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Saturday, November 23, 2019

Israel as a Type of Christ

While it's true that Israel is a type of the Church in one sense, as I have already written about, yet in another sense it is also a type of Christ.

It is recorded in Matthew's gospel:

"Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.' So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'" (Mat 2:13-15)

Have you ever wondered why Matthew said this was a fulfillment of that which was spoken through the prophet Hosea? The Lord said through the prophet, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Hos 11:1, NIV). In the original context, the Lord was speaking about Israel as a nation, because He went on to say, "But the more I called Israel, the further they went from Me. They sacrificed to Baals and they burned incense to images." (Hos 11:2, NIV78). In the original context, the Lord was speaking about how He called Israel out of slavery in Egypt, but how later on, the more He called to them the more they went away from Him into idolatry. Yet Matthew quotes the first part of this passage as being fulfilled when God called His Son Jesus out of Egypt, which was the place to which Joseph had fled with him for refuge from the evil king.

That is proof that Israel is a type of Christ, which gives us another avenue into more insights about Christ, as we study Israel, especially as we read prophecy concerning Israel. For example, there are prophecies about Israel that are actually referring to Christ, like the one I have already mentioned in Hosea. Some of those are found in the Servant Songs in the book of the prophet Isaiah. Take the following for example and notice how it is clearly speaking about Christ:

"Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother's womb he has spoken my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.' But I said, 'I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God.' And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength— he says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.'" (Isa 49:1-6, NIV)

For more on this, please see my article The Name Above All Names.

Closing Words
We have learned from this study that Israel is a type of Christ, which is important to know. For if we fail to understand this truth, then we will miss many of the insights the Lord has for us in His Word, and we will fail to understand the glorious prophecies about Christ, in which He is referred to as Israel.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Image of second temple may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note Also see The Israelites as a Type of the Church, The Typology of the TabernacleThe High Priest as a Type of ChristThe Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of ChristAdam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Hagar and Sarah as Types, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Israelites as a Type of the Church

We understand from Scripture that Israel is a type of the Church. Let's look at those passages to better understand them.

The experiences the Israelites had were examples for us. The apostle Paul wrote:

Israaelites worshiping the golden calf
"For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ."

"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. 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; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.' Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." (1Co 10:1-12)

First, Paul used the word examples in this passage, when he said, "These things happened as examples for us..." The Greek word for examples here is tupos. According to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, tupos means :"a sampler ('type'), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): - en- (ex-) ample, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print." This means that the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness were types or examples for us. Some of those things that happened to them were either models for us to imitate or instances to warn us. In some cases, they were patterns for us to follow.

Likewise, Israel itself was a type of the Church. By knowing and understanding that, we can learn many lessons for our lives from what they went through. That was exactly what Paul was saying here. He admonishes us not to be idolaters as some of them were, so that we don't suffer the same fate. He warns us not to be immoral as some of them were, so that the same thing doesn't happen to us that happened to them.  He warns us not to grumble either, for the same reason, so that we are not destroyed as they were. He warns us not to crave the evil things they craved. It's all quite plain and simple.

Once again, the apostle uses the same approach to warn the Church, citing the people of Israel as an example:

"Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, 'As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,' although His works were finished from the foundation of the world." (Heb 4:1-3)

"Therefore...it remains for some to enter [that rest], and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience..." (Heb 4:6)

In this passage, we learn that the Israelites had the good news preached to them, but they did not combine the Word of God with faith, so it was of no benefit to them. As a result, they did not inherit the Promised Land. They did not possess what God had promised them, because they didn't believe what He had said. Their unbelief resulted in their disobedience, so they failed to enter.

Likewise, if we do not believe the gospel when we hear it, then it will be of no benefit to us. If we do not combine the Word of God with faith when we hear it, then we will not receive the promises written in it. Just as the Israelites had the promise of entering His rest in the Promised Land, but did not enter that rest due to their unbelief, which resulted in disobedience, in the same way we have the promise of entering His rest during our earthly pilgrimage as well as eternally afterward up in heaven, but we could fail to enter that rest because of disobedience resulting from unbelief. That is a sobering truth.

There are other insights that we can gain from understanding that the Israelites were a type of the Church. For example, consider the fact that the Israelites were commanded to be separate from their worldly neighbors. But they actually failed to be separate, and instead they compromised with the nations, mingled together with them, and adopted their customs and practices, including their idolatry. Likewise, the Church is called to be separate, as I have written in my article called Separation from the World. Yet much of the Church today has become polluted by The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness. Let's come out from among them and be separate, as the Lord commands us in His Word. He says:

Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2Co 6:17-18).

When the Israelites sinned, God sent prophets to warn them to turn from their sin or face His punishment. He does the same today when the Church sins. One example would be the apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. Another example would be the letters the apostle John wrote to the seven churches of Asia. Out of the seven churches, the Lord warned five of them to repent (Rev 2:1 - 3:22).

When the Israelites refused to listen to the warning God sent through His prophets, He allowed them to become oppressed by their enemies and ultimately they were taken into captivity in a foreign land called Babylon. The same thing happens when God's people in the Church refuse to heed the warnings He gives them to repent. He allows them to become oppressed and eventually they fall captive to the enemy. Do some research and see whether those seven churches of Asia are still there today. You will find that those areas are now dominated by Islam.

After the Israelites' captivity in Babylon was completed, only a remnant of them returned from captivity. In the same way, we understand from New Testament Scriptures that just as few people will be saved (Mt 7:14).

