Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures
Don Fortner, 1950-2020
Genesis through Deuteronomy
GENESIS
The Book of Beginnings
I want to take you through the entire Volume of Holy Scripture, book by book, show you the message of each book and its relation to the whole Word of God. That will be the easy part. Here's the tough part—I plan to cover one entire book in each of the succeeding chapters. We will begin, of course, with Genesis, the book of beginnings.
What I hope to do in these studies is to give you a zoom-lens view of Holy Scripture. I trust the Lord will use them to help you see clearly that the message of this Book, from beginning to end is Jesus Christ and him crucified, and that you will be able to grasp more fully the whole truth of God, the whole of Divine Revelation.
We read in Genesis 1:1–3—"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
Here is a picture of redemption. In chapter 50, verses 24–26, we read, "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt."
The Book of Genesis opens with a picture of redemption; and it closes with a promise of redemption; and everything between Genesis 1:1 and 50:26 shows either our desperate need of redemption or God's marvelous method of redemption and grace by Christ.
There is no greater wonder, no greater miracle in the world than the Book you hold in your hand. The Lord God, in great mercy and grace, has given us his Word in one blessed, holy, inspired Volume, and has given it to us in our language, so that we can read it, hear him speak, and learn of him. The Book of God is a great, tremendous, miraculous Book. Let us honor it as God who gave us his Word honors it (Psalm 138:2). Surely, we to whom it is given, we who are made to profit by it, ought to honor it. Honor the Book of God by reading it, believing it, seeking to understand it, and living by it. In doing so, we will honor our God.
Evidence of Inspiration
One of the most powerful and unanswerable evidences of the inspiration of the Bible is its unity. One message runs through its pages—Redemption. One Person is portrayed, prophesied, presented, and proclaimed throughout the Book of God—The Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, the Scriptures were written over a period of hundreds of years by numerous and diverse men, most of whom never knew one another, written under extremely diverse conditions, containing neither error nor contradiction of any kind. That fact cannot be explained except by one thing—God did it.—"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).
Divinely Authoritative
The Word of God alone is authoritative as our rule, our only rule of faith and practice. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Let us wisely use and appreciate the writings of faithful men about the Scriptures. But we must always interpret the writings of men by the Word of God, not the other way around. The Word of God, and the Word of God alone, is profitable to teach us doctrine to believe and preach, to reprove our errors, to correct our evils, and to instruct us in righteousness. Only the Bible can, by the blessing of God's Holy Spirit, make us complete "and throughly furnished unto all good works."
How Old?
We are so accustom to ed and, I hope, to reading it and hearing it, that we seldom consider how old it actually is. Herodotus is called "the father of history," because he was the first historian whose writings have been preserved for us. He was a Greek philosopher and teacher who lived 300 years before the incarnation of our Savior. But Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible, had finished his work and was with Christ in Glory a thousand years before Herodotus was born!
That's how old the Book of Genesis is. It is the book of beginnings. It takes us back into the very dawn of human history. Yet, as we read it, it is as up-to-date as this morning's newspaper. As I read about Adam and Abel, Enoch and Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers, I tend to think of them as men I once knew. Their lives seem to mingle with mine. Do you find that to be the case? The Scriptures bring us close to them and bring them close to us
More Than History
But the Book of Genesis is not merely a history book. If that were the case, it would have little significance to us and would have little influence over us. It would just be facts recorded on paper. The Book of Genesis was written to give us a specific message from the Lord our God. The message is as clear and simple as it is painful. It is as obvious as it is humbling.—Man without Christ is utterly sinful, helpless, inadequate, useless, insignificant, and vain.
As I said, Genesis is the Book of beginnings. The word "genesis" means "beginning." And every basic doctrine of the Bible is found in the Book of Genesis. Here we see all the doctrines of Holy Scripture in seed. The rest of the Sacred Volume expands and opens them. But the seed is in this first Book.
The Word of God begins with this message—Man without Christ is utterly sinful, helpless, inadequate, useless, insignificant and vain. That is the message of Genesis. And, as the Book of Beginnings, it sets the direction for all the subsequent revelation of our God.
Chapters 1 and 2—Creation
Our inadequacy and insignificance is seen in the fact that we would have no existence at all without Christ.—He is our Creator. This is what the Holy Spirit shows us in Genesis 1 and 2. "All things were created by him and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16–17).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1–3).
"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:1–2).
In these opening verses of Genesis the great need of redemption is typically set forth. "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth." Like everything else that comes from the hand of God, the original creation of the world was perfect, beautiful, and glorious. That was the original condition of man. Adam was made in the image of God. He was endowed with life by the breath of the Almighty. God said, concerning him, he was "very good."
Then something happened. In verse 2 we read, "And the earth was (became) without form and void." The earth became a ruin. Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 some terrible thing happened which resulted in the ruin of the earth. This is not a matter of theory or speculation. The word translated "was" in verse two should have been translated "became."
"This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, until out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise." (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary).
No one can say with certainty, because it is not revealed, but perhaps this was the time of Satan's fall, the time when sin first entered God's universe.
This much is certain: Satan, the mightiest and most excellent of God's creatures, was filled with pride. Lucifer dared to oppose the will of his Creator. "The anointed cherub that covers" dared to defy God's right to be God. As the result of his sin, Satan was cast out of Heaven, cast down to the earth. This fall of Satan had far reaching consequences. The earth, originally created by God fair and beautiful, became "without form and void," a desolate place of ruin. "And darkness was upon the face of the deep."
This is a tremendous picture of what happened in the garden. Man, who was created in the image and likeness of God, fell into sin; and his fall had far reaching consequences. The effects of Adam's sin reached all his posterity. Humanity became a ruin. All future generations were cursed, spiritually dead, incapable of bringing forth life, as the result of Adam's fall. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, for all have sinned" (Romans 5:12).
"And darkness was upon the face of the deep." Darkness is the opposite of light. God is light. Satan is darkness. And man under sin, being void of all light, is engulfed in total, spiritual darkness. Separated from God, morally blind, spiritually dead, darkness is the condition of all unregenerate men and women. This is the black background upon which the holy Lord God chose to display the glory of his grace in redemption by Christ. "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:21). As the Lord God restored creation from ruin in those first six days of time, so he restores his elect from the ruin of the fall by his redemptive works in Christ.
Experimentally this restoration begins with the work of God the Holy Spirit in effectual grace. The work of redemption and justification was done when Christ died as our Substitute upon Calvary's cursed tree. But we knew nothing about it until "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said let there be light; and there was light" (John 16:8–14; 2 Corinthians 4:4–6).
Chapters 3–6:8—Ruin
The inadequacy and insignificance of our race is displayed in the fact that we are a fallen, ruined, sinful and cursed race whose only hope of eternal life is the free grace of God in Christ.
That is the message of Genesis 3:1–6:8. During those days, from Adam to Noah, men lived for hundreds of years. What opportunities for advancement they had! I am certain that we have no idea how brilliant and advanced the people who walked on the earth in those days had become, in the knowledge of all things earthly. But, when we read what God has to say about the human race, it is obvious that they had only become more and more corrupt through the ages of time.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the birds of the air; for it repents me that I have made them" (Genesis 6:5–7).
Few believed God. Few followed the example of Abel. Few, very few, knew the grace of God. Indeed, when human civilization had reached its highest achievements and greatest potential, the whole race was a mass of iniquity, a running sore of corruption, with its vileness covering the earth. The slime of the serpent's trail was found wherever man breathed God's air. There was not a single exception, except one; and that one exception was an exception that God himself made by the special, supernatural intervention of his sovereign grace. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8).
Chapters 6–50—Redemption and Restoration
We are inadequate, insignificant, meaningless vanity. But, blessed be his holy name, he who is our God is infinitely adequate! As the Apostle Paul put it, when he was explaining the meaning of this Book, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound!" That is the message of the rest of the Book of Genesis (6:8–50:26).
Man chose sin; but long before that God chose to save sinful men. Man broke God's covenant in the Garden; but before ever man rebelled, the Lord God had made a covenant on behalf of chosen sinners that can never be broken. It was typified in his covenants with Noah and Abraham. Man is filled with, inspired, and motivated (in every thought of his mind, desire of his heart, decision in life, and deed he performs) by his hatred of God. But God is filled with, inspired and motivated (in every thought of his mind, desire of his heart, determination of his being, and deed of his hand) by his mercy, love, and grace to fallen men! We deserved God's wrath; but God promised all the blessedness of his covenant to the chosen seed. And he found a way to give us that blessedness and still maintain his own holiness, justice, and truth (Job 33:24; Isaiah 45:20). The way is substitution, as typified throughout the Book of Genesis, and clearly stated by Abraham in his response to Isaac on the mountain of sacrifice (Genesis 22).—"My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering!" Little wonder that he called the name of that place, "Jehovah-jireh!"
He who is our God always accomplishes his great purpose of grace! Nothing can hinder it. Nothing can prevent it. Indeed, all things are instruments in the hands of our God by which he performs it. Adam's fall did not take God by surprise. Rather, it provided the background and opened the way for Christ's redemption. Lot's drunken incest was overruled by the hand of our God to bring Ruth the Moabitess into the world, through whom Christ came to save us from our sins. The same is true regarding Judah's sin with Tamar and Joseph's ill-treatment by his brothers (Psalm 76:10).
