DAY 80    Read Psalm 119:89-176.

Today's reading:  We read the last half of this longest chapter in the Bible--a poetic tribute to the value of God's Word.

Memory gem:  "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"  (Psalm 119:105).

Thought for today:
The Bible changes things.  When the crew of the Bounty mutinied and landed on lonely Pitcairn Island, they burned the ship to hide all trace of their existence.  There were nine white sailors and seventeen Polynesians--six men and eleven women.  One of the sailors discovered a method of making alcohol, and the island was soon debauched with drunkenness, vice, and bloodshed.  Finally only one of the sailors survived, Alexander Smith, surrounded by the women and children.  In one of the chests taken from the Bounty, he found a Bible and began to teach its principles to the people on the island, with the result that his own life was changed, and at last the life of the whole colony.

In 1808, nearly twenty years after the mutineers with their followers had landed on Pitcairn Island, the S.S. Topaz put a boat ashore there and found a prosperous community without drunkenness, without crime, without a jail, and with no insanity.  The Bible had changed the life of that island, and it has remained a monument of God's grace to this day.

So it is in every age--the Holy Scriptures make things safe.  They change things, they illuminate the dark places of the earth, as it is written in Psalm 119:130: "The entrance of thy words giveth light."

DAY 79    Read Psalm 119:1-88.

Today's reading takes another departure from the strictly historical narrative.  We have finished the books of Moses; it is appropriate that we consider the psalmist's evaluation of God's Word--His recorded communication with humanity.

Memory gem:  "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law"  (Psalm 119:18).

Thought for today:
A colporteur selling Bible portions was held up at the point of a revolver in a Sicillian forest in the dead of night and ordered to light a bonfire and burn his books.  Having made the fire, he asked if he might read a brief selection from each book before consigning it to the flames.  From one he read the twenty-third psalm, from another the parable of the Good Samaritan, from another the Sermon on the Mount, from another Paul's hymn of love, and so on.

After the reading of each extract the brigand who had held him up exclaimed: "That's a good book.  We won't burn that one.  Give it to me."  In the end, not a book was burned but passed, one by one, into the brigand's hands.  He then went off, books and all, into the darkness.

Years later this same man happened to meet the colporteur, but this time as an ordained Christian minister.  Telling his story, he said, "It was the reading of your books that did it."

Yes, the Bible is a book that changes things--it changes people.  Victor Hugo once said, "England has two books--one which she made, and the other which made her--Shakespeare and the Bible."

Wherever the Bible has gone it has changed civilization by changing people.  Why is this?  If you want to start life over, if you want a new birth, then read the Bible, believe the Bible, obey the Bible.  It is the living Word of God.  Faith will grow in your heart.  You will see that the Bible reveals a man--the Man, Christ Jesus--from Genesis to Revelation.  If you will accept Him, the living Word of God, as your atoning sacrifice, as your Saviour and Lord, you will find salvation here and now.  You will have joy here, and the certainty of everlasting life in the world to come.  So, read the Bible!

DAY 78    Read Deuteronomy 32 through 34.

Today's reading brings us the song of Moses, his last blessing on Israel, and a sequel probably written by Joshua (chapter 34).

Memory gem:  "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face"  (Deuteronomy 34:10).

Thought for today:
Moses climbed the mountain, from the top of which he could look across the Jordan into the Promised Land.  He saw the land, but could not enter it.  After this wonderful vision, he died there alone, with God Himself.  "Moses the servant of the Lord died there....And he [the Lord] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day"  (Deuteronomy 34:5, 6).

What a story!  No man was with Moses when he died.  No man dug his grave.  Satan knew his grave.  Satan, the enemy of God and man, who had led Moses to commit the one sin that kept him out of the Land of Promise, contended for his body, as it written: "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee"  (Jude 9).

Moses, the man of God, did arrive at last in the Land of Canaan.  He was resurrected from the dead.  How do we know this?  The answer is, he appeared with Elijah (who never died and was taken to heaven by translation) on the mount of transfiguration, to speak with Jesus Christ, our Lord, as recorded in Luke 9.

Just think of it, Moses, who was not permitted to enter the Promised Land because of his sin at the waters of strife, was by the grace of God raised from the dead and permitted to appear on the mount of transfiguration in the Land of Canaan.  He encouraged Jesus as He faced His death on the cross.  Moses, a man raised from the dead, could speak with Jesus and encourage Him.

----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Deuteronomy 32:4.  "Rock"--the first of thirty Old Testament uses of this word in reference to the Lord.  The Bible specifically states that the Rock was Christ.  See 1 Corinthians 10:4.
Deuteronomy 32:15.  "Jeshurun"--a poetical name for Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:44.  "Hoshea"--Joshua.

DAY 77    Read Deuteronomy 29 through 31.

Today's reading:  Moses foretells the conditions that would come as a result of obedience or of disobedience.

Memory gem:  "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil"  (Deuteronomy 30:15).

