In a recent post (see here), I announced my intention to do a series on Christ in the Old Testament, which in the Hebrew Bible can be divided into three sections (Law, Prophets, Writings), referring back to two incidents recorded in Luke 24, following Jesus rising from the dead, when he told his bemused disciples how His life, death and resurrection were all foretold in the Old Testament.

The three sessions I had in mind were:

1. Christ in the Law (i.e. the Books of Moses)
2. Christ in the Prophets (where we really are spoiled for choice)
3. Christ in the Writings (particularly, the Psalms)

Noting three different yet complementary ways this subject could be approached:

1. Types and shadows (pertaining to actual events that also point us to Christ)
2. Prophecies (words of the prophets concerning Christ’s two comings)
3. Christophany (pre-incarnate appearances of Christ – also Theophany)

This post is devoted to a consideration of Christ in the Law of Moses (that is also referred to as the Torah, Pentateuch or as the first five books of both the Hebrew and Christian Bible). Unlike with the other two sections, where the New Testament writers frequently go to great length in telling readers how Jesus had been foretold in the Prophets and the Writings, as well as it being a major theme in New Testament times when preaching to Jewish audiences, it is perhaps less obvious to many modern Gentile readers unfamiliar with the Law. Nevertheless, it is an important consideration. One of many reasons, is that given there are many Old Testament references in the New (noting its early readership was mainly Jewish), it would help our understanding if we knew what was being referred to.

It is a huge subject of course and, while I would have loved to had eavesdropped on the conversations that Jesus had with His disciples, where He covered this subject, notably the two we find recorded in Luke 24, the best I can do is to have a stab at what He might have said. Rather than undertake a forensic, deep dive, I will concentrate on giving my more off the cuff, personal thoughts on the subject, of the sort I imagine anyone who studies the Bible for him/herself may do. I do so under five headings, corresponding to each of the Books of Moses. I do so with some trepidation, for I may miss important points, but at least I would have opened up the subject.

Genesis

The thought of Christ in the Old Testament is there right at the start of the Bible. One of the words for God is “Elohim”, which is plural, e.g. Genesis 1:1. We find in the same sentence when Elohim is used that so is the word “us” – “let us” etc.  Just as Genesis 1:1 informs us “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” so John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” – that Word being Jesus Christ.

When it comes to the three different ways Christ can be seen (Types, Prophecies, Christophany) in the Old Testament, we have examples of all three in Genesis. One of the most striking Type in the whole of the Bible is when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but was granted a reprieve in the final seconds, when he provided a ram instead. Moving on 2000 years, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to be a sacrifice for our sins, who willingly offered himself. Another type is Joseph who was rejected and sold as a slave by his jealous brothers, yet he turned out to be their deliverer years later. Jesus was rejected by Israel and yet will turn out to be their Saviour.

There are two notable prophecies in Genesis about the future appearing of Messiah. The first comes soon after Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and God confronted the Serpent, declaring the coming of the Messiah and the Seed War that would be a recurring theme throughout the Bible: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” Genesis 3:15. The second are the words of Jacob that he spoke to his twelve sons at the end of his life, and this is what he said concerning Judah: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” Genesis 49:10.

God appearing to individuals is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament and nowhere is this more evident than in Genesis when he appeared on several occasions to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, including apparently in physical human/angelic form like when the Lord appeared to Abraham on the plains of Mamre (Genesis 18:1,2) (Theophany). The question is begged that since we are told that man cannot look upon the face of God whether when God appeared in person if it was in fact Christ (Christophany). While we cannot prove the case beyond any shadow of doubt, two examples where this might have happened was Abraham’s meeting with the mysterious Melchizedek (who is compared with Christ in the Book of Hebrews, e.g. Hebrews 5:6-11; 6:20-7:28). Another example is found in Genesis 32:22–32 which recounts the puzzling story of Jacob in an all-night wrestling match. His opponent is a man who refers to himself as “God” (verse 28). Later, Jacob also refers to the man he struggled with as “God” (verse 30).

Exodus

In Exodus we read of another striking type of Christ when it came to the slaughter of the Passover Lamb and applying the blood of the slain lamb around the doorways in order for the Children of Israel to be saved from the Angel of Death as He passed through the land killing the first born from every family: “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” Exodus 12:13. Jesus is often referred to as the Lamb of God. For example, we read: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29. Just before being arrested and then put to death, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples and provided a new meaning: “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” Matthew 26:27,28.

During their 40-year journeying in the Wilderness, the Israelites were fed manna from heaven: “And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat” Exodus 16:15. Jesus compared Himself with that manna, claiming to be the Bread of Life: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” John 6:46-51. A central part of Old Testament worship revolved round the Ark of the Covenant, where God was seen to dwell and where he manifested His glory. In the Ark was placed a pot of manna. It is worth noting further how this was significant as God’s Spirit overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 40:34,35) and that it was also told to Mary: “the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” Luke 1:35.

