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Appendix B Typical Temperance Addresses By Ellen G. White
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their minds became so beclouded that they could not distinguish
between sacred and common things. By the offering of “strange
fire,” they disregarded God’s command, and they were slain by His
judgments. The Lord, through Moses, expressly prohibited the use
of wine and strong drink by those who were to minister in holy
things, that they might “put difference between holy and unholy,”
and might teach “the statutes which the Lord hath spoken.” The effect
of intoxicating liquors is to weaken the body, confuse the mind, and
debase the morals. All who occupied positions of responsibility
were to be men of strict temperance, that their minds might be clear
to discriminate between right and wrong, that they might possess
firmness of principle, and wisdom to administer justice and to show
mercy.
This direct and solemn command was to extend from generation
to generation, to the close of time. In our legislative halls and courts
of justice, no less than in our schools and churches, men of principle
are needed; men of self-control, of keen perceptions and sound
judgment. If the mind is beclouded or the principles debased by
intemperance, how can the judge render a just decision? He has
rendered himself incapable of weighing evidence or entering into
critical investigation; he has not moral power to rise above motives of
self-interest or the influence of partiality or prejudice. And because
of this a human life may be sacrificed, or an innocent man robbed of
his liberty or of the fair fame which is dearer than life itself. God
has forbidden that those to whom He has committed sacred trusts as
teachers or rulers of the people should thus unfit themselves for the
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duties of their high position.
Instruction to Manoah and Zacharias
—There is a lesson for
parents in the instruction given to the wife of Manoah, and to
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. The angel of the Lord
brought the tidings that Manoah should become the father of a son
who was to deliver Israel; and in reply to the anxious inquiry, “How
shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” the angel
gave special directions for the mother: “Neither let her drink wine
or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her
let her observe.” The child will be affected, for good or evil, by the
habits of the mother. She must herself be controlled by principle,