Excerpt
continued….
It has
been noticed that the governor must make a plain revelation of the law to which
the subjects are amenable. This the Lord has done.
In the
beginning the Creator talked with man in person, and made known to him directly
the rules which were to govern his life. But the book of Genesis is not a book
of law; it is a very brief history of the race, covering a period of more than
two thousand years. We have frequent mention of men’s violation of law, with
references to the law itself, but no code left on record in the book. But all
nations chose their own way—”they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge”—and he separated from the nations the seed of Abraham, to be a
people to his own glory. After they had been in long servitude and under deep
afflictions in the land of Egypt, he “took them by the hand,” as a father does
his children, to bring them into the land of Canaan, and to lead them in the
way of truth and righteousness.
While all
the families of the earth were turning away from God, going farther and farther
into the darkness of heathenism, it is not surprising that the people of
Israel, oppressed in cruel bondage, should have imbibed much of the spirit of
their surroundings, and retained but imperfect ideas of the sacredness of the
divine law. That this was the case is proved by the readiness with which they
worshiped the golden calf, after the manner of the Egyptians, when the
circumstances would seem to forbid their yielding to the force of such
superstitions. It was a wide departure from the faith and godliness of their
fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of Joseph.
In
revealing his will to his chosen people, the Lord made known through prophets
and priests, civil and ecclesiastical duties; but he taught them, and all who
should come after them, to look with peculiar reverence upon the moral code, by
proclaiming it with his own voice, and writing it with his own finger on tables
of stone. That men have always considered the ten commandments a moral code,
could only be expected from the manner in which it was given by Jehovah, and
placed in the ark over which the high priest made atonement for sin; from its
containing a summary of duty covering all moral relations; and from the
teaching of the Scriptures in regard to it.
The
Atonement - 44
When God
brought Israel out of Egypt, he entered into an agreement or covenant with
them, promising to regard them as a peculiar treasure above all nations, if
they would obey his voice and keep his covenant. This they readily promised to
do. Ex. 19:5-8.
Exo
19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine:
Exo
19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exo
19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid
before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exo
19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD
hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the
LORD.
“Obey my voice,” and “keep my covenant,” are
two expressions used by the Lord, referring to the same thing; for when they
heard his voice, the third day after the covenant was made with them, he
declared his covenant which he commanded them to perform. This was the ten
commandments. Deut. 4:12, 13.
Deu
4:12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard
the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
Deu
4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to
perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of
stone.
The word
“covenant” is of such extensive signification that we can only learn its
meaning in any text by the sense of the passage or its connection. According to
the lexicons, and to Scripture usage, it applies to a great variety of things,
as, a promise; Gen. 9:9-11; an agreement; Gen. 21:22-32; mutual promises with
conditions; Ex. 19:5-8; a law; Deut. 4:12, 13; and a covenant of law may be the
condition of a covenant of promises, as in 2 Kings 23:3. And so also in Ex.
19:5-8, the expression, “Keep my covenant,” refers to the covenant which he
commanded unto them, and not to the covenant or agreement made with them. The
agreement was based upon the condition, namely, “Obey my voice;” that is, obey
that which he spoke to them when they heard his voice. They did not hear his
voice when this covenant was made with them. Moses acted as mediator between
the Lord and them. But the ten commandments were spoken by Jehovah directly to
the people. This law in all things bears the pre-eminence above the revelations
made through the prophets. It was not committed to Moses to bear to the people,
as were the other laws. It bears the impress of Deity alone. The Lord also said
that if they would obey this law they would be a holy nation.
Now it is
an acknowledged truth that character is formed by our actions in reference to
law; and the nature of the character is determined only by the nature of the
law. Obedience to a bad law can never make a good character. It is hence
evident that the character of the actor is the exact counterpart of the law
obeyed. But we have the Lord’s own testimony, that if they would keep the ten
commandments, they would be holy; that is, they would thereby form holy
characters; and as their characters would be but a copy of
- 45 - J.
H. Waggoner
the law,
we have herein the word of the Governor of the universe that this is a holy
law. As law is the basis of all government, and as the Government or law is a
certain exposition of the mind, the character, or the attributes of the
lawgiver, and as the character of man is according to the law which he obeys,
it follows that to obey the law of God is to attain unto the righteousness of
God, or true holiness. The conclusion is undeniable that the holiness derived
from obedience to God’s law of ten commandments is that growing out of the
divine attributes, as pure and changeless as Heaven itself. The law being a
transcript of the divine mind, perfect obedience to the law would bring us into
perfect harmony with God. Let no one object that by the law no such character
is now formed, for Paul informs us in Rom. 2 and 3 that there are none who
completely obey the law. And his testimony is corroborated by many other
scriptures.
We are a
fallen, degenerate race. The law cannot make us perfect, because of the
weakness of the flesh Rom. 8:3.
Rom
8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
…
But if we
would see what the law would do in the formation of character where the
weakness of the flesh was not manifested, where perfect obedience was rendered,
let us look to Jesus, who said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” He did
no sin; he never strayed from the law of his Father, and a pure and holy
character was the result. And this is not a strange result, as all must admit
who consider the force of the texts of Scripture which will presently be
quoted. As there cannot be diverse or unlike attributes of Deity, so there can
be only one rule of holiness growing out of those attributes—one moral law for
his Government. And upon obedience or disobedience to this law must all good
and evil, life and death, be suspended. Therefore the following declarations
apply to these commandments, or to this law, and to no other:— Lev. 18:5. “Ye
shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall
live in them.” Deut.30:15,16. “See I have set before thee this day life and
good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy
God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his
judgments.” See verses 19, 20; chap. 11:26-28.
The
Atonement - 46
Isa. 51:7.
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my
law.” Ps. 19:7. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps.
40:8. “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
Also Ps. 119. Eccl. 12:13. “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is
the whole duty of man.” Matt. 19:17. “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.” Rom. 2:13. “The doers of the law shall be justified.” Gal. 3:12.
“The law is not of faith; but the man that doeth them shall live in them.” 1
John 3:4. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Rom. 7:12. “The law is holy,
and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Verse 14. “For we know that the
law is spiritual.” This law is also referred to in certain scriptures wherein
it is called God’s holy covenant, and the covenant commanded. Deut. 4:13. “He
declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten
commandments.” 1 Chron. 16:15-17. “Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the
word which he commanded to a thousand generations; even of the covenant which
he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same
to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Gen. 26:3-5. “I
will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham. . . . . Because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my
laws.” For breaking this “everlasting covenant,” the inhabitants of the earth
will be desolated with a curse, and burned up. Isa. 24:5, 6. By indignation
against the “holy covenant,” was the man of sin, the abomination that maketh
desolate, set up. Dan. 11:28, 30.
- 47 - J.
H. Waggoner
As this
law has sometimes been confounded with other laws, to which the foregoing
declarations of Scripture will not apply, it will be in place to notice the
distinction of laws.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
No comments:
Post a Comment