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Christ is foretold in the Old Testament many times and many ways. Commonly, we look at the prophecies about the Christ. But, Bible types also tell us about the Christ and His purpose. What are some of these types and how do they reveal the nature and purpose of Christ?
Bible types are metaphors or symbols used to portray different things in the Bible. If we analyze the qualities or characteristics of the type, we learn more about the person, object or concept that the type describes.
Throughout the Bible, God maintains consistent messages to us. Primary among them are the messages about sin, sacrifice, forgiveness and redemption. From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve to the end of the Bible, God’s plan of redemption remains consistent.
We are born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. Yet, God loves us so much that He provides a way for us to be forgiven and redeemed. In the New Testament, that way is through the acceptance of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us on the cross at Calvary. God foretells His new covenant with us through the entire Old Testament using allegories, parables and types. Over and over again, the same story is told. .
Noah’s ark is an early type of Christ. The people of Noah’s time were condemned to death by their sin. God found faith and righteousness in Noah, though and provided him and his family with a way of salvation from the coming flood: the ark. Noah made the sacrifice of faith by building the ark and when the flood came, he and his family took refuge in the ark and were spared death. For his faith, Noah was rewarded and saved. “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.” (Genesis 6:18)
An ark is a vessel that carries or contains something. The ark that is Christ contains our hope and our salvation. An ark carries its contents to a destination, just as Christ carries us through this life and on to eternal life. The ark provided safety for Noah just as Christ provides safety for us.
Foundation stones and cornerstones are also used as metaphors of the Christ, both in the Old and New Testaments. “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Isaiah 28:16) It is Christ upon whom we build our faith for eternal life and perfection.
Many of us recall the Sunday school song about the wise man building his house upon a rock. This song, just like this type indicate the Christ as our foundation, our rock, and our steady and unrelenting surface to build our lives upon. The structures that we build on the foundation of Christ will keep us safe from all harm.
Manna was the food that miraculously sustained the Israelites in the desert after their liberation from Egypt. Manna fell from heaven and had to be collected early in the day. This is a warning to us to come to Christ early, as none of us know the number of our days. If we wait too long, we may not have the chance to gather the manna of Christ’s salvation. Manna was miraculous food for the body and Christ is the miraculous food for our soul. “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Throughout the Bible, sacrificial offerings are most often types of Christ. This offering from Leviticus is an example: “If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.” (Leviticus 1:3) This type is so clearly a picture of Christ and His sacrifice for us. He is our perfect, blemish-less sacrifice Who willingly surrendered His life for us.
Various people in the Bible are also types of Christ. Isaac is one such type. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. God had promised Abraham that through Isaac, the nations of the earth would be blessed. Abraham trusted in God and prepared to make the sacrifice. “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7)
Isaac was to be the sacrifice, but God replaced his sacrifice with that of a ram. Isaac didn’t struggle against his father; he was apparently willing to let his father sacrifice his life to God. It is through Isaac’s lineage that Christ came and Christ fulfilled the sacrifice that Isaac was willing to make because his father asked him to. Christ was also willing to make His sacrifice at His Father’s command, and did so for our sakes.
Moses is another type of Christ. The Israelites were kept captive as slaves in Egypt and God sent Moses to save them. We were helpless slaves to sin until God sent Jesus to save us.
David is another example of a type of Christ. He was a shepherd, a hero, had to endure the wilderness and the trials there and finally became king. Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, leading us to salvation and protecting us from death. He was hero to a multitude on earth, survived His own trials in the desert and finally, is our King.
There are many types of Christ all through the Old and New Testaments. In studying them, we find that God has presented us with consistent messages for thousands of years. It is this consistency through the ages that makes the Bible so compelling a record and testimony to Christians. Through many authors and many translations, the messages stay true and clear. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.
(All Scripture is KJV)
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