God’s Law and Grace

Why did God give so many commands to Israel? How do these laws relate to His gracious salvation through Jesus Christ? Today, Sinclair Ferguson considers the purpose of the Mosaic Covenant in redemptive history.

This week on Things Unseen, we’ve been turning our minds to the important biblical theme of God’s covenant, and yesterday we were reflecting on the Sinaitic covenant, the covenant that God made with Moses. And I was trying to stress how important it is to see that that Sinaitic covenant reflects the covenant of grace and to avoid the drastic mistake of thinking that the covenant with Moses—and the Old Testament with it—teaches us that we’re saved by works. As Paul points out, the law of God was given centuries after God’s covenant with Abraham. It didn’t annul that covenant of grace but was given within its context.

But then when we actually read the small print of the Mosaic law, it does all seem to focus on what we do. There are so many details, and to be honest, it looks as though there are so many restrictions. So many “don’t do these things, but do these things.” It can all sound so legal—so much law and commandments, so many instructions about sacrifices and offerings—that sometimes people get the impression that pleasing God must have been very hard work. And so, the idea that the Mosaic covenant, the Sinaitic covenant, seems mainly to be about good works can, I think, perhaps too easily persist in people’s minds and also, then, in their hearts. And that can be a problem not only for understanding the Old Testament, but an even greater problem for how we think about God Himself. Is that what He’s really like behind it all, constantly scrutinizing us with our multitude of dos and don’ts—and mainly don’ts?

Well, you know what my answer is going to be, I’m sure: it’s not like that. But how is it not like that? Well, this is a huge subject and I can only give a brief answer here, but I think everything becomes clearer if we remember just a couple of things.

First, have you ever noticed that the only part of the law that was placed in the ark of the covenant, in the holiest place, was the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them? It’s interesting, I think, that inside that sacred box were written the words about God delivering His people from slavery. And on top of that box was a covering of solid gold called the mercy seat, and it was there that, once a year, the high priests sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. What does that picture say to you? To borrow the words of a hymn, I think it says:

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin.

The second thing to notice is that while the Ten Commandments were placed in the ark, the rest of the law was outside of it. And the reason for that difference was, quite simply, that the rest of the law was only the application of the commandments to the people of Israel, a distinct people, at a certain time in their history, until Christ, the seed of the woman, came. In other words, these particular laws were meant for them while they lived in the promised land. They were meant to keep them together and distinct as a people until the fundamental promise to Abraham would be fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. I think it’s because the psalmist understood this that when he wrote about the law, he tells us that he loved it. He understood that these applications had a special purpose, for a special time. And according to Scripture, that special time would be fulfilled when Jesus came.

The Mosaic covenant looked back to the covenant of grace, and it looked forward to the coming of Christ. And in between, the Ten Commandments were applied in a variety of different ways to God’s people in order to preserve them as a very special people and to preserve the promise among them until Christ came. And then, in a sense, we can say that the Lord Jesus picked up these applications and carried them away. And of course, we can learn from them, but as the New Testament tells us, we’re no longer under them. And I think when we begin to see these hints that the Scriptures give us, we learn it’s a great thing to see that there is grace in God’s law. And I hope you’ll join us tomorrow for our final reflection on that covenant of grace.