Six Men
Really, the whole history of the Book of Genesis (a period of 4000 years) revolves around six men. There is a reason for the prominence of these six men. They are representative of the whole experience of grace.
If you remember the lives of these six men and what they mean, you will have the Book of Genesis at your fingertips. They are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
Adam displays our ruin, our depravity, our sin, and our need of grace. He was also a type of our Savior in his federal headship (Romans 5:12–19). Adam was "the figure of him that was to come."
Noah portrays our redemption by Christ. As Noah built an ark to the saving of his house, so the Lord Jesus obtained eternal redemption for his house. As Noah suffered all the fury of God's wrath in the ark and was never touched by it, so all God's elect suffered all the fury of God's holy wrath in Christ to the full satisfaction of divine justice, but are never touched or harmed in any way by it.
Abraham is the eminent example in the Bible of justification by faith. Here was a man who lived by faith. Everything that he had was given to him by God,—not by any merit in him, not by any effort on his part, but by God's free and sovereign grace. God chose Abraham. God revealed himself to Abraham. God called Abraham. God gave Abraham faith in Christ. And God ordered every step of his life. Eight times Abraham's faith was dramatically tried. When God tries your faith, read the life of Abraham. You will find your own experiences in his. Abraham shows us what it is to live by faith, what it is to live in this world as the friend of God.
Isaac exemplifies sonship, our relationship to our God as his own dear children. If there ever was a boy that was spoiled, pampered, and petted by his father, it was Isaac. He was Abraham's son, pre-eminently so. Abraham did everything for Isaac. He sacrificed everything for Isaac. In the glimpses this book gives us of Isaac we see what it means to be the darling of our heavenly Father's heart. What a blessed message this is! Our great God looks upon us as the darlings of his heart (1 John 3:1–2).
Jacob shows us how God's sanctifying grace keeps us and causes us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, even as we live in this body of flesh. Jacob was a scoundrel, a schemer, a man who thought he could live on his own, by his own wits, and get anything he desired by his own efforts. He deceived almost everyone who had any dealings with him; but he ended up being deceived. (But Jacob was in the grip of grace!) What a picture he is of the indestructibility of God purpose and grace!
He clearly shows us that sanctification is altogether the work of God. Anyone who is made holy in justification is made holy because the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. And any who are made holy in sanctification are made holy because the righteousness of Christ is imparted to him in divine regeneration. We, in our folly, try to live by our own wits and steal God's blessing by the efforts of our flesh. But God uses the very things which ought to forever bar us from his grace to corner us, hedge us about, and drive us into utter desperation and hopelessness, as he did Jacob. At last, as the angel of the Lord wrestled with Jacob until he conquered him, the Lord God graciously forces the chosen object of his love to surrender to Christ as Lord, and forces us to surrender willingly! Then, when we give up, when we surrender our lives to the dominion of King Jesus, we begin to live. That is what Jacob did when he gave up at Peniel (Genesis 32:22–32). There God broke him. And as a broken man, limping the rest of his life, he became Israel, prince of God. Blessed conquest! Oh, how I thank God for the unbreakable grip of his grace (Malachi 3:6).
Joseph represents our ultimate glorification. Without question, Joseph is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the closing chapters of Genesis. But he is also typical of every believer. This man, beloved of his father and mistreated by his brethren, living through constant conflicts, trials and heartaches, opposed on every hand, was suddenly lifted from the darkness of a prison house into the glory of Pharaoh's throne to reign and rule as the second person in the kingdom. So it shall be with us! When we are at last in the place our God has prepared for us, we will look upon all Hell and say exactly what Joseph said to his brethren. "I am in the place of God. But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
This is the message of the Book of Genesis.—Man without Christ is utterly sinful, helpless, inadequate, useless and vain. But, blessed be God, there is in Christ our God and Savior an infinite, superlative adequacy of mercy, love and grace for our immortal souls!
EXODUS
Divine Deliverance
Someone once said, "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed." The Old Testament comes alive to us when we see the types and pictures of the Old explained in the New. I used to love to hear Bro. Ferrell Griswold preach from the Old Testament, because he made those types and pictures seem to dance with life before my mind, as few men could, as he expounded their meaning in the light of the New Testament. It was almost as if he had taken a video tape, put it into a VCR and pushed the play button. When he did, the picture seemed to jump with life. The facts and laws, ceremonies and rituals of the Mosaic economy became vibrant, bursting with life. That is exactly what I want to do, as we look at the Book of Exodus. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will cause the things set before us in this second Book of the Bible to become vibrant with life in your mind.
Exodus means "going out." This Book is called "Exodus" because it reveals God's great work of grace in bringing his covenant people out of Egyptian bondage. It covers a time frame of about 140 years, from the death of Joseph to the erection of the tabernacle.
The Message
The whole Book of Exodus is a message of divine deliverance. As such, it portrays the great work of our God in redeeming us from the bondage of sin and death and bringing us into what Paul calls, "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21). Even as he gave Israel his law in ten commandments, God told them that his intention in his dealings with them was that they might ever be reminded of this fact, "I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2).
The first six books of the Bible, Genesis through Joshua, display the works of God in the lives of chosen sinners. His wondrous method of grace is the same in your life and mine, as it was in the lives of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Joshua. He does not change; and his method of grace does not change.
In the Book of Genesis we see our great need of redemption and grace. The last words of the book of Genesis are very significant. "So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt" (Genesis 50:26). This is just about as needy as it gets. Joseph died. He was embalmed. And he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Exodus shows us God's answer to our need, his remedy for our ruin, his deliverance from sin and death by Christ. As such, it is a tremendous picture and conveys very instructive lessons about redemption.—What it is and how it is accomplished. Here we see pictures of what our God has done for us, is doing for us, and will yet do for us in bringing us into "the glorious liberty of the children of God." Obviously, the story is not complete in Exodus. It continues in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua.
But the thing I want you to see is this—These first Books of the Bible were written by divine inspiration to show us how that God works in providence and grace, overruling evil for good, to teach us the gospel (Acts 10:43; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). The whole Book of Exodus revolves around six principle things. It focuses our minds on six great events.—The Birth of Moses—The Passover—The Crossing of the Red Sea—The Giving of the Law—The Making of the Tabernacle—The End of Moses' Work.
The Birth of Moses
The book of Exodus begins with Israel in bondage in the land of Egypt. They had been in bondage for four hundred years. But the time of deliverance had come, and God raised up a deliverer.
The Lord God told Abraham that he would send Israel into a stranger's land, where they would be afflicted for four hundred years. Then, he promised to deliver his people (Genesis 15:13–14). Now, the time of deliverance was at hand. So the Book of Exodus begins with the birth of Moses.
Moses was a type of Christ. Without question, the name "Moses" represents the law of God and is used, at times, as a synonym for the law (Acts 6:11; 15:21; 21:21; 2 Corinthians 3:15). But Moses was also a type of Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15–18; John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37).
As it was with the incarnation, birth, and life of our great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the hand of God was remarkably and undeniably manifest throughout the life of Moses. Like the Lord Jesus, that Deliverer whom he typified, Moses appeared "in the fullness of time." When the "due time" arrived, the deliverer arrived. His birth was at a time of great darkness and great need. When he was born Pharaoh sought to kill him. But Moses was miraculously preserved until the time of his appearing as God's deliverer.
God often uses Satan's devices to accomplish his purposes. We have seen this before and will see it again many times as we go through the Books of the Bible. As I read the Scriptures, I can't help thinking that our Lord must have a sense of humor. I can hardly refrain from laughter, as I read about him turning the tables on his enemies and overruling the evil ploys of men and devils to accomplish his great purpose of grace, the very thing they try to prevent. We see the ways of our God revealed in Psalm 76:10 displayed in the life of Moses and in the life of our Redeemer.
Though Pharaoh ordered the midwives to murder all the baby boys born among the children of Israel, Moses was not only saved, but Pharaoh hired his own mother to nurse him and take care of him! He grew up in Pharaoh's house, as his own grandson. He was trained in all the learning of the Egyptians and given the best education in the world at that time. As Pharaoh's adopted son he had every privilege and every advantage of the world.
When he became a man God revealed himself to him and showed him that he was chosen and ordained to be the deliverer of Israel. So he went out, trying to do his job, he thought, and ended up an Egyptian and fleeing into the wilderness. He left the land of Egypt and tended sheep for forty years in the wilderness.
Then he was called, sent, and equipped of God to deliver Israel. The Lord God appeared to him in the burning bush and sent him back to Egypt to deliver Israel at the time appointed (ch. 3). But Moses was totally unfit for the task before him; and he knew it. He couldn't deliver Israel; but God could. Moses was only a typical redeemer (3:7–22). The Lord told him, "I am come down to deliver them" (verse 8).
Moses knew he was not able to articulate things, as he should, as God's spokesman. So the Lord assured him that he would be his tongue and that he would speak through him (4:10–12). There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is commendable humility. God never uses anyone who thinks he is fit for the job. He always uses nothings and nobodies to do his work (Isaiah 6:1–8; 66:2; 1 Corinthians 1:26–31).
