The Lord commanded Moses all the “words” in Exodus Chapters 20-23 to speak to His people after He delivered them from the bondage of foreign gods in Egypt.
The first ten “words” of the commandments from Mt. Sinai speech which appear in Exodus Ch 20 -23 appear throughout the following laws and commandments as the Lord told Moses to instruct His people!
The first ten words, or "heads" of ideas, widely known as
the "Ten Commandments," appear through-out the ten catagories of special laws which follow, and apply to specific situations in our life.
Jesus said none of the Law or the Prophets would pass away until all is accomplished. Paul teaches that we would not come to know sin except through the law (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:27, 44, Romans 7:7, "law" = Strong's #G3551 usually interp. as Law of Moses, or all the five books of the Pentateuch).
The philosopher and historian Philo lived during the same period as Jesus and Paul and understood the way of thinking during that time. He explains how the Israelite people thought in their day, and consequently how Jesus and Paul spoke and taught the people (The works of Philo, C.D.Yonge, Hendrickson Pub, Peabody, Mass, 1993);
“Philo is also noteworthy for understanding the early church and the writings of the New Testament, especially those of Paul, John, and the writer of Hebrews. Most of the churches reflected and described in the New Testament were affected by the social fabric of the Hellenistic Greco-Roman world. Precisely because Philo is a Hellenistic Jew, he is essential for New Testament studies,” (pxiii, The Works of Philo, C.D.Yonge, Hendrickson Pub, Peabody, Mass, 1993).
Referring to the book of the Law which the Lord had Moses write, Philo says;
“These are the explanations (of the Ten Words, the main heads under which are summarized the Special Laws) handed down to us from the old-time studies of divinely gifted men who made deep research into the writings of Moses,” (PHILO, The Special Laws, Book 1, paragraph #1 and # 8, F.H.Colson, Harvard Press, Cambridge, MA, 1950).
This arrangement of 10 “heads” of ideas, known as the Ten Commandments has a parallel picture in Psalm 119:
There are “ten words” which appear throughout the verses of Ps 119, so that we will notice the special applications of each of the ten words.
Jesus taught that we must not fail to see how
all of Moses’ laws and the 10 major categories, or the
“Ten Commandments” hang on the two great commandments;
The first is love God.
The second is love your neighbor as yourself.
Here is a list of the Ten Categories of laws and what they relate to;
1- Belief in God
2- Prohibition of Improper Worship
3- Prohibition of Oaths
4- Observance of Sacred Times
5- Respect for Parents and Teachers
6- Prohibition of Physically Harming A Person
7- Prohibition of Sexual Immorality
8- Prohibition of Theft
9- Prohibition of Harming a Person Through
Speech
10- Prohibition of Coveting
(ref. Judaism 101, Tracey R. Rich,
http://www.jewfaq.org/10.htm)
Let’s look at an EXAMPLE from above --
#2 THE WORSHIP LAWS.
Three times God’s Law was given to His people;
First, the general laws
Second, the more detailed laws
Third, sanctions for disobedience were added.
Exodus 20:1 – 23:33 First Time Law Given =
The Lord's Mt. Sinai speech
(These are all Laws in the covenant)
Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy. For the Lord made heaven and earth in six
days and rested on the seventh day,” (NASB
throughout).
Exodus 23:10-12 Sow your field six years, but let it rest
on the seventh year.
Exodus 23:14-16 Three times a year celebrate a feast
to the Lord;
The Feast of Unleavened Bread,
` The Feast of Harvest of the first fruits, and
The Feast of Ingathering at end of year –
of the fruits of your labors.
Exodus 34:1 = Second Time Law Given
The second stone tablets of the covenant had the same words that were on the former tablets.
The major emphasis was on worship laws since the people had just sinned by making a golden calf idol. (Ex 34:12-17)
Exodus 34:18-23 when to celebrate the Feasts of the
Lord – who should appear and how to appear -
with more details.
Exodus 34:12-28..in accordance with these words
I have made a covenant with “Israel.”
Numbers Ch 5 – 36:13 “These are the Commandments
that the Lord commanded Moses for the
sons of Israel at Mt. Sinai." (additional laws)
Leviticus 23:1-44 more details and times of the
appointed times of the Lord “which you shall
proclaim as holy convocations.”
