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"THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION" | | "THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION"
A basic rule of Bible interpretation is "the law of first mention"
that requires us to go to that portion of the Scriptures where a
doctrine is mentioned for the first time and to study the first
occurrence of the same in order to get the fundamental meaning of
that doctrine.
For example, God said this:
"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other
gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
my commandments." Exodus 20:2-6
In order for us to get the fundamental meaning of how the second
commandment is transgressed we must go to the first time Israel
transgressed it --when they made the golden calf.
The people who transgressed the second commandment had
forsaken the God of Israel who brought them out of the land of
Egypt; the Lord who went before them by day in a pillar of cloud
and by night in a pillar of fire. Their purposeful intention was to
make other gods to follow and worship:
Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come
down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together
unto Aaron, and said unto him, ***UP, MAKE US GODS,
WHICH SHALL GO BEFORE US; for as for this Moses, the man
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is
become of him.
Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden
earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of
your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exodus 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings
which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
[Here, the wicked idolators gave honor and worshipped the graven
image instead the LORD, their redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.]
Exodus 32:4 And he [Aaron] received them at their hand, and
fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf:
and they said, THESE BE THY GODS, O ISRAEL, which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it;
and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to
the LORD.
Exodus 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered
burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat
down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exodus 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down;
for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt,
have corrupted themselves:
Exodus 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I
commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have
worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be
thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt.
Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this
people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:"
According to "the law of first mention," the Lord shows us the
components that are necessary to identify a transgression of the
second commandment:
"They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I
commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have
worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be
thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt." Exodus 32:8
In order to be correctly interpreted, all other scripture must agree
with the fundamental principles of Exodus 32:8
Donna Kupp
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