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The Background And Decisions
The Book of Exodus has possibly the largest number of foreshadowings of
the Lord than any Biblical book. In Exodus the Lord is foreshadowed as
the Sacrificial Lamb (Ex. 12:3-8); the Sustaining Manna (Ex. 16:15); the
Smitten Rock (Ex. 17:6); and the conglomerate of the Tabernacle and the
priestly garments (Ex. 27:1-35:12).
The
book opens with the children of Israel in bondage to the Egyptians, not
just captives but slaves, and God, according to His promise and purpose,
was going to send him to deliver them (Gen. 15:13-16). The man God
would use was Moses, but first he had to meet the Angel of the Lord in
the burning bush. God was manifested as a consuming fire and declares
to Moses His name: “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14). This is the One who
would some 1400 years later state: “I am the door” (Jn. 10:9); “I am the
Good shepherd” (Jn. 10:11); “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn.
14:6); “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25). It was, in
some ways, a strange name, for Moses was going against the might of the
Egyptians, yet this manifestation was more than sufficient. God was
saying: “whatever you need me to be I AM; when the children of Israel
reject you I AM your support; when there are obstacles to be overcome I
AM the Way”.
As
slaves, the children of Israel had no power to deliver themselves but
God said: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people . . . and I am
come down to deliver them” (Ex. 3:7-8). What a gospel message. Here
were a people, and even while they were slaves under an evil Prince and
idolaters, God saw them according to His purposes and called them: “My
people”. It reminds one of the encouragement the Lord gave to Paul in
Corinth. Before there is any record of anyone getting saved the Lord
says: “I have much people in this city” (Acts 18:10).
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There can be no
doubt that for many years the children of Israel had spoken of a
coming deliverer, and perhaps many times wondering when would
God fulfill His promise of deliverance. Then without herald or
fanfare, in the darkness comes light, a man called Moses comes
into Egypt, a man sent from God with a triple message of hope: |
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a) |
God has seen your afflictions. (Ex. 3:7) |
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b) |
God has come down to deliver you. (Ex. 3:8) |
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c) |
God will bring you to a land your eyes have never seen. (Ex.
3:8) |
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Before this could be done, the children of Israel had to make
several decisions such as: |
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a) |
They had to, without reservation, believe the message of God
that: |
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i) |
They lived in a world of people and its gods under the
condemnation of God. (Ex. 12:12) |
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ii) |
That the firstborn was an individual under the condemnation of
God. (Ex. 11:5; 12:12-13; 23; Heb. 11:28) |
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iii) |
That those under the condemnation of God were such by birth and
not by behavior. Therefore, no change in behavior could change
that which they were by birth. In other words, they could do
nothing to save themselves. Being the firstborn was something
beyond their control. |
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iv) |
There was only one way of redemption. The blood of a Lamb must
be shed, the lamb must die in the place of the firstborn son.
(Ex. 12:6-7) |
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v) |
Only by dependence on the word of God was there any redemption
and deliverance. |
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Christ As The Lamb
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There can be no doubt that the best known foreshadow of our Lord
is that of the Lamb, for Christ is spoken of as such throughout
the Scriptures: |
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a) |
He is the Lamb Prophesied (Gen. 22:8) |
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b) |
He is the Lamb Sacrificed (Ex. 12:6) |
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c) |
He is the Lamb Personified (Isa. 53:7) |
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d) |
He is the Lamb Identified (Jn. 1:29) |
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e) |
He is the Lamb Magnified (Rev. 5:6-14) |
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f) |
He is the Lamb Glorified (Rev. 22:1, 3) |
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These are not the only avenues of thought for there is
emphasized: |
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a) |
The perfections of His life, as when John recorded: “seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God.” (Jn. 1:29) |
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b) |
The Perfecting of His sacrifice, for in Revelation we read:
“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
Blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
Father”. (Rev. 1:5-6) |
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c) |
His devotion to God becomes our stimulus for overcoming, for
again John writes: “And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their lives unto the death”. (Rev. 12:11) |
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d) |
His superlative sufficiency. In Ex. 12:4 we read: “And if the
household be too little for the lamb”. The lesson is
exceedingly clear that the lamb was never too little for
household. “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world.” (Jn. 1:29) |
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e) |
It tells of the wonders of God’s purposes from eternity past.
