Why did God really give the Old Covenant?

So the question is, why did God really give the old covenant? Clearly, God knew that this covenant would fail, this was not God’s perfect plan to save people. That perfect plan was the future new covenant when through his son Jesus Christ he would provide salvation as a free gift to all who would believe. Even during this time of the Old Covenant, it was only by faith that anybody could receive the hope of salvation by having faith in God. So why was the old covenant given?

As we can clearly see, salvation could never be achieved through this covenant. Why? Because it required obedience to the laws that God gave and it was impossible for carnal people to keep those laws. The record is that they broke those laws over and over, unfailingly. It was an impossible covenant because of the condition of the people, and the only thing which could have made those conditions work, is the very thing which was not yet given which was, the new covenant! The experience of being born again! Only born again people could have fulfilled the conditions of that old covenant.

But this covenant of Mount Sinai was not something which had no purpose, there was something which God in his wisdom designed to accomplish even through that failing covenant. First of all we need to realize that, that covenant was a stop-gap. By this I mean that it was not intended to be something permanent, but from the very beginning in God’s purposes and intent, God’s plan was that it should last only for a time. There was an expiry date attached to it.

Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. (Gal 3:19)

Here, this old covenant is referred to as, “the law.” Paul says that it was, “added.” It was not a part of God’s original plan for saving mankind, that original plan was always that men would be saved through the seed, God’s son, the Messiah. But the law was added to the plan although it was only for a time. The verse clearly states that it was added, “till the seed should come.” When the seed arrived this would mark the end of the law, or the old covenant.

To restrain carnality

So why did God give this temporary covenant which, as we have seen, was not able to make people righteous nor to provide salvation? Take note again of what the verse says; it was “added because of transgressions.” In other words, God gave the law because of the carnal behavior of these people who were not born again, their carnal condition needed to be restrained in some way and the law was given to provide that restraint. The law carried strict penalties for disobedience, these penalties were a constant threat to those who broke the laws and so they were an incentive to try to behave right, even though the hearts were carnal and obedience was very imperfect. At least it prevented the Israelite society from breaking out into complete anarchy. This is also the reason why laws are established in all human society; it is because human, carnal nature is naturally evil and needs to be forcefully restrained. In the following passage the apostle Paul makes it very clear that the law was only given by God for this purpose of controlling those who were naturally inclined to do evil because of their carnal condition.

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; (1Tim 1:8-10)

It is very clear that this is the purpose why the law was given by God, it was simply a method to control carnal people.

To expose legality’s futility

But God used this system of the old covenant to teach additional lessons as well. One of the lessons which was clearly taught by that system, is that rules and regulations can never produce righteousness! For 1500 years the Hebrews lived under the system of the old covenant, the system of rules and laws. Furthermore it is clear that these were the best laws that were ever given to the human race. As far as a legal system was concerned, it was the best system that could have been designed as it was designed by God himself. This is one of the reasons why so many people think that system is the best form of government; they conclude that since God designed and gave the system it must be perfect. In a sense they are correct, as a form of legal government it is the best that has ever existed.

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? (Deut 4:8)

The very fact that the system was so perfectly designed by the Lord God himself, teaches us an extremely important lesson. It is the great lesson that it is impossible for any system of external law to produce righteousness, or even to produce good behavior. For 1500 years God tried, and tried again to get the Israelites to obey those laws, but carnality cannot be changed by even the best legal system and so God’s purposes failed over and over again. This is the great lesson which was taught by that old covenant system; rules on the outside are helpless in the battle against sin, something better has to be put in place. This was one of the lessons which God intended to teach by that old covenant system. A better system had to come, and it did come when the son of God arrived on earth, the promised Seed bringing the new covenant, God’s laws written in the hearts and the minds of his people. This was a system that could really work in producing true righteousness!

To strengthen sin

Another surprising reason for the giving of the old covenant was that it was intended to bring a greater awareness of the power of sin. God did not give the law with the expectation that men would keep it even though he commanded the Israelites to do so. God’s intention was that they would try to keep it and they would fail, again and again. This would bring them to a recognition of the fact that they were incapable of doing good, it would make them recognize that they needed an ability outside of themselves. By this means there would come to recognize their need of Christ.

For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. (Rom 7:9-11)

Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. (Rom 7:13)

Human beings are naturally inclined to believe that they are quite capable of doing what is good if they choose to. They feel that righteousness is something that they can produce if they only make the effort. This is the great reason why the concept of righteousness by works is so deeply rooted in all the religious systems in the world.

The great majority of the Israelite nation never really learned the lesson taught by the law. Even until today the Jews on the whole, still believe that their acceptance with God depends upon how well they keep those very laws given at Mount Sinai. They blind themselves to the fact that they have never really kept those laws, that all their efforts have only produced frustration and futility. They maintain an outward show of obedience to the law, but it is only on the outside; they are just as wicked and perverse as everybody else on the planet who is not born again through Jesus Christ.

But as I said before, the law was never intended to produce righteousness, it was given with a full understanding that people would fail again and again. The apostle Paul makes it clear that the law was a device which made the effect of sin increase and multiply.

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (1Cor 15:56)

But of course God’s great purpose was that this increased awareness of sinfulness, this recognition of his own helpless state, would lead a person to turn to God for help and in this way he would find Christ.

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 5:20-21)

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. (Heb 7:19)

To illustrate the kingdom

One other reason why God gave the old covenant was that he intended that it should be a lesson book, a teaching tool to instruct them concerning the true kingdom of God which was to come in the future. The old covenant was basically a system that was made up of practices, ceremonies and rituals which had no meaning in themselves, but which were illustrations or shadows, pointing to some great reality which would take place in the future. The apostle Paul uses the word, “shadow,” several times when referring to the practices involved with the worship of the old covenant.

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (Heb 10:1)

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Col 2:16-17)

A shadow is something which looks like the real thing to some extent. We can look at a shadow and get a fair idea of what the real thing looks like, but it is far from the reality. In actual fact it has no substance in itself, though it may serve as a tool to help us to understand the real thing. This was one of the purposes which God intended when he gave the old covenant, it was to teach them lessons concerning the coming kingdom of God.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Gal 3:24-25)

(Source: Restoration Ministry)