Search the Scriptures, it is these that testify of Me –Jn.5:39
Dear Listener, 2 Tim.3:16 says: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” 2 Tim.3:15 informs us that “The holy Scriptures are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
The Old Testament is a rich mine of eternal truth. In it we discover Christ, His ways, and God’s instruction for godly living. There are 3 primary things we always need to look for as we read and meditate on the OT.
[1] Look for Jesus in the pages of the OT. [2] Seek how Christ fulfilled the OT. [3] Find principles of godly living therein. Look for [1] Jesus, [2] Fulfillment, [3] Godliness.
[1] Look for Jesus. Lk.24:17 tells us that Jesus began “with Moses and with all the prophets and explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Then in Lk.24:44,45 Jesus said to the apostles: “These are My Words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
Yes, Dear Listener, when you read the OT, look for Jesus! When you read in Gen.3:15 that the seed for the woman will bruise the serpent on the head, see Jesus there. Gal.3:16 says: “That Seed was Christ!”
When you read of Noah entering the ark and being saved from the waters of wrath flooding the world of the ungodly, see Jesus there. Heb.11:7 says: “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in holy fear prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
And when Abraham was directed to offer his only begotten and beloved son as a sacrifice to God, behold Jesus in that! Heb.11:17-19 tells us to see Jesus there: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, his only begotten son; he considered that God could even raise him from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back from the dead.”
And when we reflect on the life of Joseph, how he was beloved by his Father and hated by his brothers, we can see a picture of Christ there. As He was despised and rejected by the tribes of Israel and thrown into the pit of death and sold as a slave, don’t miss Jesus in that. Yet as God so worked, we can see Jesus being raised from that humiliation and exalted to the right hand of the King of the whole world.
There raised in honor, wisdom, and might, Joseph alone has the supply of bread for the perishing world. Who can miss seeing Jesus there! And in unmatched kindness, mercy, and forgiveness, he even receives the sorrowful and humbled ones who at first hated and rejected him. Is this not Jesus, the risen, merciful King who bestows forgiveness, blessing, and abundance to all who come to Him in repentance? Yes, we can see Jesus here in the narrative of Joseph.
Then when the wrath of God was about to fall upon the whole wicked world of Egypt in Ex.12, God provided the lamb for any who sheltered under that sacrifice. And so Jn.1:29 declares of Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” 1 Cor.5:7 adds: “Christ our passover has also been sacrificed.”
Do you see Jesus in this? Do you see that only the blood of Christ can cleanse from all sin? Isn’t it clear that only Jesus can save from the fury of God’s wrath upon the world?
Also when the manna descended from heaven daily to feed millions of Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness, this shows us Jesus. He Himself said in Jn.6:32-51: “My Father gives you the true bread out of heaven. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
Dear Listener, have you come to Jesus, the living bread, and partaken of Him? Israel in the wilderness ate the manna bread for 40 years and then it was finished. You can eat of Christ, the true living bread from heaven and live forever! Taste of Him!
Again when we read of God telling Moses to strike the rock with his rod of judgment that water might flow for Israel’s life and refreshment, don’t miss Jesus there. 1 Cor.10:4 informs us: “All drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and that Rock was Christ.”
[2] Jesus fulfills the OT. When you read the OT Scriptures, look for how Jesus has fulfilled them. Christ says in Mt.5:17,18: “Do not think that I came to overthrow the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
And so as you read in Lev.1-7 about the 5 types of animal sacrifices, see in those the various glorious aspects of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. Heb.9:12 declares: “not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Yes, Jesus is in the OT offerings.
And when you read through all the many details of the tabernacle with its curtains and gold, furnishings and ceremonies, Jesus is there as well. Heb.9:9,11 says that the tabernacle was “a parable for the time then present. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation.”
Jesus is there in every symbol, ceremony, and holy day. In every garment of the priests, all materials of the tabernacle: all were made according to “the pattern shown on the mountain” –Heb.8:5. And why? Because Jesus is to be seen in every detail. All point to Him who would fulfill completely those shadows in every detail.
[3] The OT provides principles of godly living. In it are contained illustrations, examples, and warnings about how a Christian is to live to the glory of God. 1 Cor.10:1-12 shows this truth: “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. Nor let us act immorally. And let us not put Christ to the test and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel.
“Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction. Therefore let him who thinks he stands, be careful lest he fall.”
Dear Listener, the Scriptures speak of Christ. They hold wonderful portraits of Him to every seeking heart. They show how He has fulfilled all the details of what it means to worship God in sincerity and truth. And the stories of the lives of men therein show us both what glorifies Christ and what does not.
As we open our OT afresh, let us also request as did the people in Jn.12:21: “Lord, we wish to see Jesus.”
Copyright Steve Phillips 2020