But then Moses said, "Lord, can't you get someone else to do this work?" "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses" (4:14). We would be wise to lay this to heart.—A sense of inability, inadequacy, and personal unworthiness is always commendable; but any lack of willingness, or even hesitancy, in doing what is clearly God's will is abhorrent rebellion.
Moses went back to Egypt with nothing but the rod (Word) of God in his hand to deliver Israel from the most powerful king the world had ever known (2 Corinthians 10:4–5). Immediately, he ran into trouble. He came into conflict with Pharaoh. The conflict between Pharaoh and Moses, the representatives of Satan and God, was tremendous. No drama ever written by a man compares to this bit of history. As you read it you can feel the intensity of it. Though the Lord God sent plague after plague upon the Egyptians, "Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people go."
There were nine plagues in all. Each one was directed against one of the gods of Egypt. By sending these plagues God not only judged Egypt, but also, as he punished the Egyptians, showed the impotence of their idols and displayed himself as God alone, sovereign, omnipotent, majestic, and holy.
The Passover
Moses was typical and representative of Christ, our Savior. The second great event in the Book of Exodus, the Passover (ch. 11 and 12), was typical of our redemption by Christ. It is so obvious that the Passover represented our redemption by Christ that everyone who even claims to believe the Bible is the Word of God acknowledges it. Few understand what is taught by this great picture of redemption; but all acknowledge that it is a picture of redemption. Let me just call your attention to the highlights.
The Passover, like our redemption by Christ, was an act of God's free, sovereign, covenant mercy alone. It was God who put a difference between Israel and Egypt (11:7).—That shows us God's distinguishing grace (1 Corinthians 4:7). The message was spoken in the ears of God's chosen (11:1).—The call of God the Holy Spirit is a particular, distinguishing call (Romans 8:29–30). God promised an effectual, glorious work by which all (Egyptians and Israelites) would know that he is God.—The Egyptians thrust Israel out of the land, and they went out with a high hand, spoiling the land of Egypt, taking all the good of the land. Israel was under the special protection of divine providence.—God promised, "Against the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast" (11:7). The Lord God raised up Pharaoh and hardened his heart. He specifically says, "that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt" (11:9; Romans 9:15–18).—Satan is God's servant, not his rival! When God gets done with him, he will dump his carcass in the sea of his fury, just as he did Pharaoh's, and all shall know that he alone is God.
The Passover, like our redemption, was a display of how God saves sinners by blood atonement. It was accomplished at God's appointed time (12:2). It was for Israel the beginning of months (2 Corinthians 5:17). The paschal lamb portrayed Christ our Passover who is sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). The blood sprinkled upon the door speaks of the effectual call of grace in which the Spirit of God applies Christ's atoning blood to the conscience, creating faith in the redeemed sinner (Hebrews 9:12–14). Particular, effectual redemption is displayed in the fact that all for whom a lamb was slain went out of Egypt (12:37). And, as Israel spoiled the Egyptians (12:36), we shall have the spoils of victory in resurrection glory, inheriting the earth.
The Crossing of the Red Sea
But the story does not end there. Beginning in chapter 13, we see the third great event in Exodus—The Crossing of the Red Sea. Really, the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea are two parts of the same thing. They cannot be separated. Israel could never have crossed the Red Sea had the Passover not been kept. And the keeping of the Passover would have been a meaningless, useless thing had Israel not crossed the sea.
The crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of our conversion by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit in effectual calling. This is so closely connected with the sacrifice of Christ as our sin-atoning Substitute that the two cannot be separated. Christ's death effectually secured our conversion. And without the conversion of God's elect, Christ's death would have been a useless, futile, vain, and meaningless thing. Now, watch the type. May God make it dance with life.
The Lord went before them (13:21). He led them through the way of the wilderness (13:18). Israel was brought into terror and fear; but their fear only stirred the rebellion that was in them (14:10–11). Legal conviction is not saving. It takes Holy Spirit conviction to save (John 16:8–11). Yet, it seems to be the common experience of God's elect that a time of legal conviction (the terror of eternal death) precedes the blessed joy of faith.
When Israel was utterly terrified, Moses said, "Fear you not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord!" (14:13).—"The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace!" (14:14). That is exactly the place to which God brings his own. He graciously forces us to cease from our own efforts and works to save ourselves, and makes us look to Christ alone for salvation.
Israel crossed the sea by the rod of Moses. That rod represented the whole Word of God, mercy and truth, justice and grace, holiness and love. "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged." The law of God, being satisfied by the blood and righteousness of Christ, opens the way before us to everlasting salvation, and the grace of God carries us through. Then, standing upon the shores of blessed deliverance looking back upon their slain enemies, they believed, worshiped, gave praise to God, and started on their journey (14:31–16:1).
Baptism
The Scriptures (1 Corinthians 10:1–2) tell us plainly that the passage of Israel through the Red Sea was a baptism unto Moses. It signified the same thing as believer's baptism does today. It showed the distinction God put between Israel and Egypt. So does believer's baptism. It was an act of obedience to God's command. Both Israel's baptism unto Moses and the believer's baptism with reference to the finished work of Christ are acts of obedience performed to the command of God with reference to the promise of God (Exodus 14:13–16; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16). As Israel followed Moses through the Red Sea, so believers follow Christ through the waters of baptism, symbolically declaring salvation to be the work of God alone by Christ's fulfilling all righteousness as our Representative and Substitute.
Marah
No sooner had they crossed the Red Sea than they came to the bitter waters of Marah (15:23–26). So it is with us. From its very inception, the life of faith is a life of trial. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." The Lord showed Moses "a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet." Then he revealed himself in a singular way, declaring, "I am the LORD that heals you." Let us ever be assured that whatever trials of bitterness we must endure, as we go through this wilderness of woe, the trials and bitter experiences are but the means by which our God intends to reveal himself more fully. And those trial and bitter waters are made sweet to our souls because they flow to us as blessings of grace from the thrown of our heavenly Father, through the blood of our crucified Mediator who died upon the cursed tree for us. The cross sweetens everything. Oh, how it sweetens life's experiences! As Pastor Scott Richardson often says, "There's no bad news once you get the good news."
Manna
As they made their journey through the wilderness, the Lord graciously fed the children of Israel with heavenly manna every day (ch. 16), and refreshed their bodies with water flowing from the smitten rock that followed them (ch. 17). Without question, these things were miraculous provisions for their physical sustenance. But they were much more than that. The manna that fell from Heaven and the water that flowed from the smitten rock were pictures of God's provision for our souls, for time and eternity in Christ, our crucified Savior (John 6:48–58; 1 Corinthians 10:1–11).
Amalek
Perhaps the most difficult experience of God's people in this world after being converted is the constant, ever-increasing warfare between the flesh and the spirit. We see this portrayed in chapter seventeen as well. Amalek comes and fights with Israel; but God declares unending war with Amalek (Exodus 17:10) The fact is, the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, so that we can never do the things we would. We can never walk with our God and serve him perfectly, without sin, while we live in this world. We constantly find ourselves to be wretched sinners (Romans 7:14–23; Galatians 5:17). This warfare will never end, or even abate, until we have dropped these bodies of flesh. We can never make peace with Amalek. Yet, Amalek will never cease to assail us. But, blessed be God our Savior, Amalek shall never prevail! Because Christ is our Banner, because the Lord our God fights for us, "we are more than conquerors," and all our foes shall fall before us, even our sins!
The Giving of the Law
The fourth thing that stands out in the Book of Exodus is the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19–24). In chapters 19–24, we find Israel at Mt. Sinai, where the Lord God gave Israel his law in ten commandments and taught them how he must be worshiped. The law was a detailed revelation of God's immutable, unrelenting, perfect, glorious holiness. That is why the law and the giving of the law were terrifying to Israel. Nothing is so terrifying to sinful men and women as the realization that God almighty is absolutely and unchangeably holy, that nothing can change him. He will never be talked out of anything. He can never be bought off. He will never lower his standards in any degree. The law is the absolute, irrevocable standard of God's character. It is also a declaration of the absolute sovereignty and utter solitariness of his being as God. Because he is who and what he is, the Lord our God demands perfection of all who are accepted of him.
At the very outset the law of God taught Israel and teaches us that the holy, sovereign, unalterable Lord God cannot be worshiped by fallen, sinful, sinning men and women except through a mediator he has ordained, provided, and accepted (20:18–19), upon an altar of his own making, an altar to which man contributes nothing, and can never climb by degrees (20:23–26). In other words, the law drives us away from Sinai to Calvary, away from Moses to Christ for refuge and salvation (Galatians 3:19–26).
The Erection of the Tabernacle
The fifth thing in Exodus is the erection of the tabernacle, the place of reconciliation and peace, with its altar, sacrifices, priesthood, and mercy-seat (Exodus 25–40). In chapter twenty-five the Lord began to give Moses instructions about the tabernacle and priesthood, the sacrifices and ceremonies by which the children of Israel might come to him and find acceptance with him. The whole thing speaks of Christ and the believer's acceptance with God in him (Hebrews 9:1–10:22). Here we are taught by types and pictures how that the Lord our God can be both a just God and a Savior (Isaiah 45:20). Through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ the holy Lord God, in complete justice, holiness, and truth, receives redeemed sinners in total reconciliation and declares, "There is now no condemnation," none whatever. None whatever! Every believing sinner has perfect access to the Father through the Son. And God himself, by his Holy Spirit, has taken up his tabernacle in our hearts and lives. He will never leave us, and will never let us leave him! We are forever, immutably "accepted in the beloved!"