Closing Words
In this study we learned that the Israelites were a type of the Church, and their experiences were examples for us in both positive and negative ways. Knowing and understanding this will help us gain insights that we may otherwise have missed. It will teach us good patterns to follow, such as faith and obedience. It will also warn us about bad examples to avoid, such as unbelief and disobedience. It's quite simple actually. You are not wasting your time reading the Old Testament, because the Lord can teach you many practical lessons of life that will enable you to walk in victory, inherit the promises, keep you from going down to the pit, and save your soul.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Ti 3:16-17).

The apostle's conclusion from all this is the following: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." There are many ways that you as a Christian can fall, as we see from the example of the Israelites. That includes grumbling, craving evil things, immorality, idolatry, testing the Lord, and many more. If anyone thinks he stands, let him beware lest he fall.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Image of second temple may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note Also see What Does it Mean to be Hebrew?The High Priest as a Type of ChristThe Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of ChristAdam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Hagar and Sarah as Types, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Joshua as a Type of Christ

There were two men by the name of Joshua who served as types of Christ: Joshua son of Nun, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land to posses it, and Joshua son of Yehozadak, who was the first person chosen to be the high priest for the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. Let's look at how each of them were types of Christ.

Joshua Son of Nun
First of all, it's interesting to note that Joshua's name is actually the same as Jesus, whose Hebrew name is "Yeshua." In the Septuagint Bible, written by the Jews in the Greek language, the name Ἰησοῦς or Iēsoûs (Greek name Jesus) is the standard Koine Greek form used to translate both of the Hebrew names: Yehoshua and Yeshua. The same is found in other Greek-language Jewish texts, such as the writings of Josephus and Philo of Alexandria. In other words, the Hebrew names Yehoshua and Yeshua, which are translated into English as "Joshua," are translated by Jews into Greek as Ἰησοῦς Iēsoûs, which is exactly the same Greek name for Jesus used in the original Greek language in which the New Testament was written. Therefore, when you read the English name "Joshua" in the Old Testament, you could translate it into English as "Jesus," and it would be in agreement with the Jewish Septuagint. Likewise, when you read the English name "Jesus" in the New Testament, you could replace it with the Hebrew name"Yeshua," and it would be in agreement with the Hebrew Bible.

In order to illustrate my point, perhaps the following table will help:

Old Testament (Original language) Old Testament (English translation) New Testament (Original language) New Testament (English translation)
Hebrew text Yeshua (Heb., ישוע)  Joshua
--
--
Greek texts Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς) Jesus Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς) Jesus

Another way to show this to you is with the following chart:

Hebrew Greek  English
Joshua (son of Nun) Yeshua (Heb., ישוע)  Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς) Joshua
Jesus (son of David) Yeshua (Heb., ישוע)  Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς) Jesus

Joshua son of Nun is always referred to in English as Joshua, even though the Greek Septuagint and the Greek New Testament refer to him as Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς). Jesus son of David is always referred to in the English New Testament as Jesus, even though it translates the same Greek name Iēsous (Gr., Ἰησοῦς) as Joshua, when referring to Joshua son of Nun (Act 7:45 and Heb 4:8). While this distinction is helpful in English to distinguish between the two men by the same name, the original texts of the Old and New Testaments did not make this distinction. Therefore, it is grammatically correct to refer to Joshua son of Nun as Jesus son of Nun, and to refer to Jesus son of David as Joshua son of David, or better yet as Yeshua son of David, since this is actually His original Hebrew name.

Now that we have established from Scripture the fact that these two men had the same name, let's look at the meaning of their name. The name Joshua, or alternatively Yeshua, or Jesus, means Yehova (Jehova) saves or God saves. That's very powerful, because it means that no matter how desperate your situation, God is able to save you, Jesus is able to save you and rescue you from your otherwise  hopeless situation.

Having said that, let's see how the missions of Joshua and Jesus were similar to one another.

Joshua son of Nun was the strong, courageous man who led the Israelites into the earthly Promised Land to possess it as their inheritance (Jos 1 - 24). Likewise, Jesus is the One who leads His chosen people into the heavenly Promised Land to possess it as their inheritance in Him. But even though the Israelites were supposed to find rest in the Promised Land, they didn't find it in the earthly one. In fact, the apostle says:

"For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;" (Heb 4:8-9).

The reason the people of God in Joshua's day did not enter their rest was because of disobedience (Heb 4:6), and that is the same thing that will keep the people of God today from entering their eternal rest in heaven, even if they call Jesus "Lord". That's why the apostle warned us, "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience" (Heb 4:11). The problem the Israelites had was that when they heard the message of the good news, they did not combine it with faith. That's why we must always be careful to combine the Word of God with faith, so that we might not only be hearers but doers of it. Therefore, if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (Heb 3:15).

Joshua son of Nun was a mighty warrior, who led the Israelites to victory in their military battles against their enemies. Likewise, Jesus is a Mighty Warrior who leads us into victory in all our battles against the enemy of our souls. According to the prophet Isaiah, the virgin's Son would be called "Mighty God," which is "El Gibor" in Hebrew (Isa 9:6-7).  The word "El" literally means God. This name, El Gibor, may also be translated, "God-man," "Mighty Man of war," or "Mighty Warrior."  I like all of them, and I think they all describe the Lord Jesus Christ well. But the two translations that show His connection to Joshua are "Mighty Man of war" and "Mighty Warrior."

