Messianic Prophecy. Messiah in Pentateuch, Part 5. CA314 LESSON 11 of 24. Louis Goldberg, ThD

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Messianic Prophecy CA314 LESSON 11 of 24 Louis Goldberg, ThD Experience: Professor of Theology and Jewish Studies, Moody Bible Institute Another very striking experience that the children of Israel

1 Messianic Prophecy CA314 LESSON 11 of 24 Louis Goldberg, ThD Experience: Professor of Theology and Jewish Studies, Moody Bible Institute Another very striking experience that the children of Israel had in their march from Egypt to the Promised Land was the presence of the manna. Here God fed His people in the wilderness in a very interesting way. The people had complained that there was no food out on the desert, and God provided for this, especially with regard to the manna. The historical background is given in Exodus 16: In the morning when the dew had evaporated, there was a fine flakelike thing on the ground, and the sons of Israel saw it they said to one another, man hu, or, What is it? Moses explained to them what this was all about. The type teaching here finds its corresponding antitype in John 6, beginning with verse 30 and proceeding through the rest of the chapter at a number of verses. I m not going to say that we have an innate type here, but certainly there is a very strong inference. There was a running conversation between the people and Jesus. They had had in mind the feast that Jesus had given to them out of the bread, and now they re asking Jesus the sign. They proceed to say that our fathers in John 6:31, ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT. Jesus then answers and says to them, for example, when you get down to verse 48, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, which from the Mosaic record was bread out of heaven, and so Jesus said, Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die [v. 50]. In other words, there is a strong inference, you see, between the manna from heaven that God used to feed the Israelites in the wilderness, and now Jesus is saying, I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. Here the people had some serious questions as to what this was all about. But I think that on the basis of a very strong inference we may note a similarity in the manna that was given to the Israelites and Jesus as the bread of 1 of 7

2 life given to people if they will eat. So we can set up the similarity in this way. As God provided the bread from heaven as manna so that the people would not die and we note the passages in Exodus 16:13 14 and 15, so God sent the Messiah as the bread of life that everyone may eat of Him and not die but rather live forever. We will note that in the type there is the opportunity for physical life; whereas, in Jesus as the bread of life, there is the spiritual life. But regardless, we have a similarity here, a very strong inference, and I think a very beautiful type that can be indicated. Let s note also still another very interesting experience, and this is the smitten rock or the rock that was struck. The historical background is given in Exodus 17:1 6. The people quarreled with Moses and said, give us water to drink; being on that desert and with no water and with the heat, certainly the people out of their frustration cried to Moses and demanded water. The people were indeed thirsty. Moses cries to the Lord and asks what to do. And then God gives the very careful instructions as to what he was to do. Moses was supposed to strike the rock, and the water would come out and there would be water for the people to drink. Offhand there may be some difficulty in trying to find a type here because how can we relate the smitten rock to Christ? I think, however, we ought also to bring in another incident concerning a rock and where the people also drank. It was another situation where the people wanted water, and in Numbers 20:8 God gives Moses the instructions that he was supposed to speak to the rock and the water would come forth. One thing we have to note very carefully that this is not the same experience; this speaking to the rock and the other striking the rock. In point of time the aspect of striking the rock is an experience before the people came to Sinai. In the Numbers passage this was the experience when the people had already gotten to Kadesh Barnea and then had been rejected because of their lack of faith. Now they re out on the desert on their long, long march. In point of time these two incidents are entirely different. I think we see another situation here that makes this a very, very important type. Because of what Moses had done in the second situation, I think you know the story very well, that instead of speaking to the rock he was so overcome, he was angry, he was frustrated because of the lack of faith on the part of the people because they had, in a sense, muffed the opportunity of entering the Promised Land, that Moses, instead of speaking to the rock in the second situation, he smites the rock. Then God later asked him why he did that, and then the penalty comes that because he had done this, he would not enter the Promised Land. It seems 2 of 7

