Types (shadows) of Christ in the Old Testament (17-40)

(17) Son of promise: Abraham was told by God that he would receive a son Genesis 12:3 whose seed would number more than the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea. Abraham had to wait about 25 years before this son was actually born, just as God spoke through His prophets (Isaiah 7:14) of the coming Messiah, thousands of years before Christ actually came. God promised both Isaac and Christ, long before they finally arrived.

(18) Isaac and Ishmael: Types of the church and Israel respectively. Galatians 4:21-31 reveals this example of type, and I will let you read this one on your own, since it is stated quite perfectly, requiring no explanation.

(19) Miracle birth: Abraham’s son would come about by a miracle birth, since Abraham was 100 years old Genesis 21:5, and impotent, and his wife Sarah was barren her whole life, plus she was now “past the time of women” Genesis 18:11 meaning that she had gone through menopause leaving them both completely unable to produce a child naturally. See also Romans 4:18-19. Obviously Jesus was a miracle birth as well, being born of a virgin.

(20) God given name: Isaac’s name was given by divine declaration to the child’s parents before he was born Genesis 17:19, just as Christ’s Name was given by divine declaration to the child’s parents before He was born Matthew 1:20-21, Luke 1:30-31.

(21) The sacrifice: Many Bible critics will single out the event of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and blaspheme God for asking a man to murder his own child just for the sake of a test. There are three very important things to always remember: (1. God had promised Abraham that the seed of his offspring would be innumerableand and that it would be called by Isaac’s name, meaning that Isaac would be the father of this seed Genesis 21:12, but Isaac was not yet married, nor had he any children. Abraham believed God’s Words concerning His promise to bless his seed through Isaac Genesis 21:12, which had not yet happened. (2. God had not only proven Himself to be trustworthy, but He had also shown that He could perform supernatural works, as evidenced in the very birth of Isaac. (3. Isaac is a type of the supernatural birth of Christ, as well as His sacrifice for all of mankind. This will be undeniably clear very soon. These two events are the very bookends of the Life and Ministry of Christ’s earthly existence, so it seems rather obvious that one person should typify both of these aspects of Christ.

Indeed Abraham trusted God to keep His promise to bless Isaac’s seed, Genesis 22:5 “And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the donkey; and I and the lad will … come again to you.” Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: …” Abraham believed God’s promise to multiply his seed. Notice also in verse 8 that Abraham does not say “God will provide a lamb for Himself” but “God will provide Himself a lamb”. Furthermore God said in Genesis 21:12 “in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” and Abraham clearly believed God (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3) to uphold His Word. God did not give Abraham a test that required blind faith; God gave him a test after He had proven Himself faithful to perform His promises.

(22) The only son: Genesis 22:2 “And he said, (22-a) Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and (22-b) get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave (22-a)* his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (22-b)* Jerusalem was in Mt. Moriah II Chronicles 3:1, and Christ was crucified just outside of Jerusalem. In other words, both stories took place on the same mountain. It isn’t stated exactly where on mt. Moriah that Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed, but many believe that it was to the very hill Golgotha. One thing to consider is that the spot where Christ was to be sacrificed may have been too holy in God’s Eye’s to allow Abraham to go to that exact spot, so there are good reasons to believe either possibility.

(23) Dead 3 days then “resurrected”: Genesis 22:4 ”Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.” For three days Abraham considered his son to be as good as dead, while they made their way to Moriah, which is a clear type of the three and a half days in which Christ was actually dead. You might say that three days is not three and a half days, but notice that the place was still “afar off” and also consider the fact that Abraham had to prepare the place for sacrifice as well. And, eventually, when God provides the substitutionary ram, Isaac is resurrected in his fathers' eyes.

(24) Isaac carried the cross: As Jesus was made to carry His own wooden cross John 19:17-18; so too Isaac carried the wood that he was to be offered upon Genesis 22:6.

