The underlying principle of reaping what one sows is a natural law and one repeated in the New Testament (Galatians 6:7). “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse-the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today” (Deuteronomy 11:26–28). The Old Covenant was conditional God promised to bless Israel in the Promised Land only if they adhered to the Law. The Mosaic Law establishes the principle of sowing and reaping. Yet, in His great mercy, God promised to “vindicate his people” (Deuteronomy 32:36) and “make atonement for his land and people” (verse 43). God predicted, through His prophet Moses, that Israel would be disobedient and spurn the Law (Deuteronomy 32:21–22). There were blessings promised to Israel for keeping the Law and curses for breaking it (Deuteronomy 30). The Mosaic Law predicts that God will not forsake His children. The primary one is found in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The secondary, related command is in Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus ranked these commandments as number one and number two and said they were the quintessence of the entirety of God’s Law (Matthew 22:36–40). Everything in the Law can be boiled down to two commands. The Mosaic Law expounds on God’s two most basic commands. In taking the Law’s curse upon Himself, Christ brought an end to the curse and instituted the New Covenant (Galatians 3:13 Luke 22:20). Christ is the One who fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17). It was, in fact, “our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).
But the Law itself was meant to be temporary. As has been noted, the Law brought clarity and definiteness to the meaning of sin, and the precision of the commandments allowed us to easily identify infractions. The progressive nature of God’s revelation is alluded to in passages such as Acts 14:16 and Acts 17:30. The Mosaic Law shows how God’s plan unfolds gradually and progressively. We are to let our light shine (Matthew 5:14–16).
We are in the world but not of it (John 15:19 17:14, 16). God’s people today are still to be set apart-not in the same ways as the children of Israel-but morally, ethically, and spiritually. Truly, the Hebrews were set apart from the rest of the world. Not only was their worship different, but they had different farming practices, a different diet, different clothing-they even had a different way of growing their beards (Leviticus 19:27). Many of the Law’s regulations were aimed at making Israel distinct from the surrounding nations. The Mosaic Law confirms our need to be separate from sin. In defining sin and setting a divine standard, the Law indirectly discloses our need for a Savior. And the severe penalties that befell transgressors underscore the serious nature of sin as rebellion against God. Ever since Sinai, there can be no question of God’s opinion of adultery, murder, theft, etc.-they are wrong. “Through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20). The Mosaic Law defines sin and exposes its heinous nature. God’s desire is for that holiness to be reflected in His people (Leviticus 19:2 1 Peter 1:16). “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good” (Romans 7:12 cf. The behavior it demands is righteousness in action. The Law clearly reveals God’s standard for His people living in a fallen world. The stone tablets Moses received were “inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18 Deuteronomy 9:10). “The law of the LORD is perfect” (Psalm 19:7) because it is given by a perfect God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Timothy 3:16). Even though we who are in Christ are no longer under the Law (Galatians 5:18), there is much we can learn from this part of God’s Word. The Mosaic Law takes up a large portion of the Old Testament and was of vital importance to the Hebrews of old.