In its weakness Israel was given a law of carnal commandments (D&C 84:27; JST, Exodus 34:2). The concept of carnal commandments does not refer to the lusts of the flesh alone, but rather to all that is wordly as contrasted with the things of the Spirit. The law was replete with daily reminders that Israel was to be a people set apart and consecrated to the Lord and that in all things they must keep themselves clean and pure. Virtually all aspects of their lives were drawn upon as types or reminders of who and what they were to be.
Birth and death, seedtime and harvest time, their diet, the manner in which food was prepared, their Sabbaths and feast times, even diseases and restoration to health, were all used to typify their obligations to God. The law also contained a host of sacrificial rituals that served to keep constantly before them their dependence on the great sacrifice yet to be offered by the Son of God.