He Is - Sung by Aaron Jeoffrey


In Genesis, He's the breath of Life
In Exodus, the passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, Law giver
In Ruth, the kinsman redeemer
First and Second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
He is, He is, He is

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
He is, He is, He is

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
He is, He is, He is

The prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God
The great I am
He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ Lord and when time is no more
He is, He is

Words by Jeoffrey Benward & Jeff Silvey
(c)1994 Star Song

In this lesson, we're going to take a tiny peek at the amazing nature of the Bible. It's my hope that this glimpse will help you see that the Bible is one integrated book, even though it was written by different men at different times. Every single word is there for a reason, and it all ties together perfectly - so perfectly that there is no way men could have done it on their own. 

Of course the Old Testament is full of references to Jesus. Some of them are pretty overt, such as Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22. Some are obvious pictures, such as how the Old Testament sacrifices look forward to Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. There are many others, though. In fact, Jesus is pretty much on every page, including some places you might not expect. It's been said that if you run across something that you don't understand, put Jesus in the middle of it and see if it makes sense then.

Here's a good example - the Cities of Refuge. These were special Levite cities that people could run to when they had accidentally killed someone. (not deliberate murder) In those days, a family member would avenge the blood of anyone who was killed - no matter whether he or she was killed through murder or accidentally. In the case of accidental killing, and to avoid spilling additional innocent blood, the cities of refuge were established for the killer to run to. If the officials of the city accepted his story, they gave him refuge, and the avenger of blood could not kill him without it being considered murder. He had to stay there in order to be safe. If he left, the avenger of blood was free to kill him. This went on until the death of the high priest, which could take a day or 50 years. At the death of the high priest, the accidental killer was free to return to his home.

Numbers 35
Cities of Refuge
⁶ "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. ⁸ The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few."
⁹ Then the LORD said to Moses: ¹⁰ "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, ¹¹ select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. ¹² They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. ¹³ These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. ¹⁴ Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
¹⁶ " 'If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷ Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if anyone has a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies ²¹ or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
²² " 'But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally ²³ or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, ²⁴ the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. ²⁵ The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
²⁶ " 'But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. ²⁸ The accused must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.
²⁹ " 'These are to be legal requirements for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.

Joshua 20
Cities of Refuge
¹ Then the LORD said to Joshua: ² "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.
⁴ "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."

If you look up "refuge", you find a bunch of references to "cities of refuge". But, you also find many verses like these:

Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy him!'

2 Samuel 22
³ my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn ^[1] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-
from violent men you save me.

Psalm 2:12
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 7:1
O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

Psalm 34:22
The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

The whole "cities of refuge" thing sounds pretty odd until you put Jesus in the middle of it. If a killing was accidental, why not just declare the "killer" innocent and be done with it? And, of all things, why flee until the death of the High Priest?

They are actually pictures of Jesus and his salvation. Jesus went to the cross for each and every person, not just believers:

1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Our sins put him there, whether we acknowledge that or not. So, we are guilty of his death, just as much as the people who physically put him on the cross. But, what did Jesus say about that? "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34). So according to God, Jesus' death was manslaughter, not murder. Yet, we are still in danger from the Avenger of Blood if we do not take refuge. Who is our refuge? Jesus! If we take refuge in Jesus, our Savior, we are safe. We need to stay in our refuge until the death of the High Priest. Who is our High Priest? Jesus! And, he will never die. So, we are safe forever as long as we remain in Jesus.

What about the unbeliever? His sins were paid for, too - completely. Jesus died for each and every person. Yet, if he never acknowledges his sinfulness - never flees to Jesus for refuge, he will be condemned by the Avenger of Blood. Interestingly, who is the Avenger of Blood? Also Jesus!

The Cities of Refuge, from the book Gleanings in Joshua by Arthur W. Pink, online here.

Genesis 5
From Adam to Noah
¹ This is the written account of Adam's line.

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. ^[1] "
³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father ^[2] of Enosh. ⁷ And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸ Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
⁹ When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
¹² When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
²⁵ When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah ^[3] and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed."

The following is from Chuck Missler. Now, supposedly, it didn't originate with him, but with a Rabbi (who apparently became Christian) in the 1800's. There have been people who disagree with him, especially with his take on Methuselah. However, if you do like he did, and study the parts of the names, what he says seems to stand up.

Abraham & Isaac -

We all know that the story of Abraham's offering of Isaac points to Jesus, but it goes well beyond what you might realize. As you read through this, pay attention to what it says of Isaac.

