TYPES AND ANTITYPES
The Old Testament has been called, "The Neglected Continent of the
Bible." Many know the Old Testament just for a few favorite chapters.
Others think of it only as giving a few biographical sketches. But few realize
that for every New Testament doctrine, there is a type in the Old Testa.
ment. Historical events took place as recorded in the Old Testament in
order to illustrate, typify, or symbolize New Testament truths. Note
carefully I Cor. 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for en.
samples (types): and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
ends of the world are come." The Old Testament contains the object lesson,
and the New Testament contains the explanation of that object lesson.
Prov. 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of
kings is to search out a matter." The Old Testament is God's picture book,
His object lessons, His building blocks. In the New Testament these blocks
are put together and they always spell out or point to some phase of the person or work of the Lord Jesus Christ and our relation to Him. The coats of
skin with which God covered Adam and Eve; the sacrifices of Cain and
Abel; the names of the Old Testament characters; Noah's Ark; Egypt;
Pharoah; the ten plagues; the Passover; the Red Sea; the wilderness; the
manna; the Jordan River; the land of promise, etc.-ALL OF THESE ARE
TYPES and are written for our admonition.
Our Lord reproved the disciples on the road to Emmaus as "fools and
slow of heart to believe ALL that the prophets had spoken." The prophets
spoke in type, symbol, materials, colors, animals, buildings, persons,
events, and in divers manners concerning Christ. Just think for one
minute-EVERYTHING in the Tabernacle, the shape, materials, col.
ors-all that was in the Tabernacle portrays something about Christ and
His ministry and work.
In the Book of Hebrews (5:10, 11), the Spirit of the Lord rebukes Chris.
tians very sharply for their imperfect knowledge of Melchizedek as a type of
Christ in His coming Kingdom when He shall be the Prince of Peace and
King of kings; thus beyond any shadow of doubt, it is the DUTY and
PRIVILEGE of Christians with the help of the Holy Spirit of God to search
into the types of the Scripture and come to a correct understanding of them.
In fact, the types of Scripture, especially those relating to the return, rule,
judgment, kingdom, and the part Christians may have in His kingdom, and
kindred subjects, are called by the Spirit of the Lord THE MEAT OF THE
WORD. Christians are urged to leave the milk of the Word, the elementary
things pertaining to salvation, and to go on to maturity by feeding on the
meat, that is, the types of the Word of Righteousness-the Old Testament.
Though the word type does not occur in the King James Version, it does
occur in the Greek text. In I Cor. 10:6-11 we have the word tupoi from the
word tupos from which comes our English word type. In Heb. 9:24 and I Pet.
3:21 we have the words antitupa and antitupon from which comes our word
antitype. A TYPE is a divine illustration of some truth or doctrine which is
foreshadowed. For instance, the Passover lamb, its characteristics, blood
shedding, application of the blood on the doorposts and lintel which brought
deliverance to Israel-all these are types of the Lord Jesus Christ who
brings salvation to all who will apply His shed blood through faith to their
lost and undone condition. Again, Egypt is a type of the world from which
we are delivered. The wilderness is a type of our pilgrimage from the time of
salvation until we enter the promised land. Canaan, the promised land, is a
type of the Millennial land and the reign of Christ and His saints who
qualify to reign with Him.
JOSEPH-A TYPE OF CHRIST
Not only is First Corinthians ten verse eleven Scripture for studying
Joseph as a type of Christ, but in Psalms 81:5 we read that Joseph was ordained by God as a testimony, or type, in all his Egyptian experiences, and I want to call your attention to about twenty-seven analogous and typical
relations between Joseph and Christ.
1. Joseph was the son of his father's old age (Gen. 37:3).
Jesus was the Son of God the Father's old age, that is, He was God's Son
of eternity-from eternity to eternity-no beginning and no ending (John
1:1).
2. Joseph was greatly beloved of his father, more so than all of the other
children (Gen. 37:3).
Jesus was the beloved Son of His Father (Matt. 3:17).
3. Joseph received from his father a coat of many colors (Gen. 37:3). This
coat typified three things: First, that Joseph was the son and heir of his
father (Jesus was the Son and Heir of God the Father-Heb. 1:2). Second, the
coat of many colors revealed the exalted dignity bestowed upon Joseph by
Israel his father (.Jesus was highly exalted by God the Father-Phil. 2:9-11).
Third, the many colors depicted many offices which Joseph would hold
(Jesus was the holder of many offices as signified by His many crowns,' and
He had many different names showing further the different aspects of His
person and work-Rev. 19:12).
4. Joseph had two dreams prophesying his sovereignty over his brethren
(Gen. 37:5-11).
Jesus had a prophecy concerning His sovereignty over His brethren (Luke
1:33).
5. Joseph willingly accepted the commission to go unto his brethren and
see about their welfare (Gen. 37:13).
Jesus willingly obeyed the Father by laying aside His glory and coming to
earth to see about His brethren and their welfare (Heb. 10:7).
6. Joseph sought only his brethren (Gen. 37:13).
Jesus came only to His brethren, the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Matt. 15:24).
7. Joseph's first contact with his brethren was while they were shepherds
(Gen. 37:13, 16).
Jesus' first announcement was by the angels to the shepherds in the fields
(Luke 2:15).
8. Joseph wandered around in the field when he sought his brethren (Gen.
37:15).
Jesus was a wanderer in the field (the field is the world) while seeking His
brethren, and He had no place to call His home (Luke 9:58; Matt. 13:38).
9. Joseph found his brethren in Dothan. Dothan means "bound by
custom" or "under the law" (Gen. 37:17).
Jesus found His brethren slaves to the traditions or customs of the Jews
and the ritualism and formalism of the Judaistic worship.
10. Joseph's brethren refused to receive him (Gen. 37:18, 19).
Jesus came unto His own and His own received Him not (John 1:11).
11. Joseph's brethren conspired to slay him (Gen. 37:18, 20).
Jesus' brethren took counsel against Him to put Him to death (Matt.
27:1).
12. Joseph's brethren mocked and ridiculed him (Gen. 37:18, 19).
Jesus was mocked and ridiculed by the chief priests and scribes, and
Herod's men (Luke 23:10, 11).
13. Joseph was sold by his brethren as a slave (Gen. 37:27).
Jesus was sold by one of His brethren for the price of a slave (Matt. 26:14,
15).
14. Joseph was cast into the pit by his brethren (Gen. 37:24).
Jesus was to descend into the pit also for three days and nights (Matt.
12:40).
15. Joseph was stripped of his coat (Gen. 37:23).
Jesus was stripped of His coat (Matt. 27:35).
16. Joseph was taken out of the pit alive (Gen. 37:28).
Jesus came out of the pit alive (Matt. 28:6).
17. Joseph was thought by one of his brethren, Reuben, to be dead
because he did not find him in the pit and he did not know what had happend to him (Gen. 37:29).
Jesus' brethren, the Jews, think He is dead today, not knowing what has
happened to Him.
18. Joseph's coat, dipped in blood, was presented to his father-a goat's
kid dying in Joseph's place (Gen. 37:31, 32).
Jesus' blood was presented to the Father as an atonement for the sins of
others (Heb. 9:12).
19. Joseph, rejected by his brethren, became the saviour of the world
while he was in Egypt.
Jesus, rejected by the Jews, became the Saviour of the whole world (Rom.
11:15).
20. Joseph, rejected by his brethren, sat on the right hand of the throne of
power in Egypt (Gen. 41:39-44). Jesus, rejected by the Jews, is seated on the right hand of the Throne of Power (Heb. 8:1).
21. Joseph, in his rejection, took unto himself a Gentile bride (Gen. 41:45).
Jesus, in His rejection, is taking unto Himself a Gentile bride (Acts 15:14).
22. Joseph's brethren, because of great tribulation, were forced to go to
Joseph for help (Gen. 42:1-3).
Jesus' brethren, amid great tribulation, shall call upon Him who is the
Lord (Deut. 30:1, 2).
23. Joseph's brethren did not know him, but Joseph knew them (Gen.
42:8).
Jesus knows His brethren but they do not know Him (Hos. 5:3).
24. Joseph punished his brethren before he revealed himself to them (Gen.
42:7).
Jesus will punish His brethren before He reveals Himself to them (Matt.
24:21, 30).
25. Joseph revealed himself to his brethren on the third day (Gen. 42:18).
Jesus will reveal Himself to His brethren on the third day (Hos. 6:1, 2).
26. Joseph's brethren carried the proclamation that Joseph was alive and
the ruler over all the land (Gen. 45:26).
Jesus' brethren will carry the proclamation to all the land that He is alive
and their Messiah (John 4:22; Rev. 7; Matt. 24:14).
27. Joseph was in the place of God, not only for his brethren's sake, but
for the sake of the whole world (Gen. 50:19, 20).
Jesus, as God, shall rule over all the earth (Isa. 9:6, 7).
This brief study of Joseph as a type of Christ should be a revelation to one
in his study of the Person and office work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
A PROPHET LIKE UNTO MOSES
"For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me,. him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that
every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among
you" (Acts 3:22, 23).
This Scripture is a prophecy given by Moses in Deut. 18:15, 18 and 19.
The Apostle Peter in quoting this in his second sermon makes it very clear
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Prophet to Whom Moses referred;
therefore the subject of this article may be called "Christ, a Prophet like unto Moses."
The Word of God is our authority for saying that Moses is a type of
Christ. There are analogies between the lives and ministries of these two
which are enlightening to the extent that Christ is far better understood and
appreciated after a study like this one. We propose to set down some of the
corresponding features between the two.
1. Moses was recognized by his parents as a goodly child and was greatly
beloved of his parents.Jesus grew in favor with God and man and was greatly beloved of His
Father.
2. At the time of Moses' birth all the male children of Israel were being
put to death by the head of the government, Pharaoh.
Soon after the birth of Jesus, the male children of Bethlehem were put to
death by the head of the government, Herod.
3. Moses was miraculously preserved by the power of God.
Jesus was miraculously preserved by the power of God.
4. Moses found a haven of refuge in Egypt.
Jesus found a haven of refuge in Egypt. (This came to pass that the prophecy-"out of Egypt have I called My Son" - might be fulfilled in Israel
and the Lord Jesus Christ, both of whom are called God's first-born Son.)
5. Moses grew into manhood in comparative silence.
Jesus grew into manhood in comparative silence.
6. When Moses reached his majority he had to choose between his own
will and that of doing the will of God for the people of God.
Jesus, having obtained full manhood at the age of thirty, had to choose
whether He would serve self or the Lord, and He chose to serve the Lord.
7. Moses aligned himself with the people of God when he forsook the
palace and went to the children of Israel, a slave people.
Jesus at His baptism identified Himself with a people who were slaves of
sin.
8. Moses was rejected by his own brethren at his first appearance unto
them.
Jesus was rejected by His own brethren at His first appearance.
9. Moses' life was jeopardized and he had to flee into a far country.
Christ's life was jeopardized and surrendered, but He arose from the dead
and went into a far country (His ascension into Heaven).
10. Moses, while in the far country, married a Gentile bride.
Christ, while in Heaven, is taking out of the Gentiles a people for His
name.
11. Moses' appearance to the people of Israel and their rejection of him intensified and aggravated their suffering as slaves.
Jesus' appearance unto His own and their rejection of Him intensified and
aggravated their sinful condition.
12. The plight of the children of Israel became so severe during Moses'
absence that they cried out to the Lord.
The plight of the Jews during Christ's absence will become so severe (the
Great Tribulation) that they will call upon the Lord.
13. The Lord heard the cry of Israel in Egypt and prepared to send Moses
back to deliver them.
The Lord will hear the cry of the Jews in the time of Jacob's trouble and
will prepare to send Jesus back.