(25) The closed veil: Abraham commanded his servants to wait by themselves, so that no man witnessed what transpired between the father and son, only they themselves. This seems to clearly typify the darkness that is recorded from the sixth hour, unto the ninth hour, during the crucifixion Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33.

(26) The substitute: Isaac’s journey of being a type of Christ ends here. Isaac is still only human, and therefore needs a blood substitute, which God provided in the ram of Genesis 22:13. Here it is actually the ram that typifies Christ, in that it takes the place of the one destined to die, just as all animal sacrifice typifies Christ, the final sacrifice.

(27) Mysterious absence: Strangely enough, Genesis 22:19 says nothing about Isaac coming down from the mountain, “So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.” In fact, Isaac is not mentioned until the story of him meeting his bride-to-be in a field Genesis 24:62; Isaac is even curiously absent from the death and burial of his own mother, in Genesis 23. Even this absence itself typifies Christ’s long departure from earth, from the time of His death, typified by Isaac’s trip to Mt. Moriah, up until He is joined to His bride to be.

(28) The servant: In Genesis 24 Abraham sends his servant into his home country to take a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s kinsmen. This man seems to be a double type: the first of which being a preacher of the Gospel since the angel of the Lord went before this servant to “prosper his way” 24:7 & 40. This man told the story of the supernatural birth 24:36, which clearly typifies the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

Christ’s Words in John 16:13-14 seem to suggest that Abraham's servant may also represent The Holy Spirit, “Howbeit when He, The Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” which seems in conjunction with the fact that Abraham’s servant took ten camels to demonstrate Abraham’s wealth Genesis 24:10, he also gave the damsel jewelry in 24:22, again in 24:53 he gives Rebekah more jewelry and to her brother and mother also, and he recounted the expanse of his masters wealth in 24:35.

(29) The bride: We will notice three things concerning what Isaac’s bride Rebekah was challenged with: notice how each one paints a clearly paralleled picture to that of the bride of Christ, which is the church.

(1. She was asked to believe the story of a man she had never met before, I Peter 1:8.

(2. She was asked to leave her home and family, Matthew 19:29.

(3. She was asked to marry a man whom she had yet to even meet. We as believers are called the bride of Christ, and we are called to “marry” a man that we have never seen for ourselves, I Peter 1:8 “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"

To see how the church is the bride of Christ check out the following Hatena Diary Bible study.

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/nicholighkun/20120402/1333384784

(30) Jacob’s wives: Isaac had 2 sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau was the firstborn, meaning that the blessing of a seed that numbered as the stars of the sky, and the sand of the sea, that Isaac was able to pass down from God, would have been upon Esau. But Esau, whom God hated Romans 9:13, because he forsook his birthright for food, and so it was passed to Jacob, by the plans of his mother Rebekah. Esau planned to kill Jacob for this, and Rebekah sent Jacob away to live with her brother Laban. Jacob saw Laban’s youngest daughter Rachel, and bargained with Laban to work for 7 years to purchase Rachel to wife. After 7 years, Laban forced Jacob to marry Rachel’s older sister Leah; saying that he could not marry the younger until the older was wed. So Jacob toiled another 7 years for Rachel. Being married to both, Leah bare many children to Jacob, but the beloved Rachel was barren, until God later blessed Rachel’s womb, and she bare Joseph and Benjamin. Later on, Jacob having wed both his wives travels home in an attempt to reconcile with his brother Esau. On this journey home, God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, and his 12 sons are the patriarchs [heads] of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacob’s story is from Genesis 25:21-Genesis 36. Genesis 37 begins Israel’s son Joseph’s blessed story.

Leah is a type of the church, while Rachel typifies Israel. (1. Rachel was first desired, as was Israel, but due to circumstances, Leah was married first, as was the church. (2. The beloved wife was barren, while Leah bare many children. (3. The beloved wife eventually bares children, being visited by God.

In Isaiah 54:1, God speaks to Israel, who the beloved and barren Rachel typifies. He says “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD."

