Preparation for the Coming Redeemer
from Redemption Realized Through Christ, Chapter 2
By Leland M. Haines
Holiness and love are frequently mentioned attributes of God. Other attributes are His faithfulness, forgiveness, goodness, justice, mercy, righteousness, and truthfulness. We can only know how these terms reflect and describe the nature of God by studying the Bible. This revelation expresses His personality with words that are commonly used of humans. We can only partly comprehend the meaning of these terms. We must be careful in using them not to over-simplify God's nature.
God's holiness is central to the Bible's message. God said, "I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44; cf. 19:2). The Scriptures declare, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works" (Psalm 145:17). "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy" (Psalm 99:9). "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (I Peter 1:15, 16). Jesus Christ addressed God as "Holy Father" (John 17:11) and taught His disciples to reverence God (Matthew 6:9). God's holiness is why He is separate from and hates sin (Psalms 5:5; 11:5; 45:7; Proverbs 15:9; Isaiah 59:1, 2; Habakkuk 1:12, 13).
A correct understanding of God's holiness and love is essential to rightly appreciate the plan of salvation. First, if it had not been for His holiness, God would not have had to separate Himself from sin. A plan of salvation would not have been necessary. His love could have overlooked man's weakness and disobedience. However, since God is holy, His justice will not allow His love to overlook man's sin without the demands of His holy character being satisfied.
Second, God deals with man according to His love. God's love is His fatherly concern for mankind, and the word describes His beneficent attitude and kindness toward man. When God gave the law of Moses, He revealed Himself as "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering [slow to anger], and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Exodus 34:6, 7; cf. Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 103:8; Jeremiah 32:18; Jonah 4:2). Moses told the Israelites that God "will love thee, and bless thee" (Deuteronomy 7:13; cf. 23:5; 33:3; I Kings 10:9; II Chronicles 2:11; 9:8; Psalms 97:10; 147:8; Isaiah 48:14).
In the New Testament the apostle John wrote "God is love" (I John 4:8; cf. 4:16). God's love moved Him to initiate His plan of salvation. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (I John 4:9). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4, 5; see also Romans 5:6-8; 8:32). God desired to save man from sin because He loved him.
God's holiness and love worked together to bring redemption to mankind. Because God is holy, man separated himself from God by his sin. Because God is love, He promised to send a Redeemer to deliver man from sin.
Before the foundation of the world, God had planned for man's salvation. Christ's sacrifice "was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you" (I Peter 1:20). It was "promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). "[God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling . . . according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (II Timothy 1:9). Consequently, when man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God was ready to begin revealing His plan of redemption.
At the same time that God told man of the consequences of his sin, He told the serpent that He would "put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" (Genesis 3:15). This mention of the "seed" of the woman is the first prophecy referring to Christ. The full mystery behind Jesus Christ "was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:25, 26). This mystery unfolded progressively in the Old Testament and was completly revealed and became a reality in the New Testament.
The first step in preparing man for salvation and in bringing it to him was God's call to Abram. God spoke in a straightforward manner to him: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing . . . in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3). God's call to Abram consisted of a command to go and a promise of blessings.
Abram believed God and "departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him" (Genesis 12:4). God led him "into the land of Canaan. . . . The Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land" (vv. 5-8). God again made a promise to Abram who again believed and "builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord" (v. 8).
God's promise to Abram was threefold. It included a seed, a land, and a blessing. Abram was to become the father of a chosen people. They would receive a land where they could live separate from others and be used by God to be a blessing to all people. God repeated these promises several times to Abram (Genesis 13:16; 15:5, 7, 18). Each time Abram "believed in the Lord; and he [God] counted it to him for righteousness" (15:6).
When Abram was ninety-nine years old and still childless, God
appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. . . . Behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee. . . . And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised . . . it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. Genesis 17:1-11
Circumcision was a sign to remind Abraham's descendants of their special relationship to God.
At that time God also said to Abraham,
As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her; yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Genesis 17:15-17
Although it was difficult for Abraham to understand how God's promise could be fulfilled, he believed God, and God was faithful.
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. Genesis 21:1-7
Abraham's faith in God was then tested beyond any of his past experiences. He had believed God and had obeyed when called from Ur. He had believed the Lord that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Then God told him, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:2). This child, through whom God's promise would be fullfilled, was to be offered. Abraham had no other son of the promise, and at his age he had little hope of having another. Abraham again trusted God and went to the mountain to offer Isaac. Abraham bound him and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham took the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord appeared and said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me" (v. 12).
