-Pedagogue. That is literally the word in the Greek. The law became our pedagogue. A pedagogue was a teacher of children, or of one child, or more typically a trustworthy slave who was hired by the father to insure that the master’s child made it to school. Such a tutor could also more broadly put placed in charge of supervising the upbringing and development of children among the upper classes. A guide, and a guardian, and usually rather strict, this one. They could literally escort the child everywhere, and make sure that their charge generally did not step out of bounds, and would not only make it to school but would one day in fact make it to adulthood.
-Such was the role of the law for God's children - not the end, nor even the means to the end. The job which the law was hired to do was to help guide people towards Christ, to guard them on their way and prepare them to fully put their faith in Messiah once He had come, to help them make it to spiritual adulthood where they actually stand on their own legs of faith and no longer need any such childish guide. Thus - at least in theory - the one who studies and follows the law ought to be brought by it to the place where they can clearly see that right standing with God can never be achieved thru observing the law, thru any doing of the works of the law, but rather only thru faith. Strict tho it may be, the law is has good intentions, it ultimately serves a good purpose, ‘hired’ to do exactly that by the Father Himself. He knows what He’s doing...
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