I

When God began the official work of His management plan, He set down many ordinances that were to be followed by man. These ordinances were in order to allow man to lead the normal life of man on earth, a normal life of man that is inseparable from God and His guidance. What God set out for man was all-embracing and with these regulations, ordinances, and principles He standardized people’s behavior, guided their lives, guided their initiation to the laws of God, guided them to come before the altar of God, guided them in having a life among all the things God had made for man that was possessed of order, regularity, and moderation.

II

The ordinances and rules are the specifics of God’s guidance of mankind during the Age of Law, they had to be accepted and obeyed by the people who came before the Age of Law, they are a record of the work done by God during the Age of Law, and they are real proof of God’s leadership and guidance of all mankind. In these ordinances we see that God’s attitude toward His work, toward His management, and toward mankind is serious, conscientious, rigorous, and responsible. He does the work He must do among mankind according to His steps, without the slightest discrepancy, allowing man to see that he is inseparable from God’s leadership, and showing him just how important all that God does and says is to mankind.

III

These ordinances and the work done by God during the Age of Law are the bedrock of His work of saving mankind, and the first stage of work in God’s management plan. These simple regulations and ordinances show man the steps of God’s management work and the wisdom of God revealed in His management plan. Even though man had no understanding of God’s intentions, he could not help but be led by God’s work of management, step by step, up to today.

from The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II