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The Law Was Given After The Exodus Out of Egypt

The Book of the Law of Moses which includes the Ten Commandments did NOT exist before Moses. The Ten Commandments were NOT in the Garden of Eden. And, neither was the Sabbath commanded there.

The Common Proof Text Misinterpreted

Genesis 26:4-5 CSB
I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, [5] because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.

The Covenant made with Abraham

Genesis 12:1-3 CSB
The LORD said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

The Ten Commandments are the Old Covenant

Clear verses showing the Ten Commandments are the Old Sinaic/Moses Covenant.

Deuteronomy 4:13 CSB
He declared his covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets.

Deuteronomy 9:10-11 CSB
On the day of the assembly the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God’s finger. The exact words were on them, which the LORD spoke to you from the fire on the mountain. [11] The LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, at the end of the forty days and forty nights.

The Ten Commandments and Law of Moses were Given After the Exodus

Clear verses showing the LAW was given after the Exodus out of Egypt to Moses.

Deuteronomy 5:3 CSB
He did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive here today.

Deuteronomy 29:25 CSB
Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Jeremiah 31:32 CSB
This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the LORD’s declaration.

Jeremiah 34:13 CSB
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying,

Hebrews 8:9 CSB
not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I showed no concern for them, says the Lord, because they did not continue in my covenant.

Galatians 3:16-17 CSB
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ. [17] My point is this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and thus cancel the promise.

Romans 5:13-14 CSB
In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. [14] Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One.

John 1:17 CSB
for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

When the Sabbath was Revealed

Nehemiah 9:13-14 CSB
You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions, and good statutes and commands. [14] You revealed your holy Sabbath to them, and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction through your servant Moses.

The Commands Abraham Actually Obeyed

New Testament reiterating what Abraham actually obeyed. Not the Ten Commandments.

Hebrews 11:6,8-10 CSB
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [8] By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. [9] By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. [10] For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

The actual commands given to Abraham

  1. Get out of your country (Gen_12:1; Act_7:2)
  2. Leave your kindred (Gen_12:1)
  3. Leave your father’s house (Gen_12:1)
  4. Go to a land I will show you (Gen_12:1)
  5. Arise, walk through the land (Gen_13:17)
  6. Make a sacrifice to Me (Gen_15:9-12)
  7. Walk before Me and be perfect (Gen_17:1)
  8. Keep My covenant (Gen_17:9-14)
  9. Circumcise all your males (Gen_17:10-14)
  10. Circumcise on the eighth day (Gen_17:12)
  11. Call your son’s name Isaac (Gen_17:19)
  12. Obey your wife in this matter (Gen_21:12)
  13. Offer Isaac as a sacrifice (Gen_22:2)
  14. Lay not your hand upon Isaac (Gen_22:12)

The law, including the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, was not in effect during the time of Adam and Eve. The Law of Moses, as recorded in the Book of the Law, was given to Moses after the Exodus from Egypt, and the Sabbath was revealed to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. The promises made to Abraham were not the Ten Commandments, but rather, Abraham’s obedience to God’s call. The New Testament confirms that Abraham obeyed God by faith and that the law was given through Moses, but that God’s love and grace are revealed through Jesus Christ.

The Command Given in the Garden

Genesis 2:16-17 CSB
And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."

Questions that Challenge Your Current Understanding

  1. If the promises made to Abraham were not the Ten Commandments, how does this shape our understanding of what it means to be in a covenant relationship with God?

  2. Given the emphasis on Abraham's obedience through faith in the New Testament, how should this concept inform Christian understanding and practice today, especially in relation to the Mosaic Law?

  3. Considering that the Ten Commandments weren't present in the Garden of Eden, how do you reconcile the concept of sin in Adam and Eve's time with the later introduction of the Law?

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