Genesis 22
Abraham Tested
¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, (Remember that Isaac was NOT Abraham's only son. As far as God was concerned, however, Isaac was, because only he was the son of Abraham's obedience and faith. God is referring to Isaac this way for a specific reason. In the NASB, the KJV, the NKJV, the Amplified Bible, the New Living Translation and even the Message, this is the very first reference to "love." Those first uses are very important, as they usually will show how God wants you to understand that issue. You could do an entire study on true "love" as God sees it by its use here and what that shows prophetically) and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day When Abraham received his instructions from God, in his mind, Isaac was dead. You can see that in Hebrews:

Hebrews ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring^[2] will be reckoned."^{[3] 19}Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

So, Isaac's "resurrection from the dead" was on the third day. When was Jesus' resurrection? On the third day. If you look up that phrase at the Blueletterbible.org or Biblegateway.org, you will find that pretty much every single one is somehow related to resurrection.

Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, Note that Isaac must carry the very wood he is to be sacrificed with. Sound familiar? and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. A more word-for-word translation here is:

You could read that "God will provide himself, a lamb." (You'll see these little nuances best in word-for-word translations. The KJV is good for that, because it italicizes the words that are not actually in the Hebrew [most of the time, anyway])

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied. (Just a little note to remember when reading the NIV - the actual Hebrew, when regular people are speaking, is never "Here I am" but "Here am I," or literally, "Here, I." The real "I am's" belong to God alone)
¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." Abraham knew that he was acting out a prophecy, because of the way he named the place. A more word-for word translation:

Indeed, it truly was seen there. Some scholars say that it was on that exact spot that the lamb of God was sacrificed for our sins.

¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD , that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring ^[2] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. Where is Isaac?


Nahor's Sons
²⁰ Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

Genesis 23
This whole chapter covers the death of Sarah, and Abraham's purchase of a cave to bury her. Isaac is not mentioned, not even once.

Genesis 24
Isaac and Rebekah
¹ Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. ² He said to the chief ^[1] servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, Please note that this servant is unnamed here - even though we know exactly who he is:

John 15 (NASB)
²⁶ "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is ⁽³⁾ the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me

John 15 (KJV)
²⁶ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me

"Put your hand under my thigh. ³ I want you to swear by the LORD , the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, ⁴ but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac." So, what is this unnamed servant to do? Get a wife for Isaac. Isaac doesn't do it personally, and it's at the order of the father, Abraham. This is the next mention of Isaac, but he's still not physically present.
⁵ The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
⁶ "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. ⁷ "The LORD , the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring ^[2] I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim ^[3] and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
¹² Then he prayed, "O LORD , God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."
¹⁸ "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.
²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ^[4] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. ^{[5] 23} Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
²⁴ She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor." ²⁵ And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."
²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD , ²⁷ saying, "Praise be to the LORD , the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
²⁸ The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ "Come, you who are blessed by the LORD ," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."
³² So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say."
"Then tell us," Laban said.
³⁴ So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. Notice how he still does not name himself. ³⁵ The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her ^[6] old age, and he has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.'
³⁹ "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
⁴⁰ "He replied, 'The LORD , before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family. ⁴¹ Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you-you will be released from my oath.'
⁴² "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD , God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³ See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," ⁴⁴ and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.'
⁴⁵ "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
⁴⁶ "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
⁴⁷ "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'
"She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'
"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD . I praised the LORD , the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn."
⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD ; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed."
⁵² When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD . ⁵³ Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. After it is agreed that Rebekah is to become the wife of the "master's son", the servant gives gifts. After we become believers and part of the bride, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts, too! ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you ^[7] may go."
⁵⁶ But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
⁵⁷ Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
"I will go," she said.
⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

"Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies."

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
⁶² Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ He went out to the field one evening to meditate, ^[8] and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" Isaac was not at the tents; he was out in the field. This is consistent with "meeting in the air."
"He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. This is the first time that Rebekah actually sees the one she has agreed to marry. When the "bride" is united with Christ in the air, it will also be the first time that we see actually see Him face to face.
⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; Now, we finally see Isaac. We saw him at the mountain, at the time of the sacrifice, and then he "disappears" until he is united with his bride. Note also that this is the very next mention of the word "love." The first "love" was of the love of the Father for the Son. The second was the love of the Son for the Bride. and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

A similar "type" can be seen in the story of Joseph. He was the beloved son of the father. He was hated by his brothers. They put him in a pit, symbolizing death and entombment. He was raised out of the pit and went to a far country, not seen by his brothers any more. After his "resurrection," he married a Gentile bride. In the far country, he was made a ruler, although his brothers still did not know it. When they were finally brought together again, the brothers acknowledged him as ruler and bowed before him.

