If God is omnipresent, why was incest OK until after Mosaic law?

Question

Actually, I was thinking of Abraham & Sarah, but I temporarily forgot about Adam & Eve. Also, I always assumed that Abel used his mother to make a sister for him to marry.

Omnipresent-wrong word, omniscient would cover time-if He invented it, surely he would know that we couldn't always have inter-family relationships and wouldv'e either made more people 'in the beginning' or made it to where our DNA wouldn't deteriorate as time went by.

Where is everyone getting the idea that DNA was 'pure' and could intermix before but not now?

Answer 1

The real question is, what kind of 'God' has his people kidnap and rape virgins, have sex with their own daughters, and keep multiple wives as well as concubines??

Answer 2

Many ask this question thinking they’ve found a "mistake" in the Bible—that there must have been other people besides Adam and Eve. Scripture tells us that Adam is "the first man" (1 Corinthians 15:45); that there were no other humans when he was created, because God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18); and that Eve is "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). Cain and Abel, then, must have married distant sisters. All of the first-generation siblings married each other in order to populate the earth. At that time there was no law against incest. But as the population grew large enough, and as the risk of genetic problems increased because of sin’s curse, God outlawed marriage between siblings.

Answer 3

Because of my religious background, I can present a few Christian views of this and my own, but little else. I respect many of the answers here, though, the ones that are well-thought out and reasonable from a scientific or religious standpoint. This is an excellent question, and it resulted in some excellent answers.

There are several traditional Christian ways to view this. One is that if Adam were the first person and other people were not created along with him, then it would follow that incest was ok due to the lack of population. When there were enough people to outlaw this, then they did. Another traditional Christian view would be that God is able to control the scientific principles that you would apply to the genetic question to suit his will. This goes with the view that God's law is the ultimate authority. Thus, incest was fine until his law said otherwise, and God protected people from the negative genetic effects we know now.

Finally, it can be argued from another Christian point of view that God was simply trying to set the Hebrew people apart from those cultures they existed amongst. Incest was one practical way for the Hebrews to differentiate themselves from the other cultures that they lived amongst.

That said, I am a Christian, and I personally reject the first two points of view. The last point of view is closer to what I believe. There are many ways to look at this, though, so of course I am not in any authority to say what is right or wrong. My personal opinion is that incest is a cultural decision made by people, not a religious one. God's omnipotence has little to do with what men decide to do with their lives. Thus, society before Mosaic Law did not find incest to be offensive. The Judaic culture that developed the Mosaic Law had different social norms than that which came before it, and they wrote a law that reflected this. Perhaps it was to separate themselves from the cultures around them. Perhaps it was because they realized the natural consequences of their actions. As what happens with all cultures, their perception of God changed to suit their cultural evolution, hence the Mosaic Law.

Answer 4

I am not sure what u are talking about but It wasnt ok. The people just did it. Just because people do something doesnt mean that it is ok.
Remember that people was sinning on the earth from Adam & Eve.
If u are talking about Cain, well he did not marry his sister as some people believe. He took a wife from the CITY of Nod. City meaning a civilised, bustling metropolis with many residents living there.
Adam & Eve were just special people created 2 tend the Garden of Eden. Nowhere in the bible does it say that they are the first people on Earth. In fact in Genesis 1, male & female was created. Male & female being an indefinite number of men & women. Could be thousands or even millions.Then God rested. Then in Genesis 2, after God rested, Adam was created & then Eve. Even in the sequence in creation, in Genesis 1 the animals were created first & then male & female after. In Genesis 2, Adam was created first , then the animals after. So If a day of creation be more than a thousand years. Adam & Eve may have been created thousands of years after the people who was created in Genesis1, meaning quite a few thousand eligible females for Abel, Seth & Cain 2 choose from.

Answer 5

Genesis 4:17 says, "Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch." Who was his wife? It is implied in the biblical text that Cain married one of his sisters. Several facts lead us to this conclusion.
First, it is clear that Adam and Eve had a number of children. Genesis 5:4 says, "After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters." Since Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, and since God had commanded them (and their descendants) to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28), it seems reasonable to conclude that Cain married one of his many sisters. It is also possible that he married a niece or even a grandniece.
One must keep in mind that in the early years of the human race there were no genetic defects that had yet developed as a result of the fall of man. By the time of Abraham, God had not yet declared this kind of marriage to be contrary to His will (see Genesis 20:12). Laws governing incest apparently did not become enacted until the time of Moses (Lev 18:7-17; 20:11,12,14,17,20,21). Hence, there was no prohibition regarding marrying a sister (or niece or grandniece) in the days of Cain.
To learn more on this subject you can go to http://www.answersingenesis.org

Answer 6

The idea that incest is wrong is a learned behavior, not a natural one. In a state of perfection, or near perfection, the mixing of closely related DNA does not create a major problem. Consider that Adam and Eve were like siblings, in that she was a clone of him, but without the X Chromosome.

