I was on my knees praying for the outreach to the homeless that night. We always meet at the same place when we go out. But as I was praying I saw in my heart a different carpark in the next suburb.
“Is that where we should start tonight Lord?” I questioned. It was a strong prompting that wouldn’t go away. The verse on my heart for that day was Luke 15 – Jesus going out to find the one lost sheep.
I decided to take a step out in faith and let everyone know that tonight we would be beginning our search for the homeless in this other carpark.
There was a bit of anxiety within me as I wondered if I was doing the right thing.
Recently we have started going out to the streets to reach the poor, marginalised and homeless. This is something we have stopped and started doing since moving to our new home in our new state of Queensland, Australia.
Having left Melbourne during the Covid madness, God has been slowly directing and leading how He wants to use us here. There has been an adjustment period and there have been many, many battles.
But now, at the specific guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have been going out with the young people from our home Bible Study group and trying to minister to people on the streets with physical and spiritual food.
And here we were, on this night two months ago, driving to a different carpark. On the way there we could see no homeless people around. What have I done? I wondered. We drove into the carpark where we were meeting the young people and drove through it, searching. Not one homeless person around that we could see.
Matt said that we will just pull into a carspot and wait for the others to arrive and then we would go on to where we would usually begin.
So we pulled in next to a station wagon. As I opened my car door to get out I noticed there was a woman sitting in the drivers seat of the station wagon and that all her back windows were covered with blankets. Her window was open so I just asked her
“Are you living in your car?”
“Yes” she said.
“Can I offer you some dinner? we have hot food, hot tea etc”
She was so excited and said she was just about to eat some dry noodles.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, “it’s so nice of you.”
I said we are Christians trying to share the love of Christ with others.
“Oh!” she said, “I’ve been trying to pray and read the Bible on my phone. I want to join a Bible study”
She ended up jumping out of her car and hugging and praying with all our young people when they arrived. They surrounded her. She said she misses her children.
It was such a divine appointment. Nadia* and I exchanged numbers and she informed me that she was going away to visit family for a few weeks.
I messaged her a few times over the next 2 months and she informed me that she was still with family.
The story continued yesterday…
Same thing, I was praying again before we went out to the streets last night.
There was such a strong prompting in my spirit to take the large pile of clothes that a few weeks back I had pulled out of my cupboard in a random act of clothes-purging and had since been sitting on my bedroom floor, and to put them in the boot of my car.
So I did in obedience. We had never given out clothes on the street before.
Then I felt strongly to text Nadia out of the blue and tell her that I have clothes and food for tonight if she wants to meet. As far as I knew she was still far away with family.
Amazingly Nadia texted back – she would see me there!
So last night she came and took a garbage bag full of clothes out of my boot. She had just returned the night before and has a job interview today and needed clothes. We are going to catch up for coffee next week and she says she would like to join the outdoor Bible study that we do with the homeless.
Jesus loves the one. And He still goes out searching for that one.
“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” Luke 15
It takes as much faith to stay where God has brought you to as to get there in the first place.
When He told you to go, you obeyed in faith, like Abraham, unquestioning.
It was hard to go, to leave behind all that you knew, even though it was a place that became too small. But the sense of the unknown, the anticipation of adventure ahead led you to follow Him to the promised land.
But you didn’t know there would be giants there.
You were shocked at the size of them as you entered the gates.
The fruit of their unrighteousness was massive.
One by one they came against you. Blow after blow. Cut you down till you thought you would never recover. Till you were sure your body would be always broken, your mind might just go.
One more giant and you will be broken for good, you think.
You begin to look back longingly to Egypt. You forget the slavery and hard bondage and remember the flesh-pots and the yummy cucumbers you enjoyed there.
You thought the promised land would be different.
What am I doing here?
It takes as much faith to STAY where God has put you as to get there in the first place.
It takes vision to see past the giants and the constant battering to see the beauty, the freshness, the new thing that God is doing.
Occasionally you catch a glimpse before the next blow lands.
Sure you’d heard the stories of the children of Israel…but you didn’t know you would actually have to face a fierce battle to take new territory. They were just Bible stories right? Nah, it’s actually real, you discover. A picture of what is happening in the spiritual realm when God moves you to a new place.
