25. The O.T. in the N.T.?

In the Old Testament, there are many incidents, which the later New Testament writers applied to Christ.

For example:

1. The Birth of The Christ. 

In the history of Israel, this prophecy (Isaiah 9) was given at the time the Assyrian army was poised to attack Israel.

About Isaiah 9 the KJV Bible commentary,  writes, This chapter opens with ... the coming of the child Immanuel who, though He is not named as such in this chapter, is obviously the Child that is to be born and shall rule upon the throne of David.  In the interpretation of this passage, three basic positions have historically been taken by commentators: (1) That Immanuel is the Messiah; (2) that He is a Person living in the prophet’s own day; and (3) that He is somehow both.  

It appears very obvious that Isaiah meant a child in his own time frame, if, for no other reason, than because in the preceding and following chapters he writes about events that were current in his day.

Why would he suddenly, and without notice, speak of an event that will happen about seven hundred years later, and then, without saying so, revert back to his own time?  However, that bit of historical fact does not keep Matthew and Luke from applying Isaiah's prophecy to Christ. Matthew 4:14-15 and Luke 1:79.

Isaiah chapter 9, deserves a post of its own, and I will try to get to that soon.

2. Christ on David's throne. 

 the Child that is to be born ... shall rule upon the throne of David.  Through deceit, on Rebbecca's part, Isaac blessed Jacob in place of his first-born, Esau.  This was such an important issue that Esau, a grown man and a wild hunter, wept bitter tears. (Heb. 12:17 TLB.) when he realized what had happened.

Later, when it was time for Jacob to bless his grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph placed his sons, in front of Jacob, in such a way that Jacob's right hand would be on Manasseh's head, (to receive the major blessing), and his left hand on Ephraim's head (for the lesser blessing).  Jacob, however, crossed his arms and placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, Joseph's younger son, and Ephraim received the greater blessing.  Is it possible that these two events were portents of a much later event in the life of Christ? 

Notice this:

In Jeremiah 31:9 Jehovah says, Ephraim is My firstborn.  Historically, this is not true.  Manasseh was born before Ephraim was, and, adding to the genealogical problem, Joseph's sons were far from the first of Jacob's grandsons.  How could Jeremiah than have Jehovah say,  Ephraim is My firstborn?  

We remember that Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim.  We also know that Joshua is the Hebrew name for the Greek name, Jesus.  Perhaps the Lord was saying that Ephraim, the ancestor of Joshua represents Jesus since Jesus Christ is Jehovah's firstborn; that he (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Rom. 8:29.

Jesus Christ, is of the line of David, and David, of course, was born before Christ was, so actually, David should inherit the throne, but he does not, rather it is Christ that inherits that throne.  Was this reversal already foreshadowed in the aforementioned actions of Isaac and Jacob?  According to genealogy David should have inherited the throne which Christ has inherited.

3. The Old Testament Tabernacle. 

The tabernacle for the Israelites was meticulously built according to blueprints.  Much of it was decorated with gold.  There was a curtain which separated the holy place from the most holy place.  There was another curtain which kept all non-Israelites out of the tabernacle proper.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews makes much of the comparison between the Israelite tabernacle and the new mode of worship brought by Christ.  He wrote, Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who ... is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  Heb. 8:1-6.

In the Book of Matthew, we read that when Christ died the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Mat. 27:51.  That was the veil that kept the gentiles out of the actual tabernacle.  Now those of us who are not Jews also have the opportunity to enter the holy place.  This, however, is not the same holy place that the Jews visited for so many years.  The writer of Hebrews points out many of the marked improvements in the new tabernacle.

He (Christ) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as: 
1. He is also Mediator of a better covenant, 
2. which was established on better promises. 
3. I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; 
4. I will be their God, and they (the Gentiles) shall be My people. ... 
5. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

4. Isaac, the son of promise.  

Abraham was 99 years old when he received the promise that he would become the father of a great nation.  On hearing this, Abraham stepped right in with some advice which he thought the Lord might find helpful; he told the Lord how this could be arranged so that it could actually be possible.

Abraham said,  I don't know if You were aware of this, but, I already have a son.  Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!  He is now 13 years old, he would be a good choice, and this would make it possible for You to keep Your promise.  

Then God said: Enough of that kind of nonsense, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.  An Egyptian woman will not be the mother of My chosen race.  An illegitimate offspring of Abraham was not the son of promise, but Isaac was.