It is also worth noting that Jacob’s name was changed to Israel for the first time when he was returning home with his wives and offspring. When Christ returns to the earth with His armies, which is also His bride, He will then bear a new name Revelation 19:11-14.

(31) Joseph, the names: The Hebrew name Yoseph, means ‘Yahweh has added’. This name’s most prominent meaning is that God has added a son to Jacob (Israel), but the meaning that will later become obvious is the sense that God uses Joseph to add life to many, when God uses Joseph to bless the land of Egypt in order to allow them to reserve enough food just before a famine, in order to sustain many, many lives. The apparent parallel to Christ is the idea that through Him God has added the Gentiles [all who are not Hebrews] to the olive tree of blessing known as the family of Israel, under the blessing of Abraham, see Romans 11.

Also worth noting is the second name given to Joseph by Pharaoh is Zaphnath-Paaneah. The meaning of this name is a bit harder to pin down since it is a Hebrew interpretation of an Egyptian name. In Egyptian this name means ‘savior of the age’, while the Hebrew translation of the same word means ‘revealer of secrets’ both of which clearly typify Christ. The type in Joseph’s second name, was fulfilled (among other ways I’m sure) when Christ and the Holy Spirit began to ‘reveal the secrets’ of the Old Testament and the existence of types. When Christ returns to the earth with the armies of heaven, which is His church, He will display His new name, see Revelation 19:10-12. Both men had two names: the one given by their parents, and the one given by the king on the throne that promotes them to glory.

(32) Rejected for revealing sin: Genesis 37:2 says that “… and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.” Concerning his brothers. The literal translation of this portion of Scripture says “brought and Joseph report their evil about their father.” I’ve included this because I’ve heard it said that Joseph brought an evil report, which apparently can mean a lying report, but based on the translations, both KJV and literal, it is a report of their evil deeds, and not “an evil report” in general. This is fulfilled in Christ in that He revealed the sins of the religious leaders of His day, who were His brothers, according to the seed of Abraham. John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” Both men revealed the sins of their brothers.

(33) Murdered by his brothers: Obviously Joseph cannot be literally murdered by his brothers, or else the plans God had for him would be discontinued. However, there is an interesting word picture that clearly illustrates the symbolic killing of Joseph. First let me show that the word “pit” is a synonym for Hell, also called Sheol. The examples in bold and yellow are the more clear examples: Job 17:16, 33:18, 28 & 30, Psalm 28:1, 30:3 & 9, 55:23, Proverbs 1:12, Isaiah 14:15 & 19, Ezekiel 31:14 & 16, 32:25, 29 & 30, Zechariah 9:11, Revelation 9:1, 20:3. Now let’s look at Genesis 37:24, “And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.” This typified Christ’s work during the 3.5 days that He was dead, while He preached to the disobedient souls in prison [the pit], see I Peter 3:19-20. Both men spent time in the pit.

(34) The despised prophet: In Genesis 37:3-11 we read the story of Joseph’s prophetic dreams that God had given him, which told the story of his parents and his brothers one day bowing down to him. These dreams caused Joseph’s brothers to hate Him even more. Jesus also heard the truth of the future from God, and was hated for it, see John 8:40 “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: …” Both men were hated for sharing what God had revealed to them.

(35) The dreams: Let me first remind you that God has said that every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father, which was prophesied in Isaiah 45:23, and this was more clearly stated in Philippians 2:10-11 “10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, >>>of things in heaven, and things in earth<<<, and things under the earth; 11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Now let’s look at Joseph’s dreams. The first dream, described in Genesis 37:7 shows the sheaves of the field bowing to Joseph, while the second dream, told in 37:9, has the heavenly bodies bowing to him. This shadow of Christ should be very clear, and should need no explanation; Joseph has already typified the unjust hatred and murder of Christ, and here he typifies the prophecy of the eventual glorification of Christ, both in the earth, and in the heavens.

