"The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, “How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?” Exodus 16:28 . DA 283.1"
"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?"
EGW directly quotes Exodus 16:28 to support her point about the Sabbath being known before Sinai.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."
While Exodus 20:8 is the fourth commandment, the connection is thematic. EGW uses the general idea of the Sabbath commandment to support her argument, but it's not a direct quote or explicit allusion.
"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.” So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. “From one Sabbath to another” the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up “to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” Matthew 5:18 ; Isaiah 66:23 . DA 283.2"
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
EGW directly quotes Matthew 5:18 to support her point about the law's permanence.
"And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."
Ellen White directly references Isaiah 66:23 in this passage.
"No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” the Lord said also to them, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.” Exodus 20:8 ; 22:31 . Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. DA 283.3"
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."
Ellen White directly references Exodus 20:8 in this passage.
"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."
The EGW passage discusses the Sabbath as a sign of separation and connection with God, which aligns with the concept in Exodus 31:13. The verse explicitly states the Sabbath is a sign.
"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy."
EGW connects the idea of keeping the Sabbath holy with the need for personal holiness, echoing the principle in Leviticus 19:2, which calls for holiness because God is holy.
As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their…
"But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
Both passages address the issue of traditions and interpretations of God's commandments that contradict the original intent. While Matthew 15:3 is a specific instance, the EGW passage discusses a broader pattern of the Jewish leaders' actions. The connection is thematic, showing how human traditions can obscure God's true character.