Here are some Scripture passages about Jesus as our Mighty Man of war:

"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Col 2:15)

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev 19:11-16)

For a full understanding and appreciation of the above passage, you really must read the rest of it in Rev 19:17-21 to see how He will go on to destroy all of His enemies. It's just like Joshua did in those ancient battles that he fought for the Lord, when he totally destroyed the enemy and left no survivors. Let's remember that while Jesus came the first time gentle and riding on a donkey, and came to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, He is coming back a second time riding on a white horse to take vengeance upon all of His enemies (Is 61:2).

The prophet Isaiah prophesied it like this:

"See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction; he places in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray. And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. The LORD will cause people to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. The voice of the LORD will shatter Assyria; with his rod he will strike them down. Every stroke the LORD lays on them with his punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps, as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm. Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze." (Isa 30:27-33)

"The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior He will stir up his zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies." (Isa 42:13)

The apostle Paul wrote:

"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2Th 1:6-10)

King David wrote:

"Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty— he is the King of glory." (Psa 24:7-10)

Let's worship this King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. May we all commit ourselves to obey Him as the Israelites did to Joshua by saying, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go." (Jos 1:16b)

Joshua son of Yehozadak
Another man named Joshua who was a type of Christ was Joshua son of Yehozadak. He was a high priest spoken about in the book of the prophet Zechariah, who wrote:

"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, 'The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?' Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' Again he said to him, 'See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.' Then I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch." ' " (Zec 3:1-8)

In this passage, the Lord of hosts clearly states that Joshua the high priest and His friends seated before Him are men who are symbolic. For the Lord says He is going to bring in His servant the Branch, which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Other prophecies that referred to Messiah as the Branch are found in Jer 23:5; Isa 53:2; Zech 3:8; and Zech 6:11-12. Zechariah prophesied of "a Man whose name is Branch" when he wrote:

"Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD." ' " (Zec 6:11-12).

We know that just as the Lord set an ornate crown of silver and gold on the head of the high priest Joshua, He also set a crown upon the head of Jesus son of David, our great High Priest. He is the man whose name is the Branch. He was called a Nazarene, because He was raised in the town of Nazareth, which means "City of the Branch". The term branch refers to a shoot, blossom, figuratively, a descendant. In particular, the Branch, Jesus Christ, was a descendant of David.

Now that we have established the fact that the high priest Joshua was a symbol or type of Christ, let's look once again at the prophecy about Him in Zechariah. It says:

1. Satan standing at the right side of Joshua the high priest to accuse him. (Zec 3:1). Of course, we know that satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), so that is what he does. This scene reminds me of the passion of Christ when he was standing before Pilate and the whole assembly was accusing Him (Lk 23:1-5).

2. "Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel." According to Roland Buck in his book Angels on Assignment, the angel here was the angel Gabriel, and Joshua the high priest represented Jesus. He was clothed in filthy garments, because He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). The Lord had laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Is 53:6).

3. The angel Gabriel ordered those who were standing before Jesus to "Remove the filthy garments from Him." Again he said to Him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes."

4. Then the prophet Zechariah said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.

5. Gabriel, the angel of the LORD, admonished Joshua or Jesus, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here."

Nobody else but Jesus Christ walked perfectly in the Lord's ways without sin and perfectly performed His service. Therefore, nobody else but Jesus Christ will govern the Lord's house and have charge of His courts. And as Zechariah says elsewhere, Jesus will build the temple of the Lord (Zech 6:12).

Of course, the apostle writing to the Hebrews explicitly taught that Jesus is our great High Priest, which again connects Him with Joshua (Jesus) the high priest in the book of Zechariah. He wrote:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb 4:14-16).

Closing Words
By looking at these two men named Joshua in the Bible, whose names can alternatively be translated as "Jesus," we can clearly see that they were types of Christ. They were men symbolic of the Lord Jesus. Both of them were leaders, one being a mighty warrior and the other being a high priest. Joshua son of Nun prefigured the way that Christ would conquer our enemies and lead us into our rest in the heavenly Promised Land. And Joshua son of Yehozadak prefigured how Jesus as our high priest would take upon Himself all our filthy iniquities and exchange them for His own righteousness for us, so that we might be able to approach God's throne of grace in His heavenly courts with confidence, in order to receive mercy and find grace to help us. He is the Branch who will build the temple of the Lord, and we who follow Him with pure and sincere devotion are that temple.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image of Joshua from Answers in Genesis may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note Also see Moses as a Type of ChristDavid's Mighty Men as Types of ChristDavid -- A Man After God's Own HeartBoaz as a Type of ChristThe Sufferings of the Prophets as a TypeAdam as a Type of ChristIsaac as a Type of ChristNoah's Ark a Type of ChristThe Temple as a Type of ChristThe Passover Lamb as a Type of ChristThe Typology of the TabernacleThe Typology of the Jewish Feasts, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Boaz as a Type of Christ

One very interesting character to study is Boaz, and what makes him  particularly interesting is that he was a type of Christ. Let's examine the Scriptures about him together.

Historical Background
For the historical context, you should read the book of Ruth, which is a beautiful love story. It's a short, easy read of only four chapters. But essentially it is about a Jewish woman named Naomi who leaves Israel with her husband Elimelech and two sons during a time of famine. They move to Moab and settle there, where her two sons each marry Moabite women, one of which was Ruth. In the course of time, her husband and two sons die, leaving her and her two daughters-in-law as widows.

Naomi eventually decides to move back to Israel. Although both of her daughters-in-law begin to follow her, she tries to persuade them to stay in Moab, but Ruth insists on following her. Ruth says to Naomi, "Where you go I will go. Where you lodge I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God." (Ruth 1:16).

