THE COMMANDMENTS.—PART 1.
By A. C. Spicer
God's Distinguishing Care of Them.
I. Belief. It is believed that the import of the Bible teaching is that God's moral law, substantially as set forth in the ten precepts of the decalogue, is and has ever been the constitution of God's moral government in the universe, the basis of his government on earth, and the rule by which he has ever administered his government of men. As such it is believed that God has ever been jealous for the honor of that law, has ever sought with pains-taking care to secure obedience to it, ever rewarding the good for obedience thereto, and punishing the disobedient for violating it. It is believed that it was for dishonoring it that the race was pronounced guilty, was driven from the garden of Eden, deprived of access to the “tree of life,” and consigned to mortality; that to secure honor to it and hence to God as law-giver, God, through his Son, at once entered into a covenant of grace and mercy with Adam, promising redemption through the sacrifice of that only and beloved Son, and salvation to the race through faith therein and obedience to the law of God; that that covenant of salvation through a crucified Redeemer was often repeated throughout the patriarchal ages, and that during all those ages God by his Son was ever untiring in personally teaching that law to man, and was ever jealous of its honor even consigning the antediluvian world to a watery grave for dishonoring it. It is believed that this moral law was the basis of the covenant with Noah that the world should not again be drowned, Gen. 9:8–17, and to secure obedience to it was the object of that covenant, as it is believed that obedience to this moral law was the “righteousness” which Noah “preached” before the flood. 1. It is clearly set forth in God's word that the moral law was the basis, and obedience to it the direct object, of the Abrahamic covenant of grace and salvation which was repeated to Isaac, to Jacob, and finally confirmed to Israel. 2. In the wilderness of Sin, the Lord especially tested the people “whether they would walk in his law, or not”; the Sabbath commandment being especially applied as the “proof.” Ex. 16. 3. Then preparatory to the rehearsal of the moral law in ten distinct commandments from Mt. Sinai, the Lord specially pre-announced his intention to further prove the people by lessons disciplining them to obedience, and required of them a solemn covenant to obey his voice and keep his law. Ex. 19. 4. That he might most emphatically impress them with the importance of his moral law, the Lord formally and with great circumspection pre-declared to the people his purpose to speak these words in their hearing, declaring the object to be, that hearing thus from him they might “believe forever,” and impressively demanded of them personal cleansing and special preparation during three days to hear them, and that they should be especially instructed and sanctified, and that even the very mountain, from the summit of which they were to be by him spoken, should be set apart as holy. 5. The Lord did so rehearse his moral law from his place on the mountain summit, in an articulate and “great voice,” “in the hearing of all the assembly” of the people, under circumstances most emphatically impressive, and accompanied by demonstrations of the Divine presence and power of the most sublime and awful grandeur ever known to man, so anxious was he to suitably impress the people with a due sense of the importance and value of that law to them. No other law, precept, commandment, statute, judgment, or ordinance was ever thus formally and personally spoken by God in the hearing of all the people. This distinction as to manner has weight in it.163 6. The distinction as to the time of giving these commandments should be carefully noted as it is an astonishingly common thing that people, and even Bible readers, connect all from the beginning of Ex. 20 to the close of that book together, making no distinction as to matter, manner, or time, in respect to the laws or instructions given from Mt. Sinai. Hence, special attention is called to the fact that the ten commandments were rehearsed from Mt. Sinai by God at a separate and distinct time from the giving of any other law or instructions therefrom, as, when the Lord had so enunciated these, “he added no more.” 7. Another very important distinction in favor of the moral law was the engraving of it by God himself, with his own finger, on the tables of enduring stone, for absolute correctness, permanent preservation, and better facilities for instruction. Mark well this characteristic distinction. It is very important as indicating God's estimate of their importance and permanently enduring character. 8. As denoting the great value God placed upon this law, and his infinite care for its preservation as engraven, attention is next called to the fact that by God's special directions a special repository was built for it at immense cost. This ark, or golden chest, was ordained to be the receptacle and sacred repository of the tables of that holy law, which it became and continued to be for more than nine hundred years thereafter. 