NOTE: In this connection I want to call attention to a blessed and
sublime truth. Moses' wife Zipporah and Joseph's wife Asenath, both of
whom are types of the bride of Christ, do not have any part in the suffering
of the children of Israel. This reveals to us that the church, the bride of
Christ, will have no part in the suffering of the children of Israel, which is
the Great Tribulation.
14. When Moses returned to the children of Israel the second time they accepted him as their deliverer.
When Christ returns the second time, Israel as a nation will accept Him as
her Deliverer.
15. When Moses delivered the children of Israel by blood and power,
Pharaoh and his hosts were destroyed by the power of God.
When Christ shall deliver the children of Israel by blood and power, the
anti-Christ and his forces will be destroyed by the power of God.
16. The children of Israel were made a peculiar people of the Lord upon
their deliverance by Moses.
The children of Israel shall occupy a peculiar relationship to God upon
their deliverance by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This brief but pertinent analogy reveals many things pertaining to our
Lord, chief of which is the fact that He shall deliver His people Israel, and
after that, the Lord Jesus and His bride will occupy a blessed relationship to
Israel redeemed as a nation.
JONAH-A TYPE OF ISRAEL
"And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This
is an evil generation: they seek a sign,. and there shall be no sign given it, but
the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so
shall also the Son of man be to this generation" (Luke 11:29, 30).
Here we are told that Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites; likewise, shall
the Son of man be a sign to this generation. The specific reference is Matthew 12:40; however, when we begin to make a study of the Son of God and
the Son of man, we find that Israel is also called the son of God: "And thou
shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my
firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if
thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn" (Exodus
4:22, 23).
The Lord Jesus Christ was a sign to His and succeeding generations, and
Israel is a sign to each generation; therefore, both our Lord and Israel are
typified in Jonah.
A study of the book of Jonah will reveal many interesting angles of
analogy between Jonah and the nation of Israel. Here are eleven such
analogies:
1. In Jonah 1:2, God commissioned him to go to Nineveh, a great Gentile
city, and cry out against it. This was most unusual in that the Lord called
upon a Jewish prophet to go to the Gentiles and preach, when as yet the
time of the Gentiles' salvation was not at hand (cf. Eph. 2:11-13). In
Abraham, God also called Israel to go to the Gentiles and give a witness
(Gen. 12:1-3). Particularly note verse 3, where He says that ALL families of
the earth are to be blessed in him. Intimation of Israel's responsibility had
already been noted in Gen. 9:27, where we are informed that all spiritual
blessings which the Gentiles are to receive shall come to them through
Shem, the progenitor of the Jews. Also in Isa. 43:9-12, we learn of the
world-wide scope of Israel's mission.
In a nutshell, the first analogy between Jonah and Israel is this: Jonah,
commissioned to go to the Gentiles- Israel, commissioned to go to the Gentiles.
2. Jonah chose to disobey the Lord and refused to go to the Gentile city of
Nineveh. He sought to flee from the presence of the Lord and tried to get
away from the Lord's will concerning his ministry.
We find also that Israel in her own conceit refused to carry the gospel to
the Gentiles, choosing rather to gather her garments of complacent selfrighteousness around her, calling the Gentiles "dogs."
3. Jonah's disobedience caused much trouble to overtake him. As he
sought to flee from the presence of the Lord, he sought passage on board a
ship going to Tarshish, which was possibly the furthermost point to which
ships sailed in those days. Tarshish appears to be identified in Scripture as
the ancient maritime and island nation which we today call Great Britain.
The point is, he was going as far away from Nineveh as he could.
The Jews also attempted to put as much space between them and the
Gentiles as they could, and they too have become involved in great trouble.
Jonah found himself on board a ship with a mighty storm at sea endangering the ship, its cargo and crew. Note in particular that Jonah, out of the
will of the Lord, brought distress upon the Gentiles aboard ship.
The Jews out of the will of God have brought distress, not only upon
themselves but also upon the Gentiles of the world. Read Deut. 28 for a
clear picture of the prophesied trouble to come upon Israel if she disobeyed
the Lord.
4. There could be no relief for the ship, its cargo and crew with Jonah on
board.
There can be no relief for Israel out of the Lord's will, though in her land.
The only alternative for the crew and Jonah was for him to be cast overboard into the sea.
The only alternative for Israel was for God to cast her out of the land into
the sea of Gentile nations. With the scattering of Israel and the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Jews were cast into the sea of the Gentiles.
5. When Jonah was cast overboard, peace prevailed on the sea, and the
Gentile crew was saved both physically and spiritually.
In Jonah 1:16, we find that salvation came to the Gentiles. We also learn
that when Israel was cast out of her land, scattered among the Gentile nations and set aside, salvation came to the Gentiles. (See Rom. 11:15-19.) Let
us never forget that salvation to the Gentiles came through Israel's rejection by God.
6. Though Jonah was cast into the sea, he was not cast off by God; He still
had His purpose to be fulfilled in Jonah and He moved swiftly to preserve
and keep him until such time as he would do His will. God's preservation of
Jonah was miraculous in that He prepared a great fish to swallow him.
There need be no speculation concerning the identify of the fish, its dimension etc., because it was especially prepared by God for this specific purpose. How interesting it is to note that the fish did not digest, assimilate,
amalgamate or integrate Jonah. He was preserved and protected by God
while in the belly of the fish.
Now in regard to Israel: Has God cast her off because she has been cast
out into the sea of Gentile nations? (See Rom. 11:1-6.) God has a purpose for
Israel, and that is to carry the gospel to all the Gentiles on the face of the
earth. Since she has not yet done this, He is preserving her until such a time
when she will be submissive and obedient to His will - hence, the protecting care of Israel through the centuries.
The Gentiles have not been able to digest, assimilate, amalgamate or integrate the Jews. No matter what they do with them they will never integrate Israel. God is keeping her safe for the fulfilment of the purpose for
which He brought her into existence, and that is to be His witnesses to all
the Gentiles in the world. Many and futile, though tragic, have been the attempts of the Gentiles to do away with the Jewish people. For example,
Pharaoh in Egypt; Haman in the days of Mordecai and Queen Esther; Antiochus Epiphanes in the days of the Maccabees, and of more recent date,
Hitler's purge in which he destroyed approximately one-third of the Jewish
race.
But in and through all these experiences, God has preserved a remnant,
just as He preserved Jonah while in the belly of the fish.
7. Affliction brought repentance. Jonah inside the whale's belly died and
went to hell or sheol (the Hebrew word for the place of departed spirits, irrespective of their condition, whether saved or lost). Jonah's dying and
resurrection was an integral part of his being a type of Christ. It might be
well here for the reader to make a little study of hell, sheol, and hades. Read
Luke 16:19-31 where we have both Lazarus and the rich man in hell (or shool
or hades), the same place to which Jonah went.
It was because of Jonah's affliction and realization of wasted opportunities that he turned to the Lord and called upon Him.
There is a day coming called the "day of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:5-7).
In the day of her affliction, Israel will call upon God. This is set forth in
type in Ex. 3:7-12. After Moses had appeared unto the children of Israel the
first time as their deliverer and they had refused to receive him, he went
away into a distant country where he married a Gentile bride and became a
shepherd.
Just so, our Lord came the first time, was rejected by Israel, and has gone
away into a far country. He is now taking out of the Gentiles a people for
His name.
While Moses was in the desert the affliction of the children of Israel in
Egypt was so intensified that they called out to God for help. The Lord
heard their cry and sent Moses back the second time to deliver them, and
they received Him.
When the day of Jacob's trouble (also called the great tribulation) breaks
upon Israel, they will call on the Lord (Matt. 23:39), and the Lord will return
to deliver them, and they will receive Him.
As Jonah's affliction caused him to call upon the Lord, so shall Israel's
coming affliction cause her to do the same.
8. Looking toward the temple: In Jonah 2:4, he affirms his conviction that
he will yet look toward the holy temple, that is, he will be restored to his
homeland and his place of worship in the temple.
Israel in her dispersion continues to dream of the day when she too will
again look to the holy temple. That is the day when Israel will be restored,
the city and the temple be rebuilt, and Israel will once again be serving the
Lord from His holy temple.
9. Resurrection and restoration: When Jonah called upon the Lord at the
time of his affliction, God heard him and commanded the fish to put him on
the dry land (Jonah 2:10).
When Israel shall again cry out to the Lord, He will hear their cry and put
them back in the land (Jer. 30:10,11).
10. Resurrection on the third day: In Jonah 1:17, we are told that he was
in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Matt. 12:40 tells us that
Jesus was to be in the heart of the earth three days and nights.
Now as Jonah was raised on the third day and as Christ was raised on the
third day, even so shall Israel be raised on the third day: "1 will go and
return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in
their affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the
Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us,. he hath smitten, and he will bind
us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up,
and we shall live in his sight" (Hos. 5:15-6:2).
In Hos. 6:2, we read that it is on the third day that He will raise Israel up.
II Pet. 3:8 informs us that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and
a thousand years as one day; so, Israel's resurrection is to take place after
2,000 years, and during or in the third thousand-year period. How startling
when we realize that Israel has been cast off for nearly 2,000 years and that
the time of her resurrection is fast drawing nigh!
11. Jonah, placed on the land, was told the second time to go to Nineveh
and preach. He hastened to obey the Lord; and the result .was that the whole
city, from the king down to the lowest slave, as well as the animals, put on
sackcloth and ashes in repentance in turning to the Lord.
When Israel is restored, the Lord will command her the second time to go
to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel of the kingdom to every Gentile (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 7:1-8).
God preserved Jonah that he might preach to Nineveh as He had originally commanded him.
God is preserving Israel that she may yet preach the gospel to all the Gentiles.
When Jonah preached, unparalleled and supernatural results followed.
When Israel carries the gospel of the Kingdom to the Gentiles of the
world, unparalleled and supernatural results will follow. (See Rev. 7:9-17.)
Thus we see God's original purpose in Jonah fulfilled; and soon we shall
see God's original purpose in Israel fulfilled.
Herein is Jonah a type of the nation of Israel.
CAIN-A TYPE OF ISRAEL
In the following paragraphs I want to draw an analogy between Cain, the
slayer of his brother, and Israel, the slayer of her brother. Both Israel and
Jesus are called the first-born of God, making Israel's slaying of Christ
fratricide, the same crime of which Cain was guilty.
1. Cain means "acquisition," showing that much was expected of him;
and Isaiah 5:1-7 shows how much was expected of Israel. Both Cain and
Israel miserably failed.
2. Cain was the first-born with all the rights of primogeniture. Israel was
also the first-born with the same rights (Ex. 4:22).
3. Cain worshipped in self-will rather than according to the will of God.
Israel likewise refused to conform to God's will in regard to worship and
"every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (See Judges 2:20-22;
4:1; 6:1.)
4. Cain refused the sacrifice of God's substitutionary Lamb, which Abel
offered. Likewise, Israel refused the substitutionary Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world, choosing rather to offer her own good
deeds in self-will.
5. Cain in a fit of anger slew his brother who was innocent of any crime
toward Cain. Likewise, Israel slew her brother, Jesus, Who was guilty of no
sin.
6. Cain was cursed because of his sin and made a vagabond and a fugitive
upon the face of the earth. Israel was also cursed because of her great sin
against Jesus and made a vagabond and a wanderer upon the face of the
whole earth. (See Deut. 28:25.)
7. God put a mark upon Cain to distinguish him from all others and forbade anyone to kill him, under threat of vengeance (Gen. 4:15). God also put
distinguishing marks on Israel (facial characteristics, etc.) so that they
would be recognized no matter where they went. See Isa. 61:9 where the
word "acknowledge" means "to recognize." God also forbade anyone to attempt to exterminate them, under threat of dire punishment. (See Gen.
12:3.)
8. We have no record whatever of Cain's death or end upon the earth.
Neither do we have nor will we have any record of Israel's extermination or
extinction.