Leviticus 26:1-2 "You shall keep My Sabbaths and
reverence My sanctuary" weekly and yearly
and includes blessings for obedience, and
curses for disobedience).
Leviticus Ch 1: – 27:34 “these are the Commandments
that the Lord commanded Moses for the sons
of Israel at Mt. Sinai.” (additional laws)
The following Philo quotes are an example of how God desires to motivate our righteousness through His promise rather than through the law, (Romans 4:5, 9:30-32).
“..let us now proceed to relate the cause for which God, having pronounced these ten commandments or laws, in simple injunctions and prohibitions, appointed no punishment for those who should violate them, as lawgivers usually do. The reason is this: He was God, and being so He was at once the good Lord, the cause of good alone, and of no evil.”
“So then He judges that it was in accordance with His being to issue His saving commandments free from any admixture of punishment that men might choose the best, not involuntarily, but of deliberate purpose, not taking senseless fear but the good sense of reason for their counselor.
“For it is proper for all the ministers and lieutenants of God (in this case Moses) just as for generals in war, to put in practice severe punishments against those deserters, who forsake the ranks of the just one,” (Yonge, The Decalogue, paragraph #176,178).
Deuteronomy Ch4 – 30 = Third Time Law Given
Moses spoke all the words of this law to His
people in one day before entering the Promised
Land, (it includes specific laws for unique
situations, and includes penalties).
Deuteronomy 15:1 the sabbatical year for remission
of debts.
Deuteronomy 16:1-11 rejoice at spring feasts with your
family, neighbors, strangers, orphans and widows
before the Lord.
Deuteronomy 16:13-17 rejoice at fall feasts with all in
your town “so that you will be altogether
joyful."
Every man shall give as he is able, according
to the blessings of the Lord your God which He
He has given you."
These worship laws are not ceremonial laws. They are the Lord's appointed times which we are to proclaim as holy convocations, (Leviticus 26:2).
DO THESE LAWS APPLY TO US TODAY?
A popular idea of some people is that only Ten Commandments were only given to God’s people.
However, the Ten Commandments are only summary statements or “heads of the law” as the historian Philo described above.
A study of what the Lord commanded Moses to instruct His people reveals that this popular idea is false.
Jesus said;
“If you believed Moses writings, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
“But, if you don’t believe Moses, how will you believe My Words?" (John 5:39, 46-47)
Paul wrote to the Romans;
“The Jew (Israelite) has many advantages which belong to them – they were entrusted with the oracles (utterances) of God, the adoption as sons, as well as the glory and the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple services, and promises,” (Romans 3:2, 9:4)
In the NEW TESTAMENT we are encouraged to join Israel.
We are to join God’s people Israel all the way through their history in the Bible;
Ex 12:49, 38 a mixed multitude went out of Egypt…
the same law shall apply to the native as to the
stranger who sojourns with you.
Num 15:15 there shall be one statute for Israel and
for the alien with you.
Jeremiah 11:16 the Lord pictured His people as
an olive tree:
Romans 11:17 the cultivated olive tree (Israel) had
branches broken off because of unbelief so
that wild olive tree branches
(gentiles) could be grafted in.
Romans 11:25 all Israel (as Paul defines in these
Romans references) will be saved."
CONCLUSIONS
We can see that the main heads of the law, and the later descriptions of how to apply them to special situations, cannot be separated, as Jesus said (Matt 5:18 in Luke 16:17).
We are to take to heart all god's laws and commandments, and to command our sons to observe them carefully. They are not idle words for you - indeed they are your life (Duet 32:46-47).
We should discipline our life and worship of the Lord to be consistent with all the worship laws given by the Lord – which He gave Moses to instruct His people.
He wrote His Laws on stone tablets, and He told Moses to write them in a book. Now the Holy Spirit tries to write them on our heart (Heb 10:16, 26-29).
Also see the following; LINKAGE TEXTS
Romans 15:4 “All that was written in earlier times
is for our instruction.”
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 “..all our fathers were
baptized
into Moses…and drank
from the spiritual rock
which was
Christ.
These
things happened to them
as an example, and were
written
for our instruction.”
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