Grant
Puritan Board Graduate
What are your thoughts on the division of the Moral Law (Love of God / Love of Neighbor). I believe Jesus teaches us this division most clearly in his NT summary. In The Christian’s Reasonable Service, Brakel makes a case that this same division was also visually represented on the Two Stone Tablets made in Exodus. To summarize he feels strongly that Commands 1-4 were engraved on the 1st Tablet and Commands 5-10 were engraved on the 2nd Tablet.
Below comes from Vol. 3, page 86-87
What are your thoughts? Specifically do you believe we have enough biblical support to dogmatically say what were the exact contents on each tablet?
Below comes from Vol. 3, page 86-87
The Two Tables of the Law
The content of the law is love and in that respect it can be said that the entire law is one. The objects are God and our neighbor, and in consequence of this the law is divided into two commandments (Matt 22:40), and thus likewise was also recorded on two tables. It is observed in a tenfold manner and is therefore denominated the ten words or ten commandments (cf. Exod 34:28; Deut 10:4).
Concerning the tables of the law, there could be the conjecture that since they were written upon both sides, there was no distinction made between the commandments and they were thus recorded in a continual and sequential manner—the suggestion being that as much as possible had been written on one table, the remainder being written upon the other table without making an interruption at a certain commandment, the second and fourth commandment being very long. This is not credible at all, however, for then everything could have been written upon one table. It is also not credible that five commandments were written upon each table. Rather, it is obvious that the commandments upon each table are distinct as far as content is concerned.
The first four are those that have reference to God and are recorded on the first table. The commandments having reference to our neighbor, being the latter six, are recorded upon the second table. This is, first of all, to be observed in Matt 22:38-39, where the Lord Jesus makes a distinction between the tables according to their content, and in reference to God and our neighbor. Secondly, this is evident from Eph 6:2, where the fifth commandment is called the first commandment with promise. This cannot refer to all the commandments, for the second and fourth commandments also have promises, and it must thus be understood as the first commandment of the second table. Thirdly, this is evident from Matt 19:18-19. There the commandments of the second table are enumerated and none of the first—and among them the fifth is mentioned as well.
What are your thoughts? Specifically do you believe we have enough biblical support to dogmatically say what were the exact contents on each tablet?