God then provided a ram, which was caught in the thickets, and Abraham offered it as "a burnt offering in the stead of his son" (Genesis 22:13). After Abraham demonstrated his faith by being willing to follow God's command unconditionally, God reconfirmed the promises He had made earlier: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice" (v. 18).
God's promise to Abraham was repeated to Isaac, his son (Genesis 26:3, 4), who became the father of the twins, Esau and Jacob. Before they were born, the Lord told Rebekah their mother, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" (v. 23).
God chose Jacob to receive the promise made to Abraham. Esau, the older twin, should have inherited the promise. It was his "birthright." But Jacob possessed the spirituality and leadership qualities needed to fulfill the promise. Eventually Jacob bought the birthright from Esau for some pottage (Genesis 25:29-34).
Even though he had obtained the birthright from his brother, Jacob still needed the blessing of his father, Isaac. Following the custom of the day, Isaac wished to bestow his blessing on his oldest son, Esau. He asked Esau to bring him food from the field, "that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death" (Genesis 27:7). When Jacob learned of this, he obtained the blessing with his mother's help, through deceit.
Because Jacob obtained the birthright and blessing, Esau sought to kill him. Jacob feared Esau. Upon Isaac's advice, Jacob went to his uncle Laban (Genesis 27:30-45). Before leaving, he received the blessing of Abraham (28:4). Laban welcomed him and offered him a job. There Jacob married Laban's daughters, Leah and Rachel.
Jacob had twelve sons, each of whom became the father of a tribe. These twelve tribes developed into the nation Israel. God gave the name Israel to Jacob (Genesis 32:28). The promise to Abraham and Isaac was repeated to Jacob (35:10-12). God kept His promise and developed this family into His chosen nation, Israel.
In Egypt, Joseph rose from servant to governor through God's providence. Because of God-given ability to interpret dreams (Genesis 41:16), Joseph was put in charge of Egypt's storehouses, which he had filled with food in preparation for a coming famine.
Back in Canaan, Jacob and his eleven sons soon faced starvation. Stories of plenty in Egypt brought Joseph's brothers there for food. Through these circumstances, Jacob and his family were saved from starvation in Canaan. As they left to go to Egypt, Jacob received assurance from God that his descendants would again return to the Promised Land, Canaan (Genesis 46:3, 4).
Egypt became Israel's home for four hundred and thirty years, and there Jacob's family prospered. The Egyptians held the Israelites in high honor because of Joseph's part in saving the Egyptians from the famine. The Israelites "were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them" (Exodus 1:7).
Then the tide turned against the Israelites.
There arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. . . . The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage. Exodus 1:8-14
As if this was not enough, the king of Egypt took a much harsher step. He ordered the midwives to kill all the sons born to the Hebrew women, but the midwives did not follow his orders (Exodus 1:15-22).
The Lord knew of the Hebrews' coming oppression, and He prepared a deliver, Moses. God used the order involving the midwives to bring Moses into Pharaoh's palace in preparation for leading the Hebrews to the Promised Land. Thus God's love and mercy were manifested to His people:
The children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Exodus 2:23, 24
At the right time, God called Moses to go to His people and deliver them from bondage in Egypt. He told Moses to gather the elders, go to the king of Egypt, and request that the Hebrews be allowed to go on a three-day journey to sacrifice to their God. Moses knew Pharaoh would not permit them to go for fear of losing authority over the people. God afflicted the Egyptians with ten plagues before Pharaoh would let the Hebrews leave (Exodus 3-12). The plagues came one after another, yet Pharaoh did not let the people go. Only after the tenth plague, which involved the death of all the firstborn of the Egyptians, did Pharaoh finally change his mind.
God instituted the Passover to symbolize His redemption of them from Egypt. Each Israelite family was to slay a lamb and put some of its blood on the doorposts of their house. The blood distinguished the Israelites from the Egyptians.
The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I [God] see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:13, 14
Moses and the Israelites did as God commanded. The firstborn from the family of Pharaoh to the family of the most humble Egyptian peasant died. This tragedy changed Pharaoh's heart. He told the Israelites, "Take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also" (Exodus 12:32).
"Six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children" left Egypt (Exodus 12:37). The time the children of Israel were in Egypt "was four hundred and thirty years" (v. 40). Through these years God multiplied seventy Israelites into a nation of six hundred thousand men, not to mention women and children.
"In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai" (Exodus 19:1). They camped at the base of Mount Sinai for eleven months. The record of events of the children of Israel there is given in Exodus 19 to Numbers 9.