9. Cain's portion was to be an entirely earthly portion. Likewise, the nation of Israel in the Millennium and in eternity will have only an earthly portion. The heavenly portion of God belongs to God's heavenly people, namely, the Church, which is entirely separate and distinct from Jew and Gentile.
PAUL'S CONVERSION
A TYPE OF ISRAEL'S FUTURE NATIONAL CONVERSION
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this
cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all
long suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him
to life everlasting" (I Tim. 1:15, 16)
As Paul is discussing the purpose of Christ's first advent into the world "to
save sinners," we call attention to the fact that his conversion was for a
different purpose entirely; that is, he was not saved just to obtain mercy but
that in his salvation Christ should outline the salvation of a group who
would hereafter believe. The word pattern means an outline, type, or
preview. Since there are just two groups to be reached with the gospel -
the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and the Gentiles - we must first
ascertain to which group Paul refers as being the antitype.
The primary force in Paul's conversion was the personal, physical, visible,
and literal prese;nce of the Lord Jesus Christ who appeared to him on the
road to Damascus. We know from other Scriptures, as well as by experience
and observation, that Gentiles are not to be saved as a nation but as
individuals through faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the
other hand, such passages of Scripture as the following ones reveal the fact
that there is a day coming when the nation of Israel (those who will be alive
at that particular time) shall be saved, and a nation shall be born in a day:
'Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth
be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as
soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isa. 66:8); "And it
shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring
the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and
will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear
them: I will say, It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God"
(Zech. 13:8, 9); "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall
come of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob"
(Rom. 11:26).
So the evidence here is conclusive that the group of whom Paul speaks in I
Tim. 1:16 is Israel. Of course, we always keep in mind the fact that
individual Jews are being saved today, even as Gentiles, through a personal
response to the gospel invitation; but God has never dealt with Gentiles as a
nation - only with Israel has He so dealt. And what Paul is really saying in
this sixteenth verse is that he was saved in order that his conversion and
subsequent experiences would serve as a type for the conversion of the
nation of Israel. In I Cor. 15:8, Paul speaks of himself as one born out of due
time. The literal translation in the Greek and English of the words "born out
of due time" is "abortion." Paul being an Israelite thinks of himself as being
born from above before the time for the conversion of national Israel.
Let us note some outstanding experiences in Paul's conversion and life,
and see the analogy between them and Israel's coming conversion:
1. Saul was most zealous in his persecution of Christians. The Scriptures
and history record the fact that apostate Israel is and will be most zealous
in its persecution of Christians. We have not seen too much of that in recent
years in this country because of the small minority of the Jews, but the
names Christ and Christian have been words of hatred and enmity to the
Jews, and they have never hesitated to make known their feelings in every
way possible against those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. During the great tribulation, Jewish hatred and persecution of Christians will
reach its height, comparable to that of Saul of Tarsus as he hastened toward
Damascus.
2. It was while Saul was on this mission of hate that the Lord Jesus Christ
personally appeared to him, and when He asked, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me?" Saul asked the question, "Who art thou, Lord?" It was then that
Jesus revealed to him that He was the lowly Nazarene whom he hated, and
he recognized Him then as the Christ.
When Christ appears in person to the nation of Israel at the close of the
great tribulation, the Jews in astonishment will ask, "What are these
wounds in thine hands?" and He will reveal to them that He is Jesus of
Nazareth and also the Christ, their Messiah, when He answers, "Those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends " (Zech. 13:6). Then shall be
fulfilled Rev. 1:7, "Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,
and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, Amen."
We note in Paul's conversion that all with him saw the glory of the Lord,
but only he heard Him speak. Evidently all shall see the Lord when He
returns with clouds, but only Israel will hear Him speak.
3. Immediately upon Paul's conversion he asked, "Lord what wilt thou
have me to do?" Jesus said for him to go into the city and it would be told
him what to do. Following his baptism Paul went away into the desert
where he was instructed personally by the Lord Jesus Christ. How often he
called attention to the fact that the gospel which he preached was not
learned from man nor by man, but from the personal revelation of Christ to
him. After Israel's conversion she, too, will be taught by the Lord Himself
the gospel which she is to teach and preach (some eminent scholars notwithstanding; Isa. 11:1-9).
4. Up until the time of Paul's conversion, the spread of Christianity had
been practically nil. After his conversion and under his preaching, it spread
to the four points of the compass, and all the world heard (Rom. 10:18; Col.
1:23). Today, after nearly two thousand years of Christian missions, over
two-thirds of the earth's population has not yet heard of Christ. It will continue to be practically the same until Israel is converted and then her experience will parallel that of Paul. Israel will again become Jehovah's
witnesses and will carry the gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth
(Isa. 43:9-12; Rom. 11:15; John 4:22; Matt. 24:14).
5. Paul was the last apostle chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ, and his mission in the main was to be an apostle to the Gentiles. The nation of Israel
will be the last group to be commissioned to preach the gospel, and their
mission will be mostly to the Gentiles. One of the primary reasons our Lord
has urged upon us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, to be zealous in calling
out of the Gentiles a people for His name, and to pray for our Lord's return
is that His purposes concerning Israel shall be fulfilled and she, as a nation,
shall be saved and then carry the gospel to all of the Gentile nations, during
which time an innumerable host shall be saved.
So now we see that the salvation of the Gentiles under the preaching of
the nation of Israel will be far greater than it ever has been or ever could be
under the preaching of the church (Acts 15:13-18).
By way of conclusion, may we call attention to the fact that the Jew is the
key to God's plans and purposes as revealed in His Word. Apart from a
knowledge of Israel's place in these eternal plans and purposes of God, no
one can understand the Scriptures as a whole. So important is the Jew and
so dear is he to the heart of God the Father that He has promised special
blessings upon those who minister to them, and He has also promised a
curse upon those who refuse to do so (Gen. 12:3; Psa. 122:6; Isa. 54:17; Zech.
2:8, 9).
IS GOD DISPLEASED WITH YOU?
A truth often mentioned in the Word of God but overlooked by many
Christians is that God is displeased when His children are disobedient.
Many fundamental Christians seem to think that, after they have received
the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, it is immaterial to God how they
live. The following passage of Scripture sets forth in no uncertain terms
God's displeasure with His own people:
"Moreover, brethren I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all
our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,' and were
all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea,' and did all eat of the
same spiritual meat,' and did all drink of the same spiritual drink; for they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them,' and that Rock was Christ.
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown
in the wilderness" (I Cor. 10:1-5).
In directing your prayerful attention to this particular passage of Scripture we want to help you understand the eleventh verse of this same
chapter: "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they
are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. "
Here we are told explicitly that all these things which happened to the
children of Israel happened as types and that they have been recorded for
our edification and admonition. The fifth verse of this same chapter states
that God was not well pleased with the children of Israel in the wilderness
wanderings. Some commentators and teachers slip over this passage of
Scripture with a misstatement that all who were overthrown in the
wilderness were lost and consequently this has no particular meaning for us
who name the name of Christ. The unfortunate chapter divisions between
nine and ten separate the content of the closing verse of nine from the opening verses of ten, and this very pertinent truth of responsibility to the Lord
is overlooked.
In 9:27 the Apostle Paul says he disciplines his body and keeps it in subjection lest that after he has preached to others he himself should be rejected or disapproved. Paul was not worried about being lost as a Christian,
for he states very conclusively in Rom. 8:38, 39 that absolutely nothing
past, present or future can cause him to lose his salvation. His concern is
whether or not he shall have a place in our Lord's coming Millennial reign.
It is a fact of Scripture that Christians, though saved forever, may forfeit
their right to rule and reign with Christ. To prove the possibility of a Christian being rejected or disapproved, Paul calls attention to the fact that the
children of Israel in the wilderness were all children of God. Note the word
ALL as it occurs five times in swift succession: ALL our fathers were under
the cloud; ALL passed through the sea; ALL were baptized unto Moses;
ALL ate of the Manna (which was Christ); ALL drank of the Rock (which
was Christ). Now notice this in connection with these Israelites. Every
single one of them was under the blood when the Passover was established
the night of the exodus. The Lord God Almighty Himself led them personally in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It is interesting to
note in this connection that after their disobedience and after their being
sent back into the desert to wander aimlessly for forty years, God personally abode with them and directed their daily lives. Their clothes did not wear
out and their shoes did not give 'way. Every manifestation points to the
fact that they were children of God. After eighteen months in the
wilderness, God brought them to the border of Canaan, called KadeshBarnea. Here they were to enter the promised land and possess fields with
crops which they had not planted, vineyards and orchards which they had
not tended, enter into equipped homes which they had not built, and take
complete possession of the promised land. They were to slay every living
human being in the land. (See Deut. 7:1-5.) The land of Canaan, or the promised land, was typical of the Millenmal reign of Christ. When God told the
children of Israel to enter into the land and possess it, their lack of faith in
the promises of God manifested itself and they refused to enter. They
desired spies to go into the land and see if they could do what God had told
them to do. Even today, after God tells some of His children to do
something, they say it cannot be done-as if God would command a child of
His to do that which could not be done. The glory of Christianity is in the
fact that with the commandments of the Lord also comes the power for
those accomplishments. Because of the unbelief of the children of Israel, the
Lord bowed to their demands and permitted them to send spies into the
land. But the seeds of unbelief had already been sown and ten of the twelve
spies returned saying they could not take the land. Only Joshua and Caleb,
because of their faith in God, told the people they could do what the Lord required. Oh, that people today would believe the Lord and obey Him when
He commands.
Because of their unbelief and failure to enter the promised land, God
relayed the ultimatum, through Moses, that the children of Israel should
turn around and go back into the desert. Here they wandered for about
thirty-eight and a half years, conscious of the fact that they could not go into the land, but would be wanderers until the last one of the unbelievers had
died. Now notice that they had come under the blood, but they were
unbelievers in that they refused to follow the commands of the Lord after
they were under the blood. With the deliverance of the ultimatum, the
people then cried out to Moses that they would enter the promised land, but
God ordered them to forget it and not to attempt it. Despite His protest,
they sought to enter, but their attempt was thwarted by God with
disastrous results (Num. 14:40-45). The results of their disobedience, according to the commandments of God, were seen in the fact that of all that
generation only two entered the land of promise: namely, Joshua and Caleb.
The lesson God would teach us in this particular experience is that many,
many Christians, saved by the blood of the Lamb and eternally secure in
His hand, may fail to have a place in Christ's coming kingdom because of
their unbelief relative to their entrance into the kingdom and the glory to be
enjoyed. Not long ago we heard an evangelist on the radio say that all the
children of Israel were overthrown in the wilderness and of that entire
generation only Joshua and Caleb were saved. Such is not the truth. He
overlooked the fact that Moses also did not enter the promised land. One sin
toward the close of his brilliant career resulted in his being forbidden to
enter. God let Moses look over into the promised land but he could not go in.
(See Deut. 34:1-8.) Notice these passages in the New Testament which are
warnings to Christians: Rev. 3:11; 16:15; Heb. 12:14-17. These are warnings
to be on the alert lest we forfeit or lose our kingdom inheritance and
rewards.
Now in I Cor. 10:6-15, our Lord lists some of the particular things which
ministered to the unbelief of the children of Israel and caused them to be
overthrown in the wilderness. Note in this connection also that although
millions did not enter the promised land THEY DID NOT RETURN TO
EGYPT, which they must needs have done had they been lost. Their experience was just the same as many Christians will have-saved, but no
place to rule and reign with Christ.
In studying the sins of which they were guilty, we note in verse 7, the first
one mentioned is idolatry. Just because Christians do not have little idols
made out of gold, silver or wood, and just because they do not worship the
sun, moon and stars does not mean that they are not idol worshippers.
Anything that comes between us and God constitutes an idol. In Eph. 5:5,
the Word tells us that covetousness is idolatry. So often the Lord warns
against love of money, stating specifically that a Christian cannot serve
both God and mammon. But many a Christian has erred from the faith and
brought many sorrows upon himself because of covetousness which is
idolatry (I Tim. 6:10). God instituted the tithe to enable his creatures to
overcome the love of money, which is covetousness. Many Christians will
not rule and reign with Christ because they love money more than they love
the Lord.
The second sin which led to Israel's unbelief and failure to enter the promised land was fornication. Our Lord told us that in the closing days of this
dispensation it would be as it was in the days of Lot. Those were days of
gross immorality. Today with many of the commercialized amusements on
the stage, screen, radio and television ministering to the carnal and sensuous appetites of the flesh, with near nudeness, bestial contortions, music
which originated in Africa via the New Orleans jazz parlors, and with
magazine stories that are lewd and obscene, it is no wonder that this present
age has been characterized by the question and answer: "What time is it?"
"It is sex o'clock." And just as fornication kept many of the children of
Israel from entering the promised land, sins of the flesh are going to keep
many Christians from having a part in our Lord's Millennial reign.
The third sin mentioned is in verse 9 where it speaks of the children of
Israel tempting the Lord and many being destroyed by serpents (Numbers
21:5-9). They tempted the Lord by loathing "this light bread." That was the
manna which God gave them to eat in the wilderness. Its counterpart in the
Christian's experience is the Word of God. The manna in the wilderness contained everything necessary for the sustenance and upbuilding of the
human body. The Word of God contains everything necessary for the
sustenance and upbuilding of the spiritual life. Just as the children of Israel
tired of the manna, so Christians tire of the Word. Just as the children of
Israel murmured against God because of the manna, so do many Christians
murmur against God because of His Word. The children of Israel tried to
change the shape, looks and taste of the manna and adapt it to their desires
(Num. 11:4-9); so do Christians today try to change, alter and rephrase the
Word of God to make it adaptable to this present evil age. Living in this
enlightened era, one would think that the Word of God would be prominent
in the church life; but the Lord, knowing that the day was coming and now
is in which the Word would not be taught in Sunday schools and churches,
offered a crown of glory to Christians who would be faithful in feeding the
flock of God. The only thing God has provided with which to feed the flock
is the Word of the Lord. (See Matt. 4:4; John 6:48-58; I Pet. 5:1-4.) As we
travel across the country, we find in every city and town consecrated men
and women who have been relieved of their Sunday school classes because
they taught the Bible instead of the denominational literature. We believe
that the danger of the modern denominational movement (be it of any faith)
. is that it keeps the people ignorant of the Word of God. In concluding this
third sin, we note the children of Israel tempted God by loathing the manna.
Christians today tempt the Lord by loathing His Word.
The fourth sin, verse 10, was murmuring against the Lord. Today Christians murmur against Him, against His Word, against teachers of His
Word, against exponents of His eternal plans and purposes, against the
chosen people of Israel, against the coming of the King in glory and against
His righteous reign for a thousand years. In fact, they are murmuring
against everything that pertains to the Kingship and kingdom of our Lord.
Notice that these sins on the part of Israel did not cause them to be lost and
go to hell-they just resulted in their being barred from the promised land.
Neither will these sins cause a Christian to be lost and go to hell, but they
will result in such a one being barred from a place of honor and glory in His
coming kingdom.
Again take note of I Cor. 10:11-"Now all these things happened unto
them for ensamples,' and they are written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the world are come. "
BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND
Israel's journeyings from Egypt to Canaan are typical of the Christian's
journey from the day of his salvation to the Millennial Kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the study of typology, Egypt typifies the
world and the land of Canaan typifies the Millennial reign. The intervening
wilderness and desert typify a Christian's pilgrimage from the time of the
new birth to death. Watch how this type develops.
The beginning of Israel's journeyings was the institution of the
Passover-the slaying of the lamb, the sprinkling of the blood upon the
doorposts and lintel. After having their lives spared because of the blood,
the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and entered into the wilderness.
An individual begins his journey toward the promised land by receiving the
Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. That puts such a one under the blood.
The next step is that of baptism, which typifies resurrrection to walk in
newness of life. The blood and the water place both Israel and the Christian
on the road toward the promised land.
I must emphasize one special truth just now-while the blood and water
are essential for the journey to the promised land, they alone are not sufficient. (I am not talking about salvation-that was cared for BY THE
BLOOD.) The wilderness journeyings are a testing ground for Israel and
Christians, to prove their ability to rule and reign with Christ. How significant that of all the responsible individuals who left Egypt, only two, Joshua
and Caleb, entered the promised land. Not even Moses was allowed to enter.
The Jordan River typifies death and the promised land the Kingdom. Let
me sum it up in four brief statements:
1. Both Israel and Christians start with equal providential and spiritual
blessings.
2. Each has a title to the promise of a glorious land-God's sworn possession for His children.
3. Each group has to persevere through their pilgrimage until they reach
their goal.
4. Through faith in God's promises and power to take them in, they may
gain their inheritance.
All but Joshua and Caleb failed to inherit the promised land because:
1. They desired evil things.
2. They worshipped gods other than the one true God.
3. They committed sins of the flesh.
4. They provoked God by saying they wished they had never started.
5. They murmured against God's judgments and against His leadership.
Just think of the large number of born-again Christians who are going to
miss many blessings of the Kingdom because of the same sins as listed
above.
A BRAND FROM THE BURNING
"And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the
Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, 0 Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen
Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua
was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered
and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy
garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity
to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let
them set a fair mitre upon his head, So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and
clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel
of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou
wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also
judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to
walk among these that stand by" (Zechariah 3:1-7).
A study of the life and experiences of Joshua, the high priest, is very timely for three reasons. First, it tells of the actual experiences of Joshua. Second, it typifies the experiences of the nation of Israel. And third, it is a
very apt illustration of the experiences of a Christian from the time of his
salvation until the day of his glorification.
Our interest just now is in the third point-that of an individual becoming
a Christian and moving on toward the coming Kingdom of our Lord.
1. Joshua standing between God and Satan clothed in filthy garments is a
picture of a poor, lost sinner clothed in his own unrighteousness. See Gen.
6:5; Mark 5:1-5; Luke 15:11-24. These are a few of many passages of Scripture which give the condition of an individual before he is saved.
2. The command in Zech. 3:4, "Take away the filthy garments from him"
portrays the Lord Jesus Christ taking away our sins (see I Cor. 15:3; Heb.
9:26). Just as the filthy garments were removed from Joshua so does the
Lord remove our sins and transgressions from us. Man does not do that for
himself; only the Lord can remove a man's sins and that through and by the
power of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. In the latter part of Zech. 3:4 the Lord says, "I will clothe thee with
change of raiment." Not only does the Lord take away the filthy garments
but the Lord puts the change of raiment on Joshua. How beautifully this
pictures the Lord taking away our sins and clothing us with His own
righteousness. This is illustrated also in Gen. 3:21 where in the word
"make" we have the implication that the Lord slew and skinned the
animals, dressed the skins, made coats out of them and then put these coats
of skins on Adam and Eve. "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth
the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his
feet" (Luke 15:22).
4. Joshua, having been cleansed, robed and crowned is now ready to fulfill
the purpose of God in his life, which fulfillment is conditioned by Joshua's
obedience. Likewise, after an individual has been forgiven of his sins, his iniquities removed from him and the righteousness of God imputed unto him,
he is then ready to live for the Lord. The crown he will wear must be won;
the rewards for the Kingdom must be earned; the separation from those
raised from among the dead must be attained. In Zech. 3:7 we read that one
must walk in the ways of the Lord and must keep the charge of the Lord if
such a one is to have a position of authority and honor in the Kingdom. (A)
Walking in the ways of the Lord refers to our personal relationship to Him.
I mean by that, our personal holiness, our personal prayer and Bible study
life, and our personal relationships in the home, out of the home, on the
street, off the street. We are to be living examples of children of God. (B)
Keeping His charge refers to our official relationship to the Lord: (1) we are
to be His witnesses even to the ends of the earth-telling the story of Jesus
to those who know it not; (2) we are ambassadors, being in the world but not
of it; (3) we are to be teachers of the Word of the Lord; (4) we are to be living
and praying for His return; (5) we are to be proclaiming the truth of His
coming Kingdom.
If we walk in His ways and keep His charge then we are going to be
judges in His house (that is, we shall rule and reign with Him). We will have
positions of honor and glory in His court and preferred places of association
with others who have qualified. It is one thing to be saved by grace and an
entirely different thing to be rewarded according to works.
AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF LOT
"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they builded,' but the same day that Lot
went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed
them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed"
(Luke 17:28-30).
Lot is representative of faithless Christians-those who are saved but live
for self; consequently, they have no rewards or works that endure. He
represents those who will be saved but have no crowns. His uncle,
Abraham, is representative of Christians who, being faithful, have earned
for themselves crowns and places of honor and glory in the service of the
Lord during His thousand-year reign. Let us look at Lot as he moved away
from Abraham and trace his downward movements as he drifted away from
the Lord and became a full-fledged carnal Christian. Ultimately he was
saved but all his works were destroyed.
This is very important because Jesus Himself said that in the days just
before His return, the actions of Christians would parallel those of Lot, with
the logical result being that few will share in Christ's rewards and in ruling
with Him.
1. The first step in the life of Lot is found in Gen. 13:10, 11. There was
strife between Abraham's and Lot's herdsmen, and Abraham
magnanimously offered Lot his choice of the land so that the herds and
herdsmen might be separated. This would bring about peace which
Abraham wanted because they were brethren and there should be no strife
between them. Lot knew nothing of walking by faith; so in this particular instance, he chose the well-watered plain of Jordan.
A Christian can become quickly involved in worldliness when he views
things with the eyes of flesh rather than through faith in the living God. Too,
often today there are Christians who judge things solely by appearance;
without any regard to God's estimate of them.
2. Having established the pattern of his life to live according to the principles of the world (walking by sight and not by faith), we find in Gen. 13:12
that Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Now a citizen of the world with all
his hopes and ambitions centered on worldly things, it was only logical that
he should move closer to the city of Sodom, the center of the world he had
chosen. He was not yet in Sodom, but he was on his way.
There are Christians today who deviate from the pattern of a walk pleasing to the Lord as they move toward the world with all its allures. Though
they are not yet in it, their thoughts, plans and hopes-in fact, their whole
life is beginning to be centered there.
3. It was not long after this until Lot moved into Sodom. He was not walking according to the Spirit but according to the course of this world. Living
in Sodom were all of his associates and all of his children's companions.
They were people who knew not God, having ambitions to soar to heights of
worldly success, enjoyment and possessions. Such a life leaves little or no
time for the Lord.
By way of contrast, Abraham was a pilgrim dwelling in tents. Instead of
settling in Sodom, he looked for a city that had foundations whose builder
and maker is God.
4. Lot then took office in Sodom (Gen. 19:1). The expression "sat in the
gate of Sodom" is equal to our expression "held office and transacted
business for the city." The men who sat in the gate collected taxes from
those who came in. They noted the ones leaving with their cargo, and
handled many other phases of the city's business.
This has its counterpart in contemporary Christians who seek office or try
to place other Christians in office so that they may take over the rule of this
present world. I Cor. 4:5 tells us that this is not the day for Christians to
rule the world. This is the day of the Lord's rejection by the world, and if we
serve Him faithfully, it will reject us too. This is not the time for Christians
to try to improve or reform the world. It is resting under the judgment of
God and is moving on toward complete destruction. Dwight L. Moody expressed it in these words: "The world is a sinking ship. I am not called to
save the ship. My mission is to save a few souls off the ship before it sinks."
