Lesson 7

Between the time of Adam and Moses, God seldom intervened in the affairs of mankind. He let humanity prove beyond the shadow of a doubt they were incapable of living the Godly, sin free life required to dwell with him. To further exhibit mankind’s inability, he chose an extended family to provide for. Giving them his laws and rituals to keep, only highlighted mankind’s failure to live sinlessly, even with rules to follow. God repeatedly warned the Isrealites to follow him and stay far away from worldly pagan practices. The old covenant proved humans incapable of choosing to live the sinless life required to dwell with God. It demonstrated mankind deserves death and is in need of Jesus as savior. After all those who have tried and failed, could any human seriously claim the ability to avoid sin perfectly on their own? Is accepting Jesus as their savior, the only way for humans to be accepted by God? Was the blood of Jesus required before humans could be forgiven? Could anyone be saved before Jesus’ sacrifice established access to the new covenant? 

Jeremiah 8:5-9 Amplified Bible
5 “Why then has this people of Jerusalem Turned away with a perpetual turning away [from Me]? They hold tightly to deceit (idolatry); They refuse to repent and return [to God]. 6 “I have listened and heard, But they have spoken what is not right; No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his [individual] course, As the horse rushes like a torrent into battle. 7 “Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons [of migration], And the turtledove, the swallow and the crane Observe the time of their return. But My people do not know The law of the Lord. 8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us [and we are learned in its language and teachings]’? Behold, [the truth is that] the lying pen of the scribes Has made the law into a lie [a mere code of ceremonial observances]. 9 “The wise men are shamed, They are dismayed and caught. Behold, they have [manipulated and] rejected the [truth in the] word of the Lord, And what kind of wisdom and insight do they have?

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 Easy-to-Read Version
29 “You are going to take your land from other people. The Lord your God will destroy these people for you. You will force them out of that land, and then you will live there. 30 But be careful that you don’t fall into the same trap they did! Don’t go to their false gods for help. Don’t say to yourself, ‘They worshiped these gods, so I will worship them too.’ 31 Don’t do that to the Lord your God! These people do all kinds of bad things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children as sacrifices to their gods! 32 “You must be careful to do everything I command you. Don’t add anything to what I tell you, and don’t take anything away.