Egyptian Slavery a Type of Christ and His People

Have you ever wondered why God told Abraham in advance that his descendants would be slaves for four hundred years in Egypt, even before Abraham had a son?  

Although God had promised Abraham that he and his descendants after him would possess the land of Canaan, he did not give him personally any inheritance there, not even a foot of ground, as Stephen said (Ac 7:5). In fact, he lived in tents.

The apostle says, "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise." (Heb 11:9).

“God spoke to him in this way: 'For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country [with great possessions] and worship me in this place.'” (Act 7:6-7). These events were determined by God before Abraham even had a son.

God told Abraham that he would live to a good old age, die in peace, and rest with his ancestors (Ge 15:15). He said, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (Gen 15:16).

That was one reason the Israelites had to spend four hundred years in Egypt, because the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached full measure, so it was not yet time for God to drive them out in judgment, and give their land to Abraham’s descendants. Another reason is that Abraham’s descendant’s had to go through many hardships before they could enter the Promised Land, which is a type of Christ and His people. Just as Christ suffered for us, we also must suffer through many hardships in order to enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:22). The descendants of Abraham -- the Israelites -- all had to become slaves and be oppressed, so that God could have mercy on them all. This, too, was a type of sin. “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” (Rom 11:32). 

“The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country.” (Act 13:17). It was an impossible situation that needed to happen, so that God alone would receive all the glory for delivering them. Then He endured their conduct for forty years in the desert, testing and refining them, before bringing them into the Promised Land. At that time “He overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance.” (Act 13:19). 

Before the Lord could do that through them, He first had to allow them to go through the harsh conditions of Egypt that would serve as a refining process for them, in order to develop their character. That is why He later told them that He brought them out of the iron smelting furnace, out of Egypt (Dt 4:20; Jer 11:4). 

Consider the fact that if God knew the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its full measure, He could have waited until it had reached its full measure before calling Abraham to go to Canaan. God could have changed the timing of Abraham's entire life and sojourn in Canaan in order to coincide with the point when the sin of the Amorites would have reached its full measure four hundred years later. 

But if He had done that, and did not allow them to become slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, then the offspring of Abraham would have simply become amalgamated into the polytheistic Canaanite society, adopting their customs and intermarrying with him, which were all things that they later did anyway. But if they had done so at the beginning, then they never would have become a separate, homogenous nation of their own.

By allowing them to become slaves in Egypt, He gave them the chance to multiply as a people into a great nation. Scripture says that the Hebrews multiplied during their time in Egypt, even though they were oppressed. It says that they were fruitful and increased abundantly. They multiplied in numbers and became very, very strong (Ex 1:7-22). And since they lived separately in the land of Goshen in Egypt, they were a distinct people from the Egyptians. 

Those are some of the high, macro-level reasons why God allowed them to become enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years. But at the micro level, the impetus for their going into Egypt was the jealousy of Joseph's brothers, who sold him into Egypt. God knew all of this before their grandfather Isaac was even born. They were jealous, because Joseph was their father's favorite, he was from another mother -- Rachel, whom their father loved more than their mother Leah, and God had given him dreams of his future greatness. They thought they could get rid of him this way, but that only set things up so that he could save them from famine later on. Their jealously led them to do something to him that they meant for evil, but that God meant for good, the saving of many lives.

Putting it All Together

This historical series of events is a type or pattern of the life of those who follow Jesus, and it is also a type of Christ Himself. Let me explain.

It is a type of Christ being called out of Egypt as a child, as it is written, "Out of Egypt I called my Son." (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15). He and his parents suffered oppression even during his infancy, which is why they fled to Egypt, and later were called out of that country back to the land of Israel. Yet even in Israel, Jesus suffered at the hands of sinful men, was crucified, and died on the cross for us all. Then He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the true Promised Land, where He is seated at the right hand of God.

But this is also a type of us, the saints who follow Christ, being delivered from sin by God, then tested and tried during our lives here on earth, often even while He makes us prosper, before He finally brings us into our promised eternal inheritance in heaven. 

Let this be an encouragement to you in your walk of faith to press on, stay the course, and not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering through that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  (1Pe 4:13)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV. Image of Israelites in Egyptian bondage may be subject to copyright Sunday School Zone, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  Also see The Israelites as a Type of the Church, Israel as a Type of Christ, What Does it Mean to be Hebrew?, The High Priest as a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of Christ, Adam 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.

Isaac as a Type of Christ

Abraham offering Isaac on the altar

Another type of Christ is Isaac, son of Abraham. We'll begin by first looking at the historical account.

