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"Mediate.
—To interpose; to intercede."— Webster. Then, a
mediator is one who interposes or mediates between
parties, one who stands in the middle between two. Mesites
is the Greek. It is defined in Young's Concordance,
"middleman, mediator." "A go-between, one
who intervenes between two parties. It is applied to Moses
as an interpreter or mere medium of communication between
Jehovah and the Israelites (Gal. 3:19, 20). Jesus Christ
is . . . 'the mediator of the new covenant' (Heb. 12:24;
8:6), or 'of the new testament' (Heb. 9:15)."—Smith
and Barnum.
The law "was ordained by angels in the hand of a
mediator" (Gal. 3:19). We have but to inquire, Who
was the middleman at the giving of the law ? Moses himself
answers: "The Lord made a covenant with us in Horeb.
. . . The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount
out of the midst of the fire, (l stood between the Lord
and you at that time, to show you the word of the
Lord)" (Deut. 5:2-7). Moses, then, filled the exact
office of a mediator.
"Jesus Christ never claimed to be the mediator in the
giving of the law on Sinai, but he acknowledged Moses as
filling that office. Of the many instances we shall cite
only a few. 'Did not Moses give you the law' and yet none
of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?' (John
7:19). 'For the law was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ' (John 1:17). 'For Moses said,
Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father
or mother, let him die the death' (Mark 7:10). In this
last instance Jesus quotes one precept from the Decalogue
( see Exod. 20:12 ) and Deut. 5 :16, and one from the
judgments that God gave Israel through Moses immediately
following the Ten Statutes (see Exod. 21:17). This proves
that Moses was the mediator of the whole book of the law,
Ten Commandments and all. And the same laws ascribed to
Moses in Mark 7:10 are ascribed to God in Matt. 17: 4,
showing, as many other similar passages do, that the whole
law system was the law of God, its author, and yet the law
of Moses, its mediator, or medium of communication. There
is therefore no distinction between the law of God and the
law of Moses, as the Adventists teach.
"To say that John 1:17 relates only to the ceremonial
part of the law is utterly ridiculous. It betrays a false
greed that forces the mind out of the channels of good
common sense. In the passage the covenants of the two
great dispensations are referred to. 'The law was given by
Moses'—he was the mediator of that economy. 'But pace
and truth [the new testament] came by Jesus Christ,' who
is now the mediator of the same. It may seem strange that
we should spend a moment to show a fact so obvious. But in
the name of Jesus we must do the duty of a watchman, and
warn the people against the dark pitfall of legalism.
" 'The law was until John'; that is, he was the first
herald of the new dispensation. His preaching and baptism
are denominated 'the beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God' (Mark 1:1-4).
"Though there were precious promises of Christ
mingled in the book of the law, and there is a perfect law
found in the gospel, the two dispensations are separate
and distinct. Their distinguishing characteristics a r e
frequently compared, as 'law' and 'gospel,' or 'law' and
'truth.' Christ never said he was the mediator of the
former system But, saith he, 'Did not Moses give you the
law ?' Do you ask what law ? The whole law covenant, of
course. That he included the Decalog in the 'law' which he
said Moses gave the Jews, is evident. For he adds, 'None
of you keep the law. Why go ye about to kill me?' They
purposed in their hearts to violate the law of Moses by
killing him, which they also did, even that law which
said, Thou shalt not kill.'
" 'But,' say our Sabbatarian friends, 'There is but
one mediator, the man Christ Jesus.' Certainly there was
but one under the law, and there is but one now. Moses and
Christ did not both officiate in the same dispensation.
Christ succeeded Moses, and the new testament superseded
the old.
"Again they say, 'A mediator is a savior and Moses
could not save.' The idea of a savior from sin is not in
the word 'mediator.' But Moses was a deliverer of the
Israelites out of bondage, which is even called a
'redemption.' Hence he was a glorious figure of Jesus
Christ, our Redeemer.
" 'But,' said the debater, 'if Moses was the mediator
between God and Israel, what did they do for a mediator
after his death? Answer: His mediation consisted chiefly
in giving them the law and leading them out of Egypt, and
wherein the law system needed further mediation, Jesus
said, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat'
(Matt. 23:2). Their business was to teach and enforce the
law.
"One more prop we remove. 'At least Moses was not a
mediator in giving the Ten Commandments, for God spoke
them aloud in the ears of all the people, and then wrote
them himself on the tables of stone.' To this let Moses
answer. 'I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to
show you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by
reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount.'
