The original ten were given under the OLD COVENANT. While they still apply, Jesus' commandments were given under the NEW COVENANT.
While it may be under the old covenant, here is where we will disagree.
Moses is on Mt. Sinai for his meeting with God.
In Ex.20:2, we have this:
"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
And starting in the very next verse, we see the Decalogue being given.
Were Gentiles "in bondage"?
Were Gentiles "in Egypt"?
Did God and Moses led "Gentiles" "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."?
No.
The Decalogue, as given at Mt. Sinai, applied
exclusively to the Hebrews.
in fact, if you want to take it one step further, advance yourself to the time just prior to Israel crossing over into Canaan and you have God giving Moses the second set.
In Deut 4, we read:
"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." -Deut. 4:13 (KJV)
Moses didn't receive
only the Decalogue while on Mt. Sinai, he also was given the entire "Torah".
And notice well that God Himself calls both the Decalogue and the Torah
combined "his covenant".
Fact, in the OT era, Gentiles (anybody who were not Hebrew) were not included in "His covenant".
From an Old Testament perspective, William Gulbrod gives the following definition of the Hebrew Law:
The Laws are in the strictest sense, the requirements of the God to whom Israel belongs because he has revealed himself in the exodus from Egypt and because in all future wars He will show Himself to be the God of His people. Thus the motive for keeping the law is simply that of obedience in so far as there is any conscious reflection on the question of motivation.
[1]
Arthur W. Pink defines the Law thusly:
The law was given to Israel not that they might be redeemed, but because they had been redeemed. The notion had been brought out of Egypt by the power of God under the blood of the slain lamb, itself the symbol and token of His grace. The Law added at Sinai as the necessary standard life for a ransomed people, a people now belonged to the Lord
. The Law was given that they now stood to God, of a salvation which was already theirs. The covenant of the Law did not supersede the covenant of promise, but set forth the kind of life which those who were redeemed by the covenant of promise were expected to live.
[2]
The nature of the Law is in keeping with this in that:
A. Its demands are unconditional.
This may be seen in the style of the series of Laws, in their harsh severity, in their uncompromising formulation which weighs the act as such and not the background or special circumstances.
B. The form of the commands (or prohibitions) is negative.
Here is fresh confirmation that the theological setting of this Law is the covenant of election. For there is not commanded what establishes the relation to Yahweh, but prohibited what destroyed it.
C. This does not exclude the persuasive aspect of the commandments.
This may be seen in the way in which the proclamation of the Law seeks to make an impression on the will of the hearer and to make transgression inwardly impossible by a recollection of Yahwehs acts. For this reason, there is reference to punishment for violation but not any special reward for fulfillment.
D. Moreover, for all its brevity, this Law is comprehensive.
Not merely the cultus but the whole of life stands under this law. The claim of this God to dominion leaves no neutral zone.
E.
Finally, it belongs to the very essence of these laws that they should be addressed to all Israel.
[1] W. Golbrod, The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Gerhard Kittel, Editor, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Translator, Erdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, Mi., Copyright 1964.
[2] Arthur W. Pink, The Law and the Spirit, [article on-line] accessed 11/18/2007, found on the world wide web at
http://www.thehighway.com/Law_Pink.html.
So you cannot apply a "law" to Gentiles that was never meant for them.
Especially when we are told/rather read in Hebrews, that the old was done away, and we (Hebrews) are under a "new covenant, established on better promises".
Sorry.
God Bless
Till all are one.