It was only after time passed and abnormalities in the genetic code would begin to create a problem that the teaching of not breeding with a close relative became necessary. They didn't understand why, but that in another of the factors about the Bible that is supported by science. Only today do we understand why it became necessary.

All you are doing is showing your lack of knowledge of the Bible and the way things worked. After Armageddon, this may change, as we are returned back to a sate of perfection.

Of interest, with the advances in preventive reproduction and the demands by homosexuals to have their desires recognized as normal, we are beginning to see a surge of demand for the same recognition of those wishing to have sexual relations with a close relative, including the attraction of an adult children to each other and to ones parent. I recently read a story about a young man who walked in on his fiance having relations with her father. She did not see what he thought was so bad about it. They had only been doing it since she turned 25 and it is not as if the sin would not be forgiven.

Answer 7

That is true what the other guy said about the gene pool. As a matter of fact I watched a special on siblings that marry and have kids but most were adopted and did not know until after and they (the scientist) said that if people of a family had not been intermarrying for generations that there were usually no defects from the incest. But none the less the idea of incest creeps me out. I was adopted but can't stand the thought of sex with Dad or my brother. Also how do we know God didn't disapprove before he revealed it to man?

Answer 8

It all started in the Garden of Eden in Paradise. We must not overlook the fact that GOD created man for co-existence in spiritual life here on earth. Adam was banished from a spiritual life with GOD into a life of flesh and blood in a world Satan rules. So, anything went.

The LORD GOD, however, wanted to redeem man. This process of redemption or salvation started with Abraham. The LORD GOD sent him to the Land of Canaan and promised that through him all peoples on earth would be blessed. Genesis 12. While Abraham was pleading for Sodom, the LORD GOD said: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Genesis 18:17-19. That was an allusion to the Ten Commandments and the Regulations.

Christians neglect the facts of the Covenant of the Ten Commandments and the Regulations. Through Moses, the LORD GOD said to the Nation of Israel: "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5&6.

We cannot afford to miss three important points. The first one is that the Ten Commandments and the Regulations was not given to the whole world. That Covenant was between the LORD GOD on one hand, and the Nation of Israel on the other. The second point is that there is no promise of eternal life in that Covenant. Lastly, the Covenant of the Ten Commandments and the Regulations made the children of Jacob holy enough for Jesus Christ to come from among them into a world of sin Satan rules. Jesus Christ is the Savior. Shortly before He was killed, He established the New Covenant, the Covenant of Salvation.

The Covenant that brings man back to life in the spiritual with GOD is the New Covenant which Christians have ignored. Jesus Christ knew this would happen. So, He warned that we should separate the Old Covenant from the New. Otherwise, we shall loose the benefit of both. Matthew 9:16&17.

The purpose of the Mission of Jesus Christ is to reconcile man with GOD in the spiritual. That was why He resurrected. With the New Covenant in force, baptism unites one with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. Romans 6:3-10; Galatians 3:27 and Colossians 2:12. If this happens, one is born of water and can then be led to do the will of GOD. Adam was banished when he rejected this. The banishment was to ensure that man does not live forever. Genesis 3:22&23.

Answer 9

Incest isn't the proper word in this case.Intertribal marriage up to first cousins,yes.1/2 sisters yes sometimes.
Remember,in the begining,the gene pool was 100% pure and they had no choice put as time went on,the pool became muddy and that's when God told Moses OK enough,no more.It was never proper to have sex with your mother or daughter.That's what the Canaanites were doing and God mercifully gave them 4oo years to stop it while Israel was in Egypt.When they did not stop that plus all the human sacrificing and canibalism,He had Israel wipe them out when after the Exodus.

Answer 10

I guess incest was okay because if you believe humans beings were made better in the beginning and slowly deteroriated because of sin, then back then maybe incest did not cause genetic problems like it does now. Also, Adam and Eve's children had to commit incest in order for their to be more human beings.

Answer 11

I am not sure what God's omnipresence has to do with your question. However, the law codified God's standards, but it did not establish them. For example, it was always wrong to murder, even before the law said so; and the law that was written on man's hearts told them so. So Cain knew he had done wrong even before the law verified it. So sin was still sin before and after the law was given.