Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

The Purpose Of The Law? Pt 1

by | Mon, May 1 2023

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This is a pretty big question to ask and it’s more than a little controversial. We’ve mentioned many times before that we’re never to take verses in isolation but to always keep them in their context and we’re to take them TOGETHER with other related verses throughout the Bible. In this way we lay out before us the whole council of God and put the mosaic pieces together to make the image clearer, more defined and more easily understood. Once we get a clearer understanding, we can better apply it to our lives.

First of all, when God gave the Law and instruction for life to His people (the Jews) they were either described as eternal, perpetual or permanent.

Exodus 12:14 & 17 & 24, speaking of the feast of Passover: V14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.’…V17 ’You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.’…V24 ‘And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.’

Exodus 21:6, speaking of the commitment of a bond-slave, “Then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.’

Exodus 27:21, regarding the priesthood, ‘In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.’ 

Exodus 28:43, regarding the priesthood, ‘They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they don’t incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

Exodus 29:9, regarding the priesthood, V9 ‘You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.’

Exodus 30:21, regarding the priesthood, ‘So they shall wash their hand and their feet, so that they won’t die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.

Exodus 31:16, regarding the Sabbath, ‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’

Leviticus 23:31, regarding the Sabbath, ‘You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 

Leviticus 25:34, regarding land ownership of the Levites throughout the land of Israel, ‘But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.’ 

Numbers 15:15, regarding the assembling of Jews and Gentiles together, ‘As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord.

There are so many more verses that say similar things about perpetual or eternal statutes and covenants that were to be carried forward throughout their generations. So from this we can see that when God gave instruction to His people, the israelites, He was detailed, specific and clear about what they were to do and for how long they were to do it.

I ask the question…are there ongoing generations of Jewish people around the world today? Yes. Are there still members of the tribe of Levi and the family line of Aaron around the world today? Yes. If that’s the case, do these statutes still apply? Yes.

There is a problem however…there is no temple in which to fulfil the priestly duties.

We’ve mentioned before that there are numerous covenants between God and His people;

  • Abrahamic covenant about descendants more numerous than the stars of the sky and the sand on the sea shore. – Eternal and unconditional. (Gen 12:1-3)
  • The land covenant; the promise of a geographical land mass as a homeland for the tribal people known as the Jewish people. Eternal and unconditional. (Gen 12:1; 13:14-17; 15:18-21; Deut 30:1-10; Ps 105:7-11)
  • Levitical covenant; a perpetual line of priests to serve before the Lord for all generations. Eternal and unconditional. (Num 25:10-13; Neh 13:29; Jer 33:19-23; Mal 2:1-9)
  • Davidic covenant; a perpetual line of kings from the family line of king David. Eternal and unconditional. (2 Sam 7:10-16; Ps 89; Ezek 37:24-25)
  • New covenant; to the Jewish people that would open up and embrace the Gentile world. Eternal and unconditional. (Jer 31:31-34)
  • Jerusalem covenant; a perpetual promise of the holy city from where the Lord and His king would reign forever. Eternal and unconditional. (Ezek 16)
  • Mosaic covenant; a system of law and consequence given to the people so they would know how to live and conduct themselves and about how to approach God. Conditional and limited. (Ex 19:5; 20:1-17; Deut 5; 28-1-14 repeats the conditions of “if you do” or “if you do not” and the consequences.)

However, looking at all these laws and feasts and annual celebrations and remembrances, you still have to ask the question…”What was the purpose of giving the Law in the first place?”

We’ll look at that next time on Foundations.