The Consequence of One Departure From Right These things are a repetition of the course of Aaron, when at the foot of Sinai he allowed the first beginning of wrong by permitting a spirit of reveling and commonness to come into the camp of Israel. Moses was in the mount with God, and Aaron had been left in charge. He showed his weakness by not standing firmly against the propositions of the people. He could have exercised his authority to hold the congregation back from wrong- doing; but just as in his home he failed with his children, so he showed the same defective administration in his management of Israel. His weakness as a general was seen in his desire to please the people, even at the sacrifice of principle. He lost his power of command at the very first permission that he gave which allowed them to go contrary to God's commands in the least particular. And as a result the spirit of idolatry came in, and the current set in motion could not be stayed until stern and decisive measu…
"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play."
EGW explicitly refers to the story of Aaron and the golden calf in Exodus 32, drawing parallels between Aaron's weakness and the teachers' mistakes. She directly references the events and consequences described in the biblical passage.
"Turning to the teachers, He said, “You have made a mistake the effects of which it will be hard to efface. The Lord God of Israel is not glorified in the school. If at this time the Lord should permit your life to end, many would be lost, eternally separated from God and the righteous.” CT 351.1"
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
EGW's statement about glorifying God in the school aligns with the principle in 1 Corinthians 10:31, which calls for all actions to be done to the glory of God. The EGW passage applies this principle to the context of education.
"It took time and a vast amount of labor and sorrow to wipe out the influence of the proceedings at the Avondale school on that Wednesday afternoon. But the experience was a lesson that helped those in charge of the school to realize the tendency of such amusements. CT 351.3"
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The EGW passage describes the consequences of actions at the Avondale school, directly reflecting the principle of reaping what you sow from Galatians 6:7.