Will you stay?
Or will you go back?
Then one day the last giant is gone. Of course you didn’t know at the time it would be the last giant. That was the biggest one. The last-ditch effort to destroy your faith and send you packing.
And then as you lie on the blood-soaked ground, not wanting to examine your wounds, wondering how or if you will ever recover from this… God sends a messenger to you out from Himself. A kind one who sits with you, tends your wounds, listens to your trauma, acknowledges what you’ve had to face. One who looks like he’s faced a few beatings himself.
He helps you up and walks with you.
Did I fail Lord by even wanting to go back?
No, He says, you have overcome: because you are still here, and you are still following Me.
Eventually you look up and see the sunlight bouncing on the leaves in the promised land, you notice the air here feels freer.
You don’t just believe God is good anymore, you know it, deep within your being. Because every time you thought this giant was the one who would kill you, a Man with scarred hands would show up on your behalf.
And now you have scars too.
And then the people start coming to you, one by one. There is need here too in the promised land. And suddenly you see that the scars and the desolation is what will be used to help others to overcome and bear their Master’s scars too.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
Don’t give up my friend, the Lord Himself fights for you. He sees you, He loves you, He will carry you. Keep looking ahead, moving forward. Don’t look back, forget the former things, He wants you to stand in the new thing He is doing. He has much for you to do.
About three weeks ago I had a dream that a couple of people were coming to our house for prayer. But when I opened the front door a stream of people came in and kept coming…and coming. All different races of people. I wondered how they knew to come. They said
“We knew you’d be open!”
Our lounge was packed with people and I lifted up my hands and said “No social distancing here!”
The dream ended.
During the lockdown we had been doing a Bible study every morning and two others had been joining us via Messenger. So we just thought now we are “allowed” to have two people come to our house we will just invite them on a Sunday morning to continue this bible study, but now in person.
That was three weeks ago and every week more and more people have come on a Sunday. We have such a blessed time of worship, bible study, prayer and eat lunch together. Yesterday was beautiful. We had guys join us from a Christian halfway house, where they take in men who have come out of jail or rehab and give them a place to live and a job.
The Lord spoke to us about House of Saul versus House of David and the outcasts going to David in the cave at Adullum….
On Friday I said to the Lord “What is going on?” This home-Church thing seems to be taking off at our place FAST, like it’s almost out of our control.
we have literally just opened the doors and people have come.
He gave me this scripture in our family bible study and confirmed It the next day as I was reading the book “Anointed for Burial”
”Go and join this chariot” Acts 8:29
As my friend Tim Shey has said , I think we just need to follow the cloud at the moment guys.
Be willing to do things differently because suddenly all our plans have been interrupted. Like the old thing is dead now. We’ve got to just follow the Lord.
And as my other friend (and spiritual father) Bill Randles has said – the church needs to meet in flesh and blood.
There were three items contained in the Ark: the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the unbroken tables of the Law.
These items reveal Christ’s work, and also His very Personhood.
The Golden Pot of Manna: reveals Christ as Prophet
The Manna in the wilderness was sent from heaven to feed God’s people. Christ Himself is the true Bread of heaven, sent to feed the world.
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:32, 33
He not only is the Bread of Life, but He also gives bread ie. The Word of God, to others as Prophet.
Aaron’s Rod that Budded: reveals Christ as Priest
As Aaron went in before God on behalf of the people, so too Christ our Great High Priest, goes before the Father on our behalf.
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Hebrews 4:14
Just as Aaron presented the blood of the atonement before God and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle of Moses, so too has Christ, as our Priest, presented His blood before the Father in heaven and sprinkled it on the mercy seat there before God. (see John 20:17 & Revelation 11:19)
Aaron’s rod budded and blossomed with almonds as proof that God had chosen him as High Priest in Israel
“On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds”. Numbers 17:8. The life which sprang from his dead rod is a picture of the resurrected Christ Himself. The almond tree is the first tree to flower in Israel. Christ’s resurrection proves He is God’s chosen priest on behalf of sinful humanity. Just as Aaron’s rod was a testimony of his being God’s elect priest, so too was the Christ’s resurrection the testimony that this is the One whom God has chosen to be the great High Priest.