Back home in Bethlehem in the land of Israel, Naomi and Ruth struggle in poverty to survive without a man to provide for them. Ruth gleans out in the fields, walking behind the servant girls as they reap the barley harvest. She picks up the gleanings that the servant girls have dropped on the ground.

The owner of the field is a very wealthy man named Boaz, who falls in love with Ruth when he sees her. He gives special instructions to his servants to let her glean behind them, and he orders the men not to touch her. When Naomi finds out from Ruth whose field she was gleaning in, she tells Ruth that Boaz is a close relative and coaches Ruth on how to win his heart.

After Ruth follows Naomi's instructions, she ends up sleeping on the threshing floor at the feet of Boaz. During the night he awakes and finds her there. No impropriety takes place between them, but at her request, he simply covers her with the corner of his blanket. Then he also promises to redeem her and Naomi, after he first gives a chance for another relative to redeem them, who is closer in relation to Naomi than he is. In the morning, he gives her a load of barley to take back home for herself and her mother-in-law Naomi.

He and the other kinsman have a public discussion together about the opportunity, where Boaz gives him a chance to redeem them if he wants. But the other kinsman backs out of the opportunity when he finds out he would have to redeem the old widow Naomi along with the estate of her husband. Thus Boaz ends up being the one to buy the field that belonged to Naomi's late husband, and he obtains Naomi and Ruth along with it.

Boaz then marries Ruth and together they have a baby named Obed, who ends up being the grandfather of King David. Naomi is able to rejoice once again and loves baby Obed like her own child.

Boaz as Kinsman-Redeemer
Now that we've got the essential background information, let's see how Boaz actually typifies Christ. There are several references to Boaz as a kinsman of Naomi's husband. For example, in the second chapter of Ruth it states:

"Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz." (Ruth 2:1)

Amazingly Boaz was not related to Naomi by blood, but by marriage. Boaz was only related by blood to Naomi's late husband Elimelech. Later in the same chapter, Naomi refers to Boaz as a kinsman-redeemer:

“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers." (Ruth 2:20, NIV)

The Hebrew word for kinsman-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55). The following verse sums up the Lord's command regarding the responsibility of a kinsman-redeemer:

"If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold." (Lev 25:25).

This essentially teaches that a kinsman-redeemer was required to come and redeem the property his poor relative had sold, if that relative had done so out of necessity because of being destitute. More detail about the role of a kinsman-redeemer is found in the following passage in Numbers:

"Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 'If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 'If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. 'If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall possess it; and it shall be a statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.'" (Num 27:8-11).

One key fact in this last passage is that if there was no other relative eligible to receive someone's inheritance, then ultimately the person's inheritance would be given to the next of kin or nearest relative in his own family.

Here is another verse, in which Naomi once again told Ruth that Boaz, in whose field she had been gleaning, was their kinsman redeemer:

"Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight." (Ruth 3:2).

Notice how she referred to Boaz as "our kinsman," showing that she considered him to be Ruth's kinsman now through marriage, just as much as he was her own kinsman.

When Boaz discovered Ruth at his feet on the threshing floor at night, He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative." (Ruth 3:9). This is another example that identifies Boaz as a kinsman.

After Boaz and Ruth were married and she gave birth to Obed, it was a time of great rejoicing. "Then the women said to Naomi, 'Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel.'" (Ruth 4:14).

Initially one would assume the women were referring to Boaz as Noami's redeemer, but they were actually referring to the baby Obed that Ruth bore to Boaz. And he did become famous as they said he would, too. Moreover, they viewed the baby as if it were Naomi's own child. Here is the proof of this fact in the verses that immediately follow that one, where the neighbor women referred to Obed as a a restorer of life:

"'May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.' Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, 'A son has been born to Naomi!' So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David." (Ruth 4:15-17).

So not only was Boaz a type of Christ as our kinsman-redeemer, but even Obed his son was a type of Christ as our Redeemer and a restorer of life. So how does all of this point to Christ?

Christ as Kinsman-Redeemer
Scripture tells us that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ, who is a descendant of David, Obed, and Boaz. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace..." (Eph 1:7)

Just as Boaz was the one responsible to redeem the property of his deceased relative Elimelech, along with his widow Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, likewise, Jesus Christ was the One chosen by God to redeem His people to God. Just as Boaz was motivated by love when he redeemed Naomi and Ruth, Christ too was motivated by love for lost humanity when he purchased redemption on the cross. Just as Naomi and Ruth were destitute without anyone to help them until Boaz came along and redeemed them, likewise, we are all helpless and destitute spiritually with no one else except Christ who alone can redeem us. It's only by His perfect, sinless blood that was shed for us that anyone can be redeemed to God. For this is what it says in the song they sing in heaven:

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (Rev 5:9, NKJV)

Only Jesus Christ the Son of God could redeem us to God. He is not only our blessed Redeemer, but He is our Kinsman, because He became one of us through His incarnation, when He took upon Himself the form of a man (Phil 2:7; Jn 1:14; Mat 1:18; Gal 4:4). He became closely related to us by being born into Adam's race through the virgin Mary. The apostle explains it to the Hebrews like this:

"In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,

'I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
    in the assembly I will sing your praises.'”

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of deaththat is, the deviland free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." (Heb 2:10-15, NIV).

