Thoughts on Galatians 3:19

Thoughts on Galatians 3:19 by Earl Henn

"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator."

At this point in his epistle, it occurs to Paul that it would only be normal for someone to ask the question, "What, then, was the purpose of the Old Covenant?" Thus, verse 19 begins with, "What purpose then does the law serve?"

This broad question covers many more specific ones:

Why was it needed?

Why did God call Israel out of Egypt?

Why did God write His Ten Commandments on tables of stone with His own finger?

Why did God have Moses write the statutes and judgments in a book?

Why did God establish the Levitical priesthood, the Tabernacle/Temple worship, the washings, oblations, and the sacrifices?

What was the purpose of all the rules and regulations of the Old Covenant?

Such questions would naturally come to the mind of anyone reading Paul's letter since he emphasizes that our salvation through Christ fulfills the promise made to Abraham.

What need is there for another covenant?

The answer he gives is a key to understanding much of everything else he says in Galatians: "It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made."

"It was added" means that the Mosaic covenant was in addition to the one God had made with Abraham.

But what "transgressions"?

Abraham obeyed God's laws, commandments, statutes, and ordinances (Genesis 26:5).

Abraham taught God's laws to Isaac, who taught them to Jacob.

However, after Israel was in Egypt for many years, they forgot them and lived in transgression of them, having absorbed so much Egyptian culture during their sojourn.

Believers today must be aware that the culture in which they live is having an impact upon them, even as the culture of Egypt had a negative impact on God's people then.

It behooves everyone who names the name of Jesus to recognize the cultural pitfalls in today's culture, and to resolve to stand strong against them.