Patriarchal Dispensation
From: TFTW Bible College
A “patriarch” refers to a father. So, the Patriarchal Dispensation refers to a time when God spoke directly to men and to fathers. Those people could then pass the information to others.
For example, God spoke directly to the first man, Adam. “And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17) This was before the creation of the woman. It is possible that Adam told Eve about the instructions God had given. Apparently, she knew what God had said because she repeated it to the devil, who was operating as a serpent. “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Genesis 3:1-3) God told Adam and Adam probably repeated the instructions to Eve. This is how the Patriarchal Dispensation would work.
We later see Cain and Abel, the children of Adam, offering sacrifices to God. “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5) So, why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? The answer is that Abel followed the instructions that had been given him, probably by Adam, and Cain did not. Later in the Bible we read, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (Hebrews 11:4) Abel offered a better sacrifice by faith. How did he get faith? “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) The only way Abel would have offered a better sacrifice by faith would be because he had heard the instructions of God. Once again, the Patriarchal Dispensation had God give instructions for sacrifice to Adam, and Adam passed on those instructions to his children. Abel obeyed, and Cain didn’t.
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