Part II — How God Moved Through History
The Dispensation of Law
51 min read
The Mosaic Law is the most misunderstood institution in Scripture — misunderstood in two opposite directions simultaneously. Some people treat it as still fully binding on Christians today, picking and choosing which parts to apply. Others dismiss it entirely as irrelevant ancient history. Both get it wrong. The Law was given for a specific people, in a specific dispensation, for a specific purpose — and understanding that purpose is the key to understanding both the Old Testament and the New.
Last time we saw how to access God's provision through prayer and faith. Now we take a major step in the dispensational timeline: Israel receives the Law at Sinai, and a new age of human history begins.
We call this period "the Dispensation of Law" because of the law God gave to Moses. This law became the guiding framework for faith and daily life throughout this entire era.
The Length of the Dispensation of Law
This dispensation stretched from Moses all the way to Christ — or more specifically, from the exodus out of Egypt to John the Baptist's preaching about the kingdom of Heaven Matthew 11:12-13Luke 16:16. It lasted more than 1,718 years, and here's how we can trace that out:
1. FROM THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT TO THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN WAS OVER 41 YEARS
Israel camped at Sinai for one year and one month Numbers 10:11-12. After that, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years following their rebellion at Kadesh-barnea — giving us over 41 years total Numbers 14:33-34Numbers 32:13Deuteronomy 2:7Deuteronomy 8:2-4Deuteronomy 29:5Joshua 5:6Acts 7:23-42Acts 13:18Hebrews 3:9, 17.
2. FROM THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN TO THE REIGN OF SAUL WAS OVER 520 YEARS
Here's the breakdown:
| Period | Duration |
|---|---|
| (1) Joshua in Canaan Joshua 14:7Joshua 24:29 | 30 years |
| (2) Elders that outlived Joshua Judges 2:7-3:7 | ? years |
| (3) The first servitude Judges 3:7-8 | 8 years |
| (4) Othniel, the first judge Judges 3:9-11 | 40 years |
| (5) The second servitude Judges 3:12-14 | 18 years |
| (6) Ehud, the second judge Judges 3:15-30 | 80 years |
| (7) The third servitude Judges 3:31 | ? years |
| (8) Shamgar, the third judge Judges 3:31 | ? years |
| (9) The fourth servitude Judges 4:1-3 | 20 years |
| (10) Deborah and Barak, the fourth and fifth judges Judges 4:4-5:31 | 40 years |
| (11) The fifth servitude Judges 6:1-10 | 7 years |
| (12) Gideon, the sixth judge Judges 6:11-8:32 | 40 years |
| (13) Abimelech, the seventh judge Judges 8:33-9:57 | 3 years |
| (14) Tola, the eighth judge Judges 10:1-2 | 23 years |
| (15) Jair, the ninth judge Judges 10:3-5 | 22 years |
| (16) The sixth servitude Judges 10:6-18 | 18 years |
| (17) Jephthah, the tenth judge Judges 11:1-12:7 | 6 years |
| (18) Ibzan, the eleventh judge Judges 12:8-10 | 7 years |
| (19) Elon, the twelfth judge Judges 12:11-12 | 10 years |
| (20) Abdon, the thirteenth judge Judges 12:13-15 | 8 years |
| (21) The seventh servitude Judges 13:1 | 40 years |
| (22) Samson, the fourteenth judge Judges 13:2-16:31 | 20 years |
| (23) Civil war Judges 17:1-21:25 | ? years |
| (24) Eli, the fifteenth judge 1 Samuel 4:1 | 40 years |
| (25) Samuel, the sixteenth judge, at least 40 years between Eli and Saul 1 Samuel 4:1, 15-181 Samuel 7:2-151 Samuel 8:1-5 | 40 years |
| TOTAL: | 520 years |
You'll notice that Scripture doesn't give us definite dates for points (2), (7), (8), and (23), so the actual period was likely longer than 520 years. The 450 years mentioned in Acts 13:19-21 "until Samuel the prophet" probably begins with Point (3) and ends with Point (24). This list brings us down to Samuel, leaving those undated periods unspecified.