Ceremonial Observance Prior to the Law

[Chris C]

No doubt many of you have pondered this. But I'd be interested in getting y'all's thoughts. What do you think the significance is of certain ceremonial laws existing [in one form or another] prior to the giving of the Law in the MC?

- Cain and Abel offering sacrifices (Gen. 4:3-4)
- Noah recognizing the clean/unclean distinction (Gen. 7:8)
- Levirate marriage in the case of Tamar and Onan (Gen. 38:6-7)

I know how I'd answer this if I was a Hebrew Roots advocate: I'd say, "See, those laws were/are intrinsically moral, not just of dispensational significance."

But I'm not a Hebrew Roots advocate. I believe those Laws were restorative/pedagogical, not moral. And I'm not suggesting that they couldn't function in a typical way prior to the official giving of the Law (just as they did after the giving of the Law). But I'm just trying figure out the best way to articulate their place prior to the giving of the Law in relation to their place after the giving of the Law.

And one reason I'm asking is because I've been known to make similar arguments when it comes to the moral law. For example, I'll point out that in Exodus 16 the Sabbath was already being observed prior to the giving of the Law. Therefore, I argue, the Sabbath is moral in nature, because, you see, it was being observed prior to the giving of the Law, so it's not merely a law that was given to the people of Israel to teach them about the Messiah. But that's not really a strong argument if the same thing could be said about certain ceremonial laws. Thoughts?

 

[brandonadams]

This is an area I intend to explore more, but have not had time to yet.

For Cain & Abel, Waltke has a very helpful WTJ article "Cain and His Offering" that shows the Hebrew word in minha, which is the word for grain/meal offering in Leviticus. He thus argues that Cain was not wrong to offer a bloodless offering. It wasn't a sin or guilt offering. It was a tribute/gift offering. Or one could argue a tithe.

You can also look at Kuyper's book on Common Grace. I don't have the quote on me at the moment, but he discusses the issue a little (if I recall).

In addition to Noah and the Levirate marriage, I would add Job, who offered sacrifice for the potential sins of his children, and then at the end God instructs Job's friends to offer sacrifice so they aren't punished for their sin. While I have heard some (maybe Spurgeon or Gill?) say that Job was during the time of Israel, most believe it was before Abraham.

 

[Chris C]

I'll definitely read through the article. I don't have Kuyper's book, but I'll consider getting it now!

Interesting observation about Job's friends because not only were they required to offer sacrifices, but they were required to offer them in order to avoid punishment, so that indicates the sacrifices were, in a sense, more than merely for pedagogical purposes... but even if Job was after Abraham, it could still be argued they he was outside of the Israelite context.