The later chapters of Exodus are devoted to the Priesthood and the Tabernacle and as I argued in my book “Priests of the Bible” (see here), where much of the extraordinary detail that was given pointed to Christ. “According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” Exodus 25:9. “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons” Exodus 28:1. When considering the six items of furniture in the Tabernacle, the following connections can be made:

1. Altar of Sacrifice: Jesus our Justification
2. Wash Basin: Jesus our Sanctification
3. Table of Shewbread: Jesus the Bread of Life
4. Lampstand: Jesus the Light of the World
5. Altar of Incense: Jesus our Intercessor
6. Ark of the Covenant: Jesus – God with us

Leviticus

The main prophecy that relates to Christ is what comes out of the description of what went on the Day of Atonement, described in Leviticus 16. It was the one day in the year when the High Priest (and he alone) could enter the Holy of holies in order to present the blood of a slain bull and goat at the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the Covenant. The theme of priest and sacrifice is taken up by the writer to the Hebrews who saw Jesus as fulfilling both functions.

The Book of Hebrews relates what took place, e.g. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” Hebrews 9:11-15.

There were two goats that had important parts to play on that day and lots were drawn to assign each its function. One was sacrificed for the sins that needed atoning for and the other was released “outside the camp” into the Wilderness having first had the sins of the people transferred to it by the High Priest. We are told “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach” Hebrews 13:11-13.  

Leviticus, of all the five books of Moses, this is often seen by modern Gentile readers as the least relevant Old Testament book given its focus is on the religious practice and ritual that governed Israel. Yet the underlying theme, seen throughout the Book, is of God’s holiness as it emphasized that priests and people needed to be holy, something that would only fully be fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Two themes covered in Leviticus, also discussed in Priests of the Bible, are the five Sacrifices (offerings): Burnt, Grain, Sin, Guilt, Fellowship (Leviticus1-5) and the seven Feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles (Leviticus 23). The following are some importantly suggested New Testament applications to the Old Testament feasts:

1. Passover: Jesus’ death
2. Unleavened Bread: Jesus’ burial
3. First fruits: Jesus’ resurrection
4. Pentecost: the Holy Spirit is poured out
5. Trumpets: Jesus’ Second Coming
6. Atonement: Israel turns to its Messiah
7. Tabernacles: Jesus’ millennial reign

Numbers

From Exodus 19 until Numbers 10, we find the Israelites were encamped around Mount Sinai for just over a year. From then on up to the end of Numbers, we read of events relating to their onward journeying through the Wilderness for the next 38 years (it should have been less than two), until they were almost ready to enter the Promised Land, by which time, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, every adult had died. What I would like to do is consider three incidents on that journey and relate these to Christ.

Early in their continuation journey the people complained for lack of water, just as happened in Exodus 17 when Moses struck a rock in order to obtain water: “And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! … Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink … And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also” Numbers 20:3,8,11. God was displeased with the people for their complaining and with Moses for not giving God the glory (he struck the rock rather than speak to it as God had instructed). After air, water is the next most important thing to sustain life and the Bible often speaks of physical water and its spiritual application. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, we read: “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4:13,14. Paul refers to the incident, likening the Rock to Christ and the living water He alone gives: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” 1 Corinthians 10:4.

Later we read “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live” Numbers 21:5-8. Jesus refers to this incident in his discourse with a leader among the Pharisees, Nicodemus, drawing parallels with the efficacy of the Israelites looking up at the snake on a pole to escape the snake’s bite and He (Jesus) (yet to be) lifted up on the Cross: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:14-16.

As the journey progressed, we read in Numbers 22-24 of Balak, the king of Moab, hiring Balaam to curse Israel, as he was fearful of what the Israelites might do to him given recent successes in battle. Balaam didn’t do so because he couldn’t. While he was a false prophet he spoke one of the most profound prophecies found in the Bible: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth” Numbers 24:17.

Finally, we find mentioned that, throughout all of their wilderness journeying until they reached the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, reminding us that Jesus is the one who wishes to and will guide us in our life’s journey.

Deuteronomy

Here through Moses the coming of the Christ is prophesied: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;  According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” Deuteronomy 18:15-18. This is picked up in the New Testament: “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” John 1:45 and “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” John 6:15.

Deuteronomy literally means second law. The first law was given nearly forty years earlier at Sinai but the people it was given to had died off and the generation that followed needed to be reminded – thus Deuteronomy. While it is true: “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” John 1:17, just as Leviticus is about holiness, Deuteronomy is much about grace and there is no incompatibility between the two Testaments: “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” Deuteronomy 7:6-9.

Finally, Deuteronomy provides us with another powerful Type of Christ as well as a subject central to the Gospel: “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: “His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance” Deuteronomy 21:22,23. Paul picks this up when reflecting on Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins when he writes: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” Galatians 3:13.