"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, 'Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied. Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'' (Gen 22:1-2, NIV).

God was testing Abraham to see if he would obey Him by telling him to take Isaac his only son, whom he loved, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on top of Mount Moriah. This was the son of promise with whom God had promised to established His everlasting covenant. To sacrifice him as a burnt offering would defy all logic, since there would be no other way for God to fulfill His promise if Isaac were put to death. But by faith Abraham obeyed God.

"Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.'” (Gen 22:3-5, NIV)

Observe how Abraham assured his servants that he and Isaac both would come back to them. He said "we" (both he and his son) will worship and then "we" (plural) will come back to you. He spoke by faith.

"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?' 'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied. 'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' And the two of them went on together." (Gen 22:6-8, NIV).

The words that Abraham spoke to his son here by faith are worthy of noting. "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." He believed that God would provide a lamb.

"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, 'Abraham! Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied. 'Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.'" (Gen 22:9-12, NIV).

The test was over once God saw that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, because he feared the Lord. Then something amazing happened next.

"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" (Gen 22:13-14, NIV).

God supernaturally provided a ram for Abraham to offer up to Him as a sacrifice instead of his son Isaac, which was just as Abraham had believed would happen when he said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering."

"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, 'I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.' Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba." (Gen 22:15-19, NIV).

God was looking for Abraham's obedience, and once He saw it, that was all He needed to see. He did not need Abraham to actually sacrifice Isaac.  To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams (1 Sam 15:22). The apostle described the faith of Abraham in this way:

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, 'in Isaac your descendants shall be called.' He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type." (Heb 11:17-19).

The apostle here specifically refers to Isaac as a type by saying that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead "as a type." This is an explicit reference that leaves no doubt that Isaac was a type of Christ. Just as Abraham offered his only begotten son Isaac on the altar and did not withhold his son, so likewise God the Father offered His only begotten son Jesus Christ on the cross and did not withhold Him. For the apostle said, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Rom 8:32, NIV).

The amazing thing here is that we are the ones who logically should be sacrificing to God, but God instead offered the greatest sacrifice of all for us, and the only sacrifice that could satisfy His wrath, which was the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. That was foreshadowed by Abraham's offering Isaac up to Him on the altar, but God did what He did not require Abraham to do. While God stopped Abraham from following through with driving that knife into Isaac, God on the other hand did follow through with His sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Jesus was indeed crucified, died, and was buried. What a tremendous act of love!

But it doesn't end there, because just as God gave Isaac, who was as good as dead, back to Abraham, God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. If we could figuratively say with the apostle that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead, we could also say that it, too, happened on the third day. For if you recall, the very next morning after God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham set off to go and obey God. But it was on the third day that they went together, just the two of them, up onto Mount Moriah, and it was on that third day that he received Isaac back. All of this was a type of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection on the third day.

The Ram Was a Type, Too
In another sense, we could say the ram or lamb that God provided on Mount Moriah was also a type of Christ. God provided a lamb as Abraham believed He would, so that Abraham didn't have to sacrifice his only son. Likewise, God has provided a lamb in that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die in our place, so that we do not have to perish. Jesus died in our place, just as that lamb died in Isaac's place.

The Lord Will Provide
This study would not be complete if I didn't mention this one last thing.  When Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the offering was, Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Gen 22:8). Later on, after the Lord provided the lamb, "Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" (Gen 22:14, NIV).

Even Mount Moriah was a type of the hill called Calvary (Lk 23:33). According to this verse, the place where Jesus was crucified was The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is the word Golgotha, and in Latin is the word Calvary. So both Isaac and Jesus were offered to God on top of a hill. Mount Moriah was located in Jerusalem, where Solomon's temple was later built (2 Chr 3:1), and Calvary was located near Jerusalem outside the city (Jn 19:20; Heb 13:11-13), where Jesus (whose body was a type of the temple) was crucified on the cross. It was there on Calvary that the Lord provided the Lamb of God to die in our place.

Closing Words
In our study of the sacrifice of Isaac to God on the altar, we have seen that he is a type of Christ. As Abraham's only begotten son, who was offered up on the altar to God, he foreshadowed God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who was offered up on the cross to God as the perfect sacrifice. Just as Abraham by faith received Isaac back on the third day, as if from the dead, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and lives forever more. God did what He did not require Abraham to completely do. And we even saw how the lamb or ram the Lord provided on Mount Moriah prefigured Christ the Lamb of God, who was given for us on the cross of Calvary.

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 Zonervan, 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 Adam 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, 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.