The Law of Ten Commandments.
By Editor
ONE of our Oakland missionary workers has handed us a long letter which was received from a correspondent in an Eastern State. The writer intimates that it may be published; but we have no idea of giving it the room. We have no doubt that the writer believes that the letter contains strong and unanswerable arguments, while we are equally firm in the conviction that it is replete with unwarranted assumptions. Only one, and a material point we hold it to be, we will notice. Thus it speaks:— "But this instrument, document, code, decalogue, or whatever men please to designate it, is never called law." This statement is made in order to deprive the ten commandments of the benefit of certain expressions in the Bible concerning the completeness, the perfection, and the perpetuity of the law. And when this statement is disproved, what a fund of inference is rendered unavailable. To prove that the word of God calls the ten commandments, not only law, but the law, is not a difficult matter. The writer suffers himself to be needlessly misled by his idea of the word "covenant." It is very broad in its signification, embracing a variety of things. As used in Gen. 9, to Noah, it is a promise only; in Gen. 21 : 22-32, by Abraham and Abimelech, it is a mutual agreement; in Ex. 19 : 5-8, it is an agreement with conditions; in Deut. 4 : 12, 13, referring to that which God spoke on Mount Sinai, it is a law,—a covenant which he commanded them to perform; and in 2 Kings 23 : 2, 3, it is both an agreement and a law; the people made a covenant (an agreement) to keep the covenant (the commandments and testimonies) written in the book. The reader will please turn to this text and mark it well. The definition of the word "covenant," as given in the lexicons, covers all these. Hence, a law is always a covenant, while a covenant may be a law. "A law" is one definition of covenant. Now we notice a few Scripture facts. 3. He wrote the ten commandments in two tables of stone; and he wrote them only on those tables. See texts given above, and Ex. 31 : 18; 32 : 15, 16, etc. Bear in mind that the commandments which God spoke are specified as ten; Deut. 4 : 13; called "the ten words," see margin of Ex. 34 : 28. From this expression, ten words, comes the word decalogue. The word decalogue, as applied to the ten commandments, is strictly Biblical. 4. In Ex. 24 : 12, that which was written on the tables of stone is called "the law." Literally it reads as follows: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments, which I have written, that thou mayst teach them." The Revision follows the Hebrew literally, and renders the text as above. Thus the position of the writer of the assertion above quoted is abundantly disproved, and that by positive statements of the Bible. 5. And our point is further proved as follows. The Lord said to Israel, "For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices; but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people." Jer. 7 : 22, 23. This refers to Ex. 19 and 20, in the first of which he used these words to them, through Moses, and in the second they heard his voice, the ten commandments, and hence knew to what he referred when he said, Obey my voice. Thus again are the ten words separated from other laws, such as those concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 6. And again he said: "Hear, O earth; behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me." Jer. 6 : 19, 20. Here is made precisely the same distinction that is made in chap. 7 : 22, 23. In that it was drawn between obeying his voice, and offering burnt offerings and sacrifices. Here the distinction is drawn between keeping his law, and offering burnt offerings and sacrifices. They brought their sacrifices and offerings, but rejected his law. Hence, that which he calls his law, that which he spoke with his voice, is distinct from offerings and sacrifices. His law was the ten commandments; the law of sacrifices he did not speak to them, but gave it through Moses. Considering how thoroughly people are indoctrinated in human traditions, and how inferences are accepted as proof, and positive statements are overlooked, we ought not to be surprised that people will deny that the decalogue—the ten words or commandments—is ever called "the law." But no one can possibly deny it who examines the Scriptures on the subject with any reasonable degree of care. Why did the Lord so separate the ten commandments from all other laws as to declare them himself, in the hearing of all the people? Why did he write them, and them only, on the tables of stone which he had prepared? Why did he put them, and them only, in the ark, and have them placed in the most holy place of the sanctuary? Why was the blood of the sin-offering sprinkled over the ten commandments which were deposited in the throne of God, and over no other laws? Will they who try to belittle and degrade God's holy, perfect law, and bring it down from its high position, consider these questions? We might go on and prove the same distinction which we have here shown, in the New Testament. Indeed, we have often done this in our paper and other writings. But if in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established, we need offer no more proof than is given in this article.