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.