Jews kept the law in the Old Testament for reasons deeply rooted in covenant relationship, spiritual identity, and the nature of their relationship with God—not as a means to earn salvation.
Covenant Obligation and Divine Relationship
The law formed part of a covenant God made with his people, outlining the terms and requirements he expected them to follow in loyalty to him.[1] Critically, Israel accepted the law based on God’s mercy—how he had miraculously rescued them from slavery, and they received the law after their lives had been spared in Egypt because they obeyed God regarding the Passover lamb.[1] Obedience flowed from gratitude for deliverance, not from a desire to earn favor.
Identity and Way of Life
Jews believed that possessing the Torah indicated that God had chosen them for a special purpose.[2] More than external compliance, keeping the law was a delight and not a burden to a devout and reverent Jew.[2] A devout Jew felt that life was meaningless unless he could please God, and the way to please God was to keep the law; for those who held to the traditions, keeping the law involved every act of life and every minute of every day.[2]
Maintaining Covenant Relationship, Not Earning Salvation
Crucially, the law was not designed to save people or guarantee them a relationship with God; instead, it taught God’s people how he wanted them to live in relationship to him and others, and God expected the Israelites to obey the law—with his help—in order to enjoy their faith relationship with him.[1] In both the Old and New Testaments, keeping God’s commands was a matter of trusting him, taking him at his word, and loving him.[1]
The law functioned as a covenant stipulation expressing God’s character and maintaining the relationship God had already established—not as the foundation upon which that relationship rested.
[2] T. Franklin Miller, Life and Teachings of Jesus (James L. Fleming, 2005). [See here, here, here.]
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