The Tables of Law: reveal Christ as King
These were the two unbroken tables of Law. The first two were broken by Moses when he found the people in the sin of idolatry. These are a picture of humanity’s constant breaking of God’s law.
However the second set of tables were not broken, representing the one Man who never broke God’s law – Christ. These tables of law were constantly in the midst of Israel as the standard God required. This is a picture of Christ as the holy standard. He is the law-giver and the law-keeper. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Yet these tables of Law were under the blood. The blood-stained mercy seat was above the Law and it was through the blood that God beheld the Law.
As we consider the timeless truths contained in the Tabernacle of Moses, let us be reminded that the way is open now in to the Holy of Holies for every believer in Christ. No longer do we have to stay outside in the outer court, we are welcome to enter into the place of fellowship and commune with God around His table. But let’s not stop even there, let us go on into that most intimate place with the Lord, the place of worship in the Holy of Holies.
“ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, …” Hebrews 4:16
Because of the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, we are able to approach a high and holy God, the God of Israel and know that He is delighted with us when we come to worship Him. Let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, let us seek Him and spend time with Him, because the way through the Veil has been made at the expense of the Son of God’s life. This is no trifling matter, but one of great importance and privilege. Let us not squander so great a privilege but go in to the presence of the King and meet with Him there at the Mercy Seat.
Through the Veil, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies.
Hands shaking slightly, trying not to spill the precious blood he carried with him in a vessel, the High Priest slowly pulled back the Veil. Immediately the brightness of the light from behind the Veil pierced through the opening. He was standing in the Holy Place, the place that was lit by the seven lamps of the Golden Lampstand: the place where the gold panels on the walls caught the light of the Lampstand and the whole room shimmered around him. Yet the light that emanated from behind the Veil caused even the shimmering gold light around him to seem dark in comparison.
The radiance was almost palpable and it made him shake in fear. The awesome presence behind the Veil was almost too much to bear.
How can we even put into words what the awesome Shekinah presence of God would have been like for the High Priest as he approached the Throne of God?
“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34
The Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies was the place of the awesome presence of God. It was the place where He dwelt amongst His people, above the mercy seat, in between the Cherubim.
“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim…” Isaiah 37:16
It was a place of infinite holiness, the Throne of God’s majesty. It was the place where none could enter, except the High Priest, once a year on the Day of Atonement, and not without blood.
From the sunshine of the Outer Court with its Brazen Altar and Brazen Laver: the place of judgment for sin, to the Holy Place which shimmered in the light of the Candlestick with its gold furniture: the place of fellowship with God. Now to the Holy of Holies: the place that had no natural light and no lamp but was the brightest by far, and lit only by the glory of God Himself. This was the place of worship.
“…He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light…” 1 Timothy 6:15, 16
Here we stand finally before the most majestic piece of furniture in the Tabernacle of Moses: the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of the Testimony
The Ark was the most majestic item of furniture in the Tabernacle. This item not only speaks of Christ’s work in atonement, but of who He really is, ie His Personhood.
The Ark was a box made of Acacia wood, overlaid with gold. It measured 2.5 cubits in length, by 1.5 cubits in width and 1.5 cubits in height.
“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around…. And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.” Exodus 25:10-16
The Ark was the same height as the grate on the Brazen Altar. More on this later in the article.
This was the first piece of furniture, the very first item that God told Moses to make.
“In the beginning God…” Genesis 1:1
God begins with Himself, the place of His presence, because without Him all else is meaningless religion and ritual.
Once again Acacia wood of the Ark, overlaid with gold, reflects the dual nature of Christ, the God-Man: the incorruptible acacia wood, His sinless humanity; and the pure gold, His deity.
The Mercy Seat
On top of the Ark was the Mercy Seat. It was sculpted of pure gold, with two Cherubim facing each other, wings outstretched. The Mercy Seat covered the tablets of the Law which were contained within the Ark and was from where God met with Moses and spoke to him.
“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” Exodus 25:17-22
The Mercy Seat & The Holiness of God
The Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies was the same height as the Brazen Altar’s grate in the Outer Court– 1 ½ cubits.
