But in quoting the law of God engraved on the two tables of stone at this time, Moses changes the fourth commandment. The children of Israel have made the successful transition from slaves in Egypt to members of the independent community soon to enter the promised land. The Sabbath becomes a sign of freedom, a symbol of the creation of the new community out of the old. Moses dares to modify the original text, the text written in stone, in order to make the same basic instruction from God relevant in a new social context. Ellen White strongly objected to a literalist reading of her own writings that makes no allowance for new situations.
Circumstances alter conditions.
The Bible presents many examples of how later interpreters followed a non-literal reading of the older texts. When Jesus presented his messages to the Jewish people of his day, the Palestinian community had changed and the sacred text had been enlarged by prophets and poets. To make the ancient text dynamic and meaningful again Jesus often bypassed the literal reading for the principle behind the text. The sacred texts for the Adventist church are dated. They were produced in other times, in other places, and addressed to other cultures.