A Timeline from Eden to Sinai 📜
The principles codified at Mount Sinai were not new dictates, but eternal principles of God’s government already woven into the fabric of creation and demonstrated by the Patriarchs. This article introduces a structure to visually track the Law’s existence from the Garden of Eden to its formal codification at Sinai, affirming that God’s moral standard is immutable and pre-dates the Mosaic Covenant.
The Eternal Principles Pre-Codification
A deep reading of Genesis confirms that before the thunder of Sinai, Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph were held accountable to the same moral standard later enshrined in the Ten Commandments. The event at Sinai served not as the start of the Law, but as its national codification for Israel.
This timeline uses distinct, color-coded epochs to visually separate the time when the Law was written on the “Heart” (The Age of the Patriarchs) from the time it was written on “Stone” (The Sinai Covenant).
Timeline Key: Interactive Principles
- Epoch 1 (Green): The Age of the Patriarchs. Law known by revelation and conscience.
- Epoch 2 (Blue): The Sinai Covenant. The Law formally delivered and codified.
- Interactivity: Place your cursor over the name of any figure on the timeline to reveal the specific pre-Sinai Law principle they encountered, quoting directly from the King James Version (KJV).
The principle of life and death established by Divine decree for disobedience (Genesis 2:17, KJV).
“Whoso shedeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6, KJV)
Abimelech knew taking Sarah was sin against God, showing prior knowledge of marriage sanctity (Genesis 20:6, KJV).
The formal Law is given, definitively inscribing the eternal moral standards onto stone tablets (Exodus 20).