Joseph as a type of Christ

JOSEPH & ASENATH

Here's another interesting list, much like the song lyrics we started out with:

Every book in the Bible is about Jesus

Are you starting to see how the Bible points to Jesus? Some people have become so fascinated with this type of study that they have devoted their lives to it. While that could be wonderful if God calls you to that, there is a danger to be avoided. The pictures themselves can become so interesting that we lose track of the common sense meaning of the passages. There are people who get so caught up in allegory that they start to doubt the reality of the "first level" understanding. For example, they think that Adam and Eve were not real people but just pictures for our learning. It really seems like those "here is what it REALLY means" people are only heading for trouble.

Don't let that happen to you. It would be better to completely ignore these pictures if they cause you to slip in your simple, child-like trust in God and His Word. Sure, the Cities of Refuge pointed to Jesus - but they were also real cities with real people who really took in those fleeing from Avengers of Blood. Joseph's life pointed to Jesus in many ways, but those events really happened to him. It's not just an allegorical story.

Also - if these type of things just make you frustrated and prone to putting aside the Bible because you keep thinking you have to understand every picture in every story, stop trying to see them. It is better to just stay in God's word. Remember, the Holy Spirit is the best teacher, and when you're ready to see more, He'll show you more. Be patient. Keep reading! Don't expect to understand everything. That's what we have all eternity (literally, ladies!) for. Personally, I can hardly wait to sit at Jesus' feet and have Him show me all the things I missed.

OK, let's go on:

Let's be honest. There are parts of the Bible that seem long and pretty pointless. The description of the making of the Tabernacle is one of those places. It goes on and on, and we find ourselves just skimming. Yet, there was a reason for all that, because God gave Moses specific instructions and told him "Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." Why? What was the big deal?

The first thing he tells Moses is how to make the Ark of the Covenant. This was that very special box that the Ten Commandments would be kept in. Everything about the Ark is a picture of Jesus.

Exodus 25
Offerings for the Tabernacle

¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. ³ These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ⁵ ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ^[1] ; acacia wood; ⁶ olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁷ and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
⁸ "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. ⁹ Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

The Ark
¹⁰ "Have them make a chest of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ^{[2] 11} The Ark is made of wood. Why? Why would something so special, so precious, be made of wood? They had plenty of gold - why not make it of pure gold? The wood represents Jesus' humanity. Wood has a tendency to perish - the "ability" to perish. In order to pay for our sins, God had to be capable of dying. He had to become a man, a kinsman of Adam. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. The box would be encased in pure gold, representing Jesus' divinity. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. ¹⁶ Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. Inside the Ark was to be the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. The law of God was in the heart of the box - and in the heart of Jesus. It also contained two other things - a jar of manna, which the New Testament tells us also represented Jesus as the bread of life, and Aaron's rod that flowered and bore fruit, a symbol of resurrection.

17 "Make an atonement cover ^[3] of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ^{[4] 18} And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. ²¹ Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. ²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

Footnotes

1 25:5 That is, dugongs

2 25:10 That is, about 3 3/4 feet (about 1.1 meters) long and 2 1/4 feet (about 0.7 meter) wide and high

3 25:17 Traditionally a mercy seat

4 25:17 That is, about 3 3/4 feet (about 1.1 meters) long and 2 1/4 feet (about 0.7 meter) wide

There is so much here. I can see already that there is much I haven't seen and have yet to learn. The NIV calls this lid for the ark the "atonement cover." The King James calls it the "mercy seat." Without this covering, the ark would be open. The ark, along with this separate cover was placed in the Holy of Holies. This is the place where once each year, the High Priest sprinkled blood on the cover for the sins of himself and the sins of the people. The two cherubim, (the highest level of angels), spread their wings upward and looked toward the cover. In the original tabernacle, this is where the shining glory of God resided - between the cherubim. There is no reason not to accept this at face value:

Psalm 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Other "enthroned between the cherubim" passages here.

The point is that the ark itself pointed to Jesus - but the mercy seat, the atonement cover, in a spiritual sense IS Jesus. The New Testament points this out specifically.

Here's the picture: The ark contains the law of God - the Ten Commandments. That law is broken. Israel could not keep them. We cannot keep them. The earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly one. The "Glory of the Lord" was present in the earthly tabernacle, between the cherubim.

Exd 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exodus 25:22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

Leviticus 16:2 The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

Just a little aside here - Aaron could not come in whenever he wanted - but Moses met with God face to face all the time. Aaron represented the people, but Moses was taking the part of a type of Christ. Now, IN CHRIST, we also have access to God whenever we want.