3 like an awful penalty, doesn t it; the penalty of not being able to enter the Promised Land. Why was the penalty so severe? Some may say because Moses disobeyed the word of God and disobeying the word always brings with it a penalty. Think, for example, of what happened to Adam when he disobeyed God insofar as that one commandment was concerned and, as a result, he plunged the whole human race into sin. But some still might say why was this so severe? Here is the situation of Moses wandering in the wilderness, leading the people and then at the end not being able to enter into the Promised Land. Let s see if we can t set up the type and antitype, and I think when we do, we ll begin to see why this penalty was so severe. Let s note some similarities first in the rock and the Messiah. First of all, the similarity insofar as the aspect of rock is concerned. As the rock was struck in Exodus 17:6, so Messiah, as the rock, was struck. We see from 1 Corinthians 10:4, where we are told that the people drank of the spiritual water that came from the rock, then Paul tells us and the rock was Christ, so that we do have an identification now between rock and the aspect of being struck. In Isaiah 53:4 there is a prophecy by this seer; this one had something to say about the Messiah, His ministry, and part of His ministry: Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. When we go to Exodus 16, the experience of the Messiah at Calvary, the evangelist tells us, Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED. Again, there is a very strong tie between the smiting or the striking of the rock on the part of Moses, the identification as the rock, Christ as the rock; and then the prophecy on the part of Isaiah that the Messiah is to be struck and the fulfillment indicated by Matthew and Jesus quoting and indicating what was going to happen to Him: that He would be struck down because of sin. But the point is that striking the rock somehow gives us an aspect of a ministry of Christ. 3 of 7

4 A second similarity, and here we zero in particularly on this matter of begin struck down, as the rock was struck to provide water for the sustenance of physical life [Exodus 17:6], so Messiah was struck down as the rock, which we have already seen. Now we see the purpose to provide eternal life. Let me repeat that. So the Messiah was struck down as the rock to provide eternal life. And again we quote 1 Corinthians 10:4 to indicate that that rock was the Messiah, but note also in John 4:14 as Jesus talks to this woman at the well. He reminds her that He has water to offer, rivers of water, which if one drinks, he ll be satisfied. There is also the picture in John 7:37. This is the occasion of the great day of the feast, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and there was quite a ritual associated with that occasion. The priests went down to the pool of Siloam, and they brought water in a golden pitcher, and they came back to the temple and, they pour this out on the altar. John 7:37 says, Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. So we note that there is very a definite tie now between the rock struck to provide water that the physical lives of the people might live, but also as an antitype, Christ the Rock and the fact that He was struck in order that we might have life, and this water is spiritual water that He would provide would be such that it would satisfied us. We ought also to notice the dissimilarity, and this will give us the clue then as to why the penalty was so severe insofar as Moses was concerned. This matter of what Moses was supposed to do on the second time around; he was supposed to speak to the rock (Numbers 20:8). And here we note then the dissimilarity. As Moses was to have spoken to the rock to provide life-sustaining water [Numbers 20:8], so by coming to Christ we will find spiritual refreshment for our own souls and the whole New Testament fabric of our relationship with God. It begins with salvation. To recognize that Christ was struck for our sins but in a subsequence experience with Christ, when we dedicate ourselves to Him, there is that daily communion, there is that daily refreshment that we have before the Lord where He speaks to us, where He calms us, where He gives us peace in a day-by-day relationship. Note that He was struck once, but afterward when we receive Him, when we receive the life that He gives to us, we simply turn to Him and speak to Him. We have communion with Him. We don t strike Him the second time, the third time, the fourth time in order to receive this communion, in order to receive this comfort that He provides for us. And now we begin to see the severity of the penalty. Moses, in a sense, had disturbed the type. The intent of the second time 4 of 7

5 of merely speaking to the rock was supposed to set forth the lesson where God provides for our needs simply by talking to Him. And the fact that when Moses smote the rock the second time, it brought with it a penalty. We note that God honored Moses. God didn t strike Moses down. God honored Moses, and the water came forth so that the people would be able to have the water to drink. But Moses penalty was that he d never enter the Promised Land in the days of his flesh. I think that if we reflect very carefully on what happened and what is involved in this matter of the type of the rock in Christ, I think we see something that is very important and very precious. Now we come to the messianic and type teaching concerning Messiah and the tabernacle. We want to note here certainly that many people take the lesson concerning the tabernacle and type it to death. Looking, for example, at the CHM series on the Pentateuch and in particular the book on Exodus we note what the writer says, In the study of the tabernacle here is one of the richest veins where every stroke of the mattock gives us even more untold wealth. In other words, it becomes in a sense a happy hunting grounds in looking for types, and some seem to find a limitless number of types in every part of the tabernacle, even to typing the skins, typing the colors, typing the boards, typing the sockets, typing the nails. Every imagination is bent in order to find some sort of type teaching. Frankly, and very tersely, we need to be careful because if we sail off on the sea of finding types, we re going to bring disrespect insofar as the exegesis and interpretation of Scripture is concerned. There are many rich types associated with the tabernacle. But here again I remind the student that the hermeneutics of typology should [preserve us from a] wild chase for types but at the same time should provide us with an enriching aspect of types. Types there are, and in the book of Hebrews 9:6 12 we note that the tabernacle has these possibilities. For example, in chapter 9 and verses 8 10: The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshipper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But in all of this you see the possibility for types. We see it also in this chapter, Hebrews 9:23 24: Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. So we do see types, 5 of 7

6 the possibility for types insofar as the tabernacle is concerned. We must note, first of all, what does it all mean to the Israelite if we re going to study the various aspects of the tabernacle? This means that we are interested in the historical background. We must find out what the spiritual lessons were that God wanted the Israelites to learn. This becomes extremely important. Then we try to find out what can legitimately be classified as a type. And finally, we then look for those applications for ourselves in our age. But as we approach this tabernacle for a study of types, let s note first of all that insofar as what it all meant to the Israelites, there is the aspect of the holiness of God. This is seen in the steps that led to the very presence of God. The people camped all around the tabernacle. Then, those who worshipped went in to the outer court. Then the priests, they would take the blood, they would take the sacrifices, and they would go in to the inner court. So already we re beginning to see a selectivity. The priests went in to the inner court where was the altar of burnt offering, the laver, and what have you. Then certain priests went into the holy place where they burned incense, where they kept the menorah or the seven-branched candlestick lit, where they placed the shewbread on the table of shewbread. And finally in the last step, the Holy of Holies, only one person was allowed in there, the high priest, and he could only go in there on the Day of Atonement. So you see, from the place where all the Israelites camped and as we successively make our way through the various enclosures of the tabernacle and on into the tabernacle itself, that there is a selectivity and finally when we come before the very presence of God, before the Shekinah glory of God, only one person is allowed in there, and that is the high priest and that, of course, not without blood. This obviously emphasizes the matter of the holiness of God. But God has also arranged in this matter that both divine and human should be able to have close contact. We perhaps can liken it to the Holy of Holies as the very presence of God, the place of the divine, whereas in the holy place, the human, where the priests would minister on behalf of the congregation so that you have a meeting and a dwelling place of God and His people in proper relationship to each other so that it all redounds to the glory of God. 6 of 7

7 There are also spiritual lessons associated with the furniture and the action of the priests in their ministry with the particulars of the furniture. In Exodus 25 and on through chapter 31 we find the instructions given as to how to build these various parts of furniture and the furniture themselves, the dimensions involved in the pieces of the furniture, but it is interesting that as we read through this section of chapters 25 through 31, there are some very interesting statements that come out. In fact, they leap out at us. For example, in Exodus 25:16 21, here are the instructions for building the ark and the mercy seat on top of that ark. This is all placed in the Holy of Holies. But in Exodus 25:22 there comes the statement: There I will meet with you, so that here then is described the ark, and here also is described that properly set up in its place, here is a meeting place between God and the people, especially when a priest ministers on behalf of the person bringing an offering. So we have a first I will meet with you in association with the matter of the ark. Look at it closely because I think it will lead to some very precious lessons indeed. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 7 of 7

Messianic Prophecy. Messiah in Pentateuch, Part 6. CA314 LESSON 12 of 24. Louis Goldberg, ThD

Messianic Prophecy. Messiah in Pentateuch, Part 6. CA314 LESSON 12 of 24. Louis Goldberg, ThD Messianic Prophecy CA314 LESSON 12 of 24 Louis Goldberg, ThD Experience: Professor of Theology and Jewish Studies, Moody Bible Institute In our last lesson we had suggested that in going through the very