The End of Moses' Work
The last thing we see in Exodus is the end of Moses' work. Once the tabernacle was finished and God and his people were ceremonially reconciled, Moses' had finished his work (Exodus 40:33). And once the chosen, redeemed sinner has been brought to faith in Christ, the law of God has finished its work (Romans 6:14–15; 7:1–4; 8:1; 10:4). Once God's elect are brought into the blessedness of reconciliation with him by faith in Christ, the law has nothing more to do with us. It no longer terrifies, condemns, or even frowns upon us. Rather, the law of God cries as fully as the grace of God—"JUSTIFIED!" This is beautifully portrayed in the last paragraph of Exodus (40:34–38).
"Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not until the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."
"Free from the law—O happy condition!
Jesus has bled, and there is remission!
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace has redeemed us once for all.
Now are we free—There's no condemnation!
Jesus provides a perfect salvation!
‘Come unto Me'—O hear His sweet call!
Come, and He saves us once for all.
Children of God—O glorious calling!
Surely His grace will keep us from falling!
Passing from death to life at His call,
Blessed salvation once for all!"
(Philip Bliss)
As we leave the Book of Exodus, seeking to worship, serve, and honor our God in this world, we would be wise to pray for the very same great boons of mercy and grace Moses sought from the Lord in chapter 32.
"Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight." If the Lord God will be pleased to show us his way, order our steps in his way, cause us ever to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and ever give us his grace, we shall be blessed throughout our days upon the earth and forever in heavenly glory.
"Consider that this nation is your people." Let us ever pray for the church and kingdom of God in this world. We cannot ask anything greater than that the Lord God ever consider that his people are his people.
After the Lord promised Moses' his abiding presence, Moses sought it earnestly. "And he said unto him, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." It is almost as if he felt he had neglected this before, or simply made the presumption that God's presence was his. Certainly every believer is promised the Lord's unfailing presence. But let us never presume upon it or imagine we can function without it. Rather, let us constantly seek it. If the Lord is with us, we have no need unsupplied.
Then, Moses prayed, "I beseech you, show me your glory," and the Lord God granted his request. He showed himself to be a just God and a Savior. Oh, may he be pleased ever to hold before our eyes his glory in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, that our every thought may be consumed with it, that we may in all things do all for the glory of our God.
LEVITICUS
God Demands and Gives Holiness
The Book of Exodus concludes with the setting up of the tabernacle for the worship of God. This was the place where God met with his chosen people, the place of divine worship, the place from whence the Lord God gave out his word to his people. This tabernacle, being a picture of our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, was made exactly according to the pattern God gave to Moses. The Book of Leviticus gives us the prescribed ordinances and ceremonies of divine worship.
John Gill tells us that, the Book of Leviticus was written by Moses 2514 years after the creation, about 1490 years before the coming of Christ. The various sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies here described were typical of Christ, and shadows of those good things to come by him for the everlasting salvation of our souls.
Three Historical Events
There are only three historical events mentioned in the whole Book of Leviticus. But those three historical events are very instructive. The first historical event recorded in this Book is the consecration of Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel (ch. 8–9). There is a twofold type here.
First, the Aaronic priesthood represents the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Specifically, Aaron, as the High Priest of Israel, foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest before God. He was divinely chosen, equipped, anointed, approved and accepted. Only Aaron could make atonement in the holy of holies, because he represented Christ our great High Priest who alone could and would put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 7:23–28)
Second, Aaron's sons represent the Church and Kingdom of God, as that "holy priesthood" of believers who serve God in the holy place day and night (1 Peter 2:5–9). Everything about these priests typifies and represents believing sinners in this world. These men were specifically chosen by God, portraying our election unto salvation. They were God's priests because of their relationship to Aaron. Believers are made priests unto God because of our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. They wore the garments of the priesthood. God's priests today wear the garments of their priesthood, too, the garments of salvation, the righteousness of Christ. Aaron's sons were accepted as priests because of a slain sacrifice. We are accepted because of Christ's sacrifice. They were anointed with holy anointing oil and washed with pure water. Believers are anointed with the Holy Spirit and washed in the pure water of free grace by the Word of God in the new birth. Aaron's sons were men who deliberately and voluntarily consecrated themselves to God. Believers are people who deliberately and voluntarily consecrate themselves to God. As Aaron's sons lived continually upon the sacrifice of God's altar, God's sons live continually upon Christ. As they served God and his people all the days of their lives, so God's "holy priesthood" today serves him and his people continually.
The second historic event recorded in Leviticus is the death of Nadab and Abihu by the hand of God for offering "strange fire before the LORD" (ch. 10).—Let all who would worship God understand the powerful lesson set before us in chapter 10. If we would worship God and find acceptance with him, we must come to him with that which he has provided, Christ alone, and no mixture of anything with Christ (Leviticus 10:1–3). God is sanctified (honored) only by Christ; and the only way he can be sanctified by fallen, sinful men and women is by faith in Christ.
The third historic event recorded in the Book of Leviticus is the stoning Shelomith's son for blasphemy (24:10–16). Those who blaspheme the name of God, cursing and denying him as God alone, shall be destroyed by him. Though this unnamed wretch had a Hebrew mother, his father was an Egyptian; and he preferred both the gods and the people of Egypt to the God of Glory and his people. He was stoned by the people themselves, because they judged him worthy of death. In like manner, though our hearts may break and cause us to weep as we behold lost rebels today under the wrath of God, when the Lord God executes his righteous judgment upon the damned in eternity, all shall consent and say, "Amen," to it.
All the rest of the Book is taken up with the ceremonial laws God gave to Israel by Moses concerning their sacrifices and offerings, meats and drinks, and different washings. By these things God set Israel apart as a people for himself, and distinguished them from other people and nations. All these things were shadows of those good things to come, which are ours in Christ. This Book is called Leviticus because it is primarily about the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11).
The Message
We do not have to guess about the central, dominant message of the Book of Leviticus. It is plainly stated in chapters 19 and 20. "And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy … And you shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine" (19:1–2; 20:26).
The message of Leviticus is this—God demands holiness and God gives what he demands in Christ. All the types and ceremonies, laws and sacrifices, priests and holy things spoken of in these twenty-seven chapters show us that our only way of access to God is Christ. But, blessed be his holy name, we do have access to God by Christ, because we have that holiness which God demands in him, by his obedience and blood (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:14–22).
Holiness
"And you shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine … And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy."
This is both the command of God and the promise of God to his people. God commands us to be holy. Without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). But that holiness without which we cannot see God is not something we perform. It is something God gives.
The Lord God declares to his chosen, covenant people that they shall be a holy people—not partially holy—not mostly holy—but entirely holy. This is not a recommendation, but a declaration. It is a declaration of grace made to a specific people.
The word "holy" has two distinct meanings. Both definitions of the word must be understood and applied here. To be holy is to be separate, distinct, peculiar, separated and severed from all others. And to be holy is to be pure or purified.
The Lord God here declares to his Israel, to all who stand before him as his covenant people, "You shall be separate, distinct, peculiar, separated and severed from all others, pure and purified before me." We know that this is the intent and meaning of this statement by comparing Scripture with Scripture (Exodus 19:6; Leviticus 11:44; 20:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Titus 2:11–14; 1 Peter 2:7–10).
The Lord God almighty, by the work of his sovereign, free, distinguishing grace, takes such things as us, such things as he finds in the dung heap of fallen humanity and makes them holy. God makes sinners holy by the total removal of all sin and guilt from them and the imputation of righteousness to them in free justification by the precious blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). He makes us holy in sanctification (regeneration) by imparting holiness to us (creating a new, holy nature in us) by his almighty grace (Romans 7:14–23; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:9). And we shall be made holy in resurrection glory, when our very bodies are changed into the likeness of his glorious body (Romans 8:28–30; Ephesians 5:25–26; Jude 24–25; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28; 49–58).
Without a doubt, the Scriptures teach us that God requires holiness and God gives holiness to his people; but what is this holiness? Because we are so universally inundated with false, free will, works religion from our youth up we commonly think that holiness has something to do with what we do. We tend to think of holiness in connection with austere, weird behavior. We tend to think that "holy" people are people who look and act as if they were weaned on dill pickles and daily bathed in embalming fluid.
We are that little city girl, we've all heard about, who on her first visit to the country saw a mule looking over a fence at her with his long, sad face. She had never seen a mule before, and she said, "I don't know what you are, but you must be a Christian—you look just like Grandpa."
Holiness is commonly associated with grimness, strangeness, oddness, something ugly and unappealing. And, frankly, as I have heard it described from the pulpit and read about it in the writings of men, I must acknowledge that such thoughts are justified. But that is not holiness. That is nothing but religious self-righteousness and religious delusion.
The Word of God speaks of holiness in a different way. The Bible speaks of holiness as a beautiful and delightful thing. Four times we are called to worship God in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29; 2 Chronicles 20:21; Psalm 29:2; 96:9).
Wholeness
Holiness has something to do with wholeness. Holiness means wholeness, completion, entirety, perfection of being. There are no degrees to it. Either we are whole or we are broken and unwhole, complete or incomplete, perfect or imperfect. As a general rule, when reading the Bible, if you will think wholeness every time you read the word holiness, you will get a better picture of what holiness is.
