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the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they
which testify of me. (John 5:39)
27 And
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
As I was reorganizing my study early this morning, I came across a little paper
that had belonged to Bishop Dees which Mrs. Hoffman had sent to me many years
ago. It gave a very brief outline of the manner in which Christ is pictured in every
Book of the Bible. I will use that paper as an outline for today’s devotion,
but it will not be possible to cover the subject in detail. A summary will
satisfy our purposes for a devotion.
I will forego the explanation I have previously given of how Christ is
mentioned in the very first verse of the Bible and go on to those more
prodigious and profound revelations of Christ in both the Old and New
Testaments.
In Genesis, Christ is the Seed of the Woman. 15 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. (Gen 3:15) There is a
further allusion to Christ in the same chapter of Genesis in which the first
death on earth occurred – the death of an innocent animal whose hide God used
to cover the nakedness (sin) of Adam and Eve. That innocent animal whose
blood was shed was precursor to the wholly innocent Lamb of God to be
sacrificed for our sins some four thousand years hence. Moreover, the Seed
promised to Abraham was a prophetic reference to our Lord.
In Exodus, Christ is revealed in the Passover Lamb that was slain without spot
or blemish whose blood covered the Children of Israel and spared their homes
the visit of the Angel of Death that terrible night in Egypt. God spoke to
Moses and said: 3 Speak ye
unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the
household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his
house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his
eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out
from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye
shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they
shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper
door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (Ex 12:3-7)
In
Leviticus, Christ is the Atoning Sacrifice. 26 And the
LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27 Also on the
tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be
an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an
offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And ye
shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an
atonement for you before the LORD your God. (Lev 23:26-28) There is
no atonement apart from Christ. These burnt offerings were merely similitude of
the greater and final offering of Christ in the fullness of time.
In
Numbers, He is the Smitten Rock of the Mountain of the Lord (Mount Horeb). 10 And Moses
and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto
them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 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. (Num 20:10-11) To the
beasts present the water was of a common nature; but to the people, it
possessed a sacramental nature because it proceeded directly from God. God had
not told Moses to strike the Rock, but rather to speak before it. Out of anger
with the murmuring people, Moses struck the Rock twice. This aroused the wrath
of God: 12 And the
LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in
the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this
congregation into the land which I have given them. (Num 20:12) Owing to
this sinful indiscretion, Moses and Aaron would not set foot into the Promised
Land.
In
Deuteronomy, He is the Prophet. The Lord said to Moses: 18 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.
(Deut 18:18)
In
Joshua, Christ is the Captain of the hosts of the Lord. 13 And it came
to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his
hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our
adversaries? 14 And he
said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua
fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith
my lord unto his servant? 15 And the
captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot;
for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Josh 5:13-15) This
Captain of the Hosts of the Lord was the pre-incarnate Christ. How do we know
this? There are two profound reasons to know this:
1.
If the Personage had been an Angel, he would have refused
the worship of Joshua, but this Personage did not.
2.
The Captain ordered Joshua to remove his shoes for the
ground round about was Holy. Wherever God is present, that place is Holy just
as was the ground before the Burning Bush at which Moses had removed his shoes.
In
Judges, Christ is foreshadowed in the Deliverer – there is only One! 9 And when
the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to
the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz,
Caleb's younger brother. 10 And the
Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war:
and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and
his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim. (Judges 3:9-10) Who
DELIVERED the King of Mesopotamia? It was the LORD! He is the only One who can
deliver us from the sting of death.
In
the Book of Ruth, Christ is reflected in Boaz, Ruth is a type of the Church.
Naomi is a type of the Old Testament Church that fostered the New. Boaz
was the near kinsman that typifies that Heavenly Kinsman who sticketh closer
than a brother. (Prov 18:24)
In
1st and 2nd Samuel,
Kings, and Chronicles, He is the Promised King of Kings. The people of Israel
had been led by their King out of Egypt and throughout the Wilderness journey
with a strong hand and many miracles. Their King was the Lord; yet they desired
a king like all of the other peoples. 4 Then all
the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto
Ramah, 5 And said
unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us
a king to judge us like all the nations. (1 Sam 8:4-5) Fallen man
does not desire God as their King – they prefer a worldly king. But the
Sovereignty of all nations resides in Christ Jesus! The people of the world
haven’t changed much from that time.
In
Nehemiah and Ezra, Christ is the Restorer of the nation of Israel. He
foreordained and anointed Cyrus to send a company of Israel back to Jerusalem
to restore the fallen walls and the foundation of the city. Cyrus acknowledges
this in Ezra: 1 Now in the
first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of
Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
in writing, saying, 2 Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of
the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is
in Judah. 3 Who is
there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to
Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel,
(he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. 4 And
whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place
help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside
the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:1-4)
In
Esther, Christ is the Advocate for His people. (see also 1 John 2:1)
In
Job, Christ is revealed as the Redeemer in plain language. 25 For I know
that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth: 26 And though
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I
shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my
reins be consumed within me. (Job
19:25-27)
In
Psalms, the Lord is our Song: 3 And he hath
put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and
fear, and shall trust in the LORD. (Psalm
40:3)
In
Proverbs, our Lord is Wisdom: 10 When wisdom
entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion
shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. (Prov 2:10-11)
In
Ecclesiastes, God is our Purpose: 1 Remember
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Eccl 12:1) If we
remember God in our youth, the forgetfulness of old age will not lose Him.
In
the Song of Solomon, He is our Prince Charming and the only One who can satisfy
our cravings. 1 I am the
rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. 2 As
the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. (Song 2:1-2)
In
the prophets, He is the Coming Prince of Peace. 6 For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
In
the Gospels, He is God in Christ, Emmanuel, come to redeem us. 14 And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
In
Acts, Christ is the Life and Light of the Church. 32 And the
multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said
any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they
had all things common. 33 And with
great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
and great grace was upon them all. (Acts
4:32-33)
In
the Epistles, Christ is the Risen Lord at the right Hand of God the Father. 34 Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)
In
Revelations, He is the Coming One with great power and might leading the Armies
of the Hosts of Heaven. 11 And I saw
heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name
written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the
armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean. 15 And out of
his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath
on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS.
(Rev 19:11-16)
Postscript: I am sure
after reading the first entry in Genesis about Christ, you recognized, as I
did, the abject foolishness of thinking one can properly cover Christ in all of
the Scriptures, because Christ IS ALL OF THE SCRIPTURES! So I
must settle for a very simple summary I hope and pray will stir up a curiosity
in our hearts to learn more and more of the Beauty of Christ from Holy Writ.
