From Adam to Moses there is a period of 25 centuries, that is, 2500 years, in which there was no written revelation from God. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on stone, rock, lead; and other hard and imperishable material were the earliest forms of writing. Jehovah wrote the ten commandments on, tables or slabs of stone; the Peninsula of Sinai is covered with rock-inscriptions; the monuments of Egypt, the bricks of Babylon, and the exhumed remains of Nineveh bear witness to that most ancient style of writing; the first mention of a book is in Exodus 17:1414And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:14). There is no proof, however, that writing was practiced even in its rudest forms prior to Moses, unless we except Job 19:23,2423Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! 24That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! (Job 19:23‑24).
Hence the inquiry still remains how are we to span the bridge of 25 centuries of unwritten revelation? How was the truth and testimony of God preserved, and when were the successive revelations to these holy men of old transmitted to their descendants? We answer at once by tradition. We need not be afraid of the word, for, be it remembered, there were apostolic traditions and mere human traditions. The early church welcomed the former, but rejected the latter (2 Thessalonians 2:1515Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:15); Colossians 2:88Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)). Now we, as Christians, reject “traditions” in toto, the patriarchal and apostolic “traditions” having been embodied in the Holy Scriptures.
Now, from the expulsion from Eden to the flood there is a period of 1656 years. Methuselah, whose life is the longest on record, could have walked and talked with Adam for more than 200 years. Thus, the fundamental truths of Scripture, ruin and redemption, could have been fully communicated by the father of the race; the words and actions of a Savior—God in Eden, and other incidents and truths could thus be made known to Methuselah, while he again could transmit his knowledge to Noah, with whom he could have conversed for about 600 years. Thus, the whole of the Ark family were not only in possession of the testimony immediately communicated to Noah, but also that given to Adam and Enoch, conveyed by Methuselah, the friend of the one, and the son of the other. Then, again, the chosen son of Noah, Shem, in whom God deposited further truth and testimony, lived long enough to be contemporary with Isaac, the chosen seed of Abraham, for nearly so years. The grandson of Isaac was Levi, and the patriarch for at least 30 years could have held familiar and frequent intercourse with Levi, whose daughter Jochebed was the mother of Moses. Thus, then there are but seven links of oral tradition in this precious chain of divine testimony, but seven arches in this bridge of 25 centuries.
Owing, however, to the shortening of human life and the rapid multiplying of the race, a written revelation of the Lord’s will and mind for man was rendered necessary, and hence Moses, the first of inspired writers, commenced the sacred volume on the plains of Moab, near 15 centuries before Christ. Thus, the truth was permanently fixed; oral tradition gave place to the written Word. O what a boon we possess, what a priceless treasure we have in our homes in our dear old English Bibles.