That is what the Lord is talking about in Leviticus. He says to his covenant people, "you shall be whole, because I am whole." God is complete. He is perfect. There is no blemish in his character. He exists in perfect harmony with himself. He is perfect in beauty. He is perfect wholeness. He looks upon his chosen in great, boundless grace, and says, "You too, shall be whole."
I do not deny, suggest, or imply that holiness does not involve separation, distinctness, and peculiarity. It certainly does. What I am saying is this—Wholeness is that which separates God's elect from a ruined race. Wholeness, the blessed wholeness of grace and righteousness in Christ, is our separateness, distinctness, and peculiarity.
Nothing is more desirable, nothing more beautiful, and nothing more rare than wholeness. We long to be a whole people. The whole Book of Leviticus, indeed the whole Word of God tells us how that God demands this wholeness and gives it to poor, helpless, broken, ruined sinners. He declares, "I am the LORD that heals you." And he heals us by the sacrifice of his dear Son. It is written, "with his stripes you are healed." God almighty heals the broken, ruined state and condition of his people by the five things described in this great Book of Leviticus:—(1) Sacrifice—(2) Priesthood—(3) Atonement—(4) Restoration—(5) Liberty.
Sacrifice (Leviticus 1–7)
As I have been trying to demonstrate, the purpose of Leviticus is echoed in verses such as 11:44–45, 19:2, and 20:26: "Be you holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." The word "holy" appears more often in the Book of Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. The Book of Leviticus both calls God's people to be holy, and shows us how sinners are made holy by Christ.
In chapters 1–7, God gave Moses specific instructions about the sacrifices and offerings by which his people would be allowed to approach him. In these five sacrifices, Israel was ceremonially provided with everything needed to make them whole, holy. These sacrifices represent the Lord Jesus Christ, in and by whom the Lord God gives us everything needed to make us whole, complete, holy before him (Colossians 2:9–10).
The burnt offering shows us the way to God (1:1–17). We must come to God by faith in Christ, who was consumed by the fire of God's wrath as our Substitute. Let it ever be remembered that our Lord Jesus Christ is that Burnt Offering who, being consumed by the fire of God's wrath, consumed the fire of God's wrath for his people. Because his fury was poured out like fire upon our Substitute (Na. 1:6), he declares, "Fury is not in me" (Isaiah 27:4).
The meat offering portrays the character of Christ, the God-man (2:1–16). He who is our Substitute is most holy unto the Lord. It also speaks of our consecration to God by faith in Christ.
The peace offering speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Peace (3:1–17). Christ alone can reconcile God and man. Christ alone can speak peace to the guilty conscience. Christ alone is our Peace.
The sin offering, of course, represents Christ our Substitute (4:1–35). Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. There is no forgiveness with God except by the merits of a suitable, slain sin offering; and that Sin Offering is Christ.
The trespass offering sets before us a picture of Christ's atonement (5:1–6:7). Our Lord Jesus Christ made atonement for the sins of his people by paying our debt to the full satisfaction of divine justice.
I hear the Savior say,
"Your strength indeed is small.
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me your all in all."
Jesus paid it all! All the debt I owed!
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow!
Priesthood (Leviticus 8–10)
Here is our unwholeness, our brokenness. Sin has separated us from God. We cannot (in and of ourselves) come to him, approach him, and find acceptance with him. How, then, can we come to God and find acceptance with him? We must have a priest, a mediator, a daysman, an advocate. This God has provided in Christ.
None but God's Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ can represent us before the holy Lord God, make sacrifice for us in the presence of God, and bring to us the blessing of God. But our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ is so great, so meritorious, so effectual, so worthy that he makes us priests unto God! Yes, it is true …
"Near, so very near to God, nearer I cannot be,
For in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He!"
Christ is our unfailing, all-prevailing Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1–2).
Atonement (Leviticus 11–16)
The Lord Jesus is our great High Priest; but a priest is useless without a sacrifice. Christ is both our Priest and our sin-atoning Sacrifice, the Lamb of God who has taken away our sins! He has, by his one great sacrifice for sin, forever put away all the sins of all his people (Isaiah 53:6, 9–11; Hebrews 9:26; 1 John 3:5).
Restoration (Leviticus 17–24)
Leviticus 17–24 shows us typically that which is the result of Christ's sin-atoning sacrifice as our Substitute. Because Christ has made atonement for us and put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself, God almighty sends his Spirit in omnipotent, saving grace and restores us to himself, reconciles us, and brings us into fellowship with him as the sons of God, causing us to walk with him in the obedience of faith, worshiping him. He says, "I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people" (20:24). In other words, he says to you and me, as we come to him through the sacrifice of Christ, "I am yours and you are mine!" Even now, he owns us as his! He declares, "And you shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine" (Leviticus 20:26). The only thing left is that liberty for which Paul longed, when he cried, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
Liberty (Leviticus 25–27)
Leviticus 25 opens with the blowing of the jubilee trumpet. I can hardly wait. Soon, Christ shall come again. Then liberty, the glorious liberty of the sons of God! Then, blessed be his name, then we shall be made whole!
Someone told a story many years ago that illustrates what I am trying to communicate. Some poor children put on a little skit at a Rescue mission in Chicago, Illinois. A small boy, six or seven years old, was to give a short recitation. It was obvious, as he walked out on the stage, that he was shy and nervous. He had never done such a thing before. And he had a severe physical deformity, a humpback that embarrassed him and, naturally, made him even more sensitive than other boys his age would be in the same situation.
Two older boys, sitting in the back of the room, laughed out loud as he walked across the stage. One of them yelled out, "Hey, buddy, where are you going with that pack on your back?" The little boy was devastated. He just stood before the crowd horribly embarrassed, crying, and helpless.
Then a man got up from his seat, walked up to the stage, knelt down beside the little boy, and put his arm around him. He said to the audience, "This is my son. He has a deformity he can do nothing about. But he was trying to do this little part because his mother and I wanted him to do it. We thought it would be good for him; and he was trying to please us. He wanted to make us proud of him. Well, I want everyone to know, (I especially want him to know) that this is my son. He belongs to me. I love him just the way he is. I'm proud of him and proud of his effort to please me." Then, he led the boy off the stage and took him home.
That is what our heavenly Fathers says to us. He sees our hurt, our embarrassment, our heartache, our brokenness over our horrid deformity (sin), and our longing to be whole; and he says, "You are mine." But that is not all. Because our God declares, "You shall be healed, made whole. You shall be holy. I will see to it. All your blemishes shall be removed. All your deformities shall be corrected. All your faults shall be fixed. You shall be whole, for I am whole." That is what the Book of Leviticus is about. That is what the Bible is about (Jude 24–25). That is what God's amazing grace in Christ does. It makes sinners whole!
NUMBERS
Our Failure and God's Faithfulness
If you read the Old Testament as nothing more than a history of ancient events concerning people who lived a long, long time ago, it is just about as boring as a textbook on mathematics. If you read it as nothing more than a book of hidden prophetic mysteries, it may be more interesting, but it is still a book with no meaning to you personally. However, if you read the Old Testament as a picture of what is happening in your own life experience of redemption and grace, it becomes lively and fascinating. If you see in the Old Testament pictures of Christ and his great work of redemption, pictures of his love for and grace to your soul, it becomes precious beyond description.
So, when we read about and study the history of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, we must constantly remind ourselves that the Lord our God is not here giving us the history of a quaint little nation in a remote part of the world. God's interest in and purpose for the nation of Israel was singular. He raised up and used that nation as a vehicle for the accomplishment of his purpose of grace and redemption in Christ, no more and no less.
The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and the Book of Joshua symbolically display every believer's experience of grace and salvation in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. In these first six Books of Inspiration we see how that the Lord our God brings us from the bondage and curse of sin and death sin into "the glorious liberty of the sons of God." The whole Old Testament was written so that we might see in vivid types and shadows and pictures what the New Testament declares to be true. All those things that happened to Israel in the Old Testament came to pass and were written down in the Book of God for our comfort and edification. This is precisely what the Holy Spirit tells us in Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11.
• Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, shows us our great need of redemption and grace.
• Exodus, the Book of Deliverance, displays our experience of grace in redemption.
• Leviticus, the Book of the Priesthood, typifies our atonement by Christ, which is the basis and effectual cause of deliverance.
• Numbers, the Book of Numbering, displays our (the believer's) weakness, unbelief, and failure in this world.
• Deuteronomy, the Book of the Law, shows us God's immutability and his faithfulness to his covenant people in the second giving of his law.
• Joshua, the Book of Deliverance, displays our entrance into and everlasting possession of all the blessings of grace and glory in eternal, resurrection glory with and by our Lord Jesus Christ.
The fourth Book of Moses is called "Numbers" because it opens with the numbering of the children of Israel (1:1–4:49), and concludes with the numbering of the people again (26:1–65). Both numberings were done, not as acts of pride and presumption (2 Samuel 24), but by the express command of God.
