Did GOD give any Laws to people before Moses?

[vassal]

In scripture we find different verses that seem to indicate that there were known Laws given by GOD?;

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

What can deduce from this? I am not certain and would like your opinions,

Peace.

 

[Tall_Timbers]

The first law was to Adam and Eve: You should not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

[Dino246]

To the thread title: yes. Abram was given the law of circumcision: Genesis 17:9-14.

 

[Mem]

Gen 15: 6Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Whatever God instructed Abraham to do, Abraham did. That is, he believed the LORD.

And, in the example of Cain, God was not impressed with his offering, and that made him (not God) angry. So, if we go by all that scripture tells us about this (nothing about what exactly he should've done that Abel had to be pleasing to God but only that God asked him, "Why are you angry?" and follows up with the ifs and thens of what is commonly explained as doings but I wish I knew the degree of probably of the verb meaning to have an 'to be' slant. That is, the Strong's lexicon indicates "Verb-Hifil-Imperfect" and the Hifil verb is a Hebrew distinct that denotes an action that is caused by someone/something else. For example, the difference of "to remember" and "to make remember/to remind."

So, it seems all we can gather from this is that Cain wasn't 'well' with God's regard, or iow, what God thought either in regard to Abel's offering or his own, and so sin (which was crouching at the door for its opportunity to claim him) indeed took possession of him at first chance.

 

[Nehemiah6]

What can deduce from this? I am not certain and would like your opinions,

God's laws started when Adam was told to stay away from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After that God would have also shown Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, as to which sacrifices were acceptable to Him and which were not. And that is why Abel offered what was acceptable. But then God gave Noah a number of laws (and also distinguished between clean and unclean creatures before the Flood). And no doubt Abraham was also shown God's laws. Then the Israelites were given specific laws before the Law of Moses, and while they in the wilderness. Finally the Law of Moses detailed everything and prevailed for 1500 years . But it was not designed to enable anyone to be saved. Salvation was always by grace through faith (Hebrews 11).

 

[Pilgrimshope]

In scripture we find different verses that seem to indicate that there were known Laws given by GOD?;

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

What can deduce from this? I am not certain and would like your opinions,

Peace.

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[Pilgrimshope]

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The Knowledge of good and evil

“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:15‬ ‭

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The tree of life the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭


Remember Adam had access to the tree of life in Eden “ you are free to eat of any tree in the garden but he was warned against eating of the one tree of good and evil

We are like Adam and Eve , the garden is like the world , the gospel is like the tree of life and the law is like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and everyone under it died but the gospel promises life

 

[Gideon300]

In scripture we find different verses that seem to indicate that there were known Laws given by GOD?;

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

What can deduce from this? I am not certain and would like your opinions,

Peace.

The first recorded commandments were to Adam and Eve. It was more a declaration of God's purpose for the pair than a "thou shalt". They also had a prohibition: do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God advised that the fruit would kill them, not that God would kill them. They disobeyed, as we well know.

We do not read that God told Abel to offer an animal sacrifice. Maybe He did. We do not know. God told Abraham to circumcise the males in his family and servants. Abraham was 99 by that time. Why not sooner if circumcision was so important? It is an outward sign of God's covenant with His people.

Abraham sent his wife to live in Pharaoh's palace. There was no condemnation from God. Rather, Pharaoh's wives stopped getting pregnant. God judged Pharaoh for Abraham's wrongdoing!

Prior to settling in the promised land, Israel was not a nation. It seems that God wanted to ensure that Israel had a code of laws so that the nation could function as a cohesive society. When we read the account of the founders of the tribes, they were not all what we would call model citizens. Yet there were no sanctions because there was no law. (Genesis 38, for example). This changed under the covenant of Law, which involves blessing and cursing (Deuteronomy 11: 13-28).

 

[SabbathBlessing]

Yes! God's law has always been, where there is no law there is no transgression Rom 4:15 and no government can survive without laws and God's Kingdom is no different. Lucifer transgressed in Heaven 1 John 3:8 therefore he broke God's law. Lucifer was a covering cherub meaning he was one of the angels who guarded God's law in heaven. The earthy temple was a miniature of God's heavenly Temple Hen 8:1-5 where in heaven is shown the ark of the covenant Rev 11:19 that holds the Ten Commandments Exo 40:20 that all man will be judged by. James 2:10-12 Ecc 12:13-14 Mat 5:19-30 Rev 22:14-15

Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments when they ate something that didn't belong to them. Here's an article you might be interested about how Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments

The Garden of Eden and the Ten Commandments – Revelation by Grace Ministries (wordpress.com)

 

[TMS]

The exact form (written, spoken) of the laws is not known but they must have been there or people would not have had a standard of right and wrong.

