God's Moral Law and Ceremonial Law

God wrote the moral law or Ten Commandments with His own finger inscribed in tables of stone. He also gave the ceremonial law, that points toward the plan of salvation by faith in the sacrifice and grace of Jesus Christ. Let us examine these laws.

By what are all men to be judged at last?
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
"So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:12.

With what other law were the people of God for a time concerned, which is not to judge them?
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." Colossians 2:14-17.

What terms are employed, for the sake of convenience, to designate these two laws?
"The first is called "the moral law," summarily contained in the decalogue; the second is known as the "ceremonial or typical law" of the Jewish dispensation.

What is the relation of the moral law to sin?
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.

How early in the history of our world was this law applicable?
"For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." 1 Timothy 2:13,14.

Since this law was binding on man previous to his fall, what did it cover?
His relations to God and to His fellow creatures:
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:35-39.

When and for what reason were laws of a ceremonial or typical nature introduced?
They were introduced after man had sinned, and were instituted because God in mercy provided a plan of redemption or a remedial system.
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 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:" Genesis 4:3,4.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." Hebrews 11:4.

How was the moral law communicated to the people at Sinai?
"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. "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." Deuteronomy 4:12,13.

How was the ceremonial law communicated to them?
"And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock." Leviticus 1:1,2.
"This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai." Leviticus 7:37,38.

On what, and by whom, was the moral law written?
"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. 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." Deuteronomy 4:12,13.

In what, and by whom, was the ceremonial law written?
"And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant." Nehemiah 9:14.
"And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel." Nehemiah 8:1.

Were the ten commandments a distinct and complete law by themselves?
"These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me." Deuteronomy 5:22.
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." Exodus 24:12.

Was the ceremonial law composed of rules or ordinances?
"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;" Ephesians 2:15.

What is the nature of the moral law?
"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." Psalms 19:7.

Was perfection to be secured by the ceremonial law?
"Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;" Hebrews 9:9.

How did the prophet Isaiah say that Christ would treat the moral law when He should appear on earth as the great teacher?
"The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." Isaiah 42:21.

How did Christ fulfill this prophecy?
By opening before the people the deep spiritual nature of the law, living in perfect obedience to both letter and the spirit of all its requirements, and giving His life to save men from the penalty of its transgression. See Matthew 5:17-48; John 15:10; 1 Peter 2:22; Romans 4:25.

How long was the ceremonial law to continue?
"Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." Hebrews 9:10.

When was this time of reformation?
"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:11,12.

How did Christ's death affect the ceremonial law?
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." Colossians 2:14.
"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;" Ephesians 2:15.

What was the object of the ceremonial law?
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Hebrews 10:1.

What does Paul say of the holiness and spirituality of the moral law?
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12.
"For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." Romans 7:14.

How does faith in Christ affect our relation to the moral law?
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Romans 3:31.

How does dependence on the ceremonial law affect our relation to Christ?
"Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." Galatians 5:2.

How long does Christ say that the moral law is to endure?
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18.

To which code of laws does the Sabbath commandment belong?
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:2,3.

10 Commandments, Written by the Finger of GOD

Exodus 31:18 Then as the LORD finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.

Exodus 19:16-21:21
View commentary related to this passage
16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. 17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. 20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die. 22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”
23 “But Lord,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’”
24 But the Lord said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the Lord, or he will break out and destroy them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them what the Lord had said.


Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community
Exodus 20
1 Then God gave the people all these instructions:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You must not murder.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

18 When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.
19 And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
20 “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
21 As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.


Once again, let us review...How does Nehemiah describe the giving of the law at Sinai?
"Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments. And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant." Nehemiah 9:13,14.

What was the primary advantage possessed by the Hebrews?
"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Romans 3:1,2.

Before the law was given at Sinai, how did Moses render judgment to the people?
"When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws." Exodus 18:16.

In the wilderness, before reaching Sinai, how did Moses explain the absence of the manna on the seventh day?
"And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none." Exodus 16:23-26.

When some of the people went out to gather manna on the seventh day, what did the Lord say to Moses?
"And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" Exodus 16:28.

What additional evidence do we have that the moral law of Ten Commandments existed before it was proclaimed at Mount Sinai?
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:19.
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.

How were the Ten Commandments first presented to the people at Sinai?
"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:1-3.

How was it then written down as a permanent record?
"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Exodus 31:18.
NOTE. - The law of God, as well as the knowledge of creation, the plan of redemption, and the experiences of the early patriarchs, had been handed down from father to son until this time, but not in written form. He wrote the Ten Commandments upon two tables of stone with His own finger.

How did Moses show that the children of Israel had broken their part of the covenant between them and God?
"And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount." Exodus 32:19.

With what exactness did the Lord write the law the second time?
"And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me." Deuteronomy 10:4.

Where did Moses place these two tables of stone?
"And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me." Deuteronomy 10:5.

What other law was also given at this time?
"And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished." Deuteronomy 31:24.
NOTE. - Besides the Ten Commandment law, the Lord gave to Moses instruction concerning the sanctuary service, which was ceremonial, and certain civil laws regulating the subjects of the nation. These laws were written by Moses in a book, and are called the law of Moses, whereas the other law was written on tables of stone with the finger of God.

Why did the Lord call His people out of the land of Egypt?
"And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD." Psalms 105:43-45.

How were they to teach the law to their children?
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7.

What promise to Israel hinged on their keeping the instructions that He had given them?
"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: "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." Exodus 19:5,6.

Was this promise made to the Jews alone?
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3.
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:29.

What reveals that the Ten Commandment law, given at Sinai, is the law for the Christian?
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. "For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:10-12.

What is the wages of sin?
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.
"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 2:17.
"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4.

How did death enter this world?
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

God is merciful, but will His mercy clear the guilty?
"The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." Numbers 14:18.(See also Exodus 34:5-7.)

What is the result of willfully sinning against God?
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:26-29.

To whom is the execution of judgment given?
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Romans 12:19.
"For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." John 5:26,27. (See also Jude 14-15.)

What presumptuous way of life do many pursue?
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Ecclesiastes 8:11.

What message has God sent to men by His appointed messengers?
"Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him." Isaiah 3:10,11.
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20. (See 2 Timothy 2:24-26.)

How can man escape the penalty of sin?
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.