Therefore, it was by design that Jesus shared in our humanity, becoming part of our family, and then redeemed His brothers and sisters as our Kinsman-Redeemer. Both the Lord Jesus, who is holy, and those of us whom He has made holy, are of the same family, and He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Praise the Lord.

Closing Words
As a result of Ruth's unwavering commitment to the Lord and the family she had married into, she was honored to give birth to David's grandfather. What an honor it was for her, since the Lord Jesus Christ came from the line of David. Boaz and Ruth are listed in the genealogy of Christ given in the gospel of Matthew as the parents of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David (Mat 1:5-6). And amazingly, Boaz was the son of Rahab, the former harlot from Jericho, who was saved by the Israelites for her faith in Jehovah (Mat 1:5; Jos 2:1, 10-14; 6:25; Heb 11:31).

May we all be committed to our family. May we also be ready to leave our natural family to go wherever God leads us, so that we can help propagate the family of God as Ruth did.

But the main point of this article is to show that Boaz was a type of Christ as our Kinsman-Redeemer. As our close relative, He purchased our redemption with his own blood in order to bring us to God. Just like Naomi and Ruth, we are all poor, destitute and hopeless without Christ our Kinsman-Redeemer, who is also our Restorer of life. I trust this has helped to give you a greater love and appreciation for Him, as well as new insights into the rich meaning of the redemption He purchased for us with His blood at Calvary. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible to help you grow in your love and knowledge of the Lord. 

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.

Author's note Also see David as a Type of ChristDavid's Mighty Men as Types of ChristDavid -- A Man After God's Own HeartThe Sufferings of the Prophets as a TypeAdam as a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, The Typology of the Tabernacle, The Typology of the Jewish Feasts, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.


Thursday, June 13, 2019

David as a Type of Christ

All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures we see David as a type of Christ in his various roles as shepherd, giant slayer, warrior, and king. Many of the psalms that he wrote prophetically point to Christ and speak of Him:

"For David says of Him, 'I saw the Lord always in my presence; for He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. 'Therefore My heart was glad and My tongue exulted; moreover My flesh also will live in hope; because You will not abandon My soul to Hades, nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 'You have made known to Me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'"

"Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on His throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay."

"This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet."' Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified." (Act 2:25-36)

Moreover, the Holy Spirit foretold through the prophet Micah, seven hundred years before Christ, that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the town of David. He said:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.” (Mic 5:2, NIV)

This effectively narrowed down the birthplace of Messiah to one specific town, and the Jews knew this, which is one reason many of them did not believe in Christ, because they knew he was from Nazareth in Galilee. According to John's gospel:

"Others said, 'He is the Messiah.' Still others asked, 'How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?' Thus the people were divided because of Jesus." (Jn 7:41-43, NIV).

What those people didn't realize was that although Jesus was raised in Nazareth, He was actually born in Bethlehem of Judea, in precise fulfillment of prophecy (Mt 2:1; Lk 2:4-7). He was born in the same town as David, and His mother Mary was a direct descendant of David, as was Mary's husband Joseph, who was supposed to be the father of Jesus (Mt 1:1-17; Lk 3:23-38).

In addition to being a type of Christ, David was a type of those believers and ministers who are men and women after God's own heart. For more on that, see my article David -- A Man After God's Own Heart.  

Side by Side Comparison
Let's look at the striking similarities between David and Christ in the following chart:

David Christ
A king (1 Sa 16) The King of kings (Re 19:16)
A shepherd (1 Sa 16:11; 17:34; 2 Sa 7:8) The Good Shepherd (Ps 23; Jn 10:11)
Born in Bethlehem (1 Sa 17:12) Born in Bethlehem (Mt 2:1; Lk 2:4-7; Mic 5:2)
When Absalom rebelled, David went up the Mount of Olives weeping as he went into exile (2 Sam 15:30) On the night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, He went up onto the Mount of Olives. His soul was deeply grieved to the point of death, and being in agony He was praying very fervently with loud cries and tears (Mt 26:38; Lk 22:44; He 5:7)
A mighty man of valor, a warrior (1 Sa 16:18) A mighty man of valor, a warrior (Is 9:6)
Conquered Goliath the giant (1 Sam 17:50-51) Conquered the devil, triumphing over him through the cross (Col 2:15)
He was the anointed of the God of Jacob (1 Sa 16:11; 2 Sa 23:1) He is the Anointed One, the Messiah (Mt 16:16, 20; 26:63-64)
He was David son of Jesse (1 Sa 17:12) The son of David (Mat 1:1, 20; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; 22:42; Mar 10:47-48; 12:35; Luk 3:31; 18:38-39; Re 22:16)
David's son was to build a house for God (2 Sa 7:13) He is restoring the fallen tent of David, building His Church (Mt 16:18; Ac 15:16)
Merciful to his enemies (2 Sa 16:5-11) Merciful to his enemies (Lk 23:34)
God swore to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants after him on His throne and to establish His kingdom (2 Sa 7:12) When He entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, they hailed Him as King, shouting, "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David." (Mk 11:10). 
The Lord spoke through Isaiah the prophet about the One on whose shoulder He would set the key of the house of David (Is 22:22) He holds the key of David (Re 3:7)
David was persecuted by his enemies Jesus was persecuted by His enemies
David prophesied of the Lord telling the Lord to sit at His right hand (Ps 110:1) He has been exalted to the right hand of God as both Lord and Christ (Mk 16:19; Ac 2:33)