If you read through the first five Books of the Bible at one sitting, it appears that Leviticus might be out of sync with the others, because it interrupts the historic narrative. That is because the Book of Leviticus is a parenthetical explanation of God's work with his people. Genesis shows us our great need of redemption and grace. Exodus displays our experience of salvation in time. Leviticus shows us, in type and picture, that God deals with us in grace upon the basis of Christ's finished work of atonement as our Substitute. Then, the Book of Numbers picks up the historic narrative, a narrative portraying our struggles as believers in this world with the world, the flesh, and the devil, assuring us that God still continues to deal with his covenant people in grace upon the basis of Christ's finished work, not upon the basis of our experience.
The Book of Numbers covers most of the period of Israel's forty years in the wilderness and the events connected with their wilderness journey. It begins with the numbering of the children of Israel. It describes the divine order by which the camp of Israel was arranged and the order of their movement from one place to another, as they marched through the wilderness toward Canaan for forty years, until all the adults (those twenty years old and upward) who came out of Egypt died. (Someone suggested that Israel's wilderness journey was the longest funeral procession in history.)
Those forty years in the wilderness were the result of the nation's unbelief, specifically their refusal to believe the report of Joshua and Caleb after the twelve spies had spied out the land of Canaan. Because they chose to follow the lead of the unbelieving spies, God judged the nation, and that generation entered not into the land of promise, but died in the wilderness because of unbelief. The only adults who left Egypt and entered the land of Canaan were Joshua and Caleb. Once the old generation was dead, God commanded that the new generation, that generation to be led by Joshua into the land of promise, be numbered. So, we have the second numbering of Israel at the close of the Book.
Our Unbelief
Now, let's see what the message of this Book of Numbers is. I don't mean, let's see what we can use in Numbers to teach the Gospel of Christ. I mean, let's see what the message of the Book of Numbers is. How does God the Holy Spirit here teach us the Gospel?
In these thirty-five chapters we are confronted with that which may be the most difficult thing for us to learn as God's people in this world. We are confronted head-on with that which causes us more trouble than anything else in this life—our own unbelief! It is ever the tendency of our fallen nature to lean unto our own understanding, if not our own to someone else's. The Book of Numbers teaches us that we must believe our God, that we must trust and follow Christ in all things (Proverbs 3:5–6), not human reason, our own or someone else's!
This is where I struggle most. I suspect it is the same with you. How we dishonor our God by unbelief! We all foolishly imagine that what we want to do and the way we want to do it is the right way. Oh, we say, "The Lord knows best." But rarely to we act like he does. Like these ancient Jews, you and I must learn that God really does know best. He knows what he is doing when he acts. He knows what he is talking about when he speaks. What he tells us is the truth. All that he says, all that he does, and all that he requires of us, is always for our good and his glory.
How I wish I could learn to live as a man who really believes that! God's way is always right. Our way is always wrong. With regard to all things, Solomon's word is true, no matter what friends, family, the world, and our own proud flesh may think to the contrary. "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). The book of Numbers is a picture of that experience in the believer.
Here we have a picture of a people It is a picture of people who have come out of Egypt and have crossed the Red Sea believing God. They have seen Pharaoh and his armies drowned in the sea. They are going to the land of Canaan, believing God's promise to give them the land for their inheritance as his covenant people. But they have not yet reached the land. They are pressing toward the mark; but they have not yet attained the prize. They had the faith to follow God out of the bondage and slavery and darkness; but they have not yet come into the fullness of liberty and rest in Christ.
How much like them we are! We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We trust him for the forgiveness of our sins. We have seen Satan cast out and our sins drowned beneath the blood of Christ. We are moving toward heavenly glory. But we have great trouble trusting our Savior to provide for, protect, and guide us in our daily lives and through our daily struggles.
Our Faithful God
But, blessed be his name, our God is faithful still! His faithfulness, his mercy, his grace, his provision is never altered by our experience. He deals with us upon the basis of his covenant and the accomplished redemption of our souls by the sacrifice of his dear Son (Timothy 2:13, 19: Psalm 103:8–14; Isaiah 43:1–7). Let every ransomed soul proclaim with Jeremiah, "Great is your faithfulness!"
We see this fact of God's faithfulness, faithfulness in spite of our horrid unbelief, when we get to the latter part of the Book of Numbers (chapters 21–35). Here we see Israel triumphing over their enemies by the hand of God. Their many enemies surround them. The outward forces of Kings Arad, Sihon, and Og, the King of Bashan, and the attempts of Balaam, the false prophet to try to undermine the purpose of God, all resulted only in greater blessedness of Israel.
The Book of Numbers tells us, in the clearest terms God himself can find, that though we are disobedient, though we are rebellious, though we are so full of unbelief and sin, though we live, it seems, in utter barrenness and emptiness of soul year after year after year in this waste and howling wilderness, our great God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Even in the midst of our weakness, he is our Strength. Even when we fall, he protects us, lifts us up, and holds us in the hands of his omnipotent mercy and immutable grace!
Pictures of Christ
There are four distinct and direct pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ in this Book. Aaron's rod that budded (17:1–13) was a picture of life out of death by which God identified Aaron as his servant. As Aaron was, by the budding of his rod, publicly declared to be God's servant and priest, the Lord Jesus Christ was publicly owned as and declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3–4).
The water that flowed from the smitten rock (20:1–13 and 1 Corinthians 10:4) was a vivid picture of Christ and our salvation by him. As the rock brought forth water, only after it was smitten by Moses, so the Son of God yields the water of life to chosen sinners only by being smitten to death, to the full satisfaction of divine justice, by the rod of God's holy law.
The brazen serpent (21:1–9) was another clear type and picture of our great Savior (John 3:14–16). Because the children of Israel murmured against him, in judgment the Lord God sent fiery serpents upon them. The poisonous venom from those fiery serpents killed many. When Moses prayed for the people the Lord commanded him to make a serpent of brass and lift it up upon a pole, promising, "everyone that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live … And it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
Gospel preachers are like the pole to which Moses fastened the brazen serpent. Our only function is to hold up Christ crucified before sinners. The gospel we preach is Jesus Christ. We do not merely preach a Christ centered gospel. Christ is the gospel we preach. There is a huge difference.
Pastor Roger Ellsworth, in his excellent book, The Guide, suggests that the brazen serpent (God's remedy for Israel's ruin) typified the Lord Jesus in six ways. He wrote …
1. The remedy was not Moses' idea but God's. Salvation from sin is not produced by men, but only by God.
2. The remedy consisted of Moses making a serpent in the form of the poisonous serpents. The Lord Jesus Christ was made in the form of sinful men (Philippians 2:8).
3. As the serpent of brass had no venom, so Christ had no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).
4. As the serpent of brass was lifted up on a pole, so Christ was lifted up on the cross (John 3:14).
5. All that was necessary for the people to be healed was to look at the brass serpent, and all that is necessary for healing of sin is to look at Christ.
6. As there was only one remedy for the people of Israel, the serpent on the pole, so there is only one way of eternal salvation, Jesus Christ.
Many other important points of similarity between Christ and the brazen serpent have been made by others. (John Gill, in his commentaries on Numbers and John, gave many excellent comparisons.) There is one other comparison that must be added. It is very important, but often overlooked.—All who looked upon the brazen serpent were immediately healed of their plague, and every sinner who looks to Christ by faith is immediately made whole.
The cities of refuge (35:9–34) were also typical of our Lord Jesus Christ, the refuge of our souls, the refuge of salvation. Believers are men and women who have fled for refuge unto him, like the man-slayer in the Old Testament fled for refuge to one of the cities of refuge. Even the names of the cities were typically significant and instructive (Exodus 21:13; Numbers 35:6, 11, 14; Deuteronomy 21:2, 9; Jos. 20:1–9).—Kedesh means, "holy." Christ is holy, both as God and man, and is our holiness before God, that "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord."—Shechem means, "the shoulder." Christ not only bore our sins in his own body on the tree, he bears and carries their persons; and the government of his church and kingdom is on his shoulders. There, on his omnipotent shoulders, we are safe and secure.—Hebron means, "fellowship." Believers have fellowship with Christ and with the Father in him; and in him we have fellowship with one another.—Bezer means, "a fortified place." Christ is our stronghold, our high tower, and our place of defense. To him we run; and in him we are safe.—Ramoth means, "exaltations." Our Lord Jesus Christ is exalted at God's right hand, and in due time he will exalt those that trust in him.—Golan means "manifested." Christ is God "manifest in the flesh." The Son of God was manifest to take away our sins and destroy the works of the devil; and he will be gloriously manifest and revealed at the last day.
In addition to these types, our Lord Jesus Christ is clearly spoken of prophetically by the false prophet Balaam (24:17–19—Compare John 11:47–52). So great is our God that he uses both Balaam's donkey and false prophets like Balaam (men far beneath Balaam's donkey) to deliver his message when he is pleased to do so. Christ is that Star coming out of Judah and that Scepter (Law Giver) out of Israel. His birth was announced by a star put in the sky by God's hand (Matthew 2:2). He is called "the Bright and Morning Star" (Rev. 22:16). And he is the Deliverer (the Scepter) who comes out of Zion for the salvation of his people (Romans 11:26).
The Lessons
Now, let me show you some of the lessons the Spirit of God would have us learn from this Book. First, There is nothing so dishonoring to our God and so harmful to us in this world as unbelief. We see this clearly in the major theme of the Book of Numbers. God sent Israel in to spy out the land of Canaan, but they believed not God (chapters 13 and 14). Therefore, the Lord God sent upon them forty years of judgment, forty years (one year for every day the spies were in the land of Canaan) of wandering from place to place in the wilderness.