Thought for today:
Are there things in the Bible hard to understand?  That is the way it ought to be.  If the Bible were a common book, we would read it through once and understand everything in it.  In Deuteronomy 29:20 we read: "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever."

Sometimes young people go through a stage in which they feel confident of success in attacking any problem.  They have an idea that things are different now from what they have ever been before.  Of course, this is really a good thing, or they wouldn't have the faith and courage to tackle many great problems, to bring fresh viewpoints and energy to the task before them.  This doesn't mean, however, that they are always wise and can settle every question.  There is a great mysterious world around us which can be known only by revelation, and that from God.  So it is good in youth to accept the Word of God and to find in it the answers to all life's problems.

Oh, friend, open up the Book of God and go deeper down for the truth and the light.  From the dark unknown comes the light.  In the beginning God caused the light to shine out of darkness (see Genesis 1:3).  So in this great Book you will find where man came from--God created him.  You will find where is going--to heaven or hell.  You will find how he should live--in the way of God's commandments.  You will find how he may be saved--"by grace...through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God"  (Ephesians 2:8).

DAY 76    Read Deuteronomy 27 and 28.

Today's reading:  Moses gives explicit instructions, including the words of blessing and of cursing that were to be used for the solemn service on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

Memory gem:  "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out"  (Deuteronomy 28:6).

Thought for today:
In the Rocky Mountains of western Canada one comes to the Great Divide.  In fact, you see a sign by the road, "The Great Divide"; but there is no great mountain.  You are not climbing up a ragged cliff and looking thousands of feet on either side.  You are not on top of a gigantic ridge.  The change is so gradual you don't notice it.  A little spring comes forth and trickles along and strikes a rock.  Each drop of water seems to hesitate--one goes to the right side of this little stone, one to the left.  That which goes to the left goes down to those great rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean--into the frozen zone of ice and snow and cold, the long winter midnight.  The other drop that hesitates finally turns to the right and goes down to the Fraser River into the Pacific Ocean and washes the shores of Hawaii and islands of the tropics.

There might be a Great Divide for you, just now.  You may not know it, you may not feel it, and you may not even see it.  You may be trembling on the great decision, the width of a hair, as it were, in your own heart.  You might be a church member; but still some decision,which here and not at this moment may seem little, but could change your whole life for all eternity, for all ages to come.

Make that decision now.  May the good Lord speak to your heart through His Holy Spirit.  I only wish I could speak to you with the love and kindness and blessing and power of Jesus.  May our dear heavenly Father help you to put Christ above all and at last be with Him forever.

DAY 75    Read Deuteronomy 24 through 26; Psalm 90.

Today's reading has instructions about being fair to the poor, to widows, and to servants.  Tucked in among other civil laws we find a warning to deal justly in business.  Also we read a psalm, apparently composed by Moses near the end of his earthly life.

Memory gem:  "O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days"  (Psalm 90:14).

Thought for today:
"An honest man, according to Christ's measurement, is one who will manifest unbending integrity.  Deceitful weights and false balances, with which many seek to advance their interests in the world, are abomination in the sight of God.  Yet many who profess to keep the commandments of God are dealing with false weights and false balances.  When a man is indeed connected with God and is keeping His law in truth, his life will reveal the fact; for all his actions will be in harmony with the teachings of Christ.  He will not sell his honor for gain.  His principles are built upon the sure foundation, and his conduct in worldly matters is a transcript of his principles.  Firm integrity shines forth as gold amid the dross and rubbish of the world.  Deceit, falsehood, and unfaithfulness may be glossed over and hidden from the eyes of man, but not from the eyes of God.  The angels of God, who watch the development of character and weigh moral worth, record in the books of heaven these minor transactions which reveal character.  If a workman in the daily vocations of life is unfaithful and slights his work, the world will not judge incorrectly if they estimate his standards in religion according to his standards in business....

"It is not the magnitude of the matter that makes it fair or unfair.  As a man deals with his fellowmen, so will he deal with God....The children of God should not fail to remember that in all their business transactions they are being proved, weighed in the balances of the sanctuary."--Testimonies, vol. 4, pp. 310311.

DAY 74    Read Deuteronomy 21 through 23.

Today's reading gives us another look at the civil laws governing many aspects of community living in the ancient Israelite commonwealth.

Memory gem:  "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it"  (Ephesians 5:25).

Thought for today:
We are talking today about the victims of divorce.  There are at least three, and others to a minor extent--the husband, the wife, and especially the children.  Many a divorce could be avoided if the wronged party were willing to forgive and forget.

When a child is deprived of a father or mother, he is cheated out of half his home.  Remarriage often occasions jealousy, so the child suffers mentally, spiritually, and often physically.  He becomes baffled, ashamed, embittered.  When he tries to hide the situation from his friends, maladjustments follow which affect his entire life as well as the lives of others with whom he comes in contact.  Children desire to belong to somebody and to be somebody.

