Old & New Covenant

The answer is probably the opposite of what you are expecting.

7. "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.
8. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation." Isa 51

Although the promise of the new covenant was to write the laws on our heart, we see here that the righteous, or those who are right before the Law had the Law written on their hearts during the old covenant. God intended for the Law to be written on everyone's heart, but it was the people, not God that prevented it from being in their hearts.

 

Now look at these surprising descriptions of the Old Covenant
in Deuteronomy. . .

5. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart Deu 6
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6. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deu 30

Here Moses descibed circumscision as symbolizing their hearts falling in love with God, just as Paul described it in the new covenant...

28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Rom 2

Now lets examine these series of verse in Galatians and Corinthians...

6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Gal 5
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15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
16. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. Gal 6
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19. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 1Co 7

Here we see something quite profound! What "avails" or "matters" with Jesus in the New Covenant? "faith working through love," "a new creation," and "keeping the commandments" are all one in the same to God.

Did the Holy Spirit Come After Jesus Left?

This answer will also probably surprise you as well, but only because we have been taught the wrong answer so relentlessly.

9. And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." 2Ki 2
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18. And the LORD said to Moses: "Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; Num 27
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11. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psa 51

So if the Holy Spirit was dwelling in God's people prior to the new covenant, then why did Jesus say. . .

25. "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Joh 14:

26. "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. Joh 15

Why would Jesus say such a thing when the Holy Spirit was already instructing people?

20. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. Neh 9

A little confused? The good thing is there is one simple answer. The Day of Pentacost was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of spreading the gospel during that pivitol time right after Jesus died. It was this outpouring that thrusted christianity forward with the momentum it needed to eventually spread through the world.

18. AND ON MY MENSERVANTS AND ON MY MAIDSERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS; Act 2

This was not the introduction of the Holy Spirit into the world, but the pouring of a large portion resulting in powereful spirtual gifts for the spreading of the gospel. This event was also symbolised in Hosea and James as the early rain.

3. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. Hos 6
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7. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. Jas 5

Today as Christians we are eagerly preparing ourselves to receive the "latter rain" for the spreading of the gospel before the coming of the lord.

Here is a story Jesus told to illustrate an aspect of how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of everyone, before and after He died. . .

43. "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Mat 12

What was the house, or man missing that made him empty? The answer could only be the Holy Spirit. Here we see more evidence lending to the presence of the Holy Spirit prior to pentacost as Jesus' illustration would have only confused His listeners had they not already been experiencing the spirit.

 

The conclusion in all of this is that the new and the old covenant were not as different as we thought, except that now we have Jesus the real passover lamb winnig our heats to Him.

Saved by FAITH in the Old and New Covenant, Not the Law.

This section can be summed up with one question: were God's people in the old covenant saved by works or by faith?

10. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isa 61

The Only salvation that has ever existed through God's view is salvation by grace through faith. Under the old covenant, each time a lamb was slain for sins, the sinner looked forward in faith, knowing the lamb's blood was symbolic of the atoning blood of the coming Messiah. Now we look back in faith to the same atoning blood of the lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world.

9. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—
10. concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. Heb 9

What significance these verses have, when you consider that even though Shaddrak Meshak and Abednago were saved by faith and God's righteousness, they still risked everything when faced with breaking one of the commandments. But then is their story any different than the story of Steven who was stoned for his faith, or Paul who was jailed, and Peter who was stoned and eventually crucified upside down for puting God first in their lives?

Most Christians realize that we are saved by faith and God's righteousness in the new covenant, so this is not worth discussing.