If Satan can keep churches, ministers and Christian laymen busy trying to
run the world or clean it up, he is very successful in hindering the spreading
of the gospel. In studying the life of the Lord you will find that He devoted
all His time in calling out individuals to serve Him. He spent no time at all
in reform movements.
5. Because of Lot's presence in Sodom, and because of his holding office
and being a full-fledged citizen there, he lost his testimony for the Lord. In
Gen. 19:14, we are told that his own sons-in-law looked upon him as one who
was mentally incapacitated when he tried to tell them of the coming judgment on Sodom. We learn later in this chapter that Lot's daughters and
sons-in-law perished in Sodom because they would not believe the things
Lot told them.
No greater tragedy can come to a Christian than to live in such a manner
that he has no testimony at all among his friends and loved ones.
6. Even though Lot had no witness or testimony and no works that survived the testing of fire, he was delivered from the city before its destruction. "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come
thither" (Gen. 19:22a).
In this, Lot is a blessed illustration, or type, of the rapture of the saved
before the tribulation. All this is possible because salvation is by grace plus
nothing. One of the most precious truths in the Word of God is the fact that
Christians have not been appointed to wrath and will be delivered before a
single judgment of the Great Tribulation comes upon the earth.
7. All of Lot's works were destroyed in the fire of Sodom. In Matt. 3:11,
John the Baptist says, "I indeed baptize you in water. . . He (Jesus) shall
baptize you in the Holy Ghost and in fire.'" "Every man's work shall be
made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (I Cor. 3:13).
Here the baptism in fire is the trying of our works. Just as all of Lot's works
were destroyed by fire, even so shall all of our works be destroyed which are
not done for the glory of the Lord. It is clearly seen in I Cor. 3:15 that a
man's works can be of such a nature that they shall all be burned; or they
can be done for the Lord and earn crowns and rewards. Many Christians today are so busy in church work that they have no time for the Lord.
Remember that church work is not necessarily synonymous with service for
the Lord.
8. Though all of Lot's works were destroyed in Sodom, he himself was
saved. "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (I Cor. 3:15). There is nothing that a
man can do to cause him to lose his salvation after he has been saved; but he
can fail to live for the Lord to the extent that he will appear before the judgment seat of Christ without a single good work to his credit.
Let us note the summation of Lot's experience: He is a perfect illustration
of a man who is saved but has no crown; a man who is saved but has no
reward; a man who is saved but has no place of rulership in our Lord's
kingdom; a man who is saved but is a castaway as far as service in the
kingdom is concerned.
Remember, beloved, salvation is by grace and rewards are according to
works; and for the duration of the Millennium, there will be a difference between faithful and unfaithful Christians in the matter of rewards and service.
REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE
As Jesus was talking to His disciples concerning His appearing and the
catching up of the New Testament saints to meet Him in the air according
to Luke 17:22-37, He said in verse 32: "Remember Lot's wife." Notice first
of all and never forget that He was speaking to His disciples and to them only (verse 22). The Pharisees had demanded of the Lord (verse 20) when the
Kingdom should come. His answer is given in verses 26ff:" And as it was in
the days of Noah. . . Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot. . . Even thus
shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" (vv. 26a, 28a, 30). To
correctly understand the analogy which our Lord draws between His day
and the days of Lot, you should study. . . carefully Gen. 19. Several things
are apparent to which your attention is called.
1. Sodom and Gomorrah had filled their cup of iniquity, and now judgment must come. Despite all the world's progress and advancement in so-called religious activities and organizations, the cup of iniquity of this sin-cursed world will soon be full.
2. God revealed the secret of judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah to His
faithful servant,- Abraham. Knowing of this soon coming judgment,
Abraham became an intercessor on the behalf of the saved in those two
cities. The Lord reveals His plans to His faithful servants: "Surely the Lord
God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). This is in order that these servants may become intercessors on behalf of the saved, prior to the second coming of Christ.
3. The wickedness of Sodom reached a climax at the house of Lot;
likewise, the wickedness of this present world will reach a climax at the
house of many of the saved.
4. The angels of God smote the men of Sodom who were of the spirit of
antichrist. So will the angels of the Lord smite the wicked in the day of the
Lord.
5. Lot spoke to his sons-in-law of the approaching judgment, but he
seemed to them as one who mocked. Today when one speaks of the coming
judgments of the Lord and the establishment of His kingdom, he, too, is
mocked. One says, "My Lord delays His coming." Another says, "I have to
go to my farm." Another says, "I must go to my place of merchandise." And
yet another says, "I have just married and you will have to excuse me."
6. Even Lot was slow about leaving the doomed cities, but the angels laid
hold of him, his wife and his two virgin daughters, and forcibly removed
them from the city. Even so today, how few Christians are really interested
in the coming of the Lord, and at the time of the rapture they will be literally
taken out by force against their will.
7. Judgment did not fall on Sodom and Gomorrah until after the righteous
of those cities had been removed; likewise, the judgments of the great
tribulation will not fall on this world until the saints are removed.
8. Lot's wife, though delivered from the city by the angels of God, had a
heart and love for the things in Sodom. She had two daughters with their
husbands there; her friends and associates were there; her interest was there
more than it was in the Lord; and when she turned with a longing look to
gaze once again upon the cities of the plain, she was turned to a pillar of salt.
Notice also in this connection that neither Lot nor his two virgin daughters
wanted to go up into the mountain of which the Lord had spoken. They begged to stay in a city, even if it be a little one. They were permitted to do so,
and Scripture records the depths to which they sank.
The deliverance of Lot, his wife and two daughters is typical of the saints
who are raptured. After deliverance, or after the rapture, some will still
forfeit many blessings which are only for the faithful. When Jesus told His
disciples to remember Lot's wife, He was holding before them the possibility
of being raptured, yet falling far short of the rewards and glories of the
faithful during the Millennial reign of Christ.
Lot's wife is a monument, not of a wicked lost sinner, but of faint-hearted,
unfaithful, disobedient Christians whose natural affections-whose soul
life-keep them from going "all out " in a life of obedience and conformity to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Similar cases in the Scripture are: the children of Israel who turned back
from Kadesh-Barnea; Orpah, who went part of the way with Naomi but
turned back; the guest without the wedding garment; the servant of the
Lord with one pound; the servant of the Lord with one talent; the five
foolish virgins; the ones who have all their works burned. In everyone of
these instances, as in the case of Lot's wife, there is definite identification
with the people of God, but their walk is that of unfaithfulness and disobedience, though all of them are saved as through fire.
Hear once again the admonition of the Lord given to HIS DISCIPLES:
"Remember Lot's wife!"
REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE (CONTINUED)
Luke 17:32
When our Lord told His disciples to "remember Lot's wife," He was warning them against a spirit of unwatchfulness. From the number of times our
Lord admonished His disciples to watch, we know that He placed a
premium on our being ready any moment for His return. The terrible experience of Lot's wife is applied by Christ not to the world but to His own
people. He commanded His earthly people, Israel, to flee and His heavenly
people, Christians, to watch.
The danger which Lot's wife faced was in not keeping her eye on heaven.
She lost the upward look. That she was saved, I think is evident in the fact
that she was delivered from Sodom and Gomorrah along with Lot and their
two virign daughters. She was obedient up to a point. God said He would
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and she believed Him. God told her to flee
and she fled. When God said stay not in the plain, she stayed not. She
believed in the coming judgment and was anxious to escape. She had set her
face toward heaven but disobeyed in one point in that she looked back. Luke
9:62: "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
The incident of Lot's wife has to do with the kingdom of the heavens and
not with salvation. Moses disobeyed the Lord in one point and was not
permitted to enter the Promised Land, though he was saved forevermore.
The Lord had warned of the impending judgment; He had given ways and
means of deliverance; He had sent His angels to deliver her; she was
completely and absolutely removed from Sodom before the judgments of
God began. She broke one condition of her deliverance and was brought
into judgment after her deliverance from Sodom and before she reached the
appointed destination. She was not an apostate for she never went back to
Sodom. She was not a type of the lost for she was taken out before the
judgment began. She simply was not faithful unto the end. Martin Luther
said, "For her disobedience she must suffer temporary punishment.
Nonetheless, she had everlasting life."
Sodom's destruction never touched her. She was not of the world; that
doom was not for her. She had a judgment and punishment all of her own
(the judgment seat of Christ). God has ways and knows how to punish His
disobedient children without confounding them with the lost, Luke 12:47:
"And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself,
neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."
The fact that she was turned to a pillar of salt should stimulate thoughtful
study. Salt is good and unless it has lost its savor, symbolizes good
throughout the Scripture. What I say unto you, I say unto all, "WATCH."
A PILLAR OF SALT
Is there any significance in Lot's wife being changed to a pillar of salt?
Every reference in the Bible I find pertaining to salt is good, except where
the salt has lost its savor.
Since the beginning, salt has played an important part in the lives of
people. It is a preservative, it makes food palatable, and man and beast
instinctively seek it. Salt was a necessary ingredient in the Levitical
sacrifices. Lev. 2:13: "And every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou
season with salt; neither shalt thou sutfer the salt of the covenant of thy
God to be lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt
otTer salt." Among the Arabians the pledging of friendship and the
confirming of compacts by eating food containing salt is still a custom.
The kingdom of Israel was covenanted to King David and his sons by a
covenant of salt (II Chron. 13:5). This was a pledge and an unconditional
promise from God that the kingdom would forever remain with a descendant from David's line. Because salt is incorruptible, so were the promise and
covenant. Salt symbolized an everlasting covenant, one that was enduring,
incorruptible and perpetual. Salt is the opposite of leaven, which corrupts.
Lot's wife being changed to a pillar of salt would seem to teach that she
lost her life but not her spirit. The pillar of salt seems to typify the covenant
of grace as far as her spirit was concerned, but she would suffer temporary
loss because of her sin. In Luke 17:33, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life
shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it," we have loss
of life attributed to Lot's wife by the sudden judgment of being changed to a
pillar of salt. She shrank back from what seemed to be an empty prospect
that was suddenly set before her and Lot. As she turned back in heart to
Sodom, though she knew the city was under the wrath of God, chastisement
fell upon her.
The words of the Lord declare that if anyone seeks to preserve his life for
himself, he shall lose it; but if anyone will lose his life in the Lord for His
sake, he shall preserve it and receive rewards.
Lot's wife typifies Christians who try to make the most of both worlds
and therefore suffer loss of all their works (I Cor. 3:15) and gain no rewards
in the coming kingdom of our Lord. For that reason Jesus said to His
disciples, "Remember Lot's wife."
THE CHURCH - BODY OR BRIDE
In I Cor. 10:11 we have the following statement relative to types: "Now all
these things happened unto them for types: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
I think the significance of this revelation is that everything which happened in the Old Testament constitutes a picture or type of some great
spiritual truth in the New Testament.
Many scholars decry the study of types as being an exercise for untutored
minds. Many harsh things have been said about types by purported
scholars throughout the ages. Such an attitude can be assumed only by
those in ignorance of much of the Word of the Lord. Everything that God
does is according to a fixed plan or pattern which was established before the
foundation of the world. His plans and purposes are called eternal plans and
purposes. All numbers, measurements, weights, colors, materials possess
spiritual significance and are used by God with that purpose in mind.
See for instance Heb. 8:5 and 9:23. The tabernacle built by Moses in the
wilderness was an exact replica of the one in heaven, and God showed Moses
a pattern or blueprint of the one in heaven that he might be able to construct the one here in the wilderness.
When God sets a pattern He makes it perfect in the beginning. He never
changes it and it continues in existence all through the ages. These patterns
are divine in origin and are as accurate as mathematics. When one says (as
so many have) that he does not have a mind for the study of types, he is really saying he does not have a heart for types. Types, being divine in origin
and spiritual in nature, are of necessity spiritually discerned. It is with the
heart and not with the mind that a Christian understands and appreciates
the types of Scripture.
