9. God has always wanted people to spend time with Him, so with what word does He start to speak of the time He set aside to be with us? Exodus 20:8.
NOTE: ‘“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It is the only commandment which is prefaced with a “remember,” as though God had said, “Do not forget it.” He has given to man the Sabbath as a memorial of creation. Man is to obey His command, and as he observes this memorial, the mind will be directed to the living God, who created the heavens and the earth. If man had always remembered to keep holy the Sabbath, there would never have been an atheist or an infidel in our world.’ Review & Herald, December 18, 1888.
‘All heaven is keeping the Sabbath, but not in a listless, do-nothing way. On this day every energy of the soul should be awake, for are we not to meet with God and with Christ our Saviour? We may behold Him by faith. He is longing to refresh and bless every soul.’ Counsels for the Church, page 267.
10. What is the natural tendency in human beings towards God, in contrast to the faithfulness of animals? Isaiah 1:2-3. Compare Jeremiah 8:7.
NOTE: ‘Whom do the ox and the ass recognise as their lord and master? The answer is easy; it is the one who feeds them. The ass knows the crib of his lord. He knows where he finds his sustenance. And the beasts show their recognition of their owner by bending their necks to the burden which the master lays upon them. They give service to the one from whom they receive their support. Does some one say that this does not require very much discernment on the part of the beasts? Then what shall be said of the children whom God has nourished? If the recognition of a master is so simple a thing that even a beast is not considered as specially worthy of credit for submitting to the hand that feeds him, what language can express the stupidity of men who do not know the Lord “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy?” even ”life, and breath, and all things.” Remember that man was made to be the lord of the beasts, and as such is designed to be infinitely above the beasts in knowledge. What excuse can be made for him then, when he is ignorant of that which the slowest witted of beasts know perfectly well?’ E. J. Waggoner: Present Truth, December 29, 1898.