Closing Words
In our study of David as a type of Christ, we have seen the parallels between their lives in so many ways. Among other things, they were both kings, shepherds, born in Bethlehem, anointed ones, warriors, mighty men, and conquerors of giants. Both were persecuted and both were merciful to their enemies. Many of the Psalms are Messianic, meaning that they look forward to the coming of Christ, such as Psalms 2, 22, 69, 72, 89, 100, 110, etc. There are perhaps more connections between David and Christ than any other character in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note Also see Moses as a Type of ChristDavid's Mighty Men as Types of ChristDavid -- A Man After God's Own Heart, Boaz as a Type of ChristThe Sufferings of the Prophets as a TypeAdam as a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, The Typology of the Tabernacle, The Typology of the Jewish Feasts, Daniel as a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

David's Mighty Men as Types of Christ

While, of course, David was a type of Christ, his mighty men were also a type of Christ. As a former infantry soldier myself, these men always inspire me. They are listed in the second book Samuel, where it says, "These are the names of the mighty men whom David had:"

Josheb-basshebeth
"Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time;" (2 Sam 23:8).

That's pretty amazing for one man to kill eight hundred men of the enemy's army in one encounter. Only through the Lord could he do so.

Eleazar 
"And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain." (2 Sam 23:9-10)

Now there's a courageous man! They taunted the Philistines who were gathered for battle. Though all the other Israeli soldiers had withdrawn in fear, and were likely taking cover from the enemy, he arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand froze to his sword. That's carrying out the wrath of the Lord with great zeal. Later the others came out from their hiding places, but only to strip the dead and not to fight the Philistines. Notice how the Scripture gives God the glory for it saying, "the LORD brought about a great victory that day." It was supernatural, and not by Eleazar's own strength.

Shammah 
"Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory." (2 Sam 23:11-12)

He was another courageous soldier. He took his stand against the enemy in a field. He defended it and struck the Philistines. Once again it says, "the LORD brought about a great victory," so that God and not man gets the glory for what He did

Three of the Thirty Chief Men
"Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem."

"David had a craving and said, 'Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!' So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD; and he said, 'Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?' Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did." (2 Sam 23:13-17)

David merely expressed out loud a longing for water, and although he did not give an order to someone to bring him that water, it seems as though for these three of the Thirty chief men, David's wish was their command. They went behind enemy lines into the Philistine stronghold at Bethlehem, drew out the water, passed back though the enemy with it, and took it to David.

However, as far as David was concerned, that water was as if it were the blood of those men who fetched it for him at the risk of their lives. He would not dare to drink that water any more than he would drink their blood. Instead he poured it out before the Lord. Those were real mighty men to do such a thing, and David recognized that.

Abishai
"Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three." (2 Sam 23:18-19).

Scripture says Abishai was the most honored of the Thirty mighty men. He single-handedly killed three hundred men with a spear.

Benaiah
"Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.." (2Sa 23:8-23).

Benaiah was truly another mighty man. He struck down Moab's two mightiest warriors. He also struck down a huge Egyptian by snatching the spear from his hand and killing him with it, though he himself had only been armed with a mere club. How did he get the spear from that huge Egyptian and kill him with it? It was by the power of God. Likewise he went down into that pit on a snowy day and killed a lion that was perhaps posing a threat to him and his fellow soldiers. He alone was brave and strong enough to kill it. Although he was as famous as the Three mighty warriors, he was not included among them. But he did get put in charge of David's personal bodyguard, which is a great honor.

The Thirty
David's mighty men were known as The Thirty, even though there were actually a total of thirty-seven in all, including Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, and all the men named above. Their names are listed at the end of 2 Samuel 23 as a memorial to their faith, strength, and courage. Let me say once again that it was not by their own strength that they did these great exploits, but by the mighty power of God.

"It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You loved them...I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame." (Ps 44:3,6-7, NIV).

Types of Christ
I have no doubt these men were types of Christ, and I'll explain to you why. The prophet Isaiah prophesied of a male child being born to a virgin, who would be called Immanuel, which means "God with us." (Is 7:14). Here is the description Isaiah gave of this male child:

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this."  (Isa 9:6-7)

The virgin's Son would be called "Mighty God," which is "El Gibor" in Hebrew.  The word "El" literally means God. This name, El Gibor, may also be translated, "God-man," "Mighty Man of war," or "Mighty Warrior."  I like all of them, and I think they all describe the Lord Jesus Christ well. But the two translations I want to focus on here are "Mighty Man of war" and "Mighty Warrior."

The Holy Spirit spoke through the psalmist describing Christ like this:

"Gird Your sword on your side, O Mighty One;
    clothe Yourself with splendor and majesty.
  In Your majesty ride forth victoriously
    in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
    let Your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
  Let Your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
    let the nations fall beneath Your feet." (Ps 45:3-5, NIV)

The apostle confirmed in his letter to the Hebrews that this psalm is Messianic (cf., Ps 45:6-7; Heb 1:8-9), so we are on solid ground to understand that the above verses refer to Christ. In fact, in Psalm 45:3, the title by which He is addressed as "Mighty One" is the same Hebrew word "Gibor" that was used in the ninth chapter of Isaiah, which I mentioned earlier. Therefore, Jesus is a Mighty Man of war like David and his mighty men were, but in a much greater way.

Triumph Over the Devil and His Angels
You see, He took on the devil and defeated him. "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him" by the cross (Col 2:15). He made a public spectacle of the devil and his angels. He now holds the keys of death and hell (Rev 1:18). Just when it looked to the devil like he had won the battle by having his agents nail Jesus to the cross, the devil must have really gotten very scared when Jesus uttered those last words, "It is finished," and gave up his spirit, which was immediately followed by the veil of the temple being torn in two from top to bottom, a great earthquake, rocks being split, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep being raised (Mt 27:51-52). Hallelujah! He's a mighty warrior.