Note for instance the typology in the following expressions: Jesus says,
"I am the Door- I am the Bread." He is called the Lamb of God; He is also
called our Passover. Deut. 18:15-19 tells us that Moses is a type of Christ.
Psalm 81:5 tells us that Joseph in Egypt was a testimony, that is, a type.
The bride of Christ and the body of Christ are set forth in types, parables,
illustrations throughout the whole of the Old Testament. An axiom of the
study of types is that the first type used is the pattern after which all other
instances are modeled. So to get an accurate beginning of the study of the
bride and the body of Christ, we go to the first body and bride in the Bible,
which is that of Eve as the body and bride of Adam.
God made Adam of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the
breath of life. Eve was created in Adam and their name was called Adam.
Because it was not good for man to be alone, God made for him an helpmate.
The helpmate God had made was in man, so this helpmate must be taken
out of man. God did that by putting Adam to sleep, opening up his side and
taking out a rib. Out of this rib taken from the side of Adam, God made Eve
to be his bride, that is, his wife.
The bride then was given to Adam and the two of them, Adam and Eve,
through the union of their bodies became one flesh; but Adam now has TWO
BODIES. He has his original body made out of the dust, minus his bride
which was taken out of his body. In the very highest sense Eve is Adam's
body as well as his bride, even though Adam still possesses all of his
original body, less Eve, who is now his body selected out of his body.
Here is the inspired, infallible Word of God on how the bride of Adam was
formed, which is also God Almighty's infallible pattern or type as to how
the bride of Christ is to be formed. The bride of Christ is to be an election
out of an election, or a selection out of a selection, or a resurrection from
among the resurrected.
Christ received an earthly body from Mary and this earthly body is
named Jesus, so that Jesus the Christ is the God-Man. The God-Man was
put to sleep on Calvary, His side was opened, and from His riven side flowed
blood and water. From and by the blood and water the bride of Christ is
formed. The word church means "called out of." And contrary to popular
opinion, the church is not called out of the world but out of the called (all of
the saved). The church is a select group out of a selected group.
Matt. 22:14 states, "For many are called (the saved called out of the
world), but few are called out (called out of the saved to constitute the bride
of Christ)." As Eve is truly the second body of Adam, so is the church (that
is, the bride) the second body of Christ. Adam had two bodies; Christ has
two bodies.
II Cor. 11:2,3; I Cor. 7:4; I Pet. 3:1-7 reveal unto us that in the relationship between the bride and groom the groom's body is not his own but his
wife's, and the wife's body belongs to the husband. And in Eph. 5:23-28 the
Spirit of the Lord reveals to Paul the Apostle that the relationship between
Adam and Eve as to origin and purpose constitutes the mystery of Christ
and His church, that is, His bride. One cannot help but appreciate the fact
that there cannot be a true bride unless her body belongs to the groom.
My thought and conviction is that Christ has two spiritual bodies. Body
number one is made up of all of the Christians. Body number two is His
bride, which-though taken out of His body-nonetheless is also His body.
Eve as the body of Adam was a very small part of his whole body; so the
church is a part of the body of Christ but a very small portion of His complete body.
The bride of Christ is selected out of the body of Christ on the basis of
works emanating from faithfulness (Luke 19:11-27; I Cor. 3:12-15). Those
constituting the bride possess a double portion of the Holy Spirit (Matt.
25:1-13), and are not only hearers of the Word (saved), but are also doers
(faithful workers).
Possibly the key to understanding the body and the bride of Christ is to
be found in the fact that the body of Christ is composed of all of the Christians of the New Testament; whereas the bride of Christ is made up of the
obedient, faithful, fruitful, sanctified Christians from among those who constitute the body. Therefore, in a real, literal, Scriptural sense, the church of
Christ is both body and bride of Christ.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
Adam and Eve, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
The sweetest relationship existing between man and woman is that of
husband and wife. The sweetest relationship existing between God and man
is that of husband and wife. Israel is God's wife and the church is to become
the wife of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many wives in the Old Testament, who, in relationship to their husbands, typify, symbolize or illustrate
some particular phase of the relationship between Christ and His bride. In
this article we want to consider Eve as a type of the church-the bride of
Christ.
Our conviction, born of prayer and the study of the Word, is that while
the expressions bride and church can well be synonymous, they are different, though in one respect, analogous to the body. Eve as the bride of
Adam typifies the church-the bride of Christ- in two respects:
First, as the bride in predestination. When God created Adam and Eve
they were one person. Eve was in Adam. Their name, while two persons in
one, was Adam (singular). For Adam to be socially complete, Eve had to be
taken out of him and made a separate and distinct personality and then
brought back to him that he might have fellowship with her. Ephesians 1:4
speaks of the church as being in Christ before the foundation of the world.
In order for Jesus, then, to be socially complete, the church had to be taken
out of Him and made a distinct personality and presented to Him for
fellowship throughout eternity.
God caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam, and during this period of
time opened his side and took a portion of his body, out of which He made
Eve, his bride. She was the converse and counterpart of Adam-his other
self. Likewise, when Christ became dead His side was opened, and there
came out that part of His body which brought into existence His bride-the
church. Just as Adam was incomplete without Eve, so Christ was incomplete without His bride, the church, His body the fullness of Him that
fills all in all. Through Adam, Eve received all her dignity, position and
blessing. Through Christ the church receives all her dignity, position and
blessing. The existence of the church in the mind of God as the bride of
Christ was predestinated and fore-ordained from eternity. Eve being in
Adam from the day of his creation beautifully typifies and illustrates the
church in predestination.
The second fact typified by Adam and Eve is relative to the composition
or constituency of the church. Everything that God does is according to pattern, by number, by weight and by measure. When He forms a plan or pattern He never changes it but goes right on through the ages working according to His own pattern which is perfect from the beginning. It has become
axiomatic among students of types that the first time a type occurs, the
pattern is set. But in the instances of Adam and Eve, we have far more than
just a type or illustration. Here is a divine and perfect rule which is never
changed. Here is infallible proof substantiated by many other Scriptures
that the chosen company which will form the bride of Christ is but a small
part of the body of Christ. The bride is taken out of the body and is in the
highest sense the body of Christ, just as Eve is Adam's body BUT NOT
ALL OF HIS BODY. Consider the proportionate relationship between one
rib and the remainder of his body. When Eve was taken out of Adam's body
she was called isha which means, "taken out of man," who was called ish.
We have the same expression in English. She was called wo-man because she
was "taken out of man."
First Corinthians 15:23 calls to our attention that there are several orders
or companies of individuals on earth. All of the saved of the Old and New
Testaments do not constitute one group. There are different groups of the
saved in the Old Testament and there are several different groups of saved
in the New Testament. All of the New Testament saints make up the body
of Christ, but a certain group (by their own choice to suffer with Christ, to
overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, to maintain faithful obedience
to His commands, to win certain crowns proffered by God), constitute those
who will be taken out of the great body of New Testament saints and make
up the bride of Christ. This follows the pattern of Eve being taken out of the
body of Adam and becoming his bride.
Possibly no one misconception has resulted in such loose living or utter
disregard for the commandments of the Lord than the teaching that every
Christian, regardless of how he fives, is a member of the bride of Christ and
will rule and reign with Him. Be instructed and know that while eternal life
is a gift of the grace of God, rewards and rulership are based on fidelity to
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
ADAM AND EVE-CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
The New Testament refers to the church as the bride of Christ, and many
passages of Scripture speak of the marriage of the Lamb and the wedding
feast. It is also noted that the antichrist is an imitation of Christ, and his
bride is the apostate church. The Lord has emphasized in the Scripture
several brides and their relationships to their husbands, and we come to appreciate the fact that each of these brides typify some particular aspect of
the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. We are thinking
of Eve, Rebekah, Rachel, Asenath, Zipporah, Ruth and Abigail.
For this particular study we want to consider Eve in her relationship to
Adam as a type of the church, and the church's relationship to Christ. In
Gen. 2:18-25 and 3:1-24, we notice the following:
1. God saw it was not good for man to be alone. Of all the creatures of
earth none provided the fellowship which man, in God's image and likeness,
desired. We note in this connection that God's desire for fellowship led Him
to create man in His own image and likeness in order that He might have
fellowship, if and when man chose to commune with Him. God's love for His
Son led the Father to choose a bride for the Lord Jesus Christ. (See John 17;
Eph. 1:3-5.)
2. The helpmate which God gave to Adam was made out of Adam's own
bone and flesh so that they too might be of the same nature and substance
and thereby be capable of having fellowship one with the other. The bride of
Christ must be made out of the same substance and nature of the Lord
Jesus Christ, else He cannot enjoy communion with her. For that reason the
church is called the ekklesia, which means "called out of." Just as Eve was
taken out of the body of Adam, so the bride of Christ is taken out of the
body of Christ. Many expositors go astray here. Their imagination leads
them away from the Word and they teach that Eve was made out of the entire body of Adam and that he had no body for himself except Eve's body.
The fact of the matter is, Eve was made out of a very small portion of
Adam's body - namely, one rib, and the flesh adhering thereto. Since man
normally has twelve pairs of ribs, taking one would leave twenty-three, still
a part of Adam's body but not a part of Eve's. Then consider the rest of
Adam's body which is not constituted a part of Eve's body; whereas, Eve is
bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, she is not all of his body.
Now when we come to the New Testament to study the church, the bride
of Christ, we read that the church is His body (Eph. 5:23, 30-32)-more
specifically members of His body-so that it does not say that the church is
the complete body of Christ but only a part of the body. The church is that
part of the body of Christ which is called out and separated from the body
and constitutes the body of Christ. Instead of the church being called out of
the world, she is called out of the family of God. One common error in
teaching is that every Christian from Pentecost to the rapture is a member
of the church and constitutes the bride of Christ. The truth of the matter is,
the church constitutes a very small portion of the saved between Pentecost
and the rapture.
3. God put Adam to sleep before He opened his side from which came his
bride, Eve. Likewise, Christ was put to sleep (died on the cross) before His
side was opened, from whence came the blood which was the foundation of
the church.(See Matt. 16:16-18.)
4. God told Adam to cleave unto his wife; therefore, when Eve sinned and
alienated herself from God, Adam, obedient to the command of God, remained with her. In order to do so he had to take her sin upon himself. The
typical teaching is that after Christ's bride, chosen before the foundation of
the world, had sinned, Christ had to lay aside His glory in heaven, leave the
fellowship of His Father, come to earth and take upon Himself the form of
His creature, take His bride's sin upon Himself and die for her that He
might lead her back to God.As Adam and Eve continued to share fellowship, so Christ and His church will enjoy fellowship throughout the ages of eternity.
Isaac and Rebekah, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
Never forgetting I Cor. 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them
for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
ends of the world are come." We now look at Abraham, Sarah, Eliezer, Isaac
and Rebekah for the typology of their experiences relative to securing a
bride for Isaac. Abraham is a type of God the Father; Sarah, his wife, is a
type of Israel; Isaac, his son, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ; Eliezer, his
servant, is a type of the Holy Spirit; Rebekah, the bride of Isaac, is a type of
the church. Genesis 22, 23, 24 and 25 give a complete story of God, Israel,
Jesus Christ and the church. The offering of Isaac pictures John 3:16. The
return of Isaac from the mount after three days portrays the resurrection of
Christ after three days. After Abraham and Isaac returned from the mount
of sacrifice, Sarah died. This prefigures the setting aside of Israel after
Christ's burial and resurrection. After Sarah's death Abraham sought a
bride for Isaac; after Israel was set aside God then began to take out of the
Gentiles a people for His Name to be joined to a remnant of election according to grace to constitute a bride for Christ. After Isaac and Rebekah were
married Abraham married Keturah; after the raptu;-e and the marriage of
the Lamb, God will restore Israel to Himself as a wife and Israel will again
become the head of the nations.