It is of divine importance that the altar where the blood was shed was the same height as where the blood was taken and sprinkled before God.
This is because the Ark of the Covenant was the earthly seat of God’s glory, His majesty and Almightiness. But more than that even, it was also the Throne of His holiness. God is not only a potentate upon His throne ruling in absolute majesty because of His loftier position to all of creation, but He is the One who also has made a way of redemption from sin. He is our Creator and He is our Holy Redeemer.
“Something has been done in relation to sin, which establishes that throne in holiness, and gives that throne a right, the right to judge sin. It is not just the judgement of men as creatures under the hand of an Almighty God. It is the judgement of a sinful state under a holy state” T Austin Sparks
God is ruling from His Throne in Holiness and Righteousness. The basis of His judgment is within the contents of the Ark: The Law.
To come into His presence is to meet the divine judgment of the Ten Commandments written on the two tablets of stone. Since we have “all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, this means certain death, for the “wages of sin is death”. None can stand before the utter holiness of God.
Yet God in His mercy has provided a way. Over the top of the tablets of Law is the golden Mercy Seat.
The Mercy Seat is a Picture of Christ Himself
The two Cherubim facing inward toward the mercy seat is a picture of the Godhead (or Trinity). All of one piece of gold, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit facing towards the Mercy Seat, which is a picture of God the Son, Christ Jesus.
The word used in Hebrews 3:24 for “propitiation”
(“…Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith…” )
is “hilasterion” and is translated as “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5 : “and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat…”
So the same word is translated both as “propitiation” and as “mercy seat”.
“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world… In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins” 1 John 2:2; 4:10 NASB)
Jesus Christ is the Mercy Seat, “the place of propitiation, or satisfaction, for our sins.” (Theodore H Epp)
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would take the blood of the slain animal behind the Veil on the Day of Atonement. He would sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat in the presence of God.
“He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins…” Leviticus 16:14-16
Because the Cherubim faced inwards towards the Mercy Seat, they were constantly looking upon the blood. The holiness of God and the demands of the Law meant that to enter the presence of a holy God meant certain death for the wages of sin is death.
But the blood proved that someone had died for the broken law. The death had to be an innocent substitute, someone who had not broken God’s law. The death of the animal foreshadowing, of course, Christ’s substitutionary death for sinful humanity. This blood was what expiated the sin of Israel, because they could not meet the requirements of the Holy Law within the Ark and ultimately it was in Christ that justice received full payment. . It was the blood-stained mercy seat that expiated God’s wrath against sin and meant that the High Priest could enter His presence, with the blood of the one who had died for sin.
To Remove the Mercy Seat Meant Certain Death
Therefore to remove the mercy seat meant certain death. In 1 Samuel 6 the people of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark after the Philistines returned it. Removing the blood-stained mercy seat meant literally that mercy was removed and thus they were exposed to the Law and God’s judgment against sin. The result was that God struck 50,070 men dead, because the “wages of sin is death.”
This foreshadows Christ as our Mercy Seat. He met the demands of the Law of God and His blood was shed in our place. To attempt to approach God apart from the work of His Son means certain death as our own righteousness is as filthy rags compared to His holy standard. There is only one way into the Holy Place, the place of God’s Throne and that is to first come to the Brazen Altar, ie the cross.
There are many who say that Joseph and the Passover Lamb are the two clearest pictures in the Old Testament of Christ, and I would agree with them.
Remember: The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.
The New Testament sheds light on the Old Testament. And the New is concealed in the shadows of the Old – it is hidden, but it is there for those who like to search for hidden treasure.
Joseph typifies Christ Jesus in many ways, but crucially his story also points to the nation of Israel and God’s dealings with them, and so we will look at both of these aspects.
Joseph as a type of Christ
1. Joseph was the beloved son of his father, Jacob Genesis 37:3
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children…”
Christ is the beloved Son of the Father
Matthew 3:17
“and suddenly a voice from heaven saying ‘This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”
2. Joseph was clothed in the coat of many colours signifying his Firstborn rights and inheritance of his father. Genesis 37:3
Christ is the firstborn of the Father, and the Son of His inheritance.