9. Another distinguishing characteristic may be noticed here, as conferring still higher honor, if possible, upon those commandments. In giving directions for building that ark and its enclosing tabernacle and surrounding court, the Lord said, “Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” So by divine directions, a mercy-seat of pure beaten gold was constructed and placed upon the ark, also two cherubim of beaten gold, their wings stretching out over and covering the mercy-seat, to be the emblematic and visible throne of the Lord as king of Israel. He said: “Thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in command unto the children of Israel. Ex. 25:22; 29:43; 30:6, 36; Num. 17:2.” These passages show clearly that the ark was thus honored with the mercy-seat and cherubim and with being the visible earthly throne of God as king of Israel, in honor of the testimony, the ten commandments, within it, and because it contained the recorded “royal law,” the constitution of God's moral government. And those ten precepts were all the law or words of any kind that it did contain. 1 Kings 8:9, 21. Still more. That most magnificent and wondrous, divine pavilion, the emblem of Heaven itself (Heb. 9:24), the tabernacle, was built containing two apartments,—the holy place, and the most holy place, or holy of holies, into the latter of which the ark with its holy and sacred contents was placed; and there thenceforth was God's visible residence as king of Israel. Ex. 40:34, 35, a most sacred and holy place indeed (Lev. 16:2), where the Lord often manifested his glory. On that mercy-seat above that ark, and because it contained the law of God, the shekinah, the symbol of the Divine presence, rested for the next nine hundred and seven years, both in the tabernacle and great temple, and until, on account of the sins of Israel, God permitted its removal or destruction at the destruction of the temple; and from thence were the divine oracles given out in an audible voice whenever the Lord was consulted by the man of God in behalf of his people. Mark well these distinguishing characteristics of the moral law. They are highly important. They were thus loudly spoken by God himself, that the people might hear them from him personally, and “believe forever.” They were thus engraven by God himself with his own finger, that it might be known that they came directly from him without the interposition or mediation of either men or angels, that they might be known to be correct; and on stone, that they might be enduring; and so engraven, preserved in the ark and honored by the visible presence of the Lord, that they might be ever had and regarded with scrupulous reverence as divine oracles and the will of the Almighty. 10. That ark, containing those sacred tables of the law, and because it contained them, was thenceforward borne by sanctified men with reverential step and mien, in all the journeyings, changes, and removals, of the Israelites, and protected and preserved by them with the most scrupulous, religious care, and was finally deposited in the holy of holies in Solomon's temple. During all those long centuries, God accepted it as his visible earthly throne, and its tabernacle and appointments as his earthly sanctuary; and the people held it in highest reverence and respect as such, because it contained in sacred deposit the moral, constitutional precepts of God. 11. God further characterized those moral precepts by distinguishingly honoring those who honored them and cursing those who dishonored them, and by working many miracles by their presence. But once a year only, on the great day of expiation to make atonement for the people, was even the high priest permitted to enter the holy of holies into its sacred presence. In the passage of Jordan by the Israelites under Joshua, as soon as the feet of the priests bearing the ark before the people touched the water, its waters divided, leaving the bottom of the river bare, the waters being holden back above for many miles and sustained there while the ark was borne and supported in the midst of Jordan till all the people had passed over. When the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines (which was permitted because Israel dishonored the law it contained), and was placed in the temple of their idol Dagon, that idol immediately fell down and was broken into pieces before it; and in punishment for retaining the ark those people were so afflicted with emeroids that they voluntarily returned it to the Israelites. At Bethshemesh, for profanely looking into it, the people incurred the Divine displeasure, and fifty thousand of them were struck dead on the spot. Uzzah was struck dead instantly for distrustingly attempting to steady it with unsanctified hands while being removed in a cart by David. This awful judgment filled even king David with great terror. However, after a while, he had it conveyed to Jerusalem, where it was looked upon as the most sacred object of reverence on earth, not even excepting the magnificent temple of Solomon. Because that was accepted as God's visible throne in his earthly sanctuary, from which to dispense divine counsels and laws, from which to commune with his people and manifest his glory as their rightful legislator and governor, that thenceforth was the center of interest to the Israelites, not only in the tabernacle, but in the temple. It was so regarded by the Jews everywhere in their dispersion throughout the whole world; so did they honor the law. No other law or words were ever so honored. Has not God “magnified his law and made it honorable,” indeed? Reader, hast thou been taught those holy precepts? Dost thou believe them? Hast thou honored them? And dost thou keep the Christian covenant promise, “All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and be obedient”?