Now we want to devote a little space to the work of the Spirit in calling
out the bride as typified in the experience of Eliezer seeking and finding
Rebekah.
1. Eliezer is not to take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites, but from
Abraham's own kinsmen. This typifies the fact that the church, a "called
out people," is not called out of the world, but out of the family of God.
2. Eliezer's journey is guided and prospered by the Lord. Likewise, the
Holy Spirit in seeking out the bride of Christ does so according to the will of
God.
3. Providential circumstances reveal God's choice of a bride for Isaac.
Likewise, providential circumstances will make possible the choice of an individual by God to become a part of that group called the bride of Christ.
4. Eliezer wastes no time in talking about himself, but talks about his
master and the riches that are his to bestow upon her who is chosen to be his
bride. Likewise, the Holy Spirit takes no time to speak of Himself, but staying in the background, points only and always to the Lord Jesus Christ and
to the glories, honors and rewards that shall be to the ones who can qualify
as the bride of Christ.
5. Rebekah's family tries to detain her. Likewise, many of the family of
God try to hinder and detain other Christians from a life of obedience and
separation which results in one's being chosen as a member of the bride of
Christ.
6. Rebekah has to decide whether or not she wants to be the bride of Isaac.
Likewise, a Christian has to decide for himself whether or not he wants to be
a member of the body called the bride of Christ. Such a decision entails suffering, hardship, privation until one is sorely tempted to be satisfied to be
saved by the skin of the teeth, suffering loss of all his works and receiving
no rewards at all. (See I Cor. 3:11-15.)
7. Rebekah leaves home with Eliezer to go to meet the bridegroom.
Likewise, the Spirit of God calls the church to leave the earth to go yonder
to meet the Lord.
8. At about the same time, Isaac leaves his tent going out in the field
toward the direction from which the bride is coming. In the same way the
Lord descends from heaven with a shout.
9. As Rebekah and Isaac approach each other, Rebekah puts a veil over
her face. I think this typifies the truth that the identity of the bride is not
revealed until the marriage of the Lamb. As there were others in Rebekah's
party, so there will be others raptured besides the bride.
10. Isaac and Rebekah meet between his home and her home and then proceed to his home. The Lord Jesus Christ and the saints meet in the air bet.
ween heaven and earth and then proceed into the heavens.
11. The wedding is consummated, and Isaac and Rebekah are happy. So,
too, the Lord and His bride, the church, are married and happiness is the
portion of both. After this Abraham remarries; and after the marriage of the
Lamb, Israel is restored.
ISAAC AND REBEKAH-CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
We do well to keep in mind I Cor. 10:11, "Now all these things happened
unto them for ens am pIes: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the world are come."
So when we come to Genesis 24 we have something far more than a love
story. We have here a picture in type of God choosing a bride for His Son,
Jesus. Abraham typifies God the Father; Isaac, God the Son; Eliezer, the
Holy Spirit; and Rebekah, the bride of Christ.
The detailed account of the choice and the going for and returning with
the bride for Isaac can be followed in every detail if one has a heart for the
study of types. I do not propose to give an exhaustive study of this passage
but to point out some of the high lights that will enable the reader to launch
a study of his own. Such a study will prove most profitable in considering
the church as the bride of Christ.
1. Abraham was very old when he became interested in a bride for his son.
This old age of Abraham typifies the old age of God, that is, the eternity of
God. We know from many Scriptures that God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit are from eternity, and that the church was chosen in
Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. So we might say the first
point in this study of the type is that the bride of Christ was in the mind of
God from eternity.
2. Eliezer, the eldest servant of Abraham, typifies the Holy Spirit, the
eldest servant of God the Father. He has many ministering angels to tend to
lesser affairs than those committed to the Holy Spirit.
3. Abraham entered into a covenant with Eliezer that he would not take a
bride for Isaac from the Canaanites (the lost) but from his own kindred
(Christians). Here we learn at the very beginning that the bride of Christ is
to be chosen from the family of God, not from the world. God made a cove.
nant with the Holy Spirit to that effect.
4. Abraham sent Eliezer into a far country to get a bride for Isaac and
return with her. Likewise, God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit into the
world to callout a bride for Christ, and at the appointed time the Holy
Spirit will bring her to meet Christ in the air.
5. Abraham did not seek a bride for Isaac until after Isaac had been placed
on the altar as a burnt offering and had returned. Neither did God the
Father begin to call out the church for a bride of Christ until after Christ's
death, burial, resurrection and ascension.
6. Eliezer journeyed unto the city of Nahor and was supernaturally
brought in touch with the family of Abraham. Likewise, members of the
bride of Christ are supernaturally chosen by God and sought out by the Holy Spirit and have the opportunity to choose whether or not they want to be
part of the bride.
7. Eliezer met Rebekah by a well of water. And we learn in Isa. 12:3 that
wells of water typify salvation; also, the water typifies the Word (Isa. 55:1,
2). This brings to our attention that members of the bride of Christ are saved people who through the study of the Word become interested in the
deeper things of God which will lead them into a life that qualifies one to be
a member of the bride of Christ. (Not all the family of God constitute the
bride of Christ.)
8. Eliezer then went with Rebekah to Laban (fleshy man) and abode there
for a while. This typifies the Holy Spirit's coming into the world of the flesh
and abiding for a while. That is the dispensation in which we are now living.
9. Eliezer opened his storehouse of treasure and showed to Rebekah and
her family all the gifts and the glories of Isaac. Likewise, the Holy Spirit
takes of the things of God the Father and God the Son and reveals them unto the Christian. Eliezer spoke not of himself, neither drew attention to
himself. The Holy Spirit does not call attention to Himself, but magnifies
only the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14; I Cor. 2:9, 10).
10. After Eliezer had shown Rebekah all of the gifts and glories of
Isaac,he invited her to go with him to be the bride of his master. There is no
force, no coercion-just a simple invitation. Rebekah had to make the choice
herself as to whether or not she wanted to be the bride of Isaac. Likewise, individual Christians are invited to so live and obey the Lord that they will
become a part of the bride of Christ. The Holy Spirit does not force a Christian; but having been saved by grace the Christian then must decide
whether he wants to rule and reign with Christ or just be content to be a
I subject in the coming kingdom.
11. After Rebekah accepted the invitation to become the bride of Isaac,
Eliezer then led her on the journey toward Isaac's home. So the Holy Spirit
guides, leads and directs the Christian in the things he must do if he is to be
a part of the bride of Christ. See John 16:13.
12. Rebekah's family did their best to delay Rebekah's departure for a
while. Even so, the world, the flesh and the devil attempt to keep a Christian from living for the Lord in a way that will earn for him crowns
necessary to ruling and reigning, and also to keep the Christian from overcoming and thereby qualifying as a sovereign or a member of the bride of
Christ. See Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 for studies on overcoming.
13. Eliezer then took Rebekah from her home and they moved out toward
the home of Isaac. This typifies the rapture of the saints as they leave the
earth and go to meet the Lord in the air.
14. At about the same time, Isaac left his home and, wandering in the
field, went in the direction from which Rebekah was coming to meet him.
15. Rebekah saw him coming. This is typified in Heb. 9:28, "Unto them
that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
16. As Rebekah saw Isaac approaching, her caravan was stopped and she
put on her veil. This typifies Christians putting on the wedding garment as
they prepare to meet the Bridegroom. The wedding garment is made up of
the righteous acts of the Christian. See Rev. 19:7,8. When Ruth, who is a
type of the bride of Christ, went to meet Boaz, who is a type of Jesus Christ,
she bathed herself (type of confession of sin); she anointed herself (type of
extra filling of the Holy Spirit), and she put on her wedding raiment (type of
the Christian's good works). See Ruth 3:3.
17. Rebekah and Isaac met somewhere between her home and his home in
the eventide. This typifies Christ and the church meeting in the heavens at
the close of this dispensation.
18. When Rebekah and Isaac met they went then to his home to dwell.
When Christ meets His church in the air they will go to His home in the
heavens, which is to be their abode.
19. The marriage of Rebekah and Isaac took place in Isaac's home, and
you might say they' 'lived happily ever after." This typifies the marriage of
the Lamb taking place in heaven and our Lord's joy being made complete.
The point which I want to emphasize most of all in this study of types is
that the bride of Isaac was taken out of the family of Abraham and not from
among strangers or those who were not of his family. This has its fulfillment
in the church, the bride of Christ, being called out of the family of God and
in particular from those who constitute the body of Christ. I believe the
Bible is at one in teaching that all Christians make up the body of Christ,
but just a few are taken out of the body of Christ to form the bride. Matt.
22:14 says, "For many are called (saved), but few are called out" (to form
the church, or the bride of Christ).
"Let him that hath an ear hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
And may God grant unto you to be in that number spoken of in Heb. 6:3.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
(CONTINUED)
Jacob and Leah and Rachel, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
Thus far in our study of types of the Church we have seen Eve, a type of
the Church-the Bride of Christ-being formed out of a rib of Adam to be
his helpmate and to share his dominion. So Christ fell asleep in death on the
cross, and the Church, His Bride, comes from His pierced side as a result of
His atonement. The Church comes from the body of Christ and is in a sense
His body, BUT NOT ALL of His body.
We next saw in Rebekah how the Bride is sought and won by the Holy
Spirit, and how she is guided and protected by Him throughout the journey
across the desert until she is presented to Isaac. When Rebekah saw Isaac
she took a veil and covered herself. Likewise, when the saints are caught up
to meet the Lord in the air, the corruptible must put on incorruption and the
mortal must put on immortality. Here again we see the Bride is chosen from
the family of the Bridegroom.
Now we consider Rachel and Leah for whom Jacob became a bondslave
and labored for many years before he could take them to his home. This
typifies Christ, becoming in the form of a bondslave and as one who serveth,
winning to Himself His Bride (Phil. 2:5-8). I want you to notice first of all
that Leah and Rachel are of the same family as Jacob. They were related to
him. The Church is called out of the family of God to be the Bride of Christ.
In Jacob's journeyings north he comes in contact with the daughters of
Laban (who typify Israel) when the water supply is very scarce. When Jesus
comes to His own He finds the presence of the Spirit and the power of the
Word (both of which are symbolized by water) very scarce. As Jacob rolled
away the stone from the well, so did Jesus Christ open up the wells of the
Spirit and the Word that the water flowed freely.
Jacob became a shepherd of Laban's sheep. Jesus came only to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. Jacob wanted the younger daughter only but
had to take the elder daughter first. Leah, who typifies the law, must come
first while Rachel, who typifies the gospel, comes second. Leah, the law, was
very fruitful but Rachel, the gospel, was unfruitful. After Israel was set
aside and the law superseded, the gospel of Christ became very fruitful and
was preached in all the world to every creature during the generation which
lived when Christ was on the earth (Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:23).
After Jacob left Haran and started toward Bethel his family was united
and became one. After Christ left the earth and returned to heaven the
middle wall of partition between Israel and the Gentiles was broken down
and the twain became one in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Neither one type nor a combination of all types can fully typify the Lord
Jesus Christ in His person, work and ministry; therefore, the Lord uses
many different individuals as facets of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.)
JACOB AND RACHEL-CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
When Jacob left his home to go into a far country, his destination was the
home of his mother's people. In Gen. 28:6 and 29:10 he was told to take a
bride out from among his own brethren and not to choose one from among
any others. Once again this calls our attention to the fact that the bride of
Christ is to be called out from among the people of God and not from among
those who have not been saved.
Jacob learned of Rachel from other herdsmen and fell in love with her
before she ever heard of him or knew him. Likewise, Christ knew, loved and
gave Himself for the church long before she ever heard of Him.