At Sinai God again called Moses and further revealed His will for Israel, entering into a covenant relation with them that demanded their complete and total allegiance in life. In return God would have close fellowship with His people. During this time, Moses met with God on seven occasions. At the first meeting God told Moses:
Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. Exodus 19:3-6
Moses spoke these words first to the elders and then to the people, who responded, "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Exodus 19:8). The people's acceptance of God's words confirmed the covenant between them and God. Things would be different now. The Israelites were to be God's chosen people, they were to obey Him forever, and they were to be an example to others so they too could know God. The people's acceptance of God's words was important in making them a great nation whereby God could bless all the peoples of the earth.
At Mount Sinai, God revealed His will, which included the Ten Commandments. These Commandments, found in Exodus 20:3-17, were central to God's law. The first four deal with man's relationship to God, and the next six with man's relationship to man:
During the eleven months at Sinai, God revealed other ordinances that constituted the basic civil law in Israel (Exodus 21-23).
Moses told the people "all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do" (Exodus 24:3). Moses wrote the words into the book of the covenant. After he reread them to the people, they again responded, "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" (v. 7). He took the blood of sacrificed oxen, sprinkled it on the people, and then said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words" (v. 8). Through this covenant the Lord established His rule over Israel.
At this time the Lord also gave Israel instructions for the tabernacle. This tent was to serve as a sanctuary and a place of worship and offering of sacrifices. This sanctuary was the dwelling place of God among His people and was also the place where the tablets of the law were kept.
Each small detail of the tabernacle was revealed by God; no part was designed by man (Exodus 25-27). The tabernacle was situated in a courtyard that could be entered only through one door on the east side. One first entered near the altar of burnt offerings, where the sacrifices were offered. Farther ahead stood the laver, a large round bowl used by the priests for ceremonial washing and cleansing before they entered the tabernacle.
The tabernacle itself, a comparatively small, rectangular building (about 45 by 15 feet), stood at the west end of the courtyard. It was divided into two chambers. The first or outer chamber contained the golden candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the altar of incense. The second or inner chamber, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the Holy Place by a heavy curtain or veil. The central feature of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, was located in the Holy of Holies. On the lid of the ark, which was also known as the mercy seat, were two cherubim of gold. Their wings were outstretched toward each other, and their gaze was fixed downward on the mercy seat.
God dwelt as King among His people in the Holy of Holies. The high priest could go into His presence only once a year, on the Day of Atonement. On that day the high priest, enshrouded by a cloud of incense, entered with sacrificial blood to make atonement for his and the people's sins (Leviticus 16:11-17; Hebrews 9:7).
Aaron was the first high priest. His four sons also became priests. Two of these sons illegally burned incense and died because of their sin (Leviticus 10:1-5). The priesthood continued through the remaining two sons. They were to "teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses" (Leviticus 10:11; cf. 10:6-20). The priesthood is described in Exodus 28 and 29.
Later the tribe of Levi was given the priesthood duties for remaining faithful when Israel rebelled by making the golden calf (Exodus 32:25-29). The Levites' priestly calling was to be of service to the tabernacle.
At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him. Deuteronomy 10:8, 9They were consecrated for this service in a special ceremony (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8).
The priests officiated three kinds of offerings at the tabernacle: a drink offering, a meal offering, and an animal offering or sacrifice. The animal offering was central. Depending on the person's resources, a bull, sheep, goat, or dove-free from blemish-was sacrificed. The blood, which made the atonement for the sins (Leviticus 1:4; 17:11), was sprinkled around the altar. The altar fire consumed the rest of the animal.
Israel could not see the purpose of the law, the tabernacle, and the sacrificial offerings. The nation of Israel was the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation and a blessing to all nations. The religious institutions in Israel served a purpose for the Jewish people at the time and were also a shadow of events to come (Colossians 2:16, 17; Hebrews 8:5; 10:1).
The law, the tabernacle, and the offerings or sacrifices were to have an educational function. Through them the Jewish people¾and later all mankind¾were to learn of God's will and thus become aware of sin and the need of redemption (the deliverance from the bondage and consequences of sin). Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote that the Jews knew God's will by having "the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law" (Romans 2:20), and "by the law is the knowledge of sin" (3:20). God called for perfect obedience to the law. "Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them" (Leviticus 18:4, 5). This call for obedience could bring "a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). The curse sin brought was death: "The soul [person] that sinneth, it [he] shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4, 20).