Those of us who have accepted Christ as our Redeemer are now the children of promise.  Paul wrote, Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. Gal. 4:28.  Abraham's "theology" needed to be set straight.  An illegitimate son would never do!

Many people's theology is also all screwed up!  They will try so many different ways to become children of promise; things such as attending church regularly to please Jehovah; giving to the poor to buy salvation; making themselves suffer hardships or inconveniences as if these things somehow impress the Lord.

5. Our Lord is now seated.  

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalm 110:1.   This is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament.  It is one of the "kingpins" on which the false doctrine of the Trinity hangs.

Vernon McGee writes You could not in any way consider this psalm and still deny His (Christ's) deity.   Further down he writes, This is an equal speaking to an equal. This is God speaking to God, if you please. ... When folk say that the Bible does not teach the deity of Jesus, they are not acquainted with this section of the Word of God, I can assure you. J. Vernon McGee, in, Thru the Bible commentary.  

However, in contradistinction, we note that, Traditionally in Judaism, the name (Jehovah) is not pronounced but read as Adonai.  However in Psalm 110:1, in the Hebrew meaning we note that it says, Jehovah said to my Lord, where the word Lord is Adoni.  This is what the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says about the distinction. The singular form is Adoni, "my lord" a royal, non-Deity title (1 Sam. 29:8), and is to be carefully distinguished from the divine title ADONAI used of Yahweh only.

This verse ... tells us that the relationship between God and Jesus is that of Deity and non-Deity. The Messiah is called adoni (my lord) and in every one of its 195 occurrences adoni (my lord) means a superior who is not God. Adonai on the other hand refers exclusively to the One God in all of its 449 occurrences. Adonai is the title of Deity and adoni never designates Deity. Focus on the Kingdom.

Mr McGee and his fellow Trinitarians should be more careful not to mix up the name Jehovah and the name Christ, which in the Hebrew tongue is easy to do; Adonai (Jehovah) as against Adoni (Christ).  Psalm 110 does not say that Christ is divine!

24. Moses Saw Jehovah

Moses in His Own Tent

Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp and called it the tabernacle of meeting. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. Ex.33:7-8.

Earlier we calculated that there were probably, at least, 3,600,000 people going to Canaan from Egypt, living in about 600,000 tents, but, illogically, the Bible says, each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.  

How could they place 600,000 tents in such an arrangement that each man, standing at his tent door, could see Moses' tent, especially, considering that Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp?

A Chat with Jehovah

Moses and Jehovah had a real, "where the rubber meets the road", conversation.  The Bible doesn't say so, but it is easy to surmise they were both sitting and talking about their future plans.

Here is part of the conversation: Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’  “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.” And He (Jehovah) said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Ex. 33:12-14.  

The conversation continues in that vein, but the stickler here is, So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. 33:11.  (Remember,  earlier the Lord sat and talked with Abraham in the shade of a tree.)

Only nine verses later we have these words, But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." Ex. 33:20.  It is interesting what Bible commentators do with this whole idea.  However, the long and short of what they say is that "the Bible does not mean what it says".   

Let's take a few examples: 

• Some theologians insist that when the Bible says that "Noah's flood" covered the whole world, it means that every piece of land in the whole world was under water. 
• since the Bible says that "The Nile became blood", then, "The Nile was blood".  You have to believe what the Bible says, right? 
• But, in this case, Ex. 31:11, they speak as if they are saying, let's invent new, religious sounding, words so that the majority of the people can be duped!

The Bible says that Moses saw God, but, in spite of that, many biblical commentators say Moses did not see Jehovah; they say that what he saw was a Christophany.  That means, he saw Christ before Christ became human. KJV Bible Commentary.  

Some say that when the Bible says that someone saw Jehovah, it must be thought of as a theophany.  That is, he didn't really see God, it just seemed like God.   

Well, then, if we can make arbitrary changes to some facts in the Bible, why can we not also make arbitrary changes to other stated facts; for example, about "the flood" or the Nile river?

Obviously, we can't accept, at face value, both Ex. 33:11 and 33:20.  Why should we necessarily believe 33:20, for no man shall see Me, and live, and not, rather, believe 33:11, the Lord spoke to Moses face to face?

