#1196 Seeing Red Part 1

 

So the last post finished the Old Testament, and before I go into the NT I want to highlight some passages from the Old Testament that show what His story is all about, that the OT is really God's story of redemption. A summation of the OT is not the attempt here, as I will only be able to scratch the surface, but it will show you what prophecy and history are up against. The OT is full of Jesus, in the shadows of forerunners, images of sacrifice, and straight up foretelling of the coming of Messiah. After Malachi we move in to a period of silence, the intertestamental time, the time of Alexander the Great, of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Maccabean Revolution. Israel is waiting for their Messiah, and so what should they look for as the sign of His coming? So many things were prophesied about Him, there is a lot to be fulfilled, so I am going to lay down some of these things that will help introduce us to the Gospels. Here goes.

…6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3: 6-7

According to Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth and made man in His image on the sixth day, and when He looked at all He had made, He saw that it was good. Things didn't stay that way though, not long after, the two people that God made to fellowship with Him were tempted and doubted God. This doubt came to fruition in a visible act of disobedience, eating the fruit from the one tree in the garden that God said do not eat. When they did this, innocence slipped away, and so they made an attempt to cover their nakedness by sewing together fig leaves, which men still do today. We think we can cover our sin by hiding it, or saying that it is not sin, pointing the finger at someone else or blaming God. All sorts of apostasy comes from this, man thinking he can somehow make things right by works, by painting the outside, by saying the right things or any multitude of humanist attempts at a righteousness that is not by faith. God made it clear to them, that in the day they ate of the fruit they would surely die, and spiritually they died instantly, evidenced in that they were disobedient, then Eve blamed the serpent, then Adam blamed not only Eve, but God, Who made her. The wages of sin is death, and so God also makes clear in Scripture that "without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." He promises a Redeemer to come from the seed of the woman, and then He takes the life of an innocent animal to demonstrate this, and replaces the fig leaves with it's skin as a covering. 

14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3: 14-15

21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. 22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”… Genesis 3: 21-22

Later, we see Abel killed by His brother Cain, because Abel offered a pleasing sacrifice to God from his livestock, and Cain offered not what God commanded but some fruit and vegetables from his garden. God corrected him for making up his own religion so to speak, thinking I will give what I want to give, but Cain didn't like correction and so he took it out on his brother, who was also made in the image of God. If you can't kill God then shatter His image, and this will be man's attitude towards all of God's true messengers. Abel was the first martyr of the faith, and so we have the first murder which comes in the first generation of offspring.

…9And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.… Genesis 4: 9-11

God later reaches out to a man named Abram, and He makes a unilateral covenant with him, meaning God is the initiator and upholder of the covenant. God promises Abram a heritage, that he will be the father of many, that in Isaac shall the seed be called. God gives Abram the faith to believe what he can't yet see, by proving Himself through fulfilling His word. Abraham tries, in disbelief, to choose his own way through Ishmael, but God causes the barren womb of Sarah, one who has never had children and has ceased to menstruate, a ninety year old woman, to come alive and give birth to Isaac. He was the child of promise, and unlikely birth, but part of God's redemptive plan. Look at the picture of atonement that God gives us in the story of Isaac.

1Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.…Genesis 22: 1-3

Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Genesis 22: 10-13

Isaac has a son named Jacob, who God renames, Israel, the father of the twelve tribes, and God reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant with him. 

…13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”… Genesis 28: 13-15

Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the Lord 

Jacob has a son named Judah, from which tribe will come the kings and the King of kings.

“Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you.

9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;

you return from the prey, my son.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until he to whom it belongs shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch;

he will wash his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes will be darker than wine,

his teeth whiter than milk. Genesis 49: 8-12

Jacob also has a son named Joseph, who is a type of Christ in the OT; he is the favored of his father, and not well received by his brothers. He has a dream where his brother's sheaves bow down to his, and they fume with jealousy. When the opportunity for revenge presents itself, they plot to kill him, but instead sell him as a slave. Here are some great parallels between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus.

He is a shepherd of his father's sheep -

1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan. 2This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.… Genesis 37: 1-3

…10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.… John 10: 10-12

Sent by father to brothers -

…13Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied. 14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”… Genesis 37: 13-15

…10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—… John 1: 10-12

…10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”… Hebrews 2: 10-12

His robe taken -

…22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe— the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.… Genesis 37: 22-24

…23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did. 25Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.… John 19: 23-25

Sold for the price of a slave -

…27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,… Genesis 37: 27-29

14Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.… Matthew 26: 14-16

Forgave those who wronged him - There are many more parallels between the life of Joseph and Jesus, and it is a beautiful picture redemption, so I will end this part on Joseph with the story of forgiveness.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50: 15-21

…33When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left. 34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots. 35The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”… Luke 23: 33-35

…7No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”… 1 Corinthians 2: 7-9