Triumph Over the Beast, False Prophet, and Kings of the Earth
"Behold, He Comes" by Danny Hahlbohm, Inspired Art
The apostle John saw our Mighty Man of War leading the armies of heaven in His future return to earth, and here is how he described it:

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'" (Rev 19:11-16)

If there was still any question in your mind that Jesus is a man of war, I trust it has vanished, and that you can now see it plainly. Scripture says that with eyes like a flame of fire He makes war, riding on a white horse with a sharp sword proceeding from His mouth, with which He will strike down the nations.

John also saw how the beast and kings of the earth as agents of satan would make war against the Lamb in the last days. But notice how the birds of the air are going to be called in advance to come feast on their flesh, because they are doomed to lose before the battle even begins.

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.'"

"And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh." (Rev 19:17-21)

Here you have the beast who has been given authority to make war against the saints and to conquer them, which is the same beast who rules the whole world during the Great Tribulation in the final three and a half years of this age, and the same beast of whom they will say, "Who can make war against the beast?" And men will worship him. But even though he will gather all the kings of the earth with all their armies full of mighty men, which will number in the millions, led by their great commanders, they will be no match for Jesus Christ the Mighty Warrior.

Their fate is sealed before the battle begins, and notice how effortlessly the Lord defeats them. Scripture says it so nonchalantly, so calmly as a matter of fact that the beast and the false prophet were seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire. It's so easy for the Lord to do this. He won't even bother to kill them but throw them directly into the lake of fire while they are still alive. Defeating the largest army the world has ever known will be equally as easy for the Mighty Man of War, who will kill them all with the sword which comes from His mouth. He can do all that without even breaking a sweat! Hallelujah! It's just as easy for Him as taking a ride through the park on His horse. How foolish of them to think they can make war against the Lamb and have even a remote chance of winning.

Final Defeat of Satan
The devil is destined to go through so much humiliation at the hands of Jesus. He is the loser in every single instance. I have already discussed how he was defeated at the cross, how his beast and false prophet will be defeated along with all of the kings of the earth and their armies. Then Scripture speaks of the devil being locked up in the bottomless pit for a thousands years, at the end of which he must be released for a short time (Rev 20:1-3). That's more humiliation for him. But prison won't reform him, and as soon as he is let out, he'll be back to his same rebellion against the Lamb.

"When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Rev 20:7-10)

The devil will gather the nations together for war and they will surround the camp of the saints in Jerusalem, the city the Lord loves. In number they will be like the sand of the seashore, but once again quite effortlessly the Lord will burn them all up with fire that will come down from heaven. Then He will have the devil thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. That is their final, humiliating defeat, which will continue all throughout eternity. Hallelujah!

Types of the Saints
Not only are David's mighty men types of Christ, they are also types of the saints, specifically the Spirit-filled disciples of Christ who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. We are to be mighty men and women of God. We are soldiers of Christ (2 Tim 2:3). 

You see, we are in a battle, too, against the forces of darkness, except they are not flesh and blood, which is why we must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:10-12, NIV). 

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:3-5).

God always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession, so that we are victorious, if we are born of God (2 Co 2:14). "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 Jn 5:4-5, NIV)

Perhaps you may be wondering if you could ever do the kind of exploits that David's mighty men did. Of course you can -- by faith! Remember, you can to do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil 4:13). When you are crucified with Christ, you no longer live but Christ the Mighty Warrior lives in you (Gal 2:20; Jn 17:26; 2 Co 13:5; Col 1:27). He said you shall do the works that He did and even greater works than those (Jn 14:12). He has "given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Lk 10:19, NIV). If you are an obedient disciple of Christ, "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Rom 16:19-20, NIV).

Closing Words
I hope this little study has helped you to see that David's mighty men were types of Christ the Mighty Man of war, who will come back soon, riding on a white horse, leading the armies of heaven. We worship Him, El Gibor, our Mighty Warrior, who conquers all our enemies. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:26).

David's mighty men are also types of us the saints. Being a mighty man or woman of God is not easy, but it's possible through Christ. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the full armor of God. Exercise your faith in the Son of God, discipline yourself through prayer, fasting, and the reading of the Word, then put the Word of God into practice.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. David's Mighty Men painting by James Tissot, 1836-1902. The "Behold, He Comes" painting © 2012 is by Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note Also see David as a Type of ChristAdam as a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, The Typology of the Tabernacle, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. My daughter Charity has written a beautiful poem about The Rider on the white horse. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Moses as a Type of Christ

Moses is also a type of Christ. Let's see what the Scriptures say about their many similarities.

Faithful
Moses was faithful as a servant in God's house, just as Jesus was faithful as a Son over His house. The apostle wrote:

"He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end." (Heb 3:2-6)

A Prophet to Give Heed To
Moses said that God would raise up for His people Israel a Prophet like him from among them, and that they must give heed to everything He says to them, or else they would be utterly destroyed. The apostle Peter said to the Jews:

"Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'" (Act 3:22-23; cf., Dt 18:15).

We know that Peter was referring to Christ on this occasion, because it is clear from the immediate context that he was speaking about Jesus:

"But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time." (Act 3:18-21).

