The great transition across Scripture is God gradually moves His guidance from exterior to interior. The law written on stone becomes the law written on the heart. The external temple becomes the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The external signs of covenant identity — circumcision, sacrifices, ritual purity — give way to the circumcision of the heart, the sacrifice of praise, and the purity of conscience. The old covenant dealt with nations; the new covenant deals with hearts. The old covenant punished externally; the new covenant convicts internally. The old covenant relied on visible discipline; the new covenant relies on invisible transformation.