Let us look at some of the many Bible verses that tell us that Jehovah, in fact, has been seen by humans, if we dare believe what the Bible says.

• When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram. Gen. 17:1
• Moses covered his face for he was afraid to look at God. Ex. 3:6.
• Moses answered to Yahweh’s face. Ex. 6:12.
• the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. Ex. 19:21.
• Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. Ex. 24:9-10.
• After my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Job 19:26.
• As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness. Psalm 17: 15.
• I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. Isaiah 6:1.
• They shall see His face. Rev. 22:4.

About this bit of theology, it is obvious that Bible commentators do not agree -

It is a fact, friend, you are not going to see God face to face. J. Vernon McGee.  Maybe he should have read these words before he made his statement; The Lord is righteous; the upright man will contemplate His face. Psalm 11:7.

Seeing Jehovah is an honour reserved for the future state, to be the eternal bliss of holy souls. Matthew Henry.

Without saying so, concerning Jehovah's invisibility, most theologians agree, "let's not believe what the Bible says because if we do, we must concede that, till now, our theology was wrong, and we could never admit that".

23. A Disagreement and a Prayer

A Divine Disagreement

So who brought the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses says it was the Lord who did it and the Lord says that it was Moses who did it.

Moses: The Lord God of your fathers, said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt. Ex. 3:16. 

The Lord (said to Moses): (You) brought Israel from the Red Sea. Ex.15:22.

Moses: By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt. Ex. 13:14.

The Lord: (said to Moses) “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves." Ex.32:7.

Moses: Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt? Ex. 32:11.

The Lord: (said to Moses) “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt. Ex. 33:1.

Moses: “You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’" Ex. 33:12. 

It sounds as if Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt!

In English we speak of a land, flowing with milk and honey, but in Hebrew, the word is not, flowing, it is the much stronger word, gushing.

A Heartfelt Prayer

This is a down to earth prayer, it contains no high falutin religious words.  Moses is still speaking to Jehovah, face to face, and he lays all his cards on the table.

Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’  And according to You, I did bring the people out of Egypt.

But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.  I had understood that You would provide an understudy for me.  So far I don't even know who it is.

Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, You also said, "you have also found grace in My sight."  Jehovah, we are on a first name basis, You said so yourself and You have been so very kind to me. That being true ... I pray, ... show me now Your way, that I may know You.

Lord, I don't pray only for myself, but I ask You to please consider that this nation is Your people.”

Jehovah said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. Lord, if You are not willing to lead us to the promised land, please let us stay here, this place is not as bad as some places where we have been.

“For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?  But, still, Lord, if You do not lead us how will other nations get to know your awesome power. However, if You do lead us we shall be separate, a special nation, chosen by You, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” If you don't lead us, how will we be any different than any other nation on earth?

Moses prayed, show me now Your way, that I may know You.  Surely this should be the heart cry of every Christian.  The answer that the Lord gave Moses, “for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name,” Exodus 33:12-17, is also given to us.  Saint John wrote it like this, truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3.

If this prayer, by Moses, touches your heart, I would sincerely recommend that you spend some time meditating on the prayer of Jesus Christ as it is found in the Gospel of John, chapter seventeen.

The Sin of Moses

What was the sin Moses committed which kept him out of the promised land? 

Movies and books portray it as being the time when, in his anger, Moses smashed the two tablets that contained the ten commandments. The Lord does not get angry when a person is passionate about what is right, as Moses was at that time.  There are incidents recorded in the Old Testament where Jehovah rewarded His servants for being passionate.

So what was the sin of Moses?  Take your pick:

The Lord said to Moses: “see the land which I have given to the children of Israel." “And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people.  For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes. Num. 27:12-14.

Or:

After recording the defeat of the Israeli army against the Amorites, the author of Deuteronomy, writes about the plan to invade The Promised Land. The people were discouraged by the majority vote of the spies and refused to go in; Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; ... The Lord was also angry with me for your sakes (because of you), saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there (the promised land). Deut. 1:26+37. 

It seems that Deuteronomy had a different author than Exodus did and that the new author chooses a different reason for Moses being barred from the promised land.

“Do not go up nor fight, I am not among you."  How do people defend the theory that God is omnipresent, (everywhere at the same time), if Jehovah Himself says, I am not among you?  

It seems that the majority of Bible teachers need to think about re-evaluating many of their basic doctrines.

