The means of salvation has always been by God's grace, through faith in Christ. However, we often misunderstand the relationship that Israel had with God when we get bogged down in the details of the ceremonial laws. In some sense, the worship of the Old Testament church was not focused on the daily sacrifices, or clean and unclean, or even the individual sins of the people. Rather, worship was focused on redirecting the trust in these things to focus on God's relationship with the nation of Israel as He offered salvation that paralleled the physical part of their daily system. This system was meant to remind them of His gifts, rather than focusing on their own sins. Some people think that Christians who try to de-emphasize the importance of obeying the law are trying to get out of having to obey it. They believe that this is "cheap grace" and that it doesn't take the full effects of the law into account. However, the power of the law lies in its ability to curse those who disobey it. This means that the covenant of grace actually protects believers from being cursed when they sin. Grace does not give us the ability to live a righteous life, but it does prevent us from being cursed when we sin. This is why grace is so important - it protects us from the consequences of our own actions. This is why it was easy for the Israelites to reduce worship to a system of righteousness that didn't necessarily involve following the rituals that prevented them from approaching God, but describing the covenant relationship they enjoyed with Him without applying these in an orthodox way. We find this same approach in the worship book. We find that the daily grind to approach God is taught in a way that denies the importance of these burdensome ceremonies by exalting God as He leads them through the wilderness in leading them as a light by night and a cloud by day.The relationship between the two tribes was not based solely on their regular ceremonial observance, but was also founded upon their shared national spirit of reliance on God's help to guide them through their daily challenges. This parallel between their human spirit and their need for trust in grace alone can be seen in the works of God as a display of their unyielding commitment to each other, and not as a set of rules to gain acceptance. In this sense, their national spirit of unity with God was seen as eternal by His position in front of them, and they failed to meet the requirements of daily sacrifices, but were only judged by their focus on the Head.