The Law of Moses is
the law of carnal commandments. It
consists of standardized commandments and lists of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots", the most central of these lists being the Ten Commandments.
Each of any of these
many commandments is followed by a reward for keeping it, and a punishment for
breaking it. Many of the blessings or punishments are spelled out in advance,
but others will come as a surprise or shock, depending on whether the law was
obeyed or broken.
These laws of carnal commandments are the same for every
man and women, without exception, except the commandments to the Aaronites or Levites. The Aaronites and Levites was the
priestly line, so the commandments given to them could not be obeyed by those
not belonging to their tribe. But the commandments to the Aaronites and Levites were the same for every male
offspring of Levi and Aaron.
The law of carnal commandments was given by God partly to
make the world a good place to live, since it makes people civilized. It was also
given as a colander to get rid of the plain evil, since there was a death
penalty pronounced for breaking the most serious commandments.
The Law of Moses
was also given to prepare man to receive Jesus and the Law of the Gospel. John the Baptist was
the last prophet who administered "the law and the prophets" as an
isolated entity. And he made it quite clear that he offered the law and the
prophets to prepare the way of the Lord. He knew that the day of the Messiah
was come, and that obedience to the commandments was essential in order to be
prepared, and that failure to obey must lead to repentance.
John the Baptism offered baptism to the people, which was
a central ordinance under the law of carnal commandments.