From Adam to Abraham there was no written law and no formal system of worship; mankind related to God through conscience and a blood sacrifice offered by faith.
God dealt with the whole human race as one family for roughly two thousand years. People were not under a written code; when their conscience convicted them of sin, they could bring a blood sacrifice by faith and God would accept them. Because they rejected this, the earth became violent and corrupt, leading to the Flood, and God later turned to one man, Abraham.
Genesis 4:4 — Abel's blood sacrifice is the clearest early example of approaching God by faith before any written law existed.
Genesis 6:11 — This verse shows the corruption and violence that filled the earth during the period before the Flood.
Hebrews 11:4 — It confirms that Abel's acceptable offering was an act of faith.
Genesis records that Abel brought an offering of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof, and the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering (Genesis 4:4). The writer of Hebrews later explains that it was by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain (Hebrews 11:4). The same biblical record says that before the Flood, the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). After the Flood, mankind at Babel attempted to build a city and a tower whose top might reach to heaven, making a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). These are the defining scriptural landmarks between Adam and Abraham: a sacrifice offered in faith, growing corruption, and human attempts to approach God on their own terms.
Les teaches that for approximately the first 1,600 years of human history, from Adam until the Flood, there was no written law. Man simply had the knowledge of right and wrong on his conscience, and there was no formal system of worship. When the conscience convicted them of sin, they were to bring a blood sacrifice by faith, and God would accept them; Abel is the best example of this.
According to Les, for the first 1,600 years from Adam to the Flood there was no written law; right and wrong was a matter of conscience. Even later, God's written Law, with the Ten Commandments, priesthood, and temple, was never given until after God chose Abraham and the nation of Israel. That written criteria for behavior had never happened before.
There was no formal system of worship. The simple pattern was that when a person was convicted of sin on the conscience, they were to bring a blood sacrifice by faith and confess their sin, and God would accept them. Les points to Abel as the biblical example of this faith-based blood sacrifice.
Les explains that because there was no civil law, no government to maintain law and order, and no system of worship to maintain a relationship with God, by Genesis 6 the earth was filled with violence and was corrupt to the core. The only remedy God saw was to destroy the human race, but in grace He saved eight souls, Noah and his family.
From Noah's three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, the human race began again. Yet within about 200 years the descendants of those three sons were again in total rebellion and ignorance of God's offer of salvation, attempting to reach heaven by their own false worship at the Tower of Babel. Abraham then came out of the line of Shem, about 2,000 years after Adam.
Why the Old Testament Never Mentions the Church Age
We just love to teach the Word, and hopefully tantalize people to start studying it and enjoying it on their own. Because after all, that's why God left us this book, is that you and I, as ordinary believers, can read it and study it. I think it was Tyndale, as he was being burned at the stake, was the one who said that he wanted every plowboy in England to have a copy of the Word.
No Written Law and No Formal Worship
Les teaches that for about the first 1,600 years from Adam to the Flood, there was no written law; people knew right and wrong by conscience, and there was no formal system of worship.
Result: Violence and the Flood
Les connects the absence of civil law and worship system to the earth becoming filled with violence by Genesis 6, which led God to destroy all but eight souls.
From One Race to Abraham
Les notes that Abraham came 2,000 years after Adam, out of the line of Shem, and that the human race began again after the Flood from Noah's three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth.
Blood Sacrifice by Faith
Les explains that before the Flood, when a person's conscience convicted them of sin, they were to bring a blood sacrifice by faith; Abel is the clearest Bible example.
Rejection of the Conscience Provision
Les teaches that the race was offered a simple salvation by conscience and blood sacrifice, but they rejected it, leading to the Flood and then to rebellion at Babel within 200 years.
Timeline: Adam to Flood
Les places the Flood about 1,600 years after Adam and about 400 years before Abraham, during which the format of approaching God was the blood-sacrifice-by-faith pattern of Cain and Abel.
The Law Had Never Been Given
Les emphasizes that the Ten Commandments, priesthood, and temple were a written Law that had never existed before; God introduced them to Israel after Abraham, not during the Adam-to-Abraham period.
Genesis 4:4: 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:
This is the early example of a blood sacrifice accepted by God before any written law existed.
Genesis 6:11: The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
This describes the moral corruption that developed while there was no civil law or formal worship system.
Genesis 11:4: And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
This shows the post-Flood attempt at false worship and human effort to reach heaven on their own terms.
Hebrews 11:4: 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.
This confirms that Abel's acceptable sacrifice was a matter of faith.
No. Les teaches that for roughly the first 1,600 years from Adam to the Flood, there was no written law. Right and wrong was a matter of conscience, and a written criterion for behavior did not appear until God later gave Israel the Law.
There was no formal system of worship. When a person was convicted of sin on the conscience, they were to bring a blood sacrifice by faith, and God would accept them. Abel is the biblical example of this.
Because there was no civil law, no government to maintain order, and no worship system to maintain a relationship with God, the earth became filled with violence and corruption. God's remedy was to destroy humanity, saving only eight souls and starting over with Noah's family.
Les teaches that God did not give Israel the Law until about 500 years after Abraham. Only then did the human race have the Ten Commandments, the priesthood, and the temple as a written criteria for behavior.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Old Testament Never Mentions the Church Age