My Journey to Life - Daily Study Guide

Q4. Did the law exist before God wrote it on tables of stone at Sinai?

Picture: Q4. Did the law exist before God wrote it on tables of stone at Sinai? JTLD 250.1

The law existed long before God gave the Decalogue to Israel. If it did not, there could have been no sin before Sinai, “for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV). That Lucifer and his angels sinned gives evidence of the presence of the law even before Creation. JTLD 250.2

When God created Adam and Eve in His image, He implanted the moral principles of the law in their minds, making it natural for them to do His will. Their transgression introduced sin into the human family. JTLD 250.3

Here are some examples of the Law before Sinai from the book of Genesis: JTLD 250.4

• Genesis 35:1-4 (first and second commandment)
• Genesis 2:1-3 (fourth commandment)
• Genesis 18:19 (fifth commandment)
• Genesis 4:8-11 (sixth commandment)
• Genesis 39:7-9 (seventh commandment)
• Genesis 3:6-17 (eighth and tenth commandment)

God said of Abraham, well before Sinai, that he “obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis 26:5). JTLD 250.5

Perhaps the strongest argument for the existence of law before Sinai is the existence of death, which exists only as a consequence of sin (Romans 5:14, 16). There could be no sin or judgment if law did not exist. Yet clearly, there were sinners before Sinai! JTLD 250.6

• Bible Discovery: Exodus 16:28; 18:16; Romans 4:15; 5:12; 2 Peter 2:4
• Further Reading: Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1886, par. 14