Hope For The Nations, Lesson 8, Fall 2006

“The basis in us for life triumphant is the working of the Cross in the setting aside of all that which is natural.  There is nothing more hated by the enemy than the Cross.  Let us seek to free our minds from all false conceptions of the Cross.  So often there has been this kind of reaction: Oh, it is the Cross; it is death, death, death!  This working of the Cross in a subjective way is all the time leading to death!  …it is so important for us to recognize that it is not that death destroys us, but that it makes the way for a greater fullness of life.  It is the positive side that we have to keep in mind; not the fact that we are constantly being ruled out, and ruled out, but rather that of necessity that is being done, in order that He may come in, and come in, and come in.  It is the life side which has to be kept uppermost, even in the working of the Cross with reference to what was set aside by God at Calvary.” (T. Austin-Sparks, The Battle for Life)

Luke 24:44-47 – Jesus tells the disciples that all parts of the Old Testament – (1) The Law of Moses; (2) The Prophets; (3) The Psalms/Writings – spoke about His life, with a special emphasis on his death and resurrection.  In “Part 1” of this study, we focused specifically on Christ’s death and resurrection as seen in types throughout Genesis, the first book of Moses.  Now, we will go on to study other places in the Old Testament where Christ was written about hundreds or even thousands of years before He ever actually walked the earth.

Why study this?

I am afraid that many professing Christians today have lost sight of the focus of Christ’s death and resurrection.  For whatever reason, this incredibly foundational doctrine of Christianity has become far too obscured, and it is our goal in these studies to show that even thousands of years before Jesus was born, God had, at the center of His mind, the Cross.  When we see that so many lines and precepts of the Old Testament point to the Crucifixion, we can see that this must be a focus for us and we are in a better place to study what the Cross truly means for all who have received Christ.  In addition to this fact, we also hope and believe that everyone’s faith will be increased through these studies, just as “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

JESUS SEEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

  • The Passover Lamb – 1 Corinthians 5:7
    • Israel, God’s people, was in bondage to the Egyptians.  God wanted to free them from their slavery and sent plagues to do this.  After 9 plagues, the Egyptians were still hardhearted, so God had to bring a final plague to accomplish true freedom for Israel (read Exodus 1-10).  In the final plague, God decreed that at midnight there would be death upon all the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 11:4-5).  But He provided one way to escape this death…
    • Exodus 12 – the Passover Lamb was the only way of salvation from death.
      • To be saved you needed to kill the lamb and apply its blood to the doorposts of your house.
      • Today, the only way to escape death is with the blood of Jesus that makes atonement for our sins.
    • 4 Hypothetical Households:
      1. Has a beautiful lamb that remains alive = People who believe Jesus was merely a great man.
      2. Slaughtered the lamb, but kept the blood in the bowls, never putting it on the doorpost = People who know all about Jesus’ salvation, but have never actually received and applied it for themselves.
      3. Slaughtered the lamb, applied the blood on the doorposts, but are scared to death of what will happen come midnight = People who are truly saved, but sometimes doubt that Jesus’ blood is good enough to account for all of their salvation.
      4. Egyptian household that felt their son was too good to die, and therefore had no need of the blood of the lamb = People who trust in their own good works to save them.
    • Only households that applied the blood of the lamb to their doorposts will truly be saved at midnight (see Ex. 12:13,29-30).

“’There was not a house where there was not one dead’ (Exo. 12:30). In every Egyptian house, someone died. Even the Israelite homes were not without their dead! Both the Egyptian and Israelites had a death in each house! The only difference was that in the houses of the Israelites, the dead one was a lamb, while in the Egyptian houses it was a man. In every house there was death, either of a person or of a lamb. How frightful! How solemn! Either a man or a lamb died. 

“Dear readers, I do not know who you would rather see die. Would you rather bear all your sins and die, or would you believe in and rely on Jesus, the Lamb of God, and let Him die for you? Either you die or He dies for you; it is either one or the other! If the Lord Jesus does not die for you, then you must die. Who will die? Thank and praise God because “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). You do not have to die; you do not have to perish for your sins. From this point on, you will not perish because you are a sinner, but because you have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). Therefore, do not let the Lord Jesus say to you, “You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:40). “Let him who wills take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). How I desire that you would just come to God with a believing heart, praying, “O God, I am a sinner who deserves perdition, but I believe that your Son has died for me. Forgive all my previous sins so that from now on I will be saved.”