" 'Moses gave you the law,' i. e., 'thou shalt not
kill.' Moses said, Honor thy father,' etc., the fifth
commandments.
" 'The law was ordained in the hands of a mediator.'
In whose hands were placed the tables of stone? And Moses
turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of
the testimony were in his hands (Exod. 32:15). 'And it
came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with
the two tables of the testimony in Moses' hand' ( Exod.
34:29 ).
"A few texts will establish the fact that 'the law of
Moses,' also called 'the law of God,' is the entire law of
that dispensation. In Neh. 8:1 we read that the people 'spake
unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of
Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.' It was
brought. 'So they read in the book, in the law of God.' So
the law of Moses and the law of God are the same book (vs.
8). And in Neh. 10:29, we are told the people entered
'into an oath. to walk in God's law. which was given by
Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the
commandments of the Lord, our Lord.' Here the
law teacher is utterly confounded. The law of Moses
and the law of God are one and the same. It is called
God's law which was given by Moses,' and the same one law
includes 'all the commandments of the Lord, our Lord.'
" 'Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do
all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that
ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the
bit; that ye come not among these nations, these that
remain among you; neither make mention of the name of
their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve
them, nor bow yourselves unto them' (Josh. 23:6, 7). The
entire law system is called the 'law of Moses,' and in
obeying it they were not even to mention the name of the
gods of the heathen, neither swear by them, nor serve
them. Here we see the law of Moses covered the first
commandment.
" 'And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk
in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments,
and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written
in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that
thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself' (1
Kings 2 3). These words utterly demolish the Adventist
theory. The charge of the Lord thy God,' 'his ways,' 'his
statutes,' 'his testimonies,' were all 'written in the law
of Moses' What, then, we should like to know, was left to
constitute 'the law of God,' which the vain imaginations
of Saturday keepers distinguish from 'the law of Moses,'
and which they say has survived the abolition? Were not
the Ten Precepts God's commandments ? Then, they were
'written in the law of Moses.' Were they statutes? There
they are written. 'And his [God's] testimonies, were
written in the law of Moses.' What is meant by these? The
Ten Commandments. Proof, read Exod. 25:16; 31:18; 32:15;
34:29; 40:20. Here are five clear statements that the
testimonies were the ten laws on the tables of stone. To
these may be added many passages which call the place of
their deposit 'the ark of the testimonies,' all of which
prove the same thing. How perfectly these scriptures sweep
away the refuge of lies that the Ten Commandments are
distinct, from the law of Moses, and remain still in force
since the law of Moses is abolished!
" 'Neither will I anymore remove the foot of Israel
from out of the land which I have appointed for your
fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have
commanded them, according to the whole law and the
statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses' (2 Chron.
33:8). Can a man be honest before God and hold the
Sabbatarian view after reading such scriptures? All that
God commanded them, even 'the whole law and the statutes
and the ordinances,' was given by the hand of Moses. This
proves that Moses was the mediator spoken of in Gal. 3:19,
and it also proves that there were not two laws, but one
law. Every duty enjoined by Jehovah upon the nation was by
the hand of Moses.
" 'Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and
spakest with them from heaven, and gayest them right
judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and
commandedest them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the
hand of Moses thy servant' (Neh. 9:13, 14). Here again all
the laws, statutes, and commandments that God gave the
people on Mount Sinai including the Sabbath, were given by
the hand of Moses, and is Moses' law as w ell as God's
law. This scripture proves that the Sabbath was there
given by God, and not before; that Moses was mediator in
its ministration and that all the law forms one system.
" 'These are the testimonies. and the statutes, and
the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of
Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt' (Deut 4:45).
'The testimonies,' we have seen, were those upon the stone
tables, and though God spoke them to all Israel, and Moses
wrote them in the book, he is represented as having spoken
them to the children of Israel, because he was the
mediator of the whole law economy. The same are called
'the commandments of the Lord our God. his testimonies,
and his statutes' in Deut. 6:17.
"So it is positively false that the law is divided
into two laws. It is all the law of God. and all the law
of Moses. But why multiply texts? Surely the foregoing are
sufficient to prove these things. And yet upon the
contrary theory hangs the Adventist creed. They know very
well that the New Testament, in the most positive terms,
asserts the abrogation of the old covenant, called 'the
law'; and indeed they are forced to admit the fact.
Therefore there is no possible chance to maintain their
Saturday keeping. But if that entire code passed away,
what now remains? We answer, Just what the inspired
apostle says remains. 'The new testament,' 'the law of
Christ.' " —The Sabbath.
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