God Himself is enthroned in the heavenly tabernacle - surrounded by the real cherubim. Ezekiel saw the throne of God with the cherubim:

Ezekiel 10:1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire ^[a] above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim.

Ezekiel 10:14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.

The book of Revelation calls the cherubim "living creatures," but you can see that they are the same as what Ezekiel saw:

Revelation 4:6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

They proclaim the holiness of God. Later in Revelation, it is the living creatures, the cherubim, that call forth the judgments as the lamb opens the seals of the book. So, the earthly copies of the cherubim, looking down at the mercy seat (remember that under the mercy seat are the stones with the Ten Commandments) represent the holiness of God and judgment. When the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat, he was putting blood between the (broken) law and the holiness (and judgment) of God.

Now, the New Testament also talks about this:

Hebrews 9

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4which had the golden altar of incense and the goldcovered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. The word translated "atonement cover" or "mercy seat" in the King James, is hilasterion {hil-as-tay'-ree-on}. That very same word, hilasterion, is also used here:

 Romans 3:25 (NIV) God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

Romans 3:25 (KJV) Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

So, in other words, the New Testament is literally calling Jesus our atonement cover, our mercy seat. So, this idea of the mercy seat picturing Jesus is no conjecture, but specifically told us. In fact, in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, this same word " hilasterion" is used every place that the mercy seat is mentioned.

So, we see a bigger picture of what that mercy seat was supposed to show in the earthly tabernacle. It represented the coming "propitiation" of Jesus. That's a big word. It means "The act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing." Here's how the old Webster's Dictionary defines it:

Webster's 1913 Definition:

1. The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person

2. (Theological) That which propitiates; atonement or atoning sacrifice; specifically, the influence or effects of the death of Christ in appeasing the divine justice, and conciliating the divine favor.

He (Jesus Christ) is the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 2:2

1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.

1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

You can read more about it here:

Easton Bible Dictionary, Definition of Propitiation

Or here: Propitiation

So, the mercy seat pointed to the fact that the coming Messiah would "cover" the law. The blood showed that Messiah would have to shed his own blood to cover the broken law. This was perfectly fulfilled when Jesus said "It is finished" on the cross. We even see the picture perfectly fulfilled at the tomb:

John 20:11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

God leaves absolutely nothing to chance. What did Mary see? She saw the fulfillment of the mercy seat - with the blood of Jesus "sprinkled" between the two angels.

The rest of Hebrews 9 is also beneficial to read, as commentary on this whole idea:

Hebrews 9 (continued)

6When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings-external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,^[b] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not manmade, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,^[c] so that we may serve the living God!

15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

16In the case of a will,^[d] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."^[e] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a manmade sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Footnotes:

Hebrews 9:5 Traditionally the mercy seat

Hebrews 9:11 Some early manuscripts are to come

Hebrews 9:14 Or from useless rituals

Hebrews 9:16 Same Greek word as covenant; also in verse 17

Hebrews 9:20 Exodus 24:8

 

OK, that covers the ark and the mercy seat. What about the tabernacle itself?

 Exodus 26
The Tabernacle

¹ "Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. The inner layer of the tabernacle was beautiful, white linen with blue, purple and scarlet, with embroidered angels. ² All the curtains are to be the same size-twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. ^{[1] 3} Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. ⁴ Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. ⁵ Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. ⁶ Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.
⁷ "Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven altogether. The angel layer was covered with a layer of goat hair curtains! ⁸ All eleven (Eleven often refers to judgment, biblically) curtains are to be the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. ^{[2] 9} Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. ¹¹ Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit. ¹² As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. ¹³ The tent curtains will be a cubit ^[3] longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. ¹⁴ Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows. ^[4] The goat hair curtains were covered by red ram skins and then the hides of sea cows! Can you imagine what this must have looked like on the outside? Not lovely, that's for sure.

 

So, let's put this together. The outside layer was probably, in all honesty, pretty ugly. It wasn't colorful. In some versions, the word is translated badger skins, and in others, porpoise skins. Whatever it was, it wasn't intended to be beautiful. Yet, it was strong and would bear up under weather and sun. It reminds us of this verse:

Isaiah 53:2-3 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

The painted pictures we have of Jesus make him quite beautiful and gentle in appearance. That's not the way the Bible describes him, though. He would have been very strong - both from his early life as a carpenter, and from his later life of constant walking and being outside. He was impervious to the "lightning bolts" of the Jewish leaders and he was never "blown about" by the temptation to sin. Why wasn't he attractive, though? Perhaps because that's not how we're supposed to judge:

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

The next layer inside the sea cow layer was red ramskin, which speaks of blood and sacrifice. It reminds us of the ram with Abraham. The next inner layer is goat hair, which reminds us of the scapegoat - which took sin for the people outside the camp. The innermost layer was beautiful, and represented the glory of God. Around the whole tabernacle there was a courtyard, made of a curtain. There was only one entrance to the courtyard.