22. The Snake on a Pole

Manna

And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 

Much has been written about this worthless bread, which is more commonly called, Manna.  At first, the Israelites did not know what it was, so they called it, what is it.

The substance now called manna in the Arabian desert through which the Israelites passed is collected in the month of June from the tarfa or tamarisk shrub. According to Burckhardt it drops from the thorns on the sticks and leaves with which the ground is covered, and must be gathered early in the day or it will be melted by the sun. The Arabs cleanse and boil it, strain it through a cloth and put it in leathern bottles; and in this way, it can be kept uninjured for several years. They use it like honey or butter with their unleavened bread, but never make it into cakes or eat it by itself. The whole harvest, which amounts to only five or six hundred pounds, is consumed by the Bedouins, “who,” says Schaff, “consider it the greatest dainty their country affords.” 
Smith’s Bible dictionary 

Numerous attempts have been made to identify manna with substances found in the Sinai Peninsula. Insects living on the tamarisk bush produce a small, sweet substance during the early summer that has been identified as manna by some scholars. But this substance does not fulfill all the biblical requirements for manna. ... Manna certainly was nourishing, but it cannot be identified with any known food. 
Nelson's Bible Dictionary

Snakes

So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. ... the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.”

That part of the desert where the Israelites now were—near the head of the gulf of Akaba—is greatly infested with venomous reptiles, ... The exact species of serpents that caused so great mortality among the Israelites cannot be ascertained. They are said to have been "fiery," an epithet applied to them either from their bright, vivid color, or the violent inflammation their bite occasioned.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

The Lord did not prepare those serpents especially to punish the Israelites; the serpents were there naturally, but according to the author they were instruments which Jehovah used to punish the nation for complaining about the supposed heaven-sent food.

So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent. and put it on a pole, and so it was if a serpent had bitten anyone when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Num. 21:5-9. "a serpent of bronze," is a wordplay as "serpent" and “bronze” are closely related in Hebrew: nehash (serpent) nehoshet (copper). 
Pulpit Commentary  
               

As the story goes, even then, in His anger, the Lord was merciful to the people.  All that the people needed to do to avoid death, by a serpent bite, was to look at the brass serpent Moses had made. 

The Lifted Curse

Many years later when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, he drew a comparison between the bronze serpent and Himself; He said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:14-15.

In each case, the result was similar.  Those that looked up at the brass serpent, believing they would be healed, were healed.  Those that, in faith, look up to Jesus as the redeemer of humanity, will also be given eternal life.  Saint Paul wrote, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”). Gal. 3:13. 

In other words, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, Jehovah cursed both the ground and the spiritual aspect of humanity.  When "Noah's flood" happened the curse was lifted from the ground Lamech ... had a son and he called his name Noah, saying, This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed. Genesis 5:38.  

The point of this story is that God had cursed the earth, because of the actions of Adam and Eve.  The Lord said, Cursed is the ground for your sake. Gen. 3:17.  Noah was chosen to be the one through whom the curse to the ground would be removed. 

The Lord was merciful to the Israelites in the desert, but how much more merciful was He to us when Christ died on the cross.  Then the spiritual curse was lifted from that segment of humanity who is willing to accept the fact that Jesus Christ died for them!  

Because He hung on a tree He was cursed by His own Father.  When His Father raised Him from death He proved to the world that He was satisfied with Christ's work on the tree.  The curse which fell on the Human race, in the Garden of Eden, has been removed and eternal life is possible! However, it is a free gift, it cannot be earned, it can only be accepted or rejected.

To Christians, the term, Good Friday, sounds like a misnomer. Christ, our leader and hero was killed by wicked people.  Jesus of Nazareth, ... ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.  The wonderful truth is that God hath raised (Him from the grave). Acts 2:22-24 KJV. 

There are many portrayals of Christ in the Old Testament, however, the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham and the snake on the pole are the two most beautiful.  

At that time Isaac was already an older teenager and his father was well over one hundred years old.  Isaac could have struggled to preserve his life, but he did not! 

Christ could have avoided the cross, He did not want to die a horrible, painful death.  He prayed, O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. Mat. 26:39.  More important than seeking His own comfort, He wanted to do His Father's will. 

The death of Christ is a horrible, wonderful, fact in the history of humanity. Because of it, humans have the possibility of inheriting eternal life.