Apologetics

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I’m writing this article in support of the position of Mr. Phyllis Inniss, whose original article this article is written after.

In a posted article, Mr. Inniss defends God’s Moral Law, the Ten Commandments, from fallacious claims that the cross has done away with the Law, which personally I believe to be just a sugar-coat away from antinomianism—the belief that there is no more Law that Christians are required to obey (from the Greek word 'Nomos' meaning Law/order).

The issue I think is that the word 'LAW' (Torah in Hebrew), commandments (Mitzvoth in Hebrew) has been sparingly used both in the old and new testament and therefore must have confused not a few students of Biblical Studies in their context and usage. It is therefore a matter of great theological orthodoxy that the differences between different sets of Laws or commandments or ordinances and judgments must be properly and comprehensively enunciated.

First part-

There is a difference between God’s Law and ‘statutes and judgments' that has been handed to Moses to be its arbiter. True, the Ten Commandments (written in stone) have been copied into the book of the Law (written into a book) but this does not negate the very essential difference which at this point already made obvious. It must be duly noted that the sequence of the narratives and chapters from Exodus 19 to 21 gives a vivid portrayal of the dramatic rendezvous that Moses had with God Himself.

God’s Law, the ten commandments has been the very first set of Laws handed at Mt. Horeb, as it is enumerated in Exodus 20. Prior to Exodus 20, in Exodus 19, Moses has been given explicit instructions in preparing himself in his ascent to the top of Sinai (also known as Horeb) and specific instructions to the people of Israel as to their participation in that specific rendezvous. In Exodus 20, the introductory part is: ‘And God spake all these words, saying…’ in which in Exodus 19 God has made it abundantly clear that the entire Israelite Nation will be able to hear (Exodus 19: 9) “…that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever”.

Beginning in Exodus 21 however, the introduction goes this way: “Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. (Exodus 21: 1)”

In a later part of the Pentateuch (five books of Moses, ‘penta’ means five), this difference of audibility has been re-established. In Deuteronomy 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.” This is far different from the next verse (verse 14) regarding what has been considered as Moses’ Law—“And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.”

In the sequence of the events, God himself made it very clear that there will be different sets of Laws laid down to the Nation of Israel, one set is that they will be able to hear for themselves, and another set which Moses will be handing down which he received from God.

My point here is that if it matters enough to God to set a difference between those different sets of Laws, it should matter enough to us biblical students to recognize that difference most especially for its doctrinal and hermeneutic application.

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