The period from Adam to the present time is approximately six thousand years. This period can be divided into three sections of approximately two thousand years each: from Adam to Abraham, from Abraham to Christ, and from Christ to our present time. The law was given during the two thousand years between Abraham and Christ. The period of time from God's promise to Abraham until the decree of the law by Moses was about four hundred thirty years (Gal. 3:17). Thus, according to the entire history of the Bible, the law came very late. The law decreed by God through Moses in Exodus 20 at Mount Sinai came approximately fifteen hundred years before Christ. Then from Christ's first coming until today is a period of nearly two thousand years. From Genesis 3:15 to the time of Moses was about twenty-five hundred years. During this long period before the fulfillment of His redemption and salvation, while He was waiting and anticipating, God gave His people the law in order to test them, try them, and expose them to the uttermost.
The books of Isaiah and Jeremiah itemize all the sins of the fallen Israelites. Isaiah's list of their sins includes idolatry, the worshipping of idols and the making of idols. This indicates that they broke the first three commandments (Exo. 20:1-7). Jeremiah condemned them for their breaking of the Sabbath, which was their breaking of the fourth commandment (v. 8). According to Jeremiah, they also did not honor their parents, thus breaking the fifth commandment (v. 12). Eventually, Jeremiah shouted that there was no justice in their society. This indicates that they broke the last five commandments (vv. 13-17). Hence, they broke all the Ten Commandments to the uttermost. Eventually, the entire nation of Israel was captured, except for a small remnant. Jeremiah warned this remnant, but they would not repent. At first, they begged Jeremiah to give them the word of the Lord, but when Jeremiah received the word and gave it to them, they rejected him. Instead of receiving his word, they told him that they would go down into Egypt, and there they continued in their idolatry by worshipping the queen of heaven (the wife of Nimrod).
Eventually, God Himself came in the form of a man. When He came to the earth, Israel was full of sin. Wherever He went, the people were possessed by demons because they worshipped idols. Demon possession is an indication of idol worship. Israel's history shows that no one can keep the Ten Commandments. Thus, while God was waiting in anticipation of His coming redemption and salvation, He did only one thing: He gave people the law to test them and expose them.
The promises given by God concerning Christ as our Redeemer and Savior are all regarding a seed: the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David. This is expressed in Hymns, #191, where the first three stanzas portray Christ as the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David. These three seeds are promised in the Old Testament; but in the New Testament, Christ as the fulfillment of these seeds has come. Matthew 1:1 says, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Both David and Abraham are mentioned at the beginning of Christ's genealogy, and Mary is mentioned at the end (v. 16). Many names are mentioned in this genealogy, but Jesus is called only the seed of the woman (Mary), the seed of David, and the seed of Abraham.