Rom. 5:13 (ESV) for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
The Bible talks a lot about The Law, and mostly the law it is referring to is the Mosaic Law, but were there laws given before that? Did God give laws concerning life prior to the laws He gave Moses? It seems He did.
Let me define a law as opposed to an instruction. I think a law is a long-term command covering generations. It must not apply to just one person but to a large group. So, let’s take a look at some that are suggested.
Gen. 9:5-6 (ESV) “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
Genesis 9:5-6 is a good start. It was a law given to Noah after the flood. Interesting that we are told to kill even an animal that takes the life of a human. This law is very direct and is a principle of life, not just a guide for Noah to tend the earth. If you kill someone, you will be killed. This doesn’t qualify how someone kills another without meaning to, and if that should bring a lesser charge, if a charge at all. That does come with the introduction of the Mosaic Law, though, with the introduction of Cities of Refuge (Num. 35:6) where a man who kills another can plead his case and be protected if judged innocent.
Gen. 26:4-5 (ESV) I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
So, laws were given to Abraham. The Bible doesn’t tell us about how Abraham received those laws, but we do see some consistency with some of the laws of Moses. For instance, when Abraham fought with the kings in Genesis chapter 14 in order to save Lot, he very much followed the instructions later laid down in the instruction to the Israelites in Deut. 20.
We see the laws against homosexuality enforced in Genesis chapter 19 with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some more “progressive” pastors say this was the lack of hospitality, but Jude tells it straight:
Jude 7 (ESV) just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Back to Genesis chapter 14, we see Abram tithing to Melchizedek, the priest of the God Most High – verse 18 – as king of Salem, whom some believe was the preincarnate Christ. So, tithing seems to have been understood prior to Moses.
Why is this important?
Some theologians believe Christ’s freeing us from the Law only applies to the Mosaic Law and that laws initiated prior to Moses are still in effect. I’ll leave that up to you to wrestle with.
There are other laws implied before Moses and many which were followed, indicating some of the Mosaic Law was at least understood before the Exodus. We just don’t have them listed or really mentioned. Perhaps the principle and promise of Jeremiah 31:33 was active even before the Law:
Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Even after the Law was given through Moses, there was more work God wanted to do in us. His promise was to the Israelites and to us. May God circumcise our hearts. May this be our prayer today:
Deut. 30:6 (ESV) And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 