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VIII. The Law Of God
Chapter 83
:
Why the Law was Given at Sinai
1. HOW does Nehemiah
describe the giving of the law at Sinai?
"Thou camest down also upon mount
Sinai, and spakest
with them from heaven, and gavest 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.
2. What is declared to
be the chief advantage possessed by the Jews?
"What advantage then hath the Jew? or
what profit is there or circumcision? Much every
way: chiefly, because that unto them were
committed the oracles of God." Rom. 3:1,2.
NOTE.-The law was not spoken at this time
exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews.
God honored them by making them the
guardians and keepers of His law, but He
intended that it should be held by them as a
sacred trust for the whole world. The
precepts of the decalogue are adapted to all
mankind, and they were given for the
instruction and government of all. "Ten
precepts, brief, comprehensive, and
authoritative, cover the duty of man to God
and to his fellow men;" and all are based
upon the great fundamental principle of
love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy
mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Luke
10:27. In the ten commandments these
principles are carried out in detail, and
are made applicable to the condition and
circumstances of man.
3. Before the giving of
the law at Sinai, what did Moses say when Jethro
asked him concerning his judging the people?
"When they have a matter, they come unto me; and
I judge between one and another, and I do
make them know the statutes of God, and His
laws." Ex. 18:16.
4. What explanation did
Moses give the rulers of. Israel concerning the
withholding of the manna on the seventh day in
the wilderness of Sin, before they reached
Sinai?
"And he said unto them, This is that which the
Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the
holy Sabbath unto the Lord.... Six days ye
shall gather it; but on the seventh day,
which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be
none." Ex. 16:23-26.
5. When some went out
to gather manna on the seventh day, what did the
Lord say to Moses?
"And the Lord said unto Moses, How
long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My
laws?" Verse 28.
NOTE.-It is evident therefore that the
Sabbath and the law of God existed before
the law was given at Sinai.
6. What question does
Paul ask concerning the law?
"Wherefore
then serveth the law?" Gal. 3:19.
NOTE.-That is, of what use or service was
the law announced at Sinai? What special
purpose had God in view in giving it then?
7. What answer is given
to this question?
"It was added, because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made; and it was ordained
by angels in the hand of a mediator." Same
verse.
NOTES.-The Greek word here translated
"added" is the same one that is translated
"spoken" in Heb. 12:19.
"The meaning is that the law was given to
show the true nature of transgressions, or
to show what sin is. It was not to
reveal away of justification, but it was
to disclose the true nature of sin; to
deter men from committing it; to declare its
penalty; to convince men of it, and
thus to be ancillary to, and preparatory to,
the work of redemption through the Redeemer.
This is the true account of the law of God
as given to apostate man, and this use of
the law still exists."-Dr.
Albert Barnes, on Gal. 3:19.
8. How is this same
truth again expressed?
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the
commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then
that which is good made death unto me? God
forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
working death in me by that which is good; that
sin by the commandment might become exceeding
sinful." Rom. 7:12,13.
9. For what purpose did the law enter?
"Moreover the law entered, that the offense
might abound." Rom. 5:20.
NOTE.-By the giving of the law at Sinai,
then, God designed, not to increase or
multiply sin, but that men might, through a
new revelation of Him and of His character
and will, as expressed in a plainly
spoken and plainly written law,
the better see the awful sinfulness of
sin, and thus their utter
helplessness and undone condition.
While in Egypt, surrounded as they were with
idolatry and sin, and as the result of their
long bondage and hard servitude, Israel
even, the special people of God, had largely
forgotten God and lost sight of His
requirements. Until one realizes that he is
a sinner, he cannot see his need of a
Saviour from sin. Hence the entering, or
republication, of the law to the world
through Israel at Sinai.
10. By what is the
knowledge of sin?
"By the law is the knowledge
of sin." Rom. 3:20. See also Rom. 7:7.
11. Under what
condition is the written law good?
"But we know that the law is good,
if a man use it lawfully." 1 Tim. 1:8.
12. And what is
indicated as the lawful use of the law?
"Knowing this, that the law is not
made for a righteous man, but for the lawless
and disobedient, for the ungodly and
for sinners, for unholy and
profane, for murderers of fathers and
murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
for whoremongers, for them that defile
themselves with mankind, for menstealers,
for liars, for perjured persons,
and if there be any other thing that is contrary
to sound doctrine." Verses 9,10.
NOTE.-In other words, the lawful use of the
written law is to show what sin is, and to
convince sinners that they are sinners, and
that they need a Saviour. God's design,
then, in giving the law at Sinai was to shut
men up under sin, and thus lead them to
Christ.
13. Who does Christ say
need a physician?
"They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick." Matt.
9:12.
NOTE.-Speaking of how to deal with those
"who are not stricken of their sins," and
"have no deep conviction of guilt," D. L.
Moody in his "Sermons, Addresses, and
Prayers," says: "Just bring the law of God
to bear on these, and show them themselves
in their true light.... Don't try to heal
the wound before the hurt is felt. Don't
attempt to give the consolation of the
gospel until your converts see that they
have sinned-see it and feel it."
14. Whom does Christ
say He came to call to repentance?
"For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance." Verse 13.
15. What is the
strength of sin?
"The sting of death is sin; and the
strength of sin is the law." 1 Cor.
15:56.
16. What are the wages
of sin?
"For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:23.
17. Could a law which
condemns men give them life?
"Is the law then against the promises
of God? God forbid: for if there had been a
law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law."
Gal. 3:21.
18. What, therefore,
was the purpose, or special design, of the
giving of the law at Sinai?
"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith." Verse 24.
NOTES.-"What is the law of God for? for us
to keep in order to be saved by it?-Not at
all. It is sent in order to show us that we
cannot be saved by works, and to shut us up
to be saved by grace. But if you make out
that the law is altered so that a man can
keep it, you have left him his old legal
hope, and he is sure to cling to it. You
need a perfect law that shuts man right up
to hopelessness apart from Jesus, puts him
into an iron cage, and locks him up, and
offers him no escape but by faith in Jesus;
then he begins to cry, 'Lord, save me by
grace, for I perceive that I cannot be saved
by my own works.' This is how Paul describes
it to the Galatians: 'The Scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by
faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith.' I say you have deprived
the gospel of its ablest auxiliary when you
set aside the law. You have taken away from
it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to
Christ. They will never accept grace till
they tremble before a just and holy law.
Therefore the law serves a most necessary
and blessed purpose, and it must not be
removed from its place."-"The Perpetuity
of the Law of God," by C. H. Spurgeon,
pages10,11.
" And let it be observed that the law did
not answer this end merely among the Jews,
in the days of the apostles: it is just as
necessary to the Gentiles to the present
hour. Nor do we find that true repentance
takes place where the moral law is not
preached and enforced. Those who preach only
the gospel to sinners, at best only heal the
hurt of the daughter of My people
slightly."-Dr. Adam Clarke, on Rom. 7:13
(edition 1860).
Commenting on Gal. 3:23, Mr. Spurgeon, in
his "Sermon Notes," CCXII, says: "Here we
have a condensed history of the world before
the gospel was fully revealed by the coming
of our Lord Jesus. . . . The history of each
saved soul is a miniature likeness of the
story of the ages." That is, in his
experience, each individual that is saved is
first in darkness; he then comes to Sinai
and learns that he is a sinner; this leads
him to Calvary for the pardon of his sins,
and so to full and final salvation.
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