From the outside, the only thing you can see when you look into the entrance was the huge brazen altar, where the sacrifices were made. You could see nothing else. Now, put this in terms of Jesus. From the outside - the standpoint of an unbeliever, the only thing you can see is the sacrifice of Jesus - the gospel. Everything else is veiled to you. You won't see, you won't understand, anything else until you get past that altar: the cross. Once you get past the brazen altar, which was the cross in picture, the next thing you come to is the laver, that place where the priests were washed. Until they were washed, they couldn't proceed any further. Until we are washed with the water of the Word, we won't see any further either. We may have gotten past the brazen altar, (saved in other words) but we'll be stuck in the outer courtyard unless we are washed. When we look at the Holy Place, the tabernacle - JESUS! - we won't see anything that attracts us, really. Only when we ENTER IN do we see the wonder - the beauty and holiness of God. We need to be washed with the Word of God before our eyes are truly opened.

How many people do you know that are still in the outer courtyard? They've come past the brazen altar, but they never really enter in to the Holy Place that Jesus made accessible to them. Because of His sacrifice, they are welcome! But they seem happy to remain at a distance, looking at the skins of sea cows.

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 

One more thing, just for fun. The entrance to the tabernacle was on the east end, toward the sunrise:

Exodus 27:13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

Who camped on the east end? The camp of Judah. In order to enter the tabernacle courtyard, you had to go through the camp of Judah.:

Numbers 2:3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard.

In order to enter into God's presence now, you must also pass through the camp of Judah - specifically, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. 

Here are some additional articles for you, if you are interested:

The Tabernacle, a type of Jesus Christ and his church

The mercy seat

THE TABERNACLE

Christ in the Tabernacle

Here are portions of the above article from the Bookwurm site:

THE MERCY SEAT

The Ark and the Mercy Seat were the most important of all the vessels in the Tabernacle. The Ark with its Mercy Seat was the throne of God. Here God dwelled in the Shekinah glory above the Mercy Seat.

The basic meaning of the words "mercy seat" is "a propitiatory covering." "Propitiatory" means "that which satisfies God's righteous wrath against sin."

God has wrath against sinful men because they have transgressed and broken His law. The Bible says that Christ is our "propitiation." He is the One who satisfied God's righteous judgment against sin by His death on the cross. Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son to be our "propitiation" or "Mercy Seat" The apostle John wrote,

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [Mercy Seat] for our sins." 1 John 4:10

The Mercy Seat was a covering-- it covered something. What did the Mercy Seat cover? It covered our sins.

Imagine that the record of all your sins--the sins of your thought life as well as the sins which you have actually committed--is placed in that chest or Ark. God's holy and righteous law is there, and you have broken it. The broken law calls for judgment and death.

Imagine that there is no lid on the Ark. Everything is open and exposed. Every sin that you have ever committed is recorded there. From above the Ark, in the Shekinah glory, God is looking into the Ark. He sees what is in it.

Would you not want something to come between the eye of God and the record of your sins? Would you not want something to cover your sins and hide them from God's sight?

You see an angel bring the Mercy Seat of pure gold. He places it on top of the Ark. Then you see our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus, entering the Holy of Holies. The blood which He carries is not the blood of goats or calves; He is carrying His own precious blood. The Bible says,

"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:12

Our great High Priest sprinkles His own blood on the Mercy Seat. You hear Him say, "Father, forgive him and receive him for My sake."

Would this not cause your heart to praise and worship God for such a great Saviour, who loved us and redeemed us with His own precious blood?

What would have been a throne of judgment is now a throne of grace. Why? Because Christ Himself is our "Mercy Seat." The Bible says,

"He is the propitiation [Mercy Seat] for our sins..." 1 John 2:2

ENTERING THE HOLY OF HOLIES

In their daily service in the Tabernacle, the Old Testament priests could never enter the Holy of Holies. The veil barred their entrance into it. During the time of Christ, the Tabernacle had been replaced by the Temple. When Christ died, the heavy veil in the Temple was torn in two by God's power. God now invites believers to enter "the holiest"-- "the Holy of Holies." The Bible says,

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh." Hebrews 10:19,20

This means that, through His death, Christ has made a way for us to enter the very presence of God. Our old sinful self could never enter the Holy of Holies. But God puts us in Christ on the cross. When He died, we died with Him. When He rose from the dead, we rose with Him as a new person in Christ.

This is "the new and living way" which Christ has made for us. We go through His death, getting rid of our old self, and come out as a new person in Christ. We can now enter the Holy of Holies.

Beloved, have you accepted your death with Christ? If so, the way is open for you to enter the Holy of Holies.

We have considered everything about the Tabernacle except one thing--the floor. The floor of the Tabernacle was sand! The glories of Christ have filled our spiritual eyes. We are heavenly people, seated with Christ in heavenly places, but we stand on "sand." We are not of "this present evil world," but we are still in it.

As pilgrims we press on to our eternal home in heaven. The burning sands and desert thorns may hurt our weary feet, but, like Paul, we say,

"For I reckon [count] that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

 

   

The Cross in the Book of Numbers

Numbers 2
The Arrangement of the Tribal Camps

¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ² "The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family."

³ On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. ⁴ His division numbers 74,600.
⁵ The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶ His division numbers 54,400.
⁷ The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸ His division numbers 57,400.
⁹ All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.

¹⁰ On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹ His division numbers 46,500.
¹² The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³ His division numbers 59,300.
¹⁴ The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. ^{[1] 15} His division numbers 45,650.
¹⁶ All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.

¹⁷ Then the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his standard.

¹⁸ On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹ His division numbers 40,500.
²⁰ The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹ His division numbers 32,200.
²² The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³ His division numbers 35,400.
²⁴ All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.

²⁵ On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standard. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ His division numbers 62,700.
²⁷ The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. ²⁸ His division numbers 41,500.
²⁹ The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰ His division numbers 53,400.
³¹ All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last, under their standards.

³² These are the Israelites, counted according to their families. All those in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550. ³³ The Levites, however, were not counted along with the other Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses.

³⁴ So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family.

 

Lots of numbers - another of those places where we normally just skim. Let's take it one piece at a time. First, the Levites were to camp around the tabernacle. Then, to the east, three tribes were to camp, all under the standard or banner of Judah. As we mentioned before, they were camped on the side of the tabernacle that had the entrance. All together, there were 186,400 in that camp.

Now, skipping the NE quadrant (because God didn't say NE), on the north side there were three more tribes camped, under the banner of Dan. All together, there were 157,600 in that camp.

OK, now you've got to picture this graphically. God didn't say spread into the NE. He said, camp to the east, camp to the north, etc. So, as wide as the Levites are around the tabernacle - that's how wide each group can camp. Then, they just spread out in that direction - east or north or whatever - as far as they need to go. This leaves some open space in between the camps, which would be necessary for a group this size. There were lots of things they were required to do outside the camp, like going to the bathroom, for example (Deut. 23:12-13). If they were all just one huge sprawling group, you might have to travel miles to get outside the camp.

So, skipping the NW quadrant, you have three more tribes camped under the banner of Ephraim. They would be directly ACROSS the tabernacle from Judah. They numbered 108,100 all together, which was only about 3/5 the size of Judah's camp. (So Judah's camp would stretch out almost twice as far)

Finally, to the west of the tabernacle were three tribes under the banner of Reuben, with a total of 151,450. They were directly across from the camp of Dan, which had 157,600. So, both of those camps stretched about the same distance away from the tabernacle, but not as far as Judah's camp did. When you put it together, it comes out like a cross. (I haven't figured out how to add a picture here, so hopefully you saw the picture I brought).

So, Israel camped in the shape of a cross with tabernacle at its center. The tabernacle was where they met with God - so this is a picture of God on the cross. Also, remember that they entered the courtyard from the east, which was where Judah camped. As you an see, that is the foot of the cross. The only way to God for them then and for us today is approach the foot of the cross.

There is much, much more here that I won't take the time to go into. Here are some additional articles so that you can read more (with pictures of this):

 

The Camp of Israel

The Revelation of the Cross in the Camp

The Gospels and the Camp of Israel

 

The Ark

The ark of Noah also points to Jesus. I won't go through every little nuance. There are a couple articles at the end for you to study it further if you want.

