All the prophets, Moses, Samuel, and those that followed, foretold of the days of this coming Seed (Acts 3:22-26).
The blessing of the promised Seed is that He turns us from iniquity (Acts 3:26; Matthew 1:21), and that atonement was made for our sins through the shedding of His blood (Rom.3:25; 5:11). Through faith in Him we have access to righteousness and atonement.
So we have the promise of a Seed and years later His coming. Why then was the law given (Galatians 3:19)? It was an addition that was made to the promise until the Seed came. Often people focus on the law instead of the promise. The law needs to be seen in its proper perspective, only as an addition. This addition was made 430 years after the promise and in no wise does away with the promise (Galatians 3:17).
There are two major portions of the law addressed in the New Testament, both of which are referred to as the law. The first part is the Ten Commandments (James 2:11) or, righteousness of the law. The second part is the ordinances: times, days, and feasts (Ephesians 2:15).Please read 2 Cor.3:6-16.
Ten Commandments (part I), also called "the ministration of death" (2 Cor.3:7), and "the ministration of condemnation" (2 Cor.3:9), was a temporary ministration which led to faith in the promised Seed for salvation before His coming. The New Testament, also called "the ministration of The Spirit," (2 Cor.3:8) is an eternal ministration which leads to faith in the promised Seed for salvation after His coming. Both ministrations were means to the same end; two different ways to arrive at the same place, faith in the promised Seed for salvation from sin. The first led to faith in the promised Seed for righteousness up until His coming. Upon Yeshua's death it was "done away" with (2 Cor.3:7,11) and "abolished" (2 Cor.3 13) as a ministration.
The ministration of the Spirit leads us to put our faith in Yeshua, the promised Seed who has come. Along with the promise of the redeeming Seed, came promises that through Him Eloheem would write His laws in our hearts (Jer.31:31-34) and give us the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28,29) that we might fulfill the righteousness of the law (keep His commandments {Jn.14:15; Rv.22:14}, be perfect {Mt.5:48} and, be holy {1 Pt.1:15,16}). This is the end of the ministration of the Spirit which was declared with great plainness of speech by the preachers of the New Testament (2 Cor.3:12). If the end of the ministration of reconciliation is veiled, it is veiled to them that are lost (2 Cor.4:3,4).
The ministration of death led men to put their trust in the promised Seed who was yet to come (Is.25:9; Ps.2:12; Lk.2:25,26,36-38). This was the end of the law ("For Moshiach is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" Rm.10:4.) This is the end of the ministration which was abolished (2 Cor.3:13). This is the end which the Jews could not steadfastly behold. It was hidden by a veil on Moses' face. The veiled end of the ministration of death was that through faith in the promised Seed who was to come, Eloheem wrote His law in their hearts (Jr.20:9; Ps.37:31; Deut.30:14), and gave them the Holy Spirit (Neh.9:20; Pr.1:23; 1 Cor.10:4; 1 Pt.1:11; 2 Pt.1:21) that they might fulfill the law (keep His commandments {Dt.5:10; 10;12,13}, be perfect {Dt.18:13} and, be holy {Lv.20:7}). This veil is done away in Moshiach, meaning that the veiled end of the ministration of death is the same unveiled end as the ministration of the Spirit, namely faith in the promised Seed for salvation.
How did the law bring a man to faith in the promised Seed for righteousness? The law (Ten Commandments engraved in stone) is holy, and just, and good (Romans 7:12). When a man reads it he is manifested to be unholy, unjust, and evil: a sinner. The law shows us we are worthy of death and that we are in a condemned state. It "kills" (*2 Corinthians 3:6-16; Rm.7:10). It ministers death and condemnation and hence the names, the ministration of death and, the ministration of condemnation. When Moses received the law on Mount Sinai he was judged by it. He then turned to the promise that was given to his fathers to be justified. By faith in the yet to come Moshiach he received grace to help him to fulfill and obey the holy commandments which were delivered unto him. He received grace (divine power) through his faith in the promised One, which saved him from the sin which the law revealed. Thus being empowered to keep the law he descended from the mountain, his face radiating with the righteousness which comes through faith in the promised Seed. Thus Moses came to the end of the law, which is faith in Moshiach for righteousness ("Moshiach is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth"). He then gave the commandments to the Jews (yea, Eloheem Himself spoke these same commandments to his people out of heaven) that the Jews also would put their trust in the promise of Moshiach and receive grace to obey the law. When Moses covered his face with a veil, it symbolized that the Jews would not see what the law was leading them to, they did not see the end of the law. The veil covered the righteousness that comes through faith in the promise. Until this day when Moses is read the veil is upon the heart of the Jews. They don't see that the law leads to putting faith in the promised Seed for salvation. This part of the law made righteousness available through faith in the Seed before His Coming. The law still has power to reveal sin and is said to have a lawful use even under the new ministration, which is to point men to faith in the promised Seed (1 Tm.1:8).
