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Commentary on "The Fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness"

PHIL HARRIS

 

Day 7: Friday, February 19, 2010

 

Overview

Today’s lesson is centered around this quote from the pen of Ellen White:

“But like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste and no delay. Through the symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace, God had revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, and had declared that the time of their sojourning should be four hundred years. ‘Afterward,’ He said, ‘shall they come out with great substance.’ Gen. 15:14. Against that word, all the power of Pharaoh’s proud empire battled in vain. On ‘the self-same day’ appointed in the divine promise, ‘it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.’ Ex. 12:41. So in heaven’s council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 32, emphasis supplied.

 

Observations

Four hundred years of sojourning?

A careful reading of the Bible reveals something different than what is stated by Ellen. First, depending on where you read, a ‘biblical generation’ could be of different lengths because it is with reference to the current life span of the people and is not a standardized measurement of time. In Gen. 15:14 God tells Abram that their time of affliction would be four hundred years. Their time of sojourning in Egypt was of a longer time span and included the initial time of peace and rest that did not last. Gen. 15:14 simply states that they would leave during the time of the fourth generation. When we turn to Exodus 12:40-41 we learn that the actual time of their total sojourning was four hundred and thirty years. The Bible is consistent, Ellen is not. Since she referenced this passage she should have noticed the conflict.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, (Gen. 15:18 ESV)

The “symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace” confirmed God’s promise that Abram’s offspring would possess this land of promise before Abram even had offspring. It was only secondary to the promise that they would both enter and leave the land of Egypt. Read all of Gen. 15:1-21 for the real meaning of these symbols. Also, God had not yet changed his name to ‘Abraham’.

At the end of years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. (Ex. 12:41 ESV)

With reference to Exodus 12:41, she makes the statement; “So in heaven’s council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.”

Really? Read again the verse for yourself. While there are passages that foretell of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, this isn’t one of them.

 

Summary

  1. The point of drawing attention to these inconsistent details when examining Ellen’s writings is to reveal the danger and conflict of placing value on her words instead of simply turning to the known word of God.
  2. Only in Scripture will you find ‘the words of life’, the source of faith that only comes from God and find eternal peace and rest. God’s word is true, consistent and eternal. Ellen’s words contain none of those qualities.

 

 

Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised January 11, 2010. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.

The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.

 

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