Genesis 6
The Flood
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress ^[3] wood; As in the ark of the covenant, the wood may point to Jesus' humanity. It's not as obvious here, though, so who knows? make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. Why both inside and out? Again, I'm not sure. However, it is kind of the same idea as the ark of the covenant being covered inside and out with gold. Pitch as a symbol for divinity? I don't know about that one. There was a reason that God had Noah coat it on both sides. It wasn't necessary to make it sea worthy. Maybe we'll find out someday. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. ^{[4] 16} Make a roof for it and finish ^[5] the ark to within 18 inches ^[6] of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark (only one door!) and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark-you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Everything was going to perish in God's judgment on the world except those that were IN the ark. None escape God's wrath to come except those that are IN Jesus:

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Genesis 7

1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, The word translated "Go" here ("Come" in the KJV) is the Hebrew word bow'. The verb tense is imperative, so it is an order, but it also implies that someone is leading the way, bringing the person, object or animal along, as here:

Genesis 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

The point is that if the ark DOES represent Jesus (never, ever negating the fact that it was a real ark saving real people from a real global flood), the same is true of our salvation in him. Noah didn't think up a coming judgment and he didn't think up the ark. He was led to do what he did. When the time came to enter the ark, he was told to enter, but the word also implies being "led" in. The same is true when we believe in Jesus as our savior. We don't just decide to believe. God calls us - God justifies us, through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us into truth. Without his help, we cannot believe - cannot "enter in" to salvation in Jesus.

you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven ^[a] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month-on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. When Noah and his family entered the ark, they went in through the ONE door. There was no other way in.

John 10:9 (NASB) "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Luke 13:24 He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in. Noah didn't shut the door to keep himself and his family safe. God shut the door. As long as they remained in the ark, they were safe. As long as we remain in Jesus, we are safe. (Remember our Cities of Refuge discussion?)

There is a day coming when our door will be shut. You can bet that when the rain started, many, many people wanted into the ark. The Bible calls Noah a "preacher of righteousness." He must have warned the people for the entire 120 years that he built the ark. Yet absolutely no one listened. When God shut the door, it was too late. The same will be true in the future, perhaps one day soon. Only those in Christ will be safe from the fire to come:

2 Peter 3:6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 25:10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. ^[b] , ^[c] 21 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8
¹ But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. ² Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. ³ The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, ⁴ and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

On the old calendar, the year started on the first of Tishri - around September or so. The "seventh" month was the month of Nisan, which falls around March or April. When the Israelites were about to leave Egypt, God changed the calendar:

Exodus 12:2 This month [Nisan - which had been the seventh month] is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of Israel must slaughter them ("it" in KJV) at twilight. 7Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. [NOTE: Some people have noted that this would make a "cross" on either side of the door opening.]

As you know, this was the very first Passover. Jesus was crucified on the same day that the lambs were slaughtered - the fourteenth of Nisan. He rose from the dead three days later, which was the seventeenth of Nisan. The ark of Noah had its "resurrection" the same day. The seventeenth day of the seventh month on the old calendar was the seventeenth of Nisan. Here are some places to read more about this:

The Typology of the Ark from the book Gleanings In Genesis by Arthur W. Pink

Survey of Bible History

Some from the link:

The preservation of all those on board the Ark is a great prophetic picture of all who are "in Christ." (Colossians 3:3) As Jesus said in John 6:39, "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." The Bible clearly affirms that each person who passes through the door (John 10:9) into salvation receives "eternal," not temporary, life. (John 3:15-18,36, John 4:14, John 5:24, John 6:40) God guarantees the eternal preservation of all who trust Him as their personal Savior. He acts as their defense attorney (Romans 8:31-33) and pleads their case upon the strength of what He did for them by His own personal sacrifice on the cross. (Romans 8:34) The result of His work on behalf of all who are in Him by faith is divine preservation from any and every potential hazard. (Romans 8:36-39)

A. The Ark is a great Old Testament type of Christ.

1. As the Ark was the only place of safety from destruction by the Flood, which was God's judgment on a sinful world, Christ is the only place of safety from the judgment of God by fire which is to come on this current sinful world. (II Peter 3:7) Only those in the Ark survived the Flood. Only those in Christ will survive the wrath of God that is to come. (Romans 5:9) As the Ark was the only ship on the sea when the Flood came, Jesus Christ will be the only place of safety when the fire comes.

2. As the "pitch" covered all who were in the Ark, even so the blood of Christ covers all who are in Him. (Revelation 1:5)

The Ark had only one door. (Genesis 6:16)

1. There was only one way into the Ark. Everyone who entered came in the same way. Here is a clear Old Testament picture of the fact that there is only one way to be saved. Salvation is extremely exclusive. All who would come must come the one and same way. To try to obtain salvation by any other way is to completely fail. (John 10:1,7-9)

2. The one door of the Ark typifies Jesus Christ as the one and only way of salvation. (John 14:6) He and He alone can save sinners from the wrath that is to come. (Acts 4:12) A common position of proponents of false religions is their claim that they are serving the same God that Christians serve, but that they call him by a different name and have a different set of procedures by which they serve him. Jesus personally condemned and totally rejected that false reasoning when He declared Himself to be the exclusive means of salvation and He accused all who reject Him of also rejecting God. (John 8:24,42)

 

Daughters of Zelophehad

In Numbers chapter 26, there is a big list of names, because inheritance in the promised land is being determined. It is straight-forward, and then you come to this verse:

Num 26:33 And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Nothing more is said about it until the next chapter:

Num 27:1-8 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.

