Chapter 32—The Law and the Covenants
Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of
God; they were acquainted with its claims upon them; its precepts
were written upon their hearts. When man fell by transgression the
law was not changed, but a remedial system was established to bring
him back to obedience. The promise of a Saviour was given, and
sacrificial offerings pointing forward to the death of Christ as the
great sin offering were established. But had the law of God never
been transgressed, there would have been no death, and no need of a
Saviour; consequently there would have been no need of sacrifices.
Adam taught his descendants the law of God, and it was handed
down from father to son through successive generations. But notwith-
standing the gracious provision for man’s redemption, there were few
who accepted it and rendered obedience. By transgression the world
became so vile that it was necessary to cleanse it by the Flood from
its corruption. The law was preserved by Noah and his family, and
Noah taught his descendants the Ten Commandments. As men again
departed from God, the Lord chose Abraham, of whom He declared,
“Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:5
. To him was given the rite of
circumcision, which was a sign that those who received it were devoted
to the service of God—a pledge that they would remain separate from
idolatry, and would obey the law of God. The failure of Abraham’s
descendants to keep this pledge, as shown in their disposition to form
alliances with the heathen and adopt their practices, was the cause
of their sojourn and bondage in Egypt. But in their intercourse with
idolaters, and their forced submission to the Egyptians, the divine pre-
cepts became still further corrupted with the vile and cruel teachings of
heathenism. Therefore when the Lord brought them forth from Egypt,
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He came down upon Sinai, enshrouded in glory and surrounded by
His angels, and in awful majesty spoke His law in the hearing of all
the people.
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