Galatians 3:19 says that the law was “ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator.” The mediator here refers to Moses (John 1:17; Exo. 24:3). Hence, the law was ordained in the hand of Moses. This indicates that it was not a pleasant and sweet matter for God to give the law to man; otherwise, He would have done it Himself.
Hebrews 9:18-20 says, “Wherefore neither was the first covenant [the old covenant] dedicated without blood. For when every commandment according to the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded to you.” (Compare Exo. 24:6-8.) Man is sinful, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). Without forgiveness of sin there is no way to fulfill the requirement of God’s righteousness that by it the covenant may be enacted. Therefore, the old covenant was dedicated with the blood of bulls and goats.
In the Old Testament God dealt with man according to the law. Everyone who kept the law would be blessed (Deut. 6:1-3), and everyone who did not abide by all the things written in the book of the law to do them would be cursed (Gal. 3:10). The law was able only to demand and condemn; it could not give life. Galatians 3:21 says, “If a law was given which was able to give life, righteousness would have indeed been of the law.” But actually man cannot be justified by law, for the law only demands and condemns; it cannot give life, nor can it give man the power to be justified by God.
Galatians 3:12 says, “And the law is not of faith, but he who does them shall live by them.” The law is not of faith; it is of works. The law is not based on the principle of faith; it is based on the principle of works. Man must do the law in order to live. Therefore, Moses spoke many times to all Israel in this way: “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live” (Deut. 4:1; 5:1; 6:1, 25).
Referring to the old covenant, Hebrews 8:13 says, “In saying new, He has made the first old. Now that which is becoming old and growing decrepit is near to disappearing.” The prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34 concerning the coming new covenant indicated that the first covenant had become old and decrepit. It might have been that Jeremiah realized the weakness and unprofitableness of the old covenant and was deeply burdened about this matter. Therefore, God had an opportunity to come in to say through him, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Heb. 8:8). Not only was the old covenant decrepit, but it was also near to disappearing. Therefore, it could only be applied to the Old Testament age.
The new testament, or the new covenant, is a better covenant (Heb. 8:6). The new covenant is better than the old one, just as the reality of a person is better than his photograph. The old covenant, like a photograph, had only the outward form, but the new covenant, like the real person, has the inward life with all its reality. The old covenant was lifeless; the new covenant is constituted with the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Everything in the new covenant is much better than the things in the old covenant because everything in the new covenant is the reality constituted with life. Therefore, it is a better covenant.
Furthermore, the new covenant is an eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20). Unlike the old covenant, which became old and decrepit and was abolished (Heb. 8:13), the new covenant is eternally effective.