Later in the Bible there is one more stipulation - that the daughter must marry within her tribe. However, if she does, the inheritance can pass through her. In practicality, what they did was that the husband of the woman was considered a son - sort of adopted by the woman's family. Normally, when a woman marries, she becomes part of her husband's family. In this case, the husband was considered part of hers, so that the inheritance of land, house, whatever, would stay in her family.

So, what in the world does that have to do with Jesus? It's just an odd little incident, right? Well, file that away in your mind for a moment.

 

Let's jump to the New Testament:

Matthew 1

The Genealogy of Jesus

1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[a] (Jehoiachin - see below) and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Footnotes

Matthew 1:11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse 12 Matthew 1:17 Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One." Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14

 

Matthew was a tax collector - a legal official. He was also a Jew and throughout his gospel, he's very concerned with showing how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the coming Messiah. All good Jews knew that the coming Messiah would not only come through the line of David, but would come through the line of kings, since he would be a king himself - so Matthew presents the legal genealogy of Jesus down to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Joseph was descended from the line of the kings. However, there's a problem:

Jeremiah 22

24 "As surely as I live," declares the LORD , "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear-to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians. ^[d] 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to."

28 Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? 29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD !

30 This is what the LORD says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah."

A quick note: This says that Jehoiachin is the son of Jehoiakim - and indeed he was, if you read 2 Kings. Josiah was actually his grandfather. The name of Jehoiakim was blotted out. In fact, you'll see here and there where other names have been blotted out, such as in Revelation 7, where the Tribe of Dan is missing. In each case, you'll find the reason was idolatry. This verse applies:

Deuteronomy 29:18-23 - Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against the man. All the curses written in this book will fall on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

Whoa - that's a big problem. It says that none of Jehoiachin's offspring will ever sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah. Yet, Messiah must take David's throne, must rule, in order to fulfill the prophecy. Remember, though - that Joseph wasn't really Jesus' father - so this "blood curse" doesn't apply. Legally, Jesus was descended from the line of kings.

There's still a problem, though. Messiah must be an offspring of David. Of course, that's where Mary comes in:

Luke 3

23Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli, 24the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, the son of Melki,
the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,
the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,
the son of Naggai, 26the son of Maath,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,
the son of Josech, the son of Joda,
27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,
the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri, 28the son of Melki,
the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,
the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,
the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, 30the son of Simeon,
the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,
the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
31the son of Melea, the son of Menna,
the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,
the son of David, 32the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,
the son of Salmon,^[d] the son of Nahshon,
33the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,^[e]
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
the son of Judah, 34the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35the son of Serug, the son of Reu,
the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah, 36the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan, 38the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.

Footnotes:

Luke 3:6 Isaiah 40:35

Luke 3:15 Or Messiah

Luke 3:16 Or in

Luke 3:32 Some early manuscripts Sala

Luke 3:33 Some manuscripts Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni; other manuscripts vary widely.

 

But, still a problem. Legally, descending from a woman doesn't carry the inheritance - in this case, the inheritance is to carry the line of Messiah. UNLESS - Unless Mary's father had no sons. Then the rule of the Daughters of Zelophehad would apply. If you look at Luke 3:23: Now Jesus. . .was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, you can see that's exactly what happened. Heli was actually Mary's father, but apparently had no sons and "adopted" Joseph to carry on the family line.

Now, all the problems are solved. Legally, Jesus was descended through the line of kings through Joseph, but since Joseph wasn't really Jesus' father, the blood curse doesn't apply. Physically, he was descended from King David through Mary (by way of Bathsheba's second living son, Nathan), and that was also legally acceptable because of the rule of the Daughter's of Zelophehad.

See? Every single thing is in the Bible for a reason. We're not going to learn all those reasons in this life, but those discoveries we do make are wonderfully fun.

An article with more information:

 Why a Virgin Birth?

 

 

Some additional articles on "types" of Christ in the Bible:

The Sufferings and Death of Christ in Types

Types of Prophecy and Prophecy in Type

Every book in the Bible is about Jesus

The Bible (is about Jesus)

 

 

 

 

 

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