have a king, so that we may be like all the nations. But do not forget that they had to reject God before they could have a king; and in rejecting God, that they might be like the nations, like the heathen,—that is what the literal thought is,—in rejecting God that they might be like the nations, they became like the nations that rejected God. You know this by all the following history. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.8

It is perfectly plain, therefore, that it is not God’s will, it is not for the interests of his people, that they shall be like the nations. It is not the will of God, it is not for the good of the people, that they shall have any kind of government like the nations that are around about them. You know these did not arise from following God, but they arose from apostasy. From all this, it is perfectly plain that God did not intend that his people should set up a government of themselves among themselves. GCB January 1, 1897, page 35.9

The Lord did not intend that they should set up a government like the nations around them. When he says, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it,” you can see that he thus shut them off from any law-making of any kind, from any shadow of legislation of any sort, and thus prohibited them from ever setting up any form of government among themselves. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.1

And from this it is perfectly clear that when they found the need of any sort of government among themselves, in which they must have laws and rulers other than God, that of itself was proof positive that they had forgotten God; that they had gone away from him; that his government was not enough; that his power was not upon them to hold them, and so they must make and establish some form of government of their own, to protect themselves from themselves. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.2

Thus you see that it was not according to the Lord’s will that his people, dwelling alone, should have a government of their own among themselves. It was not his will that they should dwell among the nations, and have a government like the nations; because when they should undertake to make a government of their own to govern themselves among themselves, that would be just like the governments of the nations, because they were all human, and humanity is all alike. So when Israel did undertake to set up a government to govern themselves, it was like these around them, and it could not be anything else It was heathenish. And it always will be heathenish wherever it is attempted. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.3

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” God intends that his commandments, his law, his government, shall be enough for his people. And it is enough for his people. That is settled. It always will be enough for his people. But it is not enough for those who do not have it; it is not enough for those who separate from God and from his law and government. His government is not enough for them, then, because they do not have it; and then if they make one of their own, it is just like that of the heathen. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.4

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. 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. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.5

“This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.” Not simply in my sight; but do this, and all the nations, the heathen, will say you are wise. The nations, the heathen, will say you have good sense. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.6

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 nation, 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? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, 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. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.7

Do not forget what you have seen and heard, but especially do not forget what you heard when you stood before Horeb that day. What did they hear?—O, the law of God; the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus they heard that day; a voice from heaven proclaimed redemption and creation, that men should sin not. But Israel forgot God, and became idolatrous, and said, Make us a king; make us a king, like all the nations. But of that time, while they were undefiled, the Lord said afterward (Psalm 81:13-16):— GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.8

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.9

Now the Lord says of us that has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. The kingdom of God is established again among his people, and “the kingdom of God is within you,” and it is among you by being within each one and all. Now then, the kingdom of God is a perfect kingdom, because the king is a perfect king, because the law of that kingdom is a perfect law. Then is a perfect king, and a perfect law, and a perfect kingdom, sufficient for you? Is it? Is that enough for a man?—O yes, assuredly! Ought it to be enough for a man? GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.10

And if all that is not enough for a man, is the trouble with the kingdom, or with the man?—You know that the trouble can be only with the man. But suppose the man professes to be a Christian. Is the trouble still with the man, or with the kingdom? GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.11

(Voices) With the man. GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.12

Suppose he professes to be a Seventh-day Adventist, and the kingdom of God is not sufficient for him; suppose you get a crowd of them together, and the kingdom of God is not sufficient for them, but they must have a kingdom of their own, another kingdom; they must set up a government, must tax themselves, choose off rulers from among themselves to govern themselves; are they God’s children? Is God’s perfect kingdom enough for them? Do they belong to the government of God? Is God’s government enough for them? Is the kingdom of God in them? Is it? How can it be, when the perfect kingdom, and the perfect king, and the perfect law, is not enough for them? GCB January 1, 1897, page 36.13

You see, then, that separation of church and state, even among Seventh-day Adventists, begins in the heart; and it must begin there with every man, everywhere, or there can be no separation of church and state where he is. If no man in the fourth century, in the Roman Empire, had had a union of church and state in Iris own heart, there would not have been a papacy formed in the fourth century. If he had had only the church, the church alone, in his heart, and none of the state, none of principles of the state, only the church,—God, his kingdom, his law, his righteousness, he alone ruling there,—could there ever have been a papacy? GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.1

(Voices) No. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.2

Then what is the thing that is essential always to avoid?—Any union of church and state in the heart. What, then, is the only sure safeguard against a papacy?—It is to love God with all the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and all the strength. It is to “get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house.” It is to turn your back upon Egypt. It is to “dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.3

I read now from “Empires of the Bible,” page 152 and onward some quotations that I inserted there from “Patriarchs and Prophets,” with scriptures, upon this very connection. First I read some of my own words; but I will tell you when I read the words of “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.4

“Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” The Lord never intended that his people should be formed into a kingdom, or state, or government, like the people of this world. They were not to be like the nations around them. They were to be separated unto God “from all the people that were upon the face of the earth.” “The people shall not be reckoned among the nations.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.5

Now if I reckon myself as belonging to the state of Germany, then am I reckoning myself among the nations? If I reckon myself as belonging to the government of England, a part of it, a loyal and patriotic citizen, who would fight for the flag, am I reckoning myself among the nations? And if I fight for that flag, my flag, my British flag, and my Seventh-day Adventist brother over here belongs to the United States, and is loyal and patriotic, and the two nations get into war, and he must repel invasions, and there is a conflict, then I am on one side, and my brother is on the other, and brother is fighting against brother. Has God ordained that?—You know that he has not. Then did he ever mean anything when he said that the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations? GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.6

I read on a little of my own writing in “Empires of the Bible:”—Their government was to be a theocracy pure and simple—God their only King, their only Ruler, their only Lawgiver. It was, indeed, a church organization, beginning with the organization of “the church in the wilderness;” and was to be separated from every idea of a state. The system formed in the wilderness through Moses, and continued in Cainan through Joshua, was intended to be perpetual. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.7

Now I read from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.8

The government of Israel was administered in the name and by the authority of Jehovah. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had given. They had no authority to legislate for the nation. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.9

Who had no authority to legislate for the nation? GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.10

(Voices) The church. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.11

How many composed the church? Did that take in one, or two, or ten, or twelve, or any fifty?—Yes. Then did they, or any of them, have any authority to legislate for the rest, or even for themselves?—They did not. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.12

Hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add aught unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.13

Quoting again now from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.14

This was, and continued to be the condition of Israel’s existence as a nation. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.15

Then when Israel departed from that, and took the step to form a kingdom, and be like the nations, what did that mean?—The loss of existence. Do not forget that. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.16

Now another paragraph which I have written, and which I want to repeat now:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.17

The principles of the government of Israel were solely those of a pure theocracy. In any government it is only loyalty to the principles of the government on the part of the citizens, that can make it a success. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.18

That is universally held to be so. What government are we considering here?—The government of God. Of what government were they citizens?—The government of God. Then loyalty to the principles of that government was the only thing that could make that government and that rulership a success, even with God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.19

It was only by the constantly abiding presence of God with Israel, that the government there established could possibly be a success. Loyalty to the principles of that government, therefore, on the part of the people demanded that each one of the people should constantly court the abiding presence of God with himself, as the sole King, Ruler, and Lawgiver, in all the conduct of his daily life. But “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” It is “by faith” that God dwells in the heart and rules in the life. Therefore the fundamental principle, indeed the very existence, of the government of Israel, lay in a living, abiding faith on the part of the people of Israel. GCB January 1, 1897, page 37.20

And just here is where Israel failed. In fact it is the only place where they could fail. They did not abide in faith; they did not remain loyal to their King and government. The people who entered the land, who by faith crossed the River Jordan on dry ground when the river was altogether on a flood, by whose faith the walls of Jericho fell down flat when they had compassed it about seven days, and had shouted the victorious shout of faith—these people believed the Lord, and he was with them in power. But a change came. The people lost the purity of the faith, and fell into formalism. The story is told for us in a few terse verses in the Scriptures. “The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua. and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord. that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died being an hundred and ten years old.... And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers and there arose another generation after them, which know not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”—“Empires of the Bible,” pp. 153. 154. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.1

That is precisely as they did in Nimrod’s time. What was the consequence in Nimrod’s time?—They set up one of themselves as king, having rejected God as king. Is there anything strange, then, that the consequence should be the same with Israel now in this time? GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.2

Not having the presence of God in the heart to separate them even from themselves, and so make them unlike other people, they were so like the nations round about that it was natural enough that they should fall in with them in the worship of their gods. When, in consequence of their apostasy, the burden of their own doings and the oppressions of the heathen became so heavy that they could no longer endure it, they would turn unto the Lord with all the heart, would put their trust in him alone, and thus in him would find glorious deliverance from their sins and from all their oppressors. But finding themselves delivered, they failed still to cultivate and court the presence of their Lord and Deliverer; therefore their religion again became formal, and they soon again adopted the ways of the heathen, and worshiped their gods. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.3

If only they had set their hearts upon the Lord and trusted him all the time, as they did in these fits of reform, they would have found him to be to them all the time just what he was on these occasions. Then their whole course would have been what he always desired that it should be—one continual progress onward and upward, growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord our Saviour. Then they would have been a bright and shining light to all the nations. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.4

Instead of being brought by these repeated experiences to the point where they would finally and forever distrust themselves, and trust the Lord only, they actually arrived at the state where they finally distrusted the Lord, and proposed wholly to trust in themselves. In their unbelief and apostasy, they could see in the continued raids of the heathen, by which the country was sacked and the people oppressed, only an evidence that for all practical purposes the government of God had failed.—“Empires of the Bible,” pp. 154, 155. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.5

Now quoting again from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.6

All the evils which were the result of their own sin and folly, they charged upon the government of God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.7

You see, then, when any people who profess to be the Lord’s, need any other government than his, what is the trouble. They have departed from God; they have got into evil; they are suffering evils of many kinds; and these they charge back to the government of God. The government of God was not good enough for them; it did not do enough for them. Why?—Because they did not have it. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.8

I read on from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.9

Gradually they lost their reverence for God, and ceased to prize the honor of being his chosen people. Attracted by the pomp and display of heathen monarchs, they tired of their own simplicity. Jealousy and envy sprung up between the tribes. Internal dissensions made them weak; they were continually exposed to the invasion of their heathen foes: and the people were coming to believe that in order to maintain their standing among the nations, the tribes must be united under a strong central government. As they departed from obedience to God’s law, they desired to be freed from the rule of their divine Sovereign; and thus the demand for a monarchy became wide-spread throughout Israel. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.10

I now read from what I have written in “Empires of the Bible:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.11

It was the same story of Babylon and Egypt over again. The arch-deceiver seduced them into idolatry, and from idolatry into monarchy, in order that he might gain supremacy over them, and by earthly influences entice them, or by force prohibit them, from the service of God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.12

And you know that Israel did persecute the prophets, they did prohibit the preaching of the word of God, just as every other heathen nation on the earth has done from Nimrod’s time until to-night, and just as every other heathen nation will do, even though it be set up by Seventh-day Adventists. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.13

Now I quote again from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.14

God desired his people to look to him alone as their Law-giver and their Source of strength. Feeling their dependence upon God, they would be constantly drawn nearer to him. They would become elevated and ennobled, fitted for the high destiny to which he had called them as his chosen people. But when a man was placed upon the throne, it would tend to turn the minds of the people from God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.15

And I do not care if he is a Seventh-day Adventist; it tends to turn the minds of the people from God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.16

I read on from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.17

They would trust more to human strength and less to divine power— GCB January 1, 1897, page 38.18

Did they need protection from the heathen?—Yes. Were not the heathen attacking them, and making raids against them?—Yes. Did they need protection?—Yes. Why did they set up a government?—For protection—for protection against the raids of the heathen. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.1

What did the Lord say if they would obey him and obey his laws? At the time of the feasts, the men could all leave their homes, and go up to Jerusalem, and nobody would do them any damage, or desire their land. But when they departed from God, and did not have his protection, they could not leave their houses but that the heathen would come in. And even while they were all at home, the heathen would come in upon them. When their wheat was ripe and ready for harvest, the heathen would come in and take it all, even when the men were all at home. And when the grapes were ripe and ready for gathering, the heathen would come in and gather them all. Why?—Because the people had departed from God, and he could not bless them in their departure as he would bless them when they were with him, because to do so would only have encouraged them in their departure. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.2

So then:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.3

When a man was placed upon the throne, it would tend to turn the minds of the people from God. They would trust more to human strength and less to divine power, and the errors of their kind would lead them into sin, and separate the nation from God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.4

Accordingly they said to Samuel: “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.5

Now I quote again from “Patriarchs and Prophets,” another passage that comes right down to the present:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.6

And still [Where does that bring it?—To the present.] the longing to conform to worldly practices and customs exists among the professed people of God. As they depart from the Lord, they become ambitious for the gains and honors of the world. Christians are constantly seeking to imitate the practices of those who worship the god of this world. Many urge that by uniting with worldlings, and conforming to their customs, they might exert a stronger influence over the ungodly. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.7

That is what Israel said. But all who pursue this course, thereby separate from the Source of their strength. Becoming the friends of the world, they are the enemies of God. For the sake of earthly distinction, they sacrifice the unspeakable honor to which God has called them, of showing forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light... “Patriarchs and Prophets,” chap 59, par. 13. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.8

New I read on, of Israel back yonder:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.9

“Like all the nations.” The Israelites did not realize that to be in this respect unlike other nations was a special privilege and blessing. God had separated the Israelites from every other people, to make them his own peculiar treasure. But they, disregarding this high honor, eagerly desired to imitate the example of the heathen. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.10

I still read on from “Patriarchs and Prophets:”— GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.11

The days of Israel’s greatest prosperity had been those in which they acknowledged Jehovah as their King.—when the laws and the government which he had established were regarded as superior to those of all other nations. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.12

When I regard the government and the law of God as superior to that of all other nations, how can I have anything to do with the other nations? Then if I must fix up something like the other nations to govern myself, to keep myself straight, and those around me who are just like me, then do I regard the government and laws of God as superior to those that I am going to make? Then when his laws are counted by me as not superior to those I am going to make, where does that put me? GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.13

(Voices) Above God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.14

Just like the other pope; just like Nimrod,—putting myself in the place of God. No man can put himself in the place of God without putting himself above God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.15

Along with this, I have written what you will recognize as the truth:— GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.16

But all this was forgotten now, in their settled purpose to have a king, a government, a state, like all the nations. Against the Lord’s expressed will, Israel would be reckoned among the nations.... O that Israel had known in that their day, the things that belonged to their peace! O that they had believed the Lord, and had allowed that he knew, better than they, the way that they should take for their good! But against his strongest plea and most solemn warning they shut their ears and hardened their hearts, and then and there entered upon the course that, with inexorable logic, led to their annihilation both as a nation and as the chosen people. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.17

It came about, too, that the tribes were divided—the ten and the two. What became of the ten?—They had one continual course of apostasy, until they exclaimed, “We have no king.” Then the Lord came to them by the prophet Hosea, and said, I will be your King; return unto me, O Israel, thou hast fled from me; I will be your King. But they would not return; and they were carried into captivity, and lost forever. GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.18

When that was done, it was written of Judah by Hosea, “Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.” But you know that Judah went step by step, downward on the course of apostasy, until the word came, “Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.19

The Lord had to get the heathen to rule his own people. And when the Lord, by the heathen, by the government of the heathen, had preserved them until he himself came to them, they still cried out the word that they uttered in the days of Saul, “Nay; but we will have a king.” And when Christ would not be their King, they crucified him, and cried out, “We have no king but Caesar.” GCB January 1, 1897, page 39.20

When against the protest of the Lord by Samuel, they cried; “Nay; but we will have a king over us,” in that cry the Lord heard, and it is now easy for all to hear, their ultimate cry against him—“We have no king but Caesar.” In rejecting God that they might be “like all the nations,” they became like all the nations that rejected God. GCB January 1, 1897, page 40.1

The cry that they uttered against Christ at the judgment-seat of Pilate, was in that cry, “We will have a king,” which was uttered in the days of Saul; and God heard it. That is the logic of it, and there is no escaping it. And if you and I would escape it, we must turn to God with all the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and all the strength. We must get out of our country, and from our kindred, and from our father’s house. We must turn our backs upon Egypt, even though we be on the step to the throne of earthly dominion; we must step down from that, turn our backs upon it, and leave it all, and turn to God, in a living faith; and then we must dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. GCB January 1, 1897, page 40.2

Thus you see that God has been teaching his people, and the nations always, that the eternal salvation of his people, and of any man, depends upon absolute separation of church and state in the heart. GCB January 1, 1897, page 40.3