Of course, God wanted for Israel to have faith as that of Abraham. But that matter has nothing to do with what Paul is saying about the law, that it is not of faith. It is a contrast between the law and the faith that has come to the Christians in Galatia.
This is what's called an "apparent contradiction," and I'm trying to resolve this for us! But yes, as I said, Israel was expected to observe the Law by faith. Paul meant something else when he said, "the Law is not of faith."
<<<To say that Israel observed the Law without faith is patently absurd,>>>
I think not really.
Romans 9:31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.
What do you think will Paul say of Israel if they sought it by faith?
Yes, but that wasn't the point I was making. Clearly, Jews failed to observe the Law by faith, and thus displeased God. God wanted, as I said, Israel to observe the Law with faith. Obviously, some did not. In fact, God said by one prophet that when Israel failed to offer animal sacrifices by faith, it was no better than breaking a dog's neck!
That the law gave the person what he deserved, actually add to establish what Paul says of the law, that the law is not of faith, but of works. That if they do what the law says, they shall live by it, and if they break any law, they shall pay for it according to the cursing and judgement of the law.
Here is where things get tricky. Paul is not saying the Law is not to be observed by faith. Nor is he saying that the Law is strictly consequential, without any reward. And he is not saying there was no faith or grace operating under the system of Law. It was just not faith in *Christ's work.*
On the contrary, the Law was built on the principle of grace--just a limited grace, but grace nonetheless. By Grace I mean that Israel was able to experience a dispensation of forgiveness after having sinned. They sinned, and they didn't always die. They could offer animal sacrifices, and thus have their sentence reduced or be acquitted. They could achieve limited blessings--just not eternal life, which required the appropriate flawless behavior of Christ.
Only Christ's flawless work, only his Divine work, could achieve eternal life, and the Law, with its limited faith and grace, could not achieve that--not without Christ himself. There was no equivalent consequence to Israel's behavior that could merit eternal life. The best they could achieve were earthly blessings, and God's temporary favor. So Faith and Grace operated under the Law. They just couldn't achieve a reciprocal reward in Eternal Life. They could only achieve limited earthly blessings.
This is what "the Law is not of Faith means." It means that men under the Law, even operating by faith, could not achieve eternal life by that system of law. The consequent reciprocal rewards to Israel for their obedience were earthly blessings. But it didn't achieve eternal life beyond these earthly blessings.
By "faith" Paul is referring to "faith that achieves eternal life only through Christ." "Faith" is an abbreviation for the thing Christ alone could provide for, and which we can apply only after Christ finished his work. There was no means, under the Law, by which Israel could achieve eternal life apart from Christ's work.
Faith was never a consideration in keeping and doing the works of the law. So that, for as long as they do the works of the law, regardless of faith, they will live by it, not falling under judgement and condemnation by the law. It is not as if, one, when proven to have done the works of the law not by faith, that he will be as judged as to really have not kept the works of the law. That is why Paul said “the law is not of faith”
You do understand, don't you, that those who lived by the Law achieved blessings, regardless of their sin nature, and still would die? They earned blessings, but not eternal life. They were just as subject to the principle of Grace as we who are in the NT era. And yet they were given to be able to earn things that were positive. They just couldn't avoid death. They couldn't achieve eternal life.
What I'm saying is that the principles of Faith and Grace were as present under the OT Law as they are under NT Grace. It's just that the Law was designed to achieve positive things that fell short of things that only Christ could bring. They wanted eternal life, but could not achieve it under that system. The Law was designed to be a temporary protective covenant until the eternal covenant could be ratified by Christ.
If a person committed a sin, sin that is a transgression of a given commandment in the law, he will be judged by the law and suffer the penalty, that is, if at all he was caught and proven guilty of trespassing the law.
Yes, but there was also Grace under the Law. They could confess their sin, and make restitution, and offer offerings to God, and have their sins remitted.
The law is really not about the attaining or denial of Eternal life. For whether one, if at all it was possible, have kept the law perfectly, there was no law given that could give him life, even eternal life.
Galatians 3:21
Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
Tong
R1661
I suppose that's the whole point I'm trying to make, that the Faith and Grace present under the Law could not achieve the Faith and Grace associated with obtaining Eternal Life. The Law was not designed to achieve that kind of Faith because it did not provide for an equivalent consequence between Israel's behavior and Eternal Life. That would always have to be based on Grace, and the Grace under the Law was limited by the Law.
The Law did not offer Christ's work to achieve Eternal Life because he had not come yet. Clearly, the Law did not provide the consequent reward of faith until the work, achieving that, had actually been done! That is precisely what Paul meant by saying "faith had not yet come."
He was saying that the work earning eternal life had not yet been done. He meant that our faith had no object, with respect to eternal life, until Christ's work had been accomplished. That "faith" had not yet come. We could not believe in that work until that work had actually been done.