Peter writes: “A Lamb . . . foreordained before the foundation
of the world.” (1 Pet. 1:20) |
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f) |
His
Humiliation: “He
is brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (Isa. 53:7) |
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g) |
His Precious Sacrifice: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Pet.
1:18) |
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h) |
His exaltation:
“And
every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,
heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be
unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for
ever and ever.” (Rev. 5:13) |
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i) |
His
Moral Qualifications: “He
(the Lamb) took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat
upon the throne.” (Rev 5:7) |
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j) |
Our Forever Guide: “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living
fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes.” (Rev. 7:17) |
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k) |
His triumph: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings:
and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and
faithful.” (Rev. 17:14) |
Christ the Lamb in Exodus 12
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In Exodus 12 the Lamb is brought before us with several
accompanying truths, some of which are: |
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a) |
The lamb (singular even though there were many) was killed (v.
6). The word translated “kill it” is “shachat” and is used of
Abraham when he took the knife to “slay” his son (Gen. 22:10).
It is used twice in this chapter: “the congregation of Israel
shall kill it” (v. 6) and “according to your families and kill
the passover” (v. 21). Christ was “crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2);
“Slain” (Lk. 9:22); He was “killed”. His being killed was their
desire: “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him” (Matt. 21:38);
“consulted that they might take Jesus but subtlety, and kill
Him” (Matt. 26:4). The Lord foretold His disciples: “They shall
kill Him” (Mk. 9:31). |
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b) |
The lamb was to be without blemish (v. 5). In the Old Testament
when God gave commandments concerning the red heifer, there were
qualifications which it had to have. It was to be “without
spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke”
(Num. 19:2). It is the only sacrifice of which these are all
spoken. When Peter writes concerning our Lord he writes: “Ye
were redeemed . . . with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). He
takes two of the qualifications spoken of for the red heifer and
applies them to Christ as the Lamb. This lovely man walked on
this earth but lived in the atmosphere of Heaven and was
untarnished by the world and uncorrupted by sin within. |
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c) |
No bone was to be broken (v. 46). When the soldiers came to
break the legs of those who were on the crosses they discovered
that our Lord was dead already. This being so, one took a spear
and pierced His side: “that the scripture should be fulfilled, A
bone of Him shall not be broken” (Jn. 19:36). There is another
verse which sheds another ray of light from His unbroken bones.
The Psalmist when writing of the righteous man records: “He
(God) keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken” (Psa.
34:20). The last section of the Psalm, Psa. 34:15-22, tells how
that even though the righteous individual is afflicted (v. 19),
brokenhearted (v. 18), and in troubles (v. 17), the Lord will
deliver him, and more He shall keep all His bones. The Lord was
a righteous man (1 Jn. 3:7); “loved righteousness” (Heb. 1:9);
and “in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Rev. 19:11). |
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d) |
“If the household be too little for the lamb” (v. 4). Herein is
a glorious truth, the lamb was never too little for the
household! Thank God that there is sufficient in the work of
Christ to offer salvation to all who are ungodly, enemies and
sinners (Rom. 5:6-10). There is never a sinner too vile (1 Tim.
1:15) nor a sin too base that the blood of Christ cannot
cleanse. (1 Jn. 1:9) |
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e) |
The lamb was “selected” and was “without blemish” (vv. 3, 5) and
kept from the tenth to the fourteenth day. It must be clear
that it was not kept to see if there was any blemish in
it. Any father with an iota of love for his son would make sure
there was no blemish in it before taking it home. He
could not afford to discover a blemish on the eleventh, twelfth,
thirteenth or fourteenth day. The deeper reason is, it was kept
for those four days to let man see an unblemished life being
lived before them, to appreciate the value of the life that was
to be taken, and the cost of their redemption. For those four
days they saw it alive, they watched it move and respond to
them, and then watched as it was slain. It was graphic and they
would never forget it. |
The Smitten Rock
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The Rock is one of the most beautiful descriptive terms of
divine persons. When Moses spoke his last song to Israel, he
speaks about the Lord as the Rock on five occasions (Deut. 32:
1-43). He says: |
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a) |
“Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, His work is
perfect.” (Deut. 32:3, 4) |
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b) |
“But Jeshurum waxed fat, and kicked . . . and lightly esteemed
the Rock of his salvation.” (Deut. 32:15) |
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c) |
“They sacrificed unto devils, not to God . . . of the Rock that
begat thee thou art unmindful.” (Deut 32:17, 18) |
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d) |
“How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to
flight, except their Rock had sold them.” (Deut. 32:30) |
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e) |
“Their Rock is not as our Rock.” (Deut. 32:31) |
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In this wonderful song Moses speaks of God’s Name, His perfect
work, His perfect justice, and His impeccable character. This
is the One of whom the Psalmist could say: “The Lord is my
defense; and my God is the Rock of my refuge” (Psa. 94:22). Our
Lord was the Rock which followed Israel after they passed
through the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:4), and Isaiah writes: “For in
the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength (Isa. 26:4). The
Hebrew word translated “strength” (tsuwr) and it is the word
referring to God in Deut 32:4, etc. The expression “everlasting
strength” that is translated “Everlasting Rock” (ASV, RSV,
Webster); “Rock of Ages” (Darby; Young's Literal). When seeking
shelter from a pounding rain storm, August Toplady sheltered in
the cleft of a rock and finding a playing card wrote the words
of the lovely hymn: “Rock of Ages Cleft for me”.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law's commands;
Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in
death,
When I soar to worlds unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. |
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Thousands are, have been, and will be, who across the world have
known and will know what it is to be led by the Holy Spirit to
the “Rock that is higher than I” (Psa. 61:2), and there found
shelter in the cleft of the Rock.
Another shadow of the Lord is that of the smitten Rock (Ex.
17:6). By the explanation of the Holy Spirit it is evident that
this was a type of Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), and from our Lord’s
words: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him”
(Jn. 4:13-14). This was the first time the Lord was to provide
water from a rock but the second time was vastly different. The
next time Moses was told to speak to the Rock, but in anger and
calling the people of God “rebels”, he smote the rock twice,
disobeying that which God told him to do (Num. 20:10-11).
Because of this disobedience, he was not permitted to bring the
children of Israel into the promised land (Num. 20:12). On the
first occasion the smiting of the rock typified our Lord being
“smitten of God” (Isa. 53:4). That was divine work done once
for all, never to ever be repeated. As the scriptures say: |
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“Once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb. 9:26) |
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b) |
“We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.” (Heb.10:10) |
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c) |
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins.” (1 Pet. 3:18) |
How easy it is
to read the words: “Smitten by God” (Isa. 53:4). We could look at what
the word means, but all definitions could never convey that which is
entailed in those three words. Indescribable, unfathomable,
incomprehensible, and profound. Well may we sing:
Here we rest in wonder viewing, all our sins on Jesus laid
And a full redemption flowing, from the sacrifice He made.
One could ponder the rich teachings of the manna (Ex. 16:15); the gold,
silver and copper of the tabernacle (Ex. 25:1-7); or the beauties of the
furnishings (Ex. 26:1); the cloths of the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:31); or the
priestly garments (Ex. 28:2); for they all convey somewhat of His glory.
May God grant us good understanding as He, by His
Holy Spirit, deigns to guide us into all truth.
John 16:13
Rowan Jennings, Abbotsford,
British Columbia
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