Chapter Two – The Law of God Is Given

God gave the Ten Commandments to ancient Israel, the physical “Church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), at Mount Sinai, in 1443 B.C. On the same date (the Day of Pentecost), in A.D. 31, God gave His Holy Spirit to the New Testament Church. This made it possible to obey God’s perfect law. It is no coincidence that both events fell on the same day. They are intricately tied together, because the Holy Spirit is essential for keeping the Ten Commandments. Without it, carnal minds cannot obey God (Rom. 8:7-9).

Now consider Matthew 19:16-19: “And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why call you Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He said unto Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honour your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

The last six commandments (five are cited here) summarize love and concern toward other people: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Many wrongly assume that the Old Testament makes little or no mention of love. They assume that Christ introduced for the first time the concept of love during His ministry, and that the God of the Old Testament was strict and harsh, lacking love and mercy. This assumption is wrong. They are also unaware that the God of the Old Testament was the One who later became Jesus Christ (see John 1:1-4, 14, John 8:56-58 and I Corinthians 10:4).

In fact, the Old Testament books of the Law—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—build directly upon the principle of love. Here is what Deuteronomy states: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut 6:5). This passage is the same as the original “Great Commandment,” cited in Matthew 22:37. Love toward God is the first step to obedience within His Law. How many people have been taught that the Old Testament stresses this?

Love toward neighbour is the second step in obedience to God. Leviticus 19:18 states, “You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.” This admonition—what is the original “golden rule,” came from Leviticus 19:1-37—straight from the Old Testament! It was not a new teaching first introduced in the New Testament, as most have erroneously believed.

Now notice Deuteronomy 10:19. It expands Leviticus 19:18: “Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God told Israel to not just tolerate foreigners among them, but to show them mercy and consideration. Human nature tends to suspect or hold in contempt those of different nationalities or races. God teaches otherwise. Finally, notice Leviticus 19:9-10: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”

Love, mercy, consideration—outgoing, out flowing concern for others—were all attributes possessed and taught by the God of the OLD TESTAMENT.

Let’s return to Matthew 5:1-48. Mt 5:21-22 show how Christ “magnified” the Law, and made it “honourable” (Isa. 42:21), effectively expanding it and making it more binding than before. For instance, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother…shall be in danger of the judgment.”

Just as this commandment was greatly expanded, so were all the others. Far from doing away with God’s Law, Christ made it much more binding.

Some Background on the Ten Commandments

In ancient Israel, the Ten Commandments were the basis for: (1) Laws—rules of conduct established by authority; (2) Statutes—laws enacted by a law-making body or ruler; (3) Judgments—judicial decisions of court cases; (4) Ordinances—public decrees or regulations; by-laws of a municipality; religious ceremonies; (5) Precepts—authorized directions or orders; and (6) Covenants—binding agreements; which are formal sealed compacts, usually between two parties. These definitions should help you better understand many of the terms used in this book in relation to the law.

The Ten Commandments primarily governed individual conduct. The statutes governed national and religious affairs, such as observing the Holy Days. The judgments were based on the Ten Commandments and the statutes.

Most people have no idea that the Ten Commandments did not originate at Mt. Sinai. In fact, we saw that these laws had existed from the time God created Adam and Eve. By the time of Moses, the world had strayed so far from the truth that God had to again reveal His already long-existing laws and statutes to Israel. This is the real story of what happened at “Mt. Sinai.”

The Old Covenant was a marriage agreement between God and the nation of Israel. God promised to provide for and bless her as long as she obeyed Him and kept His laws.

The Ten Commandments are actually categorized into two sections. The first four commandments define man’s relationship to God. The last six define his relationship with his fellow human beings. This was also reinforced by Christ. Notice: “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these TWO commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:35-40).

Events Leading to Mount Sinai

During the time of Joseph, the children of Israel relocated to Egypt, where they remained for about two and a half centuries. Following the generation after Joseph’s death, the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to slavery—just as God had revealed to Abraham (Abram) 400 years earlier (Gen. 15:12-16). Through a vision, God told Abram that his seed would become enslaved and oppressed in a land not their own. God also foretold that He would judge the nation that would enslave Israel and that His people would come out of their land with great substance. As this came to pass, God called Moses to fulfil an important role after He had specially prepared him throughout his lifetime.

To fully appreciate how Israel was miraculously delivered from Egypt, review the severity of slavery that they had suffered. Notice Exodus 2:23-25: “…the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”

After Egypt had suffered nine catastrophic plagues, the tenth (the death of the firstborn of man and beast) proved to be the final, most devastating one. Afterwards, Israel plundered Egypt (on the following day portion of Passover) as multitudes of Egyptians lavished gifts and riches upon them, imploring them to leave, so that God would not completely destroy what was left. The millions of Israelites gathered together, according to their tribes. Of course, this took some time, since they were bringing with them all their belongings and animals.