old testament | Grace and Truth

March 9, 2020
by GraceandTruth 3 Comments

Purim – When the Enemy’s Plans are the Cause of His Downfall

It is the feast of Purim today. Purim is from the book of Esther.

In the book of Esther, Haman (the enemy of Gods people) made gallows to hang Mordecai, but because of Esther’s intercession, he was hanged on his own gallows. So we see the plans of the enemy were the cause of his own downfall.

So now,as the people of God, as we rise up in intercession, the plans the enemy tries to use against us will be the cause of his ultimate defeat! Hallelujah to the Lamb!

”So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai…” Esther 7:10

Ultimately this is a picture that points to Christ. For where else is it so powerfully displayed that the means the enemy, Satan, tried to use to destroy the Son of God at the cross, was the place of his ultimate defeat, and of Christ’s complete victory over the powers of darkness?

We have nothing to fear brothers and sisters, even from the Coronavirus, for the Lord knows the way , even if we don’t. And as we stay close to Him we are safe and in the place of victory.

Blessings,

Belinda

June 21, 2019
by GraceandTruth 5 Comments

Joseph: a Type of Christ

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.

Blessings,

Belinda 🙂

March 17, 2015
by GraceandTruth 11 Comments

Jesus and the Outer Court of the Tabernacle

The Outer Court (or Court of the Tabernacle) points to Jesus

source: ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com

Christ, just as does every part of the Tabernacle of Moses. In this post we will see the beautiful picture of the holiness and the redemption of Jesus Christ in the walls and gate of the Outer Court.

Exodus 27:9-18

“You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side. ¹⁰And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver. ¹¹Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver.

¹²“And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. ¹³The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. ¹⁵And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

¹⁶“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets. ¹⁷All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. ¹⁸The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze.

The Materials of the Outer Court

As we saw in Jesus and the Tabernacle Materials every item used in the construction of the Tabernacle had a divine purpose and meaning:

The walls of the Outer Court were made from hangings of fine woven linen = the Righteousness of Christ
Its 20 pillars and 20 sockets for the pillars were made of bronze = judgment against sin
The hooks and bands of the pillars were made of silver = redemption

The Outer Court is a picture of Christ. Christ came in His righteousness as our redemption. He took our place, as a substitutionary atonement in God’s judgment against sin.

The Outer Court and the Law of God.

source: signature9.com

The Outer Court is also a picture of the Law of God. The Tabernacle was surrounded by a wall of fine linen hangings. This wall kept the Holy of Holies, where God’s Shekinah Glory dwelt, separate from the outside world. Each person upon approaching God’s dwelling place, the Tabernacle, was confronted by this huge 7.5 foot-high wall of fine linen.

As we know, fine linen speaks to us of righteousness. At the front of the Tabernacle an individual was confronted with the wall of the holy standard of God’s righteousness upon their approach to Him. How could they enter this holy and righteous place? How could they scale this wall of righteousness? How could they get to a holy God?

The Bible says “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear” Isaiah 59:2

The sinner is separated from the holiness of God because of the defilement of his sin. The fact is, the sinner cannot approach a holy God in his own righteousness. The Bible says that:

“…we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;” Isaiah 64:6

Just as each person was confronted with the wall of God’s righteousness at the Tabernacle, so this is true of today as well. Each sinner needs to be confronted with God’s holy righteousness – His Law, the 10 commandments, to see that he cannot measure up to God’s standards of holiness. God is perfectly good, perfectly Holy, perfectly righteous. But we are not.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

Once we are confronted with His righteousness we see that there is no way to scale the wall into His righteousness. There is no way we can get in on our own.

We are lost, without hope.

But…the Outer Court had a Gate.

The GATE

source: poliges.com

“For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver…”

God, in His marvelous grace, has of course made a way into His presence.

But…. there is only ONE way. And that is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

An individual could only enter the Outer Court through one gate on the east side of the Tabernacle.

The walls were so high that anyone trying to climb over them could have plunged to their death. This speaks of the sinner trying to work his way, or climb his way, up to God. It doesn’t work, for we will never be good or holy enough to meet God’s standards. The way of the flesh only leads to death.

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1

But there was this gate and it was the way, the only way, into the presence of God, into Life. The gate had a screen woven of blue, purple and scarlet thread as well as fine linen.

Jesus Himself said: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…” John 10:9 (NIV)

The gate, of course, speaks to us of Christ:

The fine linen= His righteousness,
The colours = His heavenly nature (blue), His royalty (purple) and His sacrifice (red).

source: catechismway.blogspot.com

We see that there is only one way into the presence of a Holy God, and that is through the gate, the Person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Just as none could enter the Tabernacle and approach God from any other way except through the gate, so it is the same today. No one can approach God any other way than through Jesus Christ.

We come through Him, we come through the Gate.