These children are "orphans of divorce."  Without a doubt, a great deal of our modern juvenile delinquency comes from broken homes, and these orphans of divorce are more likely to acquire dishonest habits, lax morals, and perverted personalities than are children who have the security of a normal home.

Homelife is the foundation of civilization.  It is the foundation of every solid nation.  The breakup of the home, of which divorce is the outward evidence, is the great danger facing every civilized government of earth, directly or indirectly.  The victims of divorce are not only the heartbroken husband and wife, embittered, skeptical, dissatisfied; the children uprooted and denied the association of a father or mother; but society itself, the world itself.

----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Deuteronomy 22:19.  "Amerce"--fine.
Deuteronomy 23:18.  "Dog"--not a canine animal, but the "sodomite" of verse 17.

DAY 73    Read Deuteronomy 17 through 20.

Today's reading mentions again the cities of refuge that were to be established in the land.

Memory gem:  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Thought for today:
Now let us look for a moment at the beautiful and pure gospel that is taught by the cities of refuge.  The apostle seems to refer to them in Hebrews 6:18, when he says that "we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."  And in Philippians 3:9, he speaks of believers as being found in Christ.  By the shedding of His own blood, our merciful Saviour has provided a sure retreat for the repentant transgressors of God's law.  The refuge of Christ provides pardon for the repentant sinner, and there no power on earth can destroy him.  Says the apostle Paul: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"  (Romans 8:1).

He who fled to the city of refuge could not delay.  He had to leave his family, his house, his property, his job--everything!  He had no time to say good-bye.  His life was at stake, so he couldn't wait, or delay, or neglect, or procrastinate.  He had to forsake everything and make one supreme effort to reach the city of refuge before the avenger of blood found him.  He did not walk--he fled, he ran.

And so it is with those who are sinners, without Christ.  Let me say just now: Do not wait--do not delay--"now is the accepted time"  (2 Corinthians 6:2).

DAY 72    Read Deuteronomy 14 through 16.

Today's reading covers a number of the rules and regulations governing the Hebrew economy.  Among other things it lists again the clean and unclean meats.

Memory gem:  "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself"  (Deuteronomy 14:2).

Thought for today:
The health laws written down by Moses forbade the use of unclean animal foods and particularly the flesh of swine (see Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14).  Dr. David Macht, a noted authority on drug and animal poisons, squeezed out the juices of more than seventy different species of fish and injected them into mice, and also used them in  tests on seedling plants.  Tissue extracts from unclean fish killed some of the mice and retarded the growth of the seedlings.  Extracts from the edible fish were seen to have no injurious effects on either mice or plants.

It was not until 1847 that Joseph Leidy discovered in pork the parasitic worm Trichinella spiralis.  If this is why the use of swine's flesh as food was forbidden by God in the law of Moses, we are not told; but certainly modern science has at least one good reason to be wary of it.  Who wants to be infected by trichina worms?  But the fact is that millions are and wonder what is wrong with them.  Unless pork products are thoroughly cooked, there is always a dangerous possibility of trichina infection.

If any reader wishes to encourage himself to avoid the danger of eating such infected meat, I suggest that he write to the United States Department of Agriculture and request the bulletin on trichinosis.

One of the greatest prophets of the Bible wrote about certain ones who continually provoked the Lord to His face.  You can read it for yourself in Isaiah 65, verses 3 and 4.

----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Deuteronomy 14:2.  "Peculiar people"--better: private or treasured, the real meaning of "peculiar."

DAY 71    Read Deuteronomy 11 through 13.

Today's reading:  Moses repeats warnings against various kinds of false religion.

Memory gem:  "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice"  (Deuteronomy 13:4).

Thought for today:
The Voice of Prophecy, we believe, is a part of the great worldwide proclamation calling men away from modern idols to the worship of the God who created all things.  And just now, as the universe itself is seen to be greater than men ever dreamed, so our God is greater than men have ever known.  The God who marshals the electrons in their ceaseless vibrations finds nothing too little in our lives to draw His interest, and the God who guides the constellations in their ceaseless march amid the uncounted universe revealed by modern astronomy is great enough to look after all of our affairs.  Let us worship Him.

Where are the modern idols placed--these idols that usurp the place of the living God?  In Ezekiel 14:3 we read the secret of their power: "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts."

Modern men do not believe in the lesser gods of antiquity--the graven images, the sacred trees, the fetishes--but in spite of this fact, millions are polytheists.  They no longer think of Mars as a person, of Saturn as a sacred deity; but men today worship the things for which these ancient pagan idols stood with the same devotion as was shown in the long ago.  No longer do men bow at the shrine of Venus, the goddess of immorality; but the things for which Venus stood, still enslave and defile millions.  Men today never dream of worshiping Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry, but he has never been shown greater honor nor had more willing worshipers, though they know it not.

This challenge comes to us today: "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth"  (Revelation 14:7).

Let us turn from these modern idols of the heart--turn to the living and true God as revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ.