A Bigger Picture, Part One

At the beginning of the next couple months or so, I'll be posting the written assignments I composed for my Elements of Bible Study course. I'll also post the questions that I was required to answer in my assignment, so you can see what I'm answering. Hope it blesses you in some way! Feel free to ask questions in the comments. :)

~~~

1. Is the Old Testament still relevant for Christians today? Explain.
2. What did Jesus mean when he said that there were things written about him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44)? Explain.
3. How does an understanding of the “big picture” of the Bible help us to understand smaller sections of the Bible (individual verses, paragraphs, stories, books)? Explain.

~~~

The Old Testament is indeed relevant for Christians today. Without it, we would not have two-thirds of our Bible, but more importantly, we would not have the promises, symbols, and pictures of salvation to point us to the fulfillment of the New Testament in Jesus Christ.[1] The Old Testament provides the structure of Levitical law, the promise of redemption, and the necessity of resurrection. It also demonstrates through history the impossibility of man’s atonement through repeated sacrifices, but points to a future Savior who would fulfill His covenant through Abraham’s offspring. The OT is necessary and relevant today as a foundation for the history of the Israelites and of the world, and it also gives us the shadows and “types” which find their fulfillment in Christ.[2] Without the OT, we would have the fulfillment of Christ without the former prophecy, His death and resurrection without a complete explanation, and the Messiah without the whole knowledge of sin’s consequences, and the Last Adam without the first Adam. The theology of the OT covenant is vital for an accurate understanding of the New Covenant.

In Luke 22:24, Jesus says that everything written about Him in the Law, Prophets, and Psalms had to be fulfilled. The Jews recognized these categories as the divisions of OT Scripture.[3] Jesus refers to these when talking to the disciples who couldn’t quite grasp what He was talking about. Taking them back to Scripture, Jesus uses His own previous words, as well as those from OT Scripture to show the disciples that He was the fulfillment of OT prophecy. The promises of a Redeemer or a Savior or a Sacrificial Lamb come from books like Zechariah, Micah, Isaiah and many more. These all point towards the NT fulfillment in Christ. Through the covenants made with the patriarchs and the curses on sin, the OT points toward a one-time Sacrifice who would take the sting out of death. Job and David speak of a Redeemer who would die on the cross, but yet stand on the earth one day. The Law, commandments of God which show us our sin, points to a perfect Man who could be our Priest. Many of the events and people were “types” of something Greater yet to come. The disciples would have known the Scriptures, and so Jesus used their previous knowledge to pull their minds back to the covenants created thousands of years before by God. The words written in the Law, Prophets, and Psalms were enough to direct people’s attention to the Son of God and the Son of Man.

The big picture of the Bible is the work of Christ. Everything and everyone points to Him, His death, His resurrection, and/or His glory. We understand this big picture by the smaller pictures, types, events, and verses. For instance, the story of Isaac is a type of Christ in his sacrifice as a lamb. His story represents the Sacrificial Son of Man, but also the promise of a Savior who would come through the offspring of Abraham. David was an earthly king, but he also represents the eternal kingship that would come through his line. The laws of the Pentateuch, the wisdom of the Proverbs, the poems and songs, and the prophetic visions are all smaller parts of the bigger story.[4] In loving the one and only true God as the commandments required and obeying the wisdom for daily life from Proverbs, we gain the spiritual walk that was fulfilled by Christ in even more depth. The Mosaic law controlled the external; the fulfillment of Christ guided the internal. Israel as a covenant nation represented the larger covenant people who would be gathered together at the end of the age. The ark of the covenant symbolized God’s presence with His people; instead of the ark today, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling our hearts with all the presence of deity. Therefore, in understanding the big picture of Scripture, we are led to a more complete understanding of the smaller details of Scripture.

---

[1] Wayne A. Grudem, C John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds., Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, ©2012), 9-10.

[2] Ibid.,15.

[3] Ibid., 9-10.

[4] Ibid., 27-28.

Star of Jacob, Scepter of Israel

My Bible reading plan for this month has taken me once again through the first five books of the Old Testament. Having taught through these books and read through them about 18 times now, they have become increasingly familiar to me. But yet there always has been something to learn or remember from the stories and history of God's Word.

Numbers 22 brings us to the story of Balaam, a man we often remember because he talked back to a donkey. But that's not the only important thing that happened in his life.

In the previous chapter, Numbers 21, the Israelites just finished defeating the king of Bashan, added him to the list of conquered nations, killed all the inhabitants, and took over the land. Needless to say, the king we find in Numbers 22, King Balak of Moab, is rather terrified as to what will happen to him if he's next on the line. In fact, the whole nation of Moab was overcome with fear because of the Israelites. What they didn't know was that God had commanded the Israelites not to attack Moab because they were given that land by God and they were descendants of Lot.

So Balak calls on Balaam. Balaam is noted in Scripture as being a false prophet. He practiced magic and divination, but Balak acknowledged that Balaam's blessings and curses actually worked at times. Therefore, Balak sent messengers to Balaam with money and a plea for him to come and pronounce calamity on Israel. Though Balaam did not have any relationship with the Lord God of Israel, God did speak to him. Twice Balaam refused to go with the messangers Balak sent, telling them that God commanded him not to go. The third time, the Lord permitted Balaam to go with the condition that he could only speak the words God gave him. So Balaam went...and that's when the story of the talking donkey comes in. ;) Balaam went to Balak, but for the wrong reasons and with the wrong motives. Through the angel and the mouth of the donkey Balaam is brought into submission to God's command. Three times Balaam seeks to do as Balak requires of him and curse the Israelites, but three times God prevents this and causes him to bless them instead. So here you have a false prophet, who is involved in magic and contact with spirits, but he's blessing Israel through the words God gives him. Balaam proclaims that Israel wasn't like all the other nations of the world, that she was blessed greatly by God, shown mercy because God was with her, and she would have victory over her enemies.

Balaam's fourth blessing on Israel holds an important prophecy. God uses a false prophet to foretell the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, Israel's future King!

I see him, but not now; I behold him,  but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities! (Numbers 24:17-19)

This Star of Jacob and Scepter of Israel was none other than the Lord Christ Himself. Jacob, the patriarch, in blessing his sons before his death, pronounces this blessing on Judah:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him. (Genesis 49:10) 

The wise men inquired of Herod where the Christ was for they had seen "his star" and had come to worship Him. The star in that night sky at Christ's birth overshadowed the place where the eternal Star of Jacob was residing. John records the words of Jesus as He fulfills Balaam's prophecy:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. (Revelation 22:16)

And so, despite the fear of a king and the words of a false prophet, God chooses to use these men to proclaim His future Messiah who had come once before, and who would come again to rescue His people from spiritual bondage. Hope did indeed prevail despite what God's enemies tried to plan.

But that is not the end of Balaam's life, for though he failed to curse the Israelites, he caused the women of Moab to seduce the children of Israel, inciting God's anger on the nation. The Israelites engaged in immorality and idolatry with Baal forgetting the command to have no others gods but the Lord of Israel. Yet from this wickedness, hope did indeed come again for the Israelites, for Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, displayed his zeal for God in executing a man and the Midianite woman as they came near the tabernacle. For this action, the plague that had broken out on the Israelites because of their sin was stopped, and to Phinehas was granted a "perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel". (Numbers 25:13) From the line of Phinehas would come all future, legitimate high priests.

Though one day, the Israelites' Messiah did come, the High Priest who ended animal sacrifices with His one perfect sacrifice. Hope was born even out of wickedness, and vengeance was meted out to the Midianites who had incited the anger of the Lord and caused the Israelites to sin. In a similar way, Christ will return for a second time to those who look for His coming, and He will provide justice over the earth. Sin and death will reign no more, and we will fellowship together with the Giver of hope. This promise is sure and steadfast, and it will be accomplished.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprighteness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. (Psalm 45:6-7a)

Levi Through the Scriptures

I had finished reading the book of Exodus for the fourth time this year, when I put several events together and connected something in my mind.