I have emphasized the fact that God's favor is never determined by our experience. Divine favor is altogether gracious, free, and unconditional. Yet, as God judged Israel for their unbelief, he chastens us for ours, to teach us to believe him. That is a great blessing. Still, the Word of God is crystal clear. We rob ourselves of much blessedness in this world by our unbelief (Isaiah 48:17–19; John 11:40; Matthew 23:37–38).
Second, God almighty demands that those who speak for him be heard and obeyed (11:1–17:13). The lessons of God's judgment upon the sons of Korah need to be learned. God's ambassadors are God's ambassadors. Hear them, and you hear God. Refuse and disobey them, and you refuse and disobey God.
Third, multitudes, like the sons of Korah and the mixed multitude in Israel, have a barren familiarity with the things of God. J. C. Ryle wrote, "Nothing so hardens the hearts of men as a barren familiarity with the things of God." A barren familiarity with Christ and his gospel is damning to the souls of men, and will ultimately bring God's most severe wrath in Hell.
Fourth, the most deadly thing in this world is the error of Balaam (Jude 11, 14). What was Balaam's error? He served God (or pretended to) for hire (Numbers 22:7). He was a man motivated by covetousness. Being such a man, Balaam taught Israel to mix the worship of God with the worship of idols (Numbers 25:1–3). He did not teach them to abandon the worship of God, or even to alter it. He simply taught them that the way to get along with the heathen, among whom they sojourned, was to compromise with them, accepting their gods as God. That is idolatry of the worst kind.
Fifth, there is but one remedy for human sin, but one way of salvation and eternal life. The only way Israel could be saved from the fiery serpents was by looking to that brazen serpent Moses lifted up before them. And the only way you and I can be saved is by looking to Christ, our crucified Savior (John 12:32; 14:6; Isaiah 45:20–22).
DEUTERONOMY
Moses Brings Israel to Joshua
We come now to the Book of Deuteronomy, the last of The Five Books of Moses. The name "Deuteronomy" means "second law." This Book is called "Deuteronomy" because in this Book Moses gives Israel God's law a second time.This is the thing I want you to see. Once Moses brought Israel to Joshua, once he put Israel into Joshua's hands, he died, and Joshua brought Israel into possession of their divinely ordained inheritance in the land of Canaan.—Even so, the law is our schoolmaster unto Christ. Once the law has served that purpose, once we have come to Christ by faith, we are dead to the law and the law is dead to us, because "Christ is the end of the law."
Many who like to cast doubt upon the Word of God question, and others openly deny, that Moses wrote these first Books of the Bible. I will not honor their blasphemy with comment. There is no question that this Book was written by Moses. Not only did Moses claim that he wrote it (De 1:1; 31:4, 9, 24), the Lord Jesus tells us plainly that Moses was the man used by God the Holy Spirit to write these thirty-four chapters of Inspiration (Matthew 19:7–9; John 5:45–47). The last eight verses, those describing Moses' death and his remarkable character, were obviously written by someone else. We are not told who wrote them (perhaps Joshua or Samuel); but whoever it was, he, too, wrote by divine inspiration.
This is Moses' last word to the people of Israel. This faithful prophet of God here delivers the last word from God he would ever speak on the earth. Unlike most, this prophet knew this was his last message. We should not be surprised, therefore, to see in the Book of Deuteronomy a much more personal and intimate, even more passionate language than we have seen in his earlier writings.
This Book was written during the very last month of Israel's fortieth year in the wilderness. It begins with a word about Moses (Deuteronomy 1:1–5) and ends with the description of his death (Deuteronomy 34:1–10). Moses is very prominent throughout the Book. We find his name mentioned repeatedly in these chapters. But Moses is not the subject of the Book. The subject is Christ. Moses is only the messenger.
Let me remind you again that what we have before us in these first five Books of the Bible are divinely inspired visual aids that illustrate the experiences of our own lives. As God led Israel out of Egypt through the wilderness into the land of Canaan, they endured the same problems, met the same obstacles, faced the same enemies, and had the same trials, temptations, and failures you and I encounter in our pilgrimage through this world.
The Key
The key to this book is in its name. As we have seen "Deuteronomy" means "the second law." The law was first given at Mt. Sinai in ten commandments (Exodus 20). Why was it needful for the Holy Spirit to give the law twice? What necessity was there for this second law, or second giving of the law?
The apostle Paul tells us plainly in the Book of Romans and the Book of Galatians that the law of God has two functions, two very clearly defined and distinct purposes.
Most people think God gave the law to keep us from doing wrong and to make us do right. If you ask the man on the street what was the purpose of the ten commandments, or ask most any religious legalist why God gave the law, he would probably say, "It is to keep us from doing wrong," or "The law was given to teach us how to live." But that is not the reason God gave the law. It is true that the law (by its threat of punishment) restrains wicked men and women from performing much of the evil that is in them (1 Timothy 1:8–11), but God never intended, or even dreamed for a moment, that the law would keep anybody from doing wrong. "Wherefore then serves the law?"
1. The law was given to identify sin and condemn it in us personally (Romans 3:19 7:6–9). Paul said, "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet."
"Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).—The law was given to convince us of our own sinfulness and guilt. That is something of which we must be convinced by God. No one else can do it. We all have an amazing capacity for justifying ourselves and condemning one another. It is called "self-righteousness." We never think that what we are doing is wrong. It is always what the other person does that is wrong. Do you not find that to be the case? Let me illustrate.
We have a whole stack of words we use to describe the things we do, and another whole stack we use to describe what another person does.—Others have prejudices. We have convictions.—Other people are stingy. We're very thrifty.—Others try to keep up with the Joneses. We're just trying to get ahead.—He's a flatterer. I just try to be friendly.—She's so flirtatious. I try to be nice to people.—That person is so unfriendly. I don't want to intrude.
The law of God steps in and forces us to acknowledge our own guilt. Not only does the law force us to admit our own guilt …
2. The law of God is graciously designed to force us into the arms of Christ.
Once we see what we are, guilty, helpless, depraved sinners, sinners who are utterly incapable of altering their condition, we are informed that the cross of Christ meets all our needs before the holy Lord God (Romans 3:19–26).
That is what we see so clearly set forth in the Books of Exodus and Leviticus in the sacrifices of the lambs, the goats, the oxen, the calves, and the other animals. They were pictures of the sin-atoning sacrifice of Christ in the shedding his precious blood for many for the remission of sins. There is no way a sinful man and the holy Lord God can be brought together except by a justice satisfying payment being rendered to God for sin. And the only one who could make such a payment, the only one who could atone for our sins is the incarnate Son of God. Blessed be his name forever, he has done it (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). The law is our schoolmaster unto Christ (Galatians 3:19–25). Once the schoolmaster has brought us to Christ, he has no more dominion over us.
I have a very good friend in North Carolina, Robert Spencer. He and I became good friends just a few years ago, after I ran into him and his wife (Lib) in an elevator. He was then President of the International Lions Club, on his way to one of their meetings. I was on my way to fulfill a preaching engagement in the same town. I had known Bob many years earlier as Mr. Spencer. He was my sixth grade school teacher. I was a young rebel, constantly in trouble. Mr. Spencer, on many occasions, with the complete authority of the State (and of my parents), inflicted pain on my posterior because it was his job to do so, to bring me to maturity. In those days I dreaded his presence and feared his wrath. Now, he is my friend. I look forward to seeing him and always enjoy his presence. Even if he thought about whipping me today, he would not dare. He no longer has any authority or the power to do so. So it is with the law. Once the sinner has come to Christ, the law has no more dominion over him (Romans 6:14–15; 7:4; 10:4).
Romans 7
In Romans 7 Paul takes up the matter of the law again. He assured us that we who are born of God are no longer under the law (Romans 6:14–15). In chapter seven he tells us that the law is dead to us and we are now dead to the law, because we died with Christ. But there is more.
Though we are sinners, not only people who do sinful things, but by nature sinners at the very core of our inmost beings, Christ has forever freed us from all possibility of curse and condemnation, has made us perfectly righteous before God and his holy law, has made us free by his Spirit to walk with him in the newness of resurrection life in the Spirit, and assures us of our absolute security and everlasting salvation by his blood and grace (Romans 8:1–4, 32–39; 5:10–11).
Still, there is more. Since Christ has totally and absolutely met every demand of God's holy law for us as our Representative and Substitute, all that he is and has as our resurrected, exalted, glorified Savior is ours by the gift of God's free grace, upon the grounds of perfect righteousness and strict justice (John 17:5, 22). Here, while we live in this world, we are waiting for, and living in anticipation of resurrection glory (Romans 8:23).
This is what the book of Deuteronomy is all about. As Moses delivered Israel into the hands of Joshua, assuring them that Joshua would carry them into and make them possess all the fullness of Canaan (all that God promised by covenant to Abraham), the law of God delivers believing sinners into the hands of Christ assuring us of everlasting salvation by him. All the blessings of grace and glory that God promised us in his covenant with Christ shall be ours forever.