So yes God must have clearly told people what was right and wrong.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 7:7-9
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

Yes! God's law has always been, where there is no law there is no transgression Rom 4:15 and no government can survive without laws and God's Kingdom is no different. Lucifer transgressed in Heaven 1 John 3:8 therefore he broke God's law. Lucifer was a covering cherub meaning he was one of the angels who guarded God's law in heaven. The earthy temple was a miniature of God's heavenly Temple Hen 8:1-5 where in heaven is shown the ark of the covenant Rev 11:19 that holds the Ten Commandments Exo 40:20 that all man will be judged by. James 2:10-12 Ecc 12:13-14 Mat 5:19-30 Rev 22:14-15

Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments when they ate something that didn't belong to them. Here's an article you might be interested about how Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments

The Garden of Eden and the Ten Commandments – Revelation by Grace Ministries (wordpress.com)

“And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions,

till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;

and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:17

The apostle Paul’s ministry of grace

Adam and Eve Brooke the commandment God spoke to him in the beginning that was all the law they had or needed complete freedom and Gods word of warning keeping them safe

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

That was the law in the beginning “ you are free but you must not do this thing “

they broke thier covenant law later hindreds of years later God descended upon Sinai and spoke the Ten Commandments from the cloud and then wrote them with his finger on stone tablets

hundreds of years after the flood the law of Moses was given to Jacobs’s descendants when he delivered them from Egypt fulfilling the promise he made to Abram in chapter 15 of genesis

God spoke to man as if they weren’t sinners in the beginning the law speaks to them because they are sinners

 

[Gideon300]

Yes! God's law has always been, where there is no law there is no transgression Rom 4:15 and no government can survive without laws and God's Kingdom is no different. Lucifer transgressed in Heaven 1 John 3:8 therefore he broke God's law. Lucifer was a covering cherub meaning he was one of the angels who guarded God's law in heaven. The earthy temple was a miniature of God's heavenly Temple Hen 8:1-5 where in heaven is shown the ark of the covenant Rev 11:19 that holds the Ten Commandments Exo 40:20 that all man will be judged by. James 2:10-12 Ecc 12:13-14 Mat 5:19-30 Rev 22:14-15

Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments when they ate something that didn't belong to them. Here's an article you might be interested about how Adam and Eve broke the Ten Commandments

The Garden of Eden and the Ten Commandments – Revelation by Grace Ministries (wordpress.com)

The exact form (written, spoken) of the laws is not known but they must have been there or people would not have had a standard of right and wrong.

So yes God must have clearly told people what was right and wrong.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 7:7-9
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

Not so. People have a conscience apart from the law. The law was given to enable Israel to know what sin is, as you have quoted already.

“God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him." Acts 17:30

 

[Gideon300]

The exact form (written, spoken) of the laws is not known but they must have been there or people would not have had a standard of right and wrong.

So yes God must have clearly told people what was right and wrong.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 7:7-9
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

I've yet to meet an unbeliever who is not convinced that they are basically a good person. There is a reason why the Holy Spirit needs to convict the world of sin. The book of Judges ends with the statement that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. It says the same thing in Judges 17:6. Their standard of right and wrong did not come from the law but they were a law unto themselves.

 

[vassal]

Everyone, Thank you very much for your input to this thread it was really helpful and informative.
@SabbathBlessing @Gideon300 @Pilgrimshope @TMS @Nehemiah6 @Tall_Timbers @Dino246 @Mem

Peace be upon you.

 

[SabbathBlessing]

Not so. People have a conscience apart from the law. The law was given to enable Israel to know what sin is, as you have quoted already.

“God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him." Acts 17:30

Sin hasn’t changed even in the New Covenant. It is still breaking God’s law 1 John 3:4, the Ten Commandments Rom 7:7

 

[FollowerofShiloh]

The actual first Law given to Adam and Eve was 1:28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it'

 

[Blade]

In scripture we find different verses that seem to indicate that there were known Laws given by GOD?;

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

What can deduce from this? I am not certain and would like your opinions,

Peace.

I think one should explain the difference between "commandment" vs "law". With God there is a difference. If GOD told me to do something is that a command or a law? He has.. once told me to run. I only wondered why run I'm not scared. To that lol He said "when GOD tells you to do something you do not question it you just do it" I smiled yes sir.

So do I think GOD spoke from Adam and Eve on down to Moses? Sure.. told them to do many things. Then there is so much more that is not written. As for law? No unless I missed it. To be silly.. are the 10 which God gave Moses in stone a law? We know the 613 were laws or just commands?

 

[Gideon300]

Sin hasn’t changed even in the New Covenant. It is still breaking God’s law 1 John 3:4, the Ten Commandments Rom 7:7

I agree, but that is not the subject of the post.

 

[UnoiAmarah]

In scripture we find different verses that seem to indicate that there were known Laws given by GOD?;

It is no different then as it is now, the known laws given by God, are the truths which man has received from the LORD. They are referred unto in scriptures as the law of truth, but only one time in Malachi 2:6.

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us
and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deut 29:29​

But then again, how many times does a person have to be told the truth before they hear the truth.

Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
What can deduce from this?

Since the LORD is a God of truth, when it is written that he who cometh to him must believe he is, and is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him then it could be deduced that is the word of truth.
If you don't know someone exists, you have to believe they exist or their would be no reason to seek them.
And unless you seek the truth, you wouldn't be able to come to the knowledge of it.

 

[SabbathBlessing]

I agree, but that is not the subject of the post.

You said God's law was only a sin to Israel and scripture shows it is still a sin to all people in the New Covenant. Rom 7:7 Mat 5:19-30

Cain killed Abel and knew it was sin, therefore he was given thou shalt not murder. Where there is no law there is no sin Rom 4:15, therefore they were given God's law and God's law comes in a unit of Ten- He made that really clear Exo 34:28 Deut 4:13 breaking one we break them all James 2:10-12