Major mistakes in De Haan’s book: In the 21st chapter, the section entitled “He came to his own” is almost all wrong. De Haan insists that Joseph brought a gift to his brother’s, yet I can find no such passage in the Genesis account that says or implies this, and the verse he lists with this claim certainly does not say or imply a gift was brought. He then goes on to give seemingly false definitions for the 2 places where Joseph goes looking for his brother’s. The name of the first place, Shechem (Strong’s #’s 7926 & 7927), De Haan says means ‘fellowship’, but Strong’s, Gesenius, and the online concordance blue letter bible all say that it is the shoulder blades, or upper back, the place where a burden is born. De Haan also says that the name of the second place, Dothan (Strong’s #1886) means law, but all of the aforementioned sources define it as dual (as in two), or dual well, since it is the plural form of the Chaldean word for well. This is good reason to always check your sources, and never take anyone’s word for anything. Be a Berean and look into what people say. The truth will ALWAYS stand under scrutiny so let bad information fall. This could likely be a case of the author’s definition being taken from an old understanding of the word that has since been revised, since De Haan’s work was done around the middle part of the 20th Century. This bad information does not necessarily mean that he lied intentionally.

(36) Joseph binds Simeon: In Genesis 42:21-25 we hear the brothers speak to one another about their crimes against Joseph, which Joseph understands, though they don’t realize he can understand them, because he spoke to them through an interpreter. Joseph then has the brother Simeon bound. This is very interesting, because the name Simeon means ’heard’. Joseph heard them, but they knew it not. Joseph has all of them placed into prison for 3 days, and holds Simeon, or ‘hearing’ indefinitely until they bring their youngest brother Benjamin. So Joseph restricts hearing, until all of the brothers are present to hear his revelation.

(37) An overview: Both Joseph and Christ, wore a distinctive robe (Genesis 37:3, John 19:23), that they were stripped of (Genesis 37:23, Matthew 27:35); both went out to meet their own brothers (Genesis 37:12-13, the nation of Israel is considered one family, so the Jews of the day were a part of Jesus’ extended family); the brothers hated them for sharing what God had revealed (Genesis 37:8, John 8:40); they were delivered to the Gentiles (Genesis 37:28, Luke 3:1 & 23:1); sold for silver (Genesis 37:28, Matthew 26:15); the Gentile’s condemned both (Genesis 39:11-23, Luke 23:25); both were the saviour of many, and exalted to the throne (Genesis 41:40-44, Luke 1:32/Acts 2:30); both were then given a bride from among the Gentiles (Genesis 41:45, Hatena Diary Bible study "Who is the Bride of Christ?" http://d.hatena.ne.jp/nicholighkun/20120402/1333384784); both have two names, one given by their parents, and one given by the king on the throne who promoted them (Genesis 30:24/41:45, Luke 1:31/Revelation 19:10-12).

Psalm 78:24 calls the manna that God rained down from heaven, “the corn of heaven”. Manna itself is a type of Christ, see John 6:48-58. Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt because Jacob heard there was corn there, Genesis 42:1, which is a word picture of Christ as the sustainer of life; both men recognized their brothers, but the brothers did not recognize them (Genesis 42:8, this is evidenced with the Jews in that they refused to recognize Christ as their king John 19:21); Joseph didn’t make himself known to his brothers until their second meeting (Genesis 43-45), much like Israel won’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah until His second coming when He defends them in battle, Zechariah 14:1-4, but if this type is fully played out then Christ will not reveal Himself before Israel repents and confesses their sins against him. But as with Joseph (Genesis 45:4-8) this was planned and orchestrated by God, for the salvation of many.

Other examples in the Torah

(38) The movement of Israel: The tribes of Israel moved through the wilderness in the shape of a cross, see Numbers 2. The cross was not a symbol used by the Hebrews in any place that I know of. It was not even used as a death device until the time of Rome.

(39) Christ the Passover: This one is pretty self-explanatory. See Exodus 12:1-27 and I Corinthians 5:7.