Going through the gate we enter through Him. We come through His righteousness (linen), His heavenly nature (blue), His Kingship (purple) and His sacrifice (scarlet).

Then when a person was in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle they too were separated from the world. This speaks of the holiness of God and the separation of man from the world unto Him.

Upon entering through the Gate, immediately the individual is met with the Brazen Altar.

Next post: Jesus and the Brazen Altar

Previous post: Jesus and the Tabernacle Materials

November 18, 2014
by GraceandTruth 5 Comments

The Tabernacle of Moses and the Cross

Continued from The Tabernacle of Moses and Jesus

The Tabernacle’s Position

Israel was a large group of people, divided into 12 different tribes. As God is a God of order, this large group of people had to be arranged orderly. God set up the camp as follows:

The Tabernacle was in the midst of the camp (Numbers 2:17)
On the East side the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon camped
On the West side the tribes of Ephraim, Mannasseh and Benjamin camped
On the North side the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali camped
On the South side the tribes of Rueben, Simeon and Gad camped

Many experts believe that the view from heaven as God looked upon the camp was in the shape of a cross.

Chuck Missler explains: “The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun–collectively called the Camp of Judah–had to encamp east of the Levites. This poses a technical problem. Notice that if the breadth of their camp was larger than that of the Levites, the excess would be southeast or northeast, not east. Therefore, their camp could only be as wide as the Levites, and they then had to extend eastward to obtain whatever space they required.

The camps of Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan had the same constraint on the south, west, and north, respectively. The length of each leg would be proportional to total in each camp.

If we assemble what we can infer from the Torah account, we can imagine what the camp of Israel looked like from above: the tabernacle and the Levites in the center, surrounded by the four faces of the tribal standards, and each of the four camps of Judah, Ephraim, Reuben, and Dan, stretching out in the four cardinal directions.”

Source:http://www.ldolphin.org/camp.html

God should be in the midst of the camp, in the midst of His people. Where Christ is in the centre of a believer’s life, or of a Church, then there is divine order. We see that God’s dealing with His people is always on the basis of the cross of Jesus Christ.

The Construction of the Tabernacle

The Tabernacle took nine months to build. It was built from materials which the Israelites willingly offered unto the Lord.

Christ was nine months in the womb of Mary. Mary willingly offered her life to God for His purposes.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²“Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. ³And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ⁵ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; ⁶oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; ⁷onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. ⁸And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. ⁹According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” Exodus 25:1-9

We see that when we willingly give to God our lives then He will use it for His purposes and bring forth divine life.

God bless!

July 2, 2014
by GraceandTruth 14 Comments

Moses : a Type of Christ

The Old Testament is all about Christ. It really is.

Don’t listen to those who would put the OT down and say it is over with, it is past. Don’t listen to those who would say OT = “bad” but NT = “good”. It makes up 2/3’s of the Bible and it is all about Jesus.

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7/Psalm 40:7.

Remember: The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.

The NT sheds light on the OT. And the NT is concealed in the shadows of the Old – it is hidden, but it is there for those who like to search for hidden treasure. Looking for the types and foreshadows of Christ in the OT is such a joy. I love discovering Him in the OT.

One example is Moses. Moses is such a wonderful type and picture of Christ. His life and ministry foreshadows Jesus in many ways. However One even greater than Moses is here now, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Let’s see how:

Moses was hidden away in Egypt as a baby for his own protection when Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed.
Jesus was hidden away in Egypt as a baby for his own protection when Herod sought to kill Him.

Moses, willingly left his royal home and high position in Pharaoh’s palace for the sake of his people.
Jesus, the royal Son of God, willingly left the glory of heaven to come to earth for the sake of His people.

In due course Moses came up out of Egypt and spent 40 years in the wilderness.
In due course Jesus also came up out of Egypt. He spent 40 days in the wilderness.

Moses was the deliverer of Israel out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt. He redeemed the Israelites from their hard-taskmasters with the blood of the Passover lamb.
Jesus is the deliverer of not only Israel but also of the Gentiles. He has delivered us from our bondage and slavery to sin. He has redeemed us from our hard-taskmaster (Satan) with His very own blood.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Moses interceded for the Israelites when they corrupted themselves and worshipped a golden calf. In Exodus 32:32 Moses offered his own life on behalf of the people. Such was his love for them that he was prepared to take their guilt upon himself and to die for them.
Jesus interceded for the whole of humankind, utterly corrupted and gone astray as we were. Jesus actually did lay down His life on behalf of humankind. Such is His love for us that He did take our sin and guilt upon Himself and was offered to God in our place.

Moses was mediator of the Old Covenant of Law.
Jesus Christ is mediator of the New Covenant of Grace.

“For the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

This barely skims the surface of the treasures of Christ that can be found in the life of Moses. Have a look for yourself and see what else you can find.

God bless!