It's about the tribe of Levi. Now Levi first came around in Genesis when Leah (Jacob's wife) named her third son, but from the 12 sons of Jacob, we get the 12 tribes that exist all throughout Scriptural history. They begin in Genesis and end in Revelation. Levi was a scattered tribe geographically. They had no land to claim as their own, possibly resulting from the violence and bloodshed of Simon and Levi in Genesis, and so the descendents of Levi lived in 48 cities throughout the land of Israel working in the temple when their time came.

But in the beginning of Exodus we read of a husband and wife from the tribe of Levi who had a baby. This baby would be a Levite, too, and as the High Priest would one day intercede for the people before the Lord, so this baby would grow up to be Moses, who led the Israelites and interceded for them on their behalf. Moses' brother, Aaron, would be the first High Priest, and from this tribe would come the priesthood.

Later on in Exodus, Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving instructions from God on how to govern this huge group of people, and he also receives detailed instructions on how to create the tabernacle and priestly clothing, as well as how to fulfill the sacrifical duties. Aaron (a Levite) leads the people waiting below the mountain in forming a golden calf to worship. When Moses (a Levite) returns, he calls those who are on the Lord's side to come stand with him: the sons of Levi gather around him and mete out justice on those who substituted a golden calf for a holy God.

In Numbers 16, it's a Levite, Korah, who leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron--his own tribe members. And he brings about the death of many others who join with him and follow in his disobedience. Then God shows his approval of another Levite by choosing Aaron's staff and causing in to bud--demonstrating that He had chose Aaron as the one to approach God in the priestly duties.

In 1 Chronicles, the Levites are some of the first to settle in Jerusalem again after their exile in Babylon. Under King David, the Levites were the ones who bring the ark of the covenant from Kiriath-jearim back to Jerusalem. Johoshaphat, king of Judah, instructs the Levites to teach the people the law of God in order to bring about a spiritual reformation in the land. The Levites were the tribe to carry out sacrifices and teach the people when good kings ruled the land. They were holy to God.

In Ezra (a priest), it's the priests and Levites (along with others) whose hearts are stirred by God to go and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. And though they rejoiced at the  rebuilding of the foundation, they were also the ones who wept at the sight of it because they remembered the former temple's glory. And they came together later with Nehemiah and Ezra to teach the people the Law.

In Ezekiel, the priest are the ones whom God instructs to serve Him in the sanctuary after His glory fills the temple again. We're also told that the Levites were not faithful to God, but instead forsook Him for idols, therefore the sons of  Zadok (priests), being commended for keeping the Lord's charge and not going astray as the Levites did, are the ones who will enter the sanctuary of the Lord and serve Him there.

The Levites are mentioned many times in the rest of the Old Testament. Many times they are just minor incidents, but they're still there, preserved as part of the remnant of God's people.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist interacts with priests and Levites when Jews sent them to question John about his identity and preaching. And Jesus Himself tells the story of a Levite who was so concerned with his self-righteousness that he wouldn't stop to help his fellow man.

Acts tells us of another Levite who sold a field that belonged to him and gave the money to the apostles. He's better known by his name, Barnabas.

But the Levites and priests knew that the important duties of temple work and the sacrifical system couldn't take away the sin that defiled them. Perfection could never be attained through a human priesthood. Aaron, the first High Priest couldn't perfectly mediate between God and man. And so the Jewish nation waited for the better High Priest who, though He didn't come from the Levite tribe, He was the perfect Mediator. And because He never sinned, His shedding of blood could provide remission for sins. The Levites' and priests' duties had been fulfilled forever. He was the Lamb of God who was chosen of God to be the Sacrifice and the Priest. And as a non-Levitical priest He completely fulfilled all the law as a perfect sacrifice, showing that the old covenant had finished and the new had begun.