The First Reading and the Psalm for this Sunday show us how much the ancient Israelites rejoiced in the law they had received from God. The Mosaic Law or the Torah, as the law code God had given them through Moses was called, had two main functions.
One was highly practical. Many of the precepts of the Mosaic Law provided protection for the Israelites amid the harsh vicissitudes of ancient desert life. The other function of the law was to set the Israelites apart from the nations around them. By following the law, the Israelites could not blend in with the surrounding cultures, which had various depraved customs, such as child sacrifice and perverted religious rituals.
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