3:22
“But Scripture has locked up”. The Judaisers thought that the Law made people righteous, but this was not actually the case. Rather, sin imprisoned everything. All mankind, Jews included, were under slavery to sin. “so that ...” Now we can read this as if the purpose of sin and the law as that we were all imprisoned. It might be better to read it as Paul arguing against the Judaisers contention that people needed to obey the Law in order to be righteous, and Paul is saying that Scripture does not say that man can become righteous by means of the Law, but that man is imprisoned by sin. The Law highlights the extent of our imprisonment, rather than offering a way out. The promises could not be obtained or fulfilled by means of the Law, but only be means of faith in Christ. So it is only those who believe who can obtain the promises.
3:23
The Law was not a means to making us righteous, but a means of restraining sinfulness. It did, of course, have other purposes as well. Hebrews focuses on how it pointed towards the true sacrifice of Christ and the priesthood of Christ. It provided a social framework for society in Israel, and set Israel apart from other nations. However, in Galatians Paul is focusing on whether the Law could make people righteous, to which the answer is a resounding no. So if we look at the Law as a means of gaining righteousness we will see it wrongly. So the Law restrained Israel until Christ came.
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