Psalms 142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
This passage of scripture tells us that the law of God is as sacred and eternal as Himself. Many Christians and other people believe that the law of God was given to the Jews at mount Sinai. This is a misconception that needs to be addressed from the scriptures, for our passage for today states explicitly that God's law is everlasting. The law of ten commandments was indeed given in written form at mount Sinai, but that does not mean to say that it was not in existence prior to that. As parents, we have rules and regulations for the running of our homes, and none of them are written anywhere. They were handed down to our children by word of mouth and we do expect obedience to them although they are not written in stone.
The same is true of the law of ten commandments. They were originally written in the minds of Adam and Eve, however, after sin the knowledge of them had to be passed on by word of mouth to Adam's posterity. Adam was removed from the garden of Eden on account of sin, and Cain was guilty of murder because the law states "Thou shalt not kill". Neither Adam or Cain could have been guilty of sin if the law of God was not in existence prior to them sinning, for sin is the transgression of the law. Let's read:
1st John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The law was also in existence in heaven, long before Adam and Eve were created, that's why satan was removed from heaven, because he had committed sin, which is the transgression of the law. Let's read:
Ezekiel 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
And so it is that Adam, and all God-fearing parents, passed on the knowledge of God's law to their children, and in turn those children did the same to their offspring. This truth is certified in the Bible in numerous places, hundreds of years before Sinai. Let's read:
Genesis 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Genesis 39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
The sin that Joseph is referring to is the sin of adultery found in the seventh commandment. How then did he know that adultery was wrong? He knew it was sin because of his knowledge of the ten commandments. The same truth is clearly obvious in the experience of Jacob when returning to his native land, where he required that his family put away the strange gods and graven images that were in their possession. Let's read:
Genesis 31:26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? 30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? 31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. 32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. 34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. 35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images.
Genesis 35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
The reason why Jacob got rid of the strange gods and graven images, was because of his knowledge of the ten commandments, two of which prohibit the manufacture, possession or worshiping of idols. Let's read:
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
In our day we often hear on the news of the Jewish sabbath being different from the Christian sabbath. We also hear that the commandments were given to the Jews and that they do not apply to modern man. Both teachings and beliefs are erroneous, having no foundation in the scriptures, and cannot be substantiated by any stretch of the imagination. We need to be very careful of the many variant interpretations of scripture that abound in contemporary Christianity, for there are many beliefs that many Christians hold dear, for which they cannot produce any plausible, scriptural explanation.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture, encouraging us to search the word of God for ourselves, so that our system of belief might rest securely on a "Thus saith The Lord" and nothing else. Let's read:
2nd Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
May God add His blessing to the study and doing of His Word. God bless!