Hebrews Chapter 1; Ephesians 1:18
3. Joseph was envied by his brothers
“But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him…” Genesis 37:4
Christ was envied by His brethren, the Jewish Chief Priests and elders. Matthew 27: 12-18
“For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy”
4. Joseph was betrayed and rejected by his brothers and sold for 20 pieces of silver
Genesis 37:28
Christ was betrayed and rejected by his brethren and sold for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 13:53-58; Matthew 26:15
5. Joseph was not recognized by his brothers, neither early on as he told them his dreams, nor later as the governor of Egypt. Genesis 37:8; Genesis 42:8
Christ was not recognized by His brethren, when he came preaching the Kingdom of heaven to Israel, nor is He recognised now as the risen King of the Jews. Matthew 12:22-30; Romans 11:7-8
6. Joseph was cast into a pit to die by his brothers Genesis 37:24
Christ was crucified on the cross by His brethren, then placed in a tomb Matthew 27:60
7. Joseph coming out of the pit, signifying the place of death, back in to life Genesis 37:28
Christ was raised from the dead
Matthew 28:5, 6
8. Reuben found the pit empty Genesis 37:29
Christ’s brethren find the tomb empty Matthew 28:1-6
9. Joseph was sold into slavery Genesis 37:28
Christ took the form of a bond-slave Philippians 2:7
10. Joseph is rejected by his brethren and so is sent to the Gentile world, (Egypt) Genesis 37:28
Christ was rejected by Israel and so is sent to the Gentiles Matthew 12:22-30; Romans 11:25
11. Joseph suffered much, becoming a slave, being falsely accused, going to prison Genesis 39 & 40
Christ suffered much at the hands of men, being falsely accused, betrayed and died
Matthew 26 & 27
12. There is no record of Joseph sinning, even though he was a sinner
Christ never sinned, He is God in human flesh
Hebrews 4:15
13. Joseph had the Spirit of God in him Genesis 41:38 “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
Christ Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit
Luke 4:14
14. After a time of suffering, Joseph was exalted to a high position in Egypt by Pharoah
Genesis 41:38-44
After Christ’s sufferings God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name. Philippians 2:5-11
15. Joseph was given the Egyptian name of Zaphnath-Paaneah, which means the “Saviour of the World” Genesis 41:45
Christ Jesus is the Saviour of the world, and His name bears witness to that.
“…you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” Matthew 1:21
16. Joseph was 30 years old when he began his life’s work, after much preparation Genesis 41:46
Christ was 30 years old when He began His ministry, after much preparation.
Luke 3:23
17. Joseph was given a Gentile bride by Pharoah at the time of his exaltation Genesis 41:45
Christ is to be given a Gentile bride, the Church when He returns for her.
Revelation 19:7-9
18. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharoah as Zaphnath-Paaneah, to save the world from the coming famine Genesis 41:46
18. Christ Jesus went out from the presence of the Father to save the world from sin
John 3:16
19. Joseph provided grain/food to the starving masses Genesis 47:13-26
Christ Jesus is the bread of God sent from heaven to feed the world John 6:22-51
20. Joseph’s brothers, those bearing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, go through much hardship and suffering before Joseph reveals himself to them Genesis 42- 44
Christ’s brethren the Jews will go through much trial and suffering before they recognize their King, culminating in the time of Jacob’s Trouble.
Jeremiah 30:7
21. Joseph’s brothers suffering leads them to repentance Genesis 44:18-34
The time of Jacob’s Trouble, or the Great Tribulation is to bring the nation of Israel to national repentance, as the anti-type of the Day of Atonement. Jeremiah 30:7; Romans 11
22. Joseph’s outward harshness towards his brothers conceals his inner love and tenderness towards them. Genesis 42- 44 ; Genesis 42:24; Genesis 45:2
God’s heart towards sinners and Israel alike, though He seems to deal with them harshly, is one of love and tenderness, ultimately seeking restoration and reconciliation. Romans 5:8
23. Joseph’s brothers are restored and saved
“Moreover he kissed all of his brothers and wept over them…” Genesis 45
Israel is restored and saved
Romans 11:25-27
See further on Joseph as a prophetic picture of the Church here.
If you have any further types of Joseph that I haven’t mentioned, be sure to comment them below.
Grace and Truth 