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Law of God
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they pledged themselves to obey all the words which the Lord had
said. Moses then wrote their solemn pledge in a book and offered
sacrifice unto God for the people. “And he took the book of the
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covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All
that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took
the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood
of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all
these words.” The people repeated their solemn pledge to the Lord
to do all that He had said, and to be obedient. (
Exodus 24:7, 8
.)
God’s Eternal Law
The law of God existed before man was created. The angels were
governed by it. Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of
God’s government. After Adam and Eve were created, God made
known to them His law. It was not then written, but was rehearsed
to them by Jehovah.
The Sabbath of the fourth commandment was instituted in Eden.
After God had made the world and created man upon the earth, He
made the Sabbath for man. After Adam’s sin and fall nothing was
taken from the law of God. The principles of the Ten Command-
ments existed before the fall and were of a character suited to the
condition of a holy order of beings. After the fall the principles of
those precepts were not changed, but additional precepts were given
to meet man in his fallen state.
A system was then established requiring the sacrificing of beasts,
to keep before fallen man that which the serpent made Eve disbelieve,
that the penalty of disobedience is death. The transgression of God’s
law made it necessary for Christ to die a sacrifice, and thus make
a way possible for man to escape the penalty, and yet the honor of
God’s law be preserved. The system of sacrifices was to teach man
humility, in view of his fallen condition, and lead him to repentance
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and to trust in God alone, through the promised Redeemer, for
pardon for past transgression of His law. If the law of God had not
been transgressed, there never would have been death, and there
would have been no need of additional precepts to suit man’s fallen
condition.