Our Bible Reading

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Nov 15, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 45.

Our Bible Reading

The Two Laws

1. God has revealed to us different laws of His Word.

These may be called the great moral law, the Decalogue; the ceremonial law, or that which regulated the offerings and sacrifices under the Levitical priesthood; the civil law of Israel; the law of the priesthood itself; and various hygienic and health laws.

2. Nehemiah makes a clear distinction between these two classes of laws.

“Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gav-

“THE LAW OF THE LORD IS PERFECT, CONVERTING THE SOUL: THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD IS SURE, MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE.” Ps. 19: 7.

est them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: and madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Thy servant.” Neh. 9: 13, 14.

3. God's great moral law, the Decalogue, was spoken by His own voice and written with His own finger upon tables of stone.

“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 A LAW, and commandments which I HAVE WRITTEN; that thou mayest teach them.” Ex. 24: 12.

“And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, WRITTEN WITH THE FINGER OF GOD.” Ex. 31: 18.

“And the TABLES were the WORK of GOD, and the WRITING was the WRITING OF GOD, GRAVEN upon the TABLES.” Ex. 32: 16.

4. This law was complete in itself.

“These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and HE ADDED NO MORE. And HE WROTE them in TWO TABLES OF STONE, and delivered them unto me.” Deut. 5: 22.

5. This moral law is unchangeable.

“The works of His hands are verity and judgment; ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE SURE. THEY STAND FAST FOREVER AND EVER, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Ps. 111: 7, 8.

6. His other laws were limited by the ceremonies and types which they guarded.

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people.” Heb. 9: 19.

7. All these types and ceremonies given by the Lord to amplify instruction looking forward to something better were nailed to the cross.

“Blotting out the handwriting or ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Col. 2: 14.

8. Even the ordinance of circumcision, which antedated the Levitical law, passed away.

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.” 1 Cor. 7: 19.

NOTE: As shown by Nehemiah and elsewhere, the Decalogue had its weekly Sabbath; the Sabbath entirely independent of yearly sabbaths. There were several yearly sabbaths, or feasts, in connection with the ceremonial law. These are expressly mentioned in Leviticus 23, in which we are expressly told that they are given “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord.” Verse 38. When type met antitype at the cross the ceremonial law expired by limitation; the Decalogue was decidedly emphasized and confirmed by Christ’s death upon the cross; for Jesus died to take away sin, save us from our sins—“sin is the transgression of the law”—not to destroy the law which pointed out sin. Jesus Christ is not the minister of sin, but of righteousness, the Upholder of the government of God.