After Rachel met Jacob she ran and told her own family of the arrival of
Jacob, which typifies the telling of the story of Christ unto the family of
Christ before it was ever told to any outside of His own people. Christ came
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel only. He sent the twelve to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel only. Not until Peter preached the gospel in the
household of Cornelius was it "also to the Greek." This experience calls to
our attention that the gospel is to the Jew first.
This choosing a bride from His own people is described in Ephesians as
the bride of Christ being bone of His bone, out of His body, and out of His
flesh (Eph. 5:30; Gen. 2:23).
Jacob agreed with Laban to become a servant and work for Rachel, his
betrothed. Philippians 2:7, 8 shows that Christ became a servant and was
obedient even unto death, and that upon the cross, in order to win His bride,
the church. However, Jacob had to marry Leah first because of the custom
of the Jews, and she typifies the earthly people of our Lord, and Christ's
ministry of necessity was to the Jew first.
Rachel, typifying the heavenly people of God, came into relationship with
Jacob after Israel's recognition by our Lord. Rachel bore two children to
Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin. As Rachel was loved the most by Jacob, so
were Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel, typifying the bride of Christ, brings
forth the truth that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it as well
as those who are brought into a saved relationship with the Lord, as symbolized by Joseph and Benjamin.
After Jacob had completed his commitment to Laban for Rachel, then
Rachel left her home and went with Jacob to his. This is a beautiful symbol
of the rapture of the saints, going to meet the Lord and then back to His
home in the heavens where the marriage of the Lamb takes place.
In a sentence, Rachel typifies the bride of Christ being won after her
Lover became a servant and worked for her.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
(CONTINUED)
Joseph and Asenath, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
Asenath typifies the Bride of Christ sharing His exaltation to the right
hand of the Father during the time of His rejection by His brethren in the
flesh, Israel. In developing the typology of Asenath we must first review
some of the typical teachings in the life of Joseph leading up to his taking a
bride from among the Gentiles. The following points of analogy between
Joseph and Christ are evident:
1. Both Joseph and Jesus were shepherds.
2. They were both beloved of their Fathers.
3. They were both hated by their brethren.
4. Both knew of their future reign over their brethren.
5. They were both sent by their Fathers to see about their brethren.
6. The death of both was plotted by their brothers.
7. They were both stripped of their glory-Christ, as described in Phil.
2:5-8, and Joseph, being stripped of his coat of many colors.
8. Both were cast into a pit in which there was no water.
9. Both were sold for the price of a slave.
10. Both became servants.
11. Both were exalted to the right hand of the ruler-Christ seated at the
right hand of God the Father, Joseph at the right hand of Pharaoh.
Rejected by their brethren and exalted to the right hand of the ruler, each
takes unto himself a bride of Gentile lineage. "And after they had held their
peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out
of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets:
as it is written. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of
David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I
will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the
Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these
things" (Acts 15:13-17). Here is fulfilled the mystery described in Ephesians, how that God is taking some from among the Gentiles and uniting
them with redeemed Jews, making out of the twain one new man.
Joseph-rejected by his brethren but exalted by Pharaoh, answering only
to Pharaoh and possessing all ruling power under Pharoah-is comparable
to Christ as He describes His power and authority in Matt. 28:18: "And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth." While in this position of authority, Joseph marries a
Gentile bride, Asenath. The main point of interest to note in the typology of
Asenath is that she shares the glory, honor and prestige that belong to
Joseph. Though rejected by man, Joseph and his bride are exalted by the
chief ruler. This typifies Christ's rejection today by the world and the subsequent rejection of the Church by the world, but the exaltation of both by the
Lord God.
Another point of great interest, which needs to be emphasized today
possibly as never before, is that during all of Joseph's dealings with his
brothers, his wife is never present and does not enter into any of these experiences whatsoever. This is a type of supreme interest to Christians
which, in connection with countless other types and Scriptures, makes us to
know that the Church, the Bride of Christ, will not enter into nor have any
relationship whatever with Christ's dealings with His brethren, the nation
of Israel. As Asenath did not suffer with Joseph's brethren, neither will the
church suffer with Israel. As Asenath was not punished with Joseph's
brethren, neither will the church be punished with Israel. As Asenath was
married and in a place of separation and safety from Joseph's brethren, so
will the Church, the Bride of Christ, be married and in a place of safety, completely separated from Christ's brethren, Israel.
NO, THE CHURCH WILL NOT BE IN NOR HAVE ANY PART OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE (CONTINUED)
Moses and Zipporah, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee,
of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (Deut. 18:15).
This is scriptural authority for studying closely the life of Moses as being
a type of Christ. I want to call to your attention analogies between Moses
and Christ with special emphasis upon Zipporah, the bride of Moses:
1. Both Moses and Jesus were born during the reign of kings who were
having the male babies of Israel put to death.
2. The mothers of both Moses and Jesus appreciated the fact that their
babies were different.
3. Both Moses and Jesus found refuge in Egypt.
4. Both Moses and Jesus were rejected by their brethren when they were
sent to deliver the children of Israel.
5. Upon their rejection both Moses and Jesus go away into a far country.
6. While in a far country both take unto themselves a Gentile bride.
7. During the time that both minister among the Gentiles they are
shepherds.
8. God sends both Moses and Jesus back the second time to deliver their
brethren with the promise of their being received.
9. Moses' bride does not come back to Egypt with Moses while the
plagues are on Egypt. Neither does the bride of Christ return to the earth
during the time that the judgments of God are here during the Great
Tribulation.
10. Moses is reunited with his bride after they leave Egypt, and Christ is
reunited with His bride in the New Jerusalem after the battle of Armageddon.
The particular teaching of the type of Moses and Zipporah is that in the
days of Moses' rejection by his own brethren he has a Gentile bride to share
his rejection, to bring comfort and joy to him. This portrays to us a fact
almost forgotten during these past months-that the church is to share
Christ's rejection at the hands of the world. The world has not received
Jesus and the world will not receive His bride. Friendship with the world is
enmity toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and whoever makes himself a friend
of the world makes himself an enemy of the Lord. The bride of Joseph and
the bride of Moses complement each other in that Joseph's bride shares
Joseph's exaltation at the right hand of Pharaoh, revealing unto us that
Christ's bride shares His exaltation at the right hand of God, the Father, in
the heavenlies; but on the earth, Christ's bride suffers rejection at the hands
of the world as typified by Zipporah's being separated from and not received by either the Jews or the Egyptians. As Moses continues his journeyings with the children of Israel into the wilderness, his bride goes with him
to share his joys and sorrows.
MOSES AND ZIPPORAH-CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
In Acts 3:22, Moses is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. At Moses' first attempt to deliver the children of Israel, they refused to accept him and he
was forced to flee into a far country. Even so, at our Lord's first advent His
own received Him not and He went into a far country; that is, He returned
to heaven from whence He came (see Hosea 5:15).
While Moses was in this far country on the back side of the desert, he married a Gentile bride, Zipporah. While Christ is in heaven, awaiting acceptance on the part of the nation of Israel, He is taking out of the Gentiles a
people for His name (see Acts 15:13-18). This Gentile group being chosen by
our Lord is called the fullness of the Gentiles, when completed (see Rom.
11:25).
Moses met Zipporah by the well, which is the symbol of the living Word.
And Christ's bride comes out of those who dwell deeply in the written Word,
which also corresponds to the living Word, that is, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
When Moses returned the second time to deliver the children of Israel, his
bride Zipporah did not accompany him. I do not believe the Bible teaches
that the bride of Christ will accompany Him when He comes to deliver the
children of Israel at the time of the Great Tribulation. The ones accompanying our Lord at that time are spoken of as angels and as holy ones but never
as the bride. He will tread the winepress of the wrath of God alone (see Isa.
63:1-6).
After Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egypt he was reunited
with his bride, and so will our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be reunited
with His bride after He has dealt with Israel.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
(CONTINUED)
Boaz and Ruth, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our adomonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (I Cor.
10:11). In the light of this verse of Scripture we appreciate the fact that
everything which happened in the life of Ruth or in connection with Israel is
a type, and the Lord used earthly brides to typify the heavenly Bride. So let
us see what we find in the analogy between Ruth as the bride of Boaz and
the Church as the bride of Christ.
First of all we see her typifying a lost sinner. She is a Moabitess and as
such is barred from the house of the Lord even to the tenth generation. She
is fruitless, unattractive, penniless and in debt and has given her first love
to another. In this connection read Eph. 2:11-13.
Second, we see her typifying a repentent sinner. Because of the inherent
character of her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth chooses to go with her and to
let Naomi's God and Naomi's people be her God and her people. Being
dissatisfied with what and where she is, she seeks a change.
In the third place we find her seeking one who can minister to her needs.
Consequently she gleans in the field of Boaz, who is a near kinsman and as
such can redeem her. As the near kinsman and redeemer, Boaz is a beautiful
type or illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Ruth gleans in this field,
Boaz notices her and encourages her and she begins to ask questions which
Boaz answers. This is a picture of the sinner, brought under conviction by
the Holy Spirit, seeking the answers to his questions and the One Who can
speak peace and forgiveness to his troubled sinful being.
In the fourth place we find Ruth as a believing sinner. She turns to Boaz;
she seeks him out on the threshing floor where she finds him resting by his
finished work. The lost sinner, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, turns to
the Lord, receives the Lord as He, seated on the right hand of God, rests by
His finished work on Calvary.
Fifth, we find her as a fruitful believing sinner. Ruth is married to Boaz
and God blesses them with the birth of a son, Obed, the father of Jesse, the
father of David. A Christian, having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, can
become fruitful-Christ working in him His eternal purposes and blessed
will. Many are the Christians whose experiences parallel that of Ruth
through all of her experiences until it comes to the part of bearing fruit. The
tragedy of tragedies is that so many, having believed and received eternal
life, do not bring honor and glory to the Lord by becoming fruitful.
Does it matter? Assuredly-since all rewards will be based upon fruitfulness.
CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
(CONTINUED)
David and Abigail, a Type of Christ and His Bride-the Church
To understand correctly and appreciate this type, one should read carefully I Samuel 25. Herein we find four different aspects of Abigail's experience typifying that of one who becomes a member of the body of Christ and then
a part of the Church, His bride.
I. Abigail typifies a lost sinner
She is married to Nabal, whose name means "fool." The fool is one who
says in his heart, "There is no God." Nabal, as such, typifies the carnal
man, which is the only nature a lost sinner possesses. Abigail is kept in ignorance of David's presence and of the sacrifices which he offered. The carnal man seeks to keep the individual in ignorance concerning Christ's first
advent and His sacrifice. Abigail fears the carnal man, which we also
designate as "the old man," and would perish but for the warning of a servant.
II. Abigail typifies a sinner turning to the Lord
She is willing to listen to the servant as he tells of David's sacrifices, of
his ten young men, and of his expected coming to where they are. She
disregards competely the wisdom of the carnal man and gathers what little
possessions she has and makes haste to go and meet David. When she meets
David, she takes the place of a repentant sinner and falls at his feet, confessing her sins and failures.
III. Abigail typifies one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ
In verses 32 and 33 we find that her confession is acknowledged, her sins
are forgiven and she is accepted by David. Resting on the word of David,
she accepts his forgiveness and goes in peace (v. 35). Conditions with her
seem to become more aggravated, but she has confidence in David and rests
on his word.
IV. Abigail typifies the sanctified believer or faithful servant of the Lord
In verse 37 we find that she tells Nabal, "the old man," what has happened and the state of affairs. "The old man" is smitten and gradually dies,
Abigail responds to David's invitiation to become his bride. And as she
comes to David, she offers to be his servant and wash his feet, but David
makes her queen.
Possibly in a more concise way, N abal pictures the old man sold under the
law; but he dies, and the new man is free under grace to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ.