Benjamin makes an interesting argument at this point. He has declared that the law of Moses was instituted to show how to live according to Jehovah’s covenant, but now he will argue that it was insufficient to accomplish redemption, or atonement. In addition to the law, the people of Israel were given “signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows,” but they managed to misunderstand or ignore them. Apparently, they assumed that the law of Moses was sufficient to make reconciliation. Benjamin declares that it was not.
The image Benjamin uses is important. Note that he says, “The law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood.” Part of the law of Moses included blood sacrifices for atonement. Thus, Benjamin links the law to the Messiah’s earthly mission through the parallel symbolism of the blood sacrifice. This does not end the law, but places the Messiah’s mission as integral to the law.
The insertion of the verse concerning the salvation of little children suggests that the community has had some issues with whether or not children might be saved. They appear to believe that they were saved, and Benjamin confirms that they are blessed. However, Benjamin does not exclude them from the law. Note that he says, “Even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved.” That phrase is somewhat complex because it appears to declare that children are not subject to sin. Nevertheless, what Benjamin declares is that even children cannot be saved. Then he explains the reason that this does not happen. The great atonement of the Messiah’s blood will reconcile them. Even those without sin still exist in the world after the Fall, and those conditions must be, and are, reconciled in the atoning Messiah’s mortal mission.