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THE ANTE-MOSAIC ORIGIN OF LAW

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 17, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 51.

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THE ANTE-MOSAIC ORIGIN OF LAW.

By Wm. Penniman

Both the Ceremonial and the Moral.

In the book of Genesis we have a record of the origin of the heavens and the earth, and also the origin of man, of the Sabbath, of language, of the institution of marriage, of nomadic life, of music, and of some handicrafts. Then why should we not expect to find here the origin of law? The so-called Mosaic laws did not all originate with Moses. In germ and in special form many of them existed in patriarchal times. The records of the book of Genesis clearly prove this, as there are incidental references to laws and usages which afterward became a part of the Mosaic code. The following are examples:—
1. The firstlings of the flock were sacrificed. Gen. 4:4; Num. 18:17.
2. In Gen. 4:14, 15 there is a reference to the law of blood revenge. Compare Deuteronomy 19, where this law is restricted.
3. A distinction is made between clean and unclean beasts. Gen. 7:2; 8:20; with Leviticus 11.
4. The eating of blood was prohibited. Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26, 27.
5. Circumcision was first instituted in patriarchal times. Gen. 17:10; Ex. 12:44; Lev. 12:3.
6. The law of levirate marriages was recognized. Gen. 38:8, 9, 11, 26; compare Deut. 25:5-10.
More examples could be given; but the preceding are sufficient to prove the point.
We next notice the allusions to the moral law. We read: “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” Rom. 4:15. And we know that “sin is the transgression of the law,” and so “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” 1 John 3:4; Rom. 3:20. The law is the looking-glass of which James speaks. See James 1:23, 24. Let us see if they did not have this glass in patriarchal times.
In Gen. 26:4, 5 we read the promise of God that all nations should be blessed through the seed of Abraham, “because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Then there were laws in the time of Abraham. We will look into the ten-commandment code given on Sinai, and see what we find that was given before there was a Jew in existence.
In Ex. 20:3 is given the law against idolatry, which teaches the worship of the true God. Did not Eve first, and then Adam, break this law when they made a god of appetite in partaking of the forbidden fruit? And did not Cain break it by his extreme covetousness in withholding the required offering?
In Ex. 20:4 is given the law against image-worship. Jacob, moved by the Spirit of God, commanded his household to put away the strange gods from among them. Gen. 35:2, 4.
In Ex. 20:7 is recorded the law against profanity. This law was broken by Pharaoh (Ex. 5:2), and by Mrs. Job (Job 2:9). According to Bible chronology, the law was given B.C. 1491, and the chronology of the book of Job is placed at B.C. 1520.
The Sabbath law is given in Ex. 20:8-11.
1. When was the Sabbath made?
In the creation, before the fall. Gen. 2:2, 3.
2. By whom was it made?
By Christ. Mark 2:28; John 1:3, 10; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:13-17; Heb. 1:2. Then let it be noticed by the reader that “all things were made by Him” (Christ). John 1:3. The Sabbath is among the “all things;” therefore He made it.
3. For whom was it made?
For man. Gen. 2:2, 3; Mark 2:27. According to the texts quoted, it is plain that the word “God” in Gen. 2:2, 3, means Jesus Christ.
It is also evident from the same texts that Christ gave the example for rest on the first seventh day. He did not give the example of a seventh-portion-of-time rest, but of the particular day.
The Sabbath was not sanctified or set apart for God’s use, but for man’s. No other day of the week was made holy; therefore no other day can be kept as a holy day. God is never weary (Isa. 40:28); therefore the holy rest was an example for man. As God’s rest was a divine or spiritual rest, so man’s should be; and no one but a holy or spiritual person can truly keep it. As God’s refreshment was spiritual, so man’s should be.
The Sabbath is God’s memorial. Ps. 135:13. It distinguishes God as the great creator of the heavens and the earth. The word “remember,” which introduces the commandment, implies that it was an existing institution at the time the law was given on Sinai. God knew man would be liable to forget it, hence the injunction to “remember” it.
The reader will see how highly God regarded and honored His Sabbaths by His act in giving the people a double portion of manna on the sixth day. Ex. 16:4, 5. We learn also that He wished to “prove them” whether they would walk in His law or not. Read carefully all that is said of the Sabbath in Exodus 16, and mark that this is a record of events that occurred in connection with the Sabbath before the re-enactment of the law on Sinai.
There is much said about the “old Jewish Sabbath,” and the “old Jewish law.” With the same propriety we might talk of a Jewish God. We think, therefore, it has been briefly proved that there was a law and a Sabbath before there was a Jew; and that both the law and the Sabbath were for man.
In Ex. 20:12 the law for honoring parents is given. Ham was punished for breaking this law (Genesis 9); also Reuben. Gen. 49:4; 35:22.
In Ex. 20:13 is recorded the law against killing. Cain broke it (Gen. 4:8); Lamech also (Gen. 4:23); and the penalty is given in Gen. 9:6.
In Ex. 20:14 is the law against adultery. This sin is mentioned in Gen. 20:6. Joseph also called it a great sin. Gen. 39:9.
The law against theft is recorded in Ex. 20:15. In Gen. 44:4 theft is said to be an evil.
In Ex. 20:16 is the command against lying. God condemns it. See Gen. 3:13, 14; Job 13:4; Gen. 20:13-17.
Ex. 20:17 gives the command against covetousness. This law was broken by Laban (Gen. 31:41, 42); also by Jacob and Esau. This command strikes at the root of all sin; for covetousness is idolatry. Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5; James 2:10. Peter speaks of the unlawful deeds of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. 2 Peter 2:8. How could they be unlawful, if the law did not exist at that time?
But why multiply words on this subject? Away with the foolish assertion that the law was given only on Sinai to the Jews, and that we are not to keep the “Jewish Sabbath,” because we are not under the law, but under grace. We are not under the penalty of the law so long as we obey it.
May the Lord open the eyes of the people who are willing to have them opened, that they may see the clear sunlight of His truth, is my earnest prayer. Wm. Penniman.
Woodburn, Ill.