(Watchman Nee, “The Christian”)

  • The Rock – 1 Corinthians 10:4
    • Exodus 17 – When the Israelites were thirsty (Ex. 17:3), God instructed Moses to strike the rock to give the people water (Ex. 17:5-6).  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that Christ is the rock that was struck.  Jesus says that the water that flows forth is the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).  And the striking of the rock must be the crucifixion of Christ that brought forth the Spirit to all flesh (compare Matthew 26:31; 27:51).
    • Numbers 20 – The Israelites again are thirsty (Numbers 20:5), but God tells Moses to speak to the rock instead of striking it this time (20:8).  Moses, in haste, strikes the rock twice and because of this is never allowed to enter the Promised Land (20:11-12).  The rock remains a symbol of Christ here, but Christ only needed to be crucified once (see Hebrews 6:6), and after that, all people have only to speak to Him to receive the Holy Spirit.    
    • Exodus 17 shows us a crucified Christ, and Numbers 20 an exalted one.  Philip Mauro writes: “In Numbers 20…we have the incident of the striking of the rock (in this case the Hebrew word means an exalted or uplifted rock, not a sunken rock as in Exodus 17:6) when God had bidden Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock (Numb. 20: 8).” (Philip Mauro, Wonders of Bible Chronology).
  • Daily Offering – Hebrews 10:11-14
    • Exodus 29:38-46; Numbers 28:1-8 – Everyday, the priests of the Old Testament were commanded to offer two lambs – one in the morning, the other at twilight.  The writer of Hebrews seems to compare this daily sacrifice with Christ’s death, which only had to happen once to forgive all the sins of every day we live (see Heb. 9:27-28).
  • Levitical Offerings – Hebrews 10:1-4,10
    • The book of Leviticus begins with various offerings – burnt offering, grain offering, etc.  Each of these offerings required a pure and perfect animal (with the exception of the grain offering that required pure flour) that had to be sacrificed.  All of these offerings seem to show different aspects of the Cross of Christ.  For instance, the burnt offering appears to relate to the Cross itself; the grain offering is the new life that comes from the Cross; the peace offering is the peace that comes through the Cross; the sin offering shows our sins covered by Christ’s sacrifice; etc.
  • Day of Atonement – Hebrews 9:7,11
    • Leviticus 16 – Day of Atonement celebrated once a year to heal all the sins of the people through the blood of a bull and goat offered up by the High Priest.
      • Leviticus 17:11 – blood is the only thing that atones (covers/cleanses) our sins.
  • Leviticus 16:15 – sin offering was offered publicly in court of tabernacle
    • FULFILLED: Jesus was crucified publicly (Hebrews 13:11-12)
  • Leviticus 16:14-15 – Blood taken from the sin offering and brought into the Most Holy Place
    • FULFILLED: Jesus, as our High Priest, offered His own blood to God in Heaven (Hebrews 9:11-12)
  • Leviticus 16:17 – Only High Priest could enter, even though it’s for forgiveness of all the people
    • FULFILLED…only through Jesus’ blood can we come to God (Hebrews 9:7,11-12 [John 14:6])
  • Leviticus 16:20-22 – after God saw the blood, the sins of the people went away
    • Symbolized by a scapegoat running to the wilderness
    • Romans 5:8-9 – “justified” (v. 9) = Just-as-if-I’d never sinned (in terms of God’s judgment of us)
  • Leviticus 16:29-31 – The only job of the people: REST IN THE PRIEST’S FINISHED WORK (see John 6:29; John 19:30)
  • The Bronze Serpent – John 3:14-15
    • “lifted up” = death on the cross (see John 12:32-33)
    • Numbers 21:4-9
      • The people wish to return to the oppression of the Egyptians and detest the provision of manna God gave them…This points to people who want to live under bondage and oppression (of sin, of which Egypt is a type), and do not want to live by the life of Christ, the true “bread of life” (John 6:49-51; 1 Corinthians 10:9).
      • As a result, they were given over to serpents for death, pointing to us being given over to Satan, “that serpent of old” (Rev. 20:2).
      • The Only Cure???…Looking at the bronze serpent on a pole:  Jesus took all the curses upon Himself when He died on the Cross, and when people look to His work on the Cross we are truly healed (see 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14).
      • Note:  The people asked God to take away the serpents (Numbers 21:7), but He did not answer this specific request.  They rightfully deserved the serpents for their sin, and God could not take this away.  Instead, He provided a remedy in asking the people to look at a dead, immaterial serpent hanging on a pole.  Today, when we ask God to take away all the curse and death that came by way of our sins, He does not directly remove it from us.  Rather, He tells us we must look at the death of His Son for our remedy, regardless of what is happening on earth.  The key for our life is where our eyes go – to the ground where Satan triumphs, or to the Cross where Christ triumphs (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:8; cf. 1 Timothy 3:7; Psalm 25:15).  
  • More Left to Find – Hebrews 9:5
    • We are told in this verse that there are other treasures of Christ to be found throughout the Old Testament – the lampstand, table, ark of the covenant, etc.  The writer of Hebrews only mentions these, but never tells us what they specifically mean.  These, and many more, are left for us to discover through careful study of the Scriptures and revelation given by the Holy Spirit.