Thank you for your good question. In addition to Galatians 3:19 that you quoted, there are other Bible verses that indicate that the Law of Moses was ordained by angels. Stephen boldly said to the Jews in Acts 7:52-53, “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law AS ORDAINED BY ANGELS, and yet did not keep it” (NASB). As we have seen, we know from the New Testament that the Law was ordained by angels. However, it is also mentioned in the Old Testament that many angels were present on Mount Sinai when the Law was given to the nation of Israel. We read in Psalm 68:17, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.”

Concerning why the Law was ordained by angels, we know that angels are ministers or servants of God. We read in Hebrews 1:7, “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” The Hebrew word for angel is “malak” and means messenger. The Greek word for angel is “Aggelos” and also means messenger. Therefore, good angels are messengers from God who do His will. There are also bad angels who serve Satan. Galatians 3:19 states that “it was ORDAINED BY ANGELS in the hand of a mediator.” The mediator was Moses. We read in Exodus 24:12, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.” All of this begs the question: Why didn’t God give the Law directly to the people of Israel? Why were angels and Moses involved?

The sins of the people of Israel made it necessary for there to be a distance between a holy God and Israel. We see this distance described in Exodus 19:10-13. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.”

Let us pick up the story later in the chapter and read Exodus 19:20-21. “And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.” We can see from these verses that God needed to distance Himself from the children of Israel because of His holiness and their sin. He used angels and His mediator Moses to give the Law to the people of Israel.

Looking at a broader picture, we know the purpose of the Law from Galatians 3:24. This verse states, “So that the law has been our tutor up to Christ, that we might be justified on the principle of faith” (JND). The Law taught mankind that they were powerless in themselves to keep God’s Law. In our weakness and sinfulness, we needed a Savior! We read in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 668To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” We also read in 1 John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” Hallelujah! What a Savior!  (DJ)  (668.4)