This article documents how God has progressively changed his law standard over time regarding humans. This does not mean God has changed as to his nature or who and what he is. It means he has changed how he interacts with and deals with humans regarding his expectations and the measures thereof.
God’s standard has changed over time.
In the beginning, sisters and brothers with the same mother and father has sex and produced children. There was no other way for the human race to grow unless parents had sex with their children.
Abraham, the Father of the faith, even married his half sister Sarah. For in Genesis 20:12 Abraham says of Sarah: And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Judah had sex with a harlot, a woman he met in the street. She turned out unknowingly to him to be his daughter-in-law Tamar who played the harlot under disguise. The twins born from that encounter are biological ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 1:3). This account of Judah and Tamar is given in Genesis 38, specifically Genesis 38:13-16, 27.
Eventually under Moses God said no more to all of that.
Remember Israelites sinned much so the standard is not what they did. The standard is what God says they were to do and not do and what he was silent on at a particular time in the history of humankind. More importantly, it is what he says to us today.
God’s law is progressive and has changed over time.
So it should be no surprise that it has changed under the new covenant concerning things like the priesthood, sabbaths, feasts, dietary laws, and purification laws, etc. Yet, there is still law for which even those under Christ will be judged per scriptures like Ephesians 6:2-3 which is a direct quote from Exodus 20:12, and 2 Corinthians 5:10 which says we all shall appear before the judgement seat of Christ to be judged for ALL we have done while in this body.
For those who say there has been no change to them I say the following.
I take the whole counsel of God not part of it.
I take change is good not bad.
I take we are under the NEW covenant NOT the OLD covenant and new is a change from old just by the very definitions of the words.
I take what Hebrews say as truth:
For Hebrews 7:12 says: For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
So we have to go with God’ standard for today as presented in the New Testament with our understanding informed by the Old Testament through the Holy Spirit, whose sword is the Word of God. For we are under the New Covenant.
Praise God for the GRACE that flows from Jesus and him crucified, the promise of resurrection unto eternal life for the FAITHFUL as exemplified by his resurrection and ascension.
