Page 23 - The Law Given to Israel

however, remained at a distance, gazing in

terror upon the scene, while Moses “drew

near unto the thick darkness where God

was.”

The minds of the people, blinded and

debased by slavery and heathenism, were not

prepared to appreciate fully the far-reaching

principles of God's ten precepts. That the

obligations of the Decalogue might be more

fully understood and enforced, additional

precepts were given, illustrating and

applying the principles of the Ten

Commandments. These laws were called

judgments, both because they were framed in

infinite wisdom and equity and because the

magistrates were to give judgment according

to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they

were delivered privately to Moses, who was

to communicate them to the people.