Two Themes
As we read Deuteronomy we find two themes running throughout the entire Book. They are not found in Leviticus or Exodus. The first is our utter weakness and inability. Though cleansed before God through the blood of Christ and the washing of regeneration by the Word, we have absolutely no ability to do anything in ourselves to please God. There is nothing we can do in ourselves. Our most sincere, dedicated efforts to please God avail nothing.
Right along with this is a second wonderful, parallel theme. The Lord our God is ever with us. God himself, in the person of his dear Son, is the answer to the demands of his law; and he dwells with us and in us unconditionally. We no longer live in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:8–10). God himself has taken up residence in us. All that he demands of us, he himself supplies.
Go back to the Book of Deuteronomy. I want you to see these things for yourself. As the Book opens, the children of Israel are again camped on the border of Canaan. They had been here before. But they could not enter into the land of promise because of unbelief. Because of their unbelief, they spent forty years roaming about in the wilderness (Numbers 14:32–35).
A Call to Obedience (Deuteronomy 1:5–4:43)
In Deuteronomy chapters 1–4 Moses issues a call to obedience. The grace of God is not conditioned upon our obedience to him. Yet, obedience is a matter of personal responsibility. We are to obey our God in all things. And grace experienced in the heart makes obedience the inmost desire of the believing heart. God's people are obedient to him (Ephesians 2:10). His commandments are no longer grievous to us, but joyful (1 John 5:1–3). We should not fail to see three things about this call to obedience.
1. This call to obedience is issued upon the basis of God's goodness, grace, mercy and love in the experience of salvation.
Even back here in the giving of the law, obedience among believing sinners was not a legal thing. It was never God saying, "Obey me or I'll get you." Rather, the Lord God says, "Obey me because I have loved you and have been so good to you."
Before he says a word about what we are to do, Moses reminds the children of Israel of what the Lord God had done for them (1:5–3:29). He reminds them of God's wonderful, tender, fatherly care and love watching over them as he led them with a pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, and guided them through the waste, howling desert. He reminds them of how God brought water out of the rock to quench their thirst in a vast and waterless desert. He reminds them of how the Lord had delivered them from their enemies again and again, how he fed them with manna that did not fail, day by day for forty years. Imagine that. For forty years God fed more than two million people every day with manna that fell from Heaven. What marvelous evidence of his tender concern for this people. He bought them. He brought them out. And he cared for them, all because he loved them and chose them to be his own peculiar people!
In a word, Moses says the same thing Paul did later.—"The love of Christ constrains us." Like Israel of old, we are always motivated to the obedience of faith by gratitude to our God for his great mercy, love and grace revealed and experienced in election, redemption, deliverance, and providence.
2. Obedience is neither more nor less than faith in and submission to the revealed will of God in Holy Scripture, worshiping him alone as our God and Lord (4:1–14).
3. The obedience of faith involves a renunciation of all the imaginary gods of men (4:15–40).
In this passage, Moses calls for Israel, calls for us, to worship the Lord Jehovah alone as God, because he has proved himself to us to be God alone, sovereign, solitary, and great in grace.
Moses' Exposition of The Law (Deuteronomy 4:44–28:68)
Beginning in chapter 4 at verse 44 and going through chapter 28, Moses gives us the law of God again. But, in these chapters he does not simply repeat what was given at Sinai, he expounds it. He tells us its meaning. Remember, this exposition was not the same as the preaching of faithful men today, but an exposition given by divine inspiration, an infallible exposition of the law.
Here Moses deals with divorce, remarriage, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft and the like. It is essential to understand that the land of Canaan, into which these people were coming, was inhabited by pagans, morally degenerate idolaters, just like the society in which we live today. They were utterly given over to lewd and obscene practices. The Book of Deuteronomy shows us that God expects his people to live in the midst of a sex-crazed, sex-saturated society, among people who were idolaters completely committed to the most vile practices, as his people for his glory. How does he inspire us in this matter?
In Deuteronomy 6 he shows us our weakness and inability to do the very things required in the law. (Read Deuteronomy 6:20–21) "And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."
That is where we began, and that is where we are, sinners entirely dependent upon the goodness and grace of God in Christ. "And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers" (verses 22–23). He brought them out so that he might bring them into the land. These ceremonies are all symbols by which God constantly reminds us of what it takes to get us out of Egypt and into the land. That was the explanation they were to make to their sons.
Then, Moses inspires our devotion and consecration to our God and Savior by assuring us that we belong to him exclusively, not by anything we have done but by his own work of matchless, free, and sovereign grace (Deuteronomy 7:6–8; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, 19–20).
Throughout this Book Moses constantly reminded Israel that everything God had done for them, was doing for them, and would do for them was by grace alone. The same is true of us. "Salvation is of the Lord" (Romans 8:28; 11:6; Ephesians 1:3–6; 2:8–9; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 1:9–10).
"Speak not you in your heart, after that the LORD your God has cast them out from before you, saying, For my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD does drive them out from before you. Not for your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you, and that he may perform the word which the LORD swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD your God gives you not this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people" (Deuteronomy 9:4–6).
After forty years of experiencing grace and being taught of God in the wilderness he says, "As long as you live in this body of flesh, you will never get to the place where you can stand on your own. Never." Only as we know our weakness can we walk in his strength (2 Corinthians 12:2–10).
Agreement with God
At the end of this section (chapter 27 and 28) Moses commanded the children of Israel to observe a ceremony, not at an appointed time, but from time to time in the land of Canaan. It is very instructive. The children of Israel were to gather upon two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, six tribes on one and six on the other, with the Levites (the priests) standing in the valley between the two mountains, calling out blessings and cursings. When the Levites called out a blessing in the name of God, as his priests, the tribes on one mountain would shout in unison, "Amen!" When they called out a curse, the tribes on the other mountain would shout, "Amen!"
I looked to see if there was any significance to the names of these mountains, and found nothing of importance. So, I have to ask, "What is the meaning of this ceremony?" Let me show you. God requires that we be in agreement with him, in all his righteous judgments, and we shall. When a sinner is converted he is, like David, made to agree with God's justice, even against himself (Psalm 51:3–5). Believing sinners bow to God's providence and his providential judgments upon men, even their own families (1 Samuel 3:18). I do not suggest that such reconciliation is perfect, or immediate; but the Lord will cause his own to bow to his will. And in eternity all men shall acknowledge both Christ's rightful dominion as Lord (Philippians 2:8–11), and the righteousness of his dominion in the exercise of his grace and in the execution of his justice (Rev. 19:16).
God's Appointed Deliverer (29:1–31:29)
God has fixed things the way they are, leaving us in this world in this body of flesh, constantly struggling with the world, the flesh, and the devil, just as he did the children of Israel, that we might be compelled constantly to look to Christ, trusting him alone as our Savior, and, thereby, stand forever as monuments to his matchless, free, amazing grace, "that no flesh should glory in his presence." I will leave it to others to explain this mystery more fully. For my part, I am content to know that this is God's wise and good purpose (Deuteronomy 29:29).
In chapter 18 (verses 15–21) Moses spoke of Christ as that Prophet God's people would hear and obey. By the effectual teaching of Christ our Prophet we are taught of God (Titus 2:11–14). In chapter 30 (verses 5–7) he declared that God would circumcise the hearts of all his covenant people, speaking, of course, of the new birth (Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:12–15). Circumcision in the Old Testament was the sign and seal of God's covenant with his people. As such, it was a type of the new birth, the seal of the Holy Spirit by which God's elect are given assurance of our interest in the covenant of grace. This is the universal teaching of the New Testament. Circumcision had no reference at all to baptism. In the last part of chapter 30 (verses 11–20) Moses called the nation to faith in Christ, using the very language Paul used many, many years later in Romans 10:5–13. Then, in chapter 31 Moses tells the people that he must die and turns them over to Joshua, God's appointed deliverer, promising that the Lord God would, by Joshua, bring them into the land of promise and fulfill all his covenant; and he did (Jos. 21:43–45).
What a picture this is of Christ! He is God's appointed Savior for his elect. We are assured that he shall save them all (Matthew 1:21); and save them all he shall (Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:24–28). As it is written, "He shall not fail" (Isaiah 42:4). Again, the Scriptures declare, "All Israel shall be saved." Christ, "the Deliverer, shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26).
Once Moses had done this, once he put the people into Joshua's hands, he broke out into a song of praise to God (Deuteronomy 31:30–32:43) that is still being sung by the redeemed in Heaven (Rev. 15:3), and blessed the people (Deuteronomy 32:44–33:29). In precisely the same way, the holy law of God, beholding us in Christ (our Joshua), pronounces upon us all the blessedness of Heaven and everlasting glory, just as fully as the grace of God.
Moses' Death (Deuteronomy 34:1–12)
Then, Moses died. When he had done everything he was sent to do, when he fulfilled all his purpose, he died and was never seen upon the earth again, until he was seen with Christ upon the Mount of Transfiguration talking about the death he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Once Joshua appeared to Israel as their deliverer, Moses' work was done. And once Christ appears in the hearts of chosen sinners as their Savior, the law's work is done. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes" (Romans 10:4).
Now saved sinners sing—"There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the Heaven in your help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before you; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy are you, O Israel: who is like unto you, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency! and your enemies shall be found liars unto you; and you shall tread upon their high places" (Deuteronomy 33:26–29).