Other passages of Scripture testify to the same truth, but these two
will suffice. We may also learn from the Bible that ceremonies are no
aid to blessedness, but only have reference to the temporal prosperity
of the kingdom; for the rewards promised for their observance are merely
temporal advantages and delights, blessedness being reserved for the
universal Divine law. In all the five books commonly attributed to Moses
nothing is promised, as I have said, beyond temporal benefits, such as
honors, fame, victories, riches, enjoyments, and health. Though many
moral precepts besides ceremonies are contained in these five books,
they appear not as moral doctrines universal to all men, but as commands
especially adapted to the understanding and character of the Hebrew
people, and as having reference only to the welfare of the kingdom. For
instance, Moses does not teach the Jews as a prophet not to kill or to
steal, but gives these commandments solely as a lawgiver and judge; he
does not reason out the doctrine, but affixes for its non-observance a
penalty which may and very properly does vary in different nations. So,
too, the command not to commit adultery is given merely with reference
to the welfare of the state; for if the moral doctrine had been
intended, with reference not only to the welfare of the state, but also
to the tranquillity and blessedness of the individual, Moses would have
condemned not merely the outward act, but also the mental acquiescence,
as is done by Christ, Who taught only universal moral precepts, and for
this cause promises a spiritual instead of a temporal reward. Christ, as
I have said, was sent into the world, not to preserve the state nor to
lay down laws, but solely to teach the universal moral law, so we can
easily understand that He wished in no wise to do away with the law of
Moses, inasmuch as He introduced no new laws of His own--His sole care
was to teach moral doctrines, and distinguish them from the laws of the
state; for the Pharisees, in their ignorance, thought that the
observance of the state law and the Mosaic law was the sum total of
morality; whereas such laws merely had reference to the public welfare,
and aimed not so much at instructing the Jews as at keeping them under
constraint. But let us return to our subject, and cite other passages
of Scripture which set forth temporal benefits as rewards for observing
the ceremonial law, and blessedness as reward for the universal law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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