"After the return from Babylon, much attention was given to religious instruction. All over the country, synagogues were erected, where the law was expounded by the priests and scribes. And schools were established, which, together with the arts and sciences, professed to teach the principles of righteousness. But these agencies became corrupted. During the captivity, many of the people had received heathen ideas and customs, and these were brought into their religious service. In many things they conformed to the practices of idolaters. DA 29.1"
"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."
Both passages discuss the reading and exposition of the law after the return from Babylon. Nehemiah 8:8 describes the positive aspect of understanding the law, while the EGW passage describes the subsequent corruption of that system. The EGW passage amplifies the context surrounding the reading of the law.
"As they departed from God, the Jews in a great degree lost sight of the teaching of the ritual service. That service had been instituted by Christ Himself. In every part it was a symbol of Him; and it had been full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms. They trusted to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of resting upon Him to whom they pointed. In order to supply the place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride and hypocrisy. DA 29.2"
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Both passages address the issue of empty religious formalism and the substitution of human traditions for genuine worship. Matthew 15:9 is a direct condemnation of this practice by Jesus, while the EGW passage describes how this played out in the Jewish religious system. The EGW passage provides a specific example of the principle Jesus condemns.
"With all their minute and burdensome injunctions, it was an impossibility to keep the law. Those who desired to serve God, and who tried to observe the rabbinical precepts, toiled under a heavy burden. They could find no rest from the accusings of a troubled conscience. Thus Satan worked to discourage the people, to lower their conception of the character of God, and to bring the faith of Israel into contempt. He hoped to establish the claim put forth when he rebelled in heaven,—that the requirements of God were unjust, and could not be obeyed. Even Israel, he declared, did not keep the law. DA 29.3"
"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"
Both passages discuss the unbearable burden of legalistic requirements. Acts 15:10 speaks against imposing such a yoke on new believers, while the EGW passage describes the effect of rabbinical precepts on those who tried to follow them. The EGW passage provides a specific historical example of the principle discussed in Acts.
"While the Jews desired the advent of the Messiah, they had no true conception of His mission. They did not seek redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break the oppressor's power, and exalt Israel to universal dominion. Thus the way was prepared for them to reject the Saviour. DA 29.4"
"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone."
Both passages highlight the Jews' expectation of a Messiah who would deliver them from political oppression rather than from sin. John 6:15 shows the people's desire to make Jesus king by force, while the EGW passage explains the underlying reasons for this desire. The EGW passage provides context for the event in John.