Please show from Scripture where you get the notion that the first table contained four commandments.
I do not need to. The tables were in reference to Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 of the two great commandments of love to God and man. The first four commandments are our duty of Love to God and the second six are our duty of love to our fellow man. On these two commandments of love hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:36-40)
Agreed, you have now demonstrated that they were aware of the requirement to not have other gods long before the time of Exodus 16 Yes, this shows they were aware of it long before Exodus 16. Yes, this shows understanding of the third commandment in a time usually dated to the patriarchal period, and therefore, before
Exodus 16.
I believe the scriptures provided in
posts # 1078 and
post # 1079 linked, show that all of God's 10 commandments were known by God's people.
Didn't see any humans stated to be keeping or breaking the sabbath there prior to Ex. 16. Some of the other texts you referenced (Genesis, Mark, etc.) we will be addressing.
In
Exodus 16, prior to the promulgation of the Decalogue and the inauguration of the Mosaic covenant, Israel obeyed the Sabbath law by resting “on the seventh day” (Exod. 16:30). God indicated in this chapter that some Israelites, however, were not keeping the Sabbath commandment meaning that the Sabbath was being kept prior to Exodus 16 with these words: “How long do you [plural] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions [or ‘laws’; Heb.
torah]? See, the LORD has given you the sabbath . . .” (Exod. 16:28-29). That this is not a new, unknown institution seems to be indicated by the words of
Exodus 16:23, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD.” The NASB is the only major English translation that translates the Hebrew
dabar as “meant.” It is normally translated at this point as “said” or “commanded.” Taking it as “meant” does not necessarily rule out that God had said or commanded these very words (or something close to them) at some point prior to the events narrated in
Exodus 16. It is clear that God had previously spoken and instituted a Sabbath for which ancient Israel was accountable prior to the inauguration of the Mosaic covenant.
On top of this we have also seen that the Sabbath was instituted at creation in the Garden of Eden and was given to Adam and Eve with Jesus as the creator stating that the Sabbath was made for man kind in Mark 2:27.
The Sabbath was made on the “seventh day” of the creation week *Genesis 2:1-3. While man was made on the 6th day of the creation week *Genesis 1:26-31. Now why did God make the Sabbath for? JESUS answers this very question and says *Mark 2:27, And he said to them,
the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. So the reason that the Sabbath was made was for man. Adam and Eve represented our first parents and mankind. Therefore according to Jesus Adam and Eve were the first to keep the first Sabbath in the garden of Eden!
The Sabbath and all of God’s commandments were handed down to thier children of made known by the spoken Word of God as well as God's plan of salvation that God made known to Adam and Eve in *Genesis 3:14-15 for all those who wished to follow God's Word. As it is written in the scriptures
Genesis 26:5 Because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The Hebrew word used for laws in this scripture is Torah.
God's people knew what sin was before Exodus all through this early period by hearing the Word of God. They also offered sin offerings when they sinned during this early period.
Mankind was destroyed by a flood
because of sin (
Genesis 6:5-7) Jesus says that which defiles a man is an evil heart that breaks God’s commandments *Matthew 15:16:19. Sodom and Gomorrah was
destroyed because of sin (
Genesis 18:20). Jacob knew about sin when he complained to Laben when he left with his daughters (
Genesis 31:36).
When Potiphar’s wife came to Joseph with the aim of committing adultery,
Joseph knew it was sin and protested saying how then can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God? (
Genesis 39:9).
So, it is very clear that the spoken word of God included God’s commandments, not only as the knowledge of what good and evil; sin and righteousness were but also the laws for remission of sin [forgiveness] if any of God’s laws were broken. If they had no law then they would have no knowledge of what sin is.
If they did not know what sin was there would have been no need of sin offerings. Yet here we also see in Genesis 22:2-7 that it was a regular practice for Abraham and his family to offer burnt offerings for sin. So before Mt Sinai God’s people had the spoken Word of God and practiced the torah of the old covenant.
After slavery to the Egyptians they received the written Word of God but through all this time God’s people had a knowledge of what sin was and what to do if sin was committed. God said in
Genesis 4:7 to Cain when he was angry because he did not worship God in his appointed way that by
doing this it was sin and it lies at his door. Jesus says the same in
Matthew 15:3-9 that if we follow and teachings of men that break the commandments of God we are not following God.
Mankind was destroyed by a flood
because of sin (
Genesis 6:5-7). Sodom and Gomorrah was
destroyed because of sin (
Genesis 18:20). God destroys mankind for evil and sin with a flood as well as Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and the Egyptians with plagues for disobedience to God's WORD *Genesis 6:5-13; Genesis 13:10-13; 18:20-33; 19:24; Exodus 9:13-14.
If there was no knowledge of sin there would be no punishment for it. God’s WORD is very clear that all of God’s Commandments were kept by God’s people before the written WORD through the Spoken WORD of GOD. God's 10 commandments give us the knowledge of good and evil; sin and righteousness. *Romans 3:20; Romans 7:7; 1 John 3:4; Psalms 119:172. If we break any one of them we stand guilty before god of sin according to James in James 2:10-11.
God's 4th Commandment is one of the 10 commandments that give us a knowledge of what sin is if broken *Romans 3:20; Romans 7:&. According to the scriptures all those who continue in known unrepentant sin will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven because they reject the gift of God's dear son and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing doing despite to the Spirit of God *Romans 6:23; Hebrews 10:26-27; Hebrews 6:4-8.
.............
CONCLUSION: God's SABBATH was made for mankind. Adam and Eve were the first to keep it with God in the Garden of Eden. God's WORD and God's laws were known by the spoken word of God passed down to God's people from Adam and Eve from generation to generation. All of God's TORAH laws for remission of sins (not Mosaic; referring to animal sacrifices for sin offerings) were practiced before Sinai this included sin offerings. God has always had a people that followed his Word although not all people followed God's Word according to the scriptures.