(40) Christ the Veil: The veil of the tabernacle in the wilderness, as well as the veil of the Temple in Jerusalem, kept men out of the presence of the Almighty. Only the priest could go beyond the veil, once a year with the blood of the sacrifice Hebrews 9:2-7. The veil typified His Flesh, Hebrews 10:20, which was torn for us, so that we could enter into the presence of God. When Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn from the top, to the bottom by invisible hands. This is fascinating, because it has been said that even a team of oxen pulling in different directions could not tear the veil, because it was so thick and strong. If I remember correctly it was about 6 (or more) inches thick. Christ removed the separation between God and man, so that we can now enter into the presence of the Almighty freely by the covering of His Blood.

Notice the Bookends

A major thing to note among many of the Old Testament types of Christ is that they typify two extremes of the same aspect, or two sides of the same coin. For instance Isaac typifies the supernatural birth, as well as the sacrificial death of Christ (birth/death). Joseph typifies the unjust hatred and murder of Christ, or His utter rejection by man, as well as His ascension to the throne of glory by God (utter rejection by man/favored acceptance by God). This is just one more proof that these types are not blind luck, as they are so often precisely chosen to compliment two extremes of the person of Jesus Christ. And never forget, the Dead Sea scrolls are dated before the time of Christ, and they confirm the manuscripts that the King James Bible is translated from, so the Scriptures were not changed in order to include these types. God included these as a secret way of confirming His Son, as these were not even thought of as prophetic, until Christ Himself revealed them to be so. Luke 24:27 after His resurrection, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

What Does It All Mean?

If Jesus is not the Messiah, He would not only need to “fake” His way through over 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah, He would also need blind and perfect luck in order to fulfill the innumerable types contained in the Old Testament; which, to my knowledge, not even the Hebrew Scribes, Pharisees, and doctor’s of the law knew were there. This is a massive proof for the divine authorship of the Scriptures, therefore what the Scriptures say is reliable; Jesus is the Christ, the Son of The Living God (Matthew 16:16-17), and faith in Him is the only means of eternal salvation and the only means of escaping eternal damnation. Man cannot be righteous by the standard of God’s law because man cannot keep God’s law (Romans 3:19-31, 9:31-32); God will only see one as righteous when they believe on Christ (Romans 3:22, Philippians 3:9), so that Christ’s Righteousness can be transferred to them (I Corinthians 1:30). Punishment for refusing the sacrifice of the Son of God is eternal (II Thessalonians 1:8-9, Revelation 14:11). The lake of fire was made for the devil and his angels, not for us, (Matthew 25:41), God takes no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), and He is not willing that any man should inherit the lake of fire, but that all should come to repentance, (II Peter 3:8-9), Sin cannot go unpunished, (Romans 6:23), unless the blood of a sacrifice is shed, (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22), but the Blood of Christ was shed once, (Hebrews 7:27-28, 9:27-28, 10:9-21), so that we may live, and not die, (Romans 6:23, 10:9). No one can enter into the presence of the Holy Father except through Christ, (John 14:6), that is, to enter into the Holiest of Holies which is the presence of God, (Exodus 25:22, 26:31-34, Leviticus 16, Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, Hebrews 6:19, 9:1-9, 10:19-20). Man can only enter in thanks to the covering Blood of Jesus Christ, (Hebrews 10:19-20). Righteousness was by faith from the beginning, (Genesis 15:6, Psalm 106:31, Romans 4:3), it is not by works (good deeds, or the keeping of the law) (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 2:21). Along with Christ’s new covenant in His Blood, there was also a need for a new law (Hebrews 7:12), which is, that we would love one another as Christ has loved us, sacrificially (John 13:34). Keeping this law is how we show God that we love Him, and Christ will manifest Himself to those that do (John 14:21). Keeping this law is also how we receive what we ask for (I John 3:22-24), if it is according to God’s Will (I John 5:13-14).