I am also reminded of the account of what happened on the sacred mount:

"Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!' All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone." (Mar 9:7-8)

Spared from Attempted Infanticide
Moses was spared from death as a baby as Jesus was, while all the other male babies were killed. Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew boys be killed (Ex 1:15-22; 2:1-9), and Herod ordered that all baby boys be killed (Mt 2:12-13, 16).

Forty Days of Fasting Alone
Moses went up on a mountain for forty days and nights, without having food or water, when he received the Ten Commandments (Ex 34:28), just as Jesus fasted alone in the desert for forty days and forty nights at the beginning of His ministry (Mt 4:1-11).

Not Recognized By His Own
Moses' own people did not recognize him (Ex 2:13-14; 6:9; Act 7:25-28), just as the world did not recognize Jesus and His own did not receive Him ( Jn 1:10-11).

Object of People's Grumbling and Complaints
Moses suffered the complaints and grumblings of the Israelites against him (Ex 15:24; 16:2; Nu 14:2). Likewise, the Jews grumbled about Jesus (Jn 6:41).

Object of People's Jealousy
Other people were jealous of Moses, such as Dathan, Abiram, and the two hundred fifty rebels (Ps 106:16-17; Num 16). Likewise, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were jealous of Jesus. For it was out of envy that they handed Him over to Pilate (Mt 27:18).

Humble
The Bible says, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." (Nu 12:3, NIV). Likewise, Jesus was meek and lowly, too.  He said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mt 11:29, NIV). He "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mk 10:45, NIV). Perhaps the apostle Paul described the Lord's humility best when he wrote of Him saying:

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Php 2:5-8)

Intercessor and Mediator
Moses was an intercessor and mediator for the people before God (Deu 5:5, 22; 9:8-9, 18-20, 25-29; 10:10; Psa 106:23). Moses was willing to have his own name blotted out of the book of life on behalf of the Israelites, and to take the punishment for their sins, if God was unwilling to forgive their sins (Ex 32:32). Likewise, Jesus was willing to take the punishment for our sins and to give his life in place of everyone else. Jesus is both our Intercessor and Mediator, always living to make intercession for us as our only Mediator between God and man (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 1 Tim 2:5).

Deliverer
Moses led the people up out of slavery from Egypt (Ex 6:6-8; 7:16; 8:1; 9:1; 12:50-51; 14:1-22). Jesus led the prisoners up from the underworld (Eph 4:8-10), and He also delivers us from the slavery and oppression of our sin (Ro 6:6-7). He is the one who sets us free from sin and death (Ro 8:2; He 9:15).

"So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, "You will become free"? Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.'" (Joh 8:31-36)

Suffered Disgrace
Although Moses was brought up in Pharaoh's household by a princess (Ex 2:10), he suffered disgrace by standing up for the people of God. "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (Heb 11:24-26, NIV). Likewise, Jesus gladly bore our shame and reproach in order to deliver God's people. "For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2b, NIV).

Did Not Fear the King
Moses wasn't afraid of the king. "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen." (Heb 11:27). Likewise, Jesus was not afraid of the king, and did not allow Herod to deter Him from going to the cross and delivering His people.

"Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, 'Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.' And He said to them, 'Go and tell that fox, "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal." Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.'" (Luk 13:31-33)

Jesus was not the least bit afraid when He stood before King Herod; nor was He intimidated by the governor, but made a good confession before Pontius Pilate (Mt 27:11-14; Lk 23:8-11; Jn 19:8-11; 1 Tim 6:13).

Marked by Signs and Wonders
Moses' ministry was marked by many miraculous signs and wonders like the ten plagues, the water from the rock, the manna, the quail, and the parting of the Red Sea. The Bible said, "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land." (Dt 34:10-11, NIV).

Jesus' ministry was also marked by many miraculous signs and wonders like turning water into wine, multiplying the bread to feed the multitudes, walking on water, calming the storm, raising the dead, casting out demons, healing all kinds of diseases, making the lame to walk, the blind to see, the mute to talk, and the deaf to hear.

Knew the Lord Face to Face
The Lord knew Moses face to face, according to the Scriptures (Dt 34:10). This was quite evident from the way God spoke to him at the burning bush, on Mount Sinai, and throughout his journey in the dessert with the Israelites for forty years.  Likewise, Jesus had a face to face relationship with the Father. This was evidenced on many occasions like at His baptism, when the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17b, NIV), as well as on the sacred mount, which I mentioned earlier (Mar 9:7-8). Jesus was one with the Father (Jn 10:30), only saying what He heard the Father saying and only doing what He saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19; 8:28; 12:49).

Closing Words
In our study of Moses as a type of Christ, we have seen the parallels between their lives in so many ways. They were both spared from infanticide, both were very humble, both spent forty days fasting, both were intercessors and mediators, both were known by the Lord face to face, both were objects of people's grumbling and jealousy, both suffered disgrace for the people of God, both were prophets of God to be heeded, whose ministries were marked by miraculous signs and wonders; both were called by God and used as mighty deliverers, neither of them was recognized by his own people, neither of them feared the king, and both were faithful  -- Moses as a servant in God's house and Jesus as a Son over God's house. Christ is that Prophet like Moses that God promised to send. Therefore, every soul that does not heed what Christ says and put it into practice shall be utterly destroyed from among the people (Ac 3:23; Mt 7:26-27).

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Other Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note Also see The Sufferings of the Prophets as a TypeAdam as a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, David as a Type of Christ, Daniel as a Type of ChristNoah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, The Typology of the Tabernacle, The Typology of the Jewish Feasts, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.