The ordinances (part II): If the First Covenant enabled men to attain to righteousness through faith in Moshiach, why do we need a New Covenant? What was insufficient about the Old? The insufficiency of the First Testament was the ordinances (Heb.8:7,8 "finding fault with them," referring to the ordinances of the Levitical priesthood; Heb.7:18,19 "weak, unprofitable, and ...made nothing perfect" speaking of commandments contained in ordinances.) The ordinances were comprised of times, days, and feasts which the Jews kept. They include Passover (Exod.12:43), Yom Kipper (Lev.23:27,28), The Feast of Tabernacles (Lev.23:34), circumcision, and other carnal commandments imposed upon them until the time of reformation (Heb.9:1). These ordinances were symbolic practices of things not yet accomplished by the promised Seed. It is not possible for these ordinances to accomplish what Eloheem had purposed to do through the promised One: namely for blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (Heb.10:4). Such ordinances only foreshadowed the sacrifice of the promised Seed (Heb.10:1), and lacked the power and strength to atone for our sins. These ordinances were not of faith, but were done under power of the will of the flesh making them a yoke of bondage, and an imposition (Gal.4:9,10). Nevertheless, the life of a Jew was for a time bound up in obedience to them as part of his righteousness (Gal.3:11,12 "The man that doeth them shall live by them.") The ordinances were an addition to the promise (Gal.3:19). They taught as a schoolmaster the need of atonement for transgression, and in symbolic form how such things would come.
The ordinances served as a schoolmaster (*Gal.3:24), a tutor, and a governor (Gal.4:1-10), which the Jews as heirs of the blessings of the promised Seed were kept under (Gal.4:2; 3:23) unto His death. The schoolmaster taught them in symbolic form of the promised Seed until a time appointed of the Father. Upon Yeshua's death, the tutor, or schoolmaster was dismissed (Gal.3:25), and the temporary ministration which led to faith in Him abolished. At that time both Jews and Gentiles were made heirs of all things through the atonement which is in Moshiach's blood (Rev.21:7) and the righteousness accessed through faith in Him.
The promised Seed was to bless all the families of the earth. This is accomplished through the preaching of the New Covenant among all the nations of the world. We are now brought to faith in Yeshua via the ministration of the Spirit also called, the ministry of reconciliation {2 Cor.5:18-21}, and atonement is made through His blood. This is preached in contrast to The Old Covenant, wherein the ministration of death brought men to faith in the Promised One, and atonement for sins was made in a figure by the blood of bulls and goats. When the ordinances of the Old Covenant (feasts which involved animal sacrifice) were replaced by the very image of things (The sacrifice of Yeshua), a problem arose for the Jews.
The Jews were commanded to observe all the law (both commandments and ordinances) for perpetual generations under penalty of a curse, as it is written, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them" (Deut.27:26; Gal.3:10). Meaning, that if they ceased to observe these ordinances, Eloheem had promised to curse them. This is the reason for Moshiach's manner of death. To redeem the Jews from the curse that would come upon them when ceasing to observe ordinances, Yeshua bore a curse by being hanged on a tree (Acts 5:30; 10:39). He took the curse upon Himself so that they would not have to continue to practice these ordinances. According to the law, a man that is put to death by being hanged on a tree receives a curse from Eloheem. It is written, "He that is hanged is accursed of Eloheem" (Deut.21:22,23; Gal.3:13). This is the legitimate way Eloheem dealt with this problem.
The abolishing of the ordinances, and the preaching of faith in the promised Seed without them (Rom.3:21), is such a stumbling block (Rom.9:31-33; 1 Pet.2:8; Is.8:13,14) to the Jews that Paul refers to it as, "the offense of the cross" (Gal.5:11). To help you understand the difficulty for the Jews in forsaking these ordinances consider that from the time of Moses (and even circumcision from the days of Abraham) up until the death of Yeshua, the Jews had been required by the Creator to keep the ordinances as part of their being counted righteous before Eloheem. In fact they had been told to keep them forever. This new way was even hard for the apostles to receive (Gal.2:11-16; Acts 10:44,45; 11:1-3). And because these ordinances were given by the Creator we find numerous places where the Jews were erroneously trying to bring this yoke of bondage upon the necks of the Gentile converts (Gal.2:3-5; 5:1-13; 6:12-15; Acts 15:1-31), thus troubling them. If Paul had preached faith in the promised Seed, with the observance of the Old Testament ordinances, it would not have offended the Jews. But Eloheem abolished the ordinances (the middle wall of partition that separated Jews and Gentiles {Eph.2:14-15}) to accommodate the Gentiles and to loose the Jews from symbolic practices which were a yoke of bondage (Gal.4:9,10,25; 5:1,2; Acts 15:10).
The subject of being justified without observance of ordinances fills the letters of Paul; attaining to a state of righteousness through our faith in Moshiach without the deeds of the law. Many false Christians in our day twist these verses to say we are justified by faith in Moshiach with no obedience to His teachings. They say, "I'm saved by grace not by works," interpreting works to mean good works, or works of obedience. They say you're in "bondage" if you preach obedience to Yeshua's teachings (2 Pet.3:15,16). Please see James 2:14-26.
A Parable: Unto what shall I liken the ministration of the Spirit and the ministration of death, and with what comparison shall I compare them? They are like unto a man that promised to build a super-highway that led to a glorious place, but before the time that it was built he gave the people an access road to drive on. A cloud came down and covered the access road and the people couldn't see where the road was going. Unto what shall I liken the ordinances and the very image of things, and with what comparison shall I compare them? They are like unto a man that on the 1st day of the week promised his servant an apple on the Sabbath day. He then gave the servant a piece of paper that was shaped like an apple. He commanded him to keep it, and take it from his pocket once a day to look at it, and to do so every day for the rest of his life. He further charged the servant that if he would fail to do as he was commanded he would be cursed. The Sabbath day came and the man according to his promise gave his servant an apple. He then told the servant that he was now at liberty to throw the piece of paper away because he now had the real thing. The servant protested, saying, "I cannot do so for you straightly charged me to keep it, and to look at it for the rest of my life or to be cursed." The man said to his servant, "Your curse be upon me."
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