The structure of the tabernacle revealed to man the realities of sin, its effect on man's relationship with God, and the means for man to come into the presence of God. The tabernacle, God's dwelling place, could be entered through only one door in the wall surrounding the courtyard and only by passing the altar and the laver. These items taught man the steps he needed to take before he could enter into God's presence.
Through the tabernacle the Israelites learned that their sins prevented their entrance into God's presence and that God's holiness, righteousness, and justice demanded that the sinner must die. The tabernacle taught man that only the death of a clean substitute could satisfy God's justice. The altar spoke of this substitute's death. The blood of the sacrifice, representing life, served this purpose. "The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement" (Leviticus 17:11). The writer of the Book of Hebrews summarized this: "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The full meaning of the sacrifice and its blood was revealed progressively to the Jews.
The laver stood midway between the altar and the tabernacle. Only the priests could enter the tabernacle, and only after they had undergone a ceremonial cleansing at the laver. This ritual washing taught that more was required than the sacrifice at the altar before man could enter into God's presence. There needed to be a "washing of regeneration" that cleansed the person and made him a "new creature" (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5; II Corinthians 5:17).
After the sacrifice at the altar and the cleansing at the laver, the priest could enter into the tabernacle's first chamber. On the right stood the table with the twelve loaves of the shewbread, "presence bread," or "the continual bread." This bread was "before the Lord continually" (Leviticus 24:8), signifying the constant communion between God and His people. On the left stood the golden candlesticks, giving the only light in the Holy Place. By this light the priests were able to serve God. The altar of incense stood before the veil that separated the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. There incense was burned to signify prayer and worship.
The ark and mercy seat stood in the Holy of Holies, which was entered only once a year on the "day of atonement" (Leviticus 16). On that day two goats were brought before God, and lots were cast to determine which one would be sacrificed and which one would be the "scapegoat." The sacrificed goat's blood was sprinkled before and upon the mercy seat. This made an "atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins" (v. 16). Aaron was to lay his hands on the head of the live goat, confessing over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and sending him away into the wilderness (v. 21). The first goat symbolized the covering of sins at the mercy seat, and the second goat symbolized the removal of sins by the sacrifice of the coming Christ.
The Jewish people spent about one year camped at Mount Sinai. After they received the law and built the tabernacle, God appeared to them in and guided them by the "pillar of cloud" (Exodus 14:24; 33:9, 10; 40:34-37; et al.) to the Promised Land. As the Israelites neared their destination, they sent twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan. These brought back a report that the land "f1oweth with milk and honey . . . [yet] the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great." Only two said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:27-30). The people doubted and murmured against Moses and Aaron. They asked, Why "hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword? . . . were it not better for us to return into Egypt?" (14:3, 4). Because of rebellion and lack of trust, those men "from twenty years old and upward" that murmured against God would die in the wilderness.
For forty years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness because of their refusal to enter Canaan. Near the end of the period, when the people were at Kadesh, there arose a shortage of water; and the people again murmured against Moses and Aaron. The Lord appeared to Moses and Aaron and told them to assemble the people and to speak "unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water" (Numbers 20:8). Moses, instead of speaking to the rock, struck it with his rod. Because of his disobedience, Moses was not allowed to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land.
In the fortieth year of the wilderness wanderings, Moses spoke to the people to prepare them to enter the Promised Land. He told them that their God was jealous and yet gracious. They were to follow His plan to take the Promised Land and to utterly destroy the inhabitants (Deuteronomy 2:34; 7:2). They were warned that if they made graven images, they would perish from the land, and only a few would be left to be scattered among the nations (chap. 4). The Israelites were to keep God's statutes and commandments. They were reminded that God "brought [them] forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage," and that they should "fear the Lord [their] God, and serve him" (6:12, 13). Then Moses told the people "that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people" (9:6). The Canaanites possessing the land were driven out because of their exceeding wickedness. The land would be given to the Israelites to fulfill the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (chap. 9).
At the Lord's instructions, Moses commissioned Joshua as his successor (Numbers 27:18-23). After Moses' death Joshua took command of the people. The Lord told him to "go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them." He promised that no man "would be able to stand before [them]" (Joshua 1:2, 5).
Joshua struck the land at Jericho, a strong, fortified city located in the middle of Canaan. Only by God's direct help were the Israelites able to take the city. The Lord appeared to Joshua and assured him of His presence and victory, after which He gave Joshua explicit instruction on how to take the city. Joshua was to have his armies march around the city in silence each day for six days, followed by seven trumpet-blowing priests, the ark of the covenant, and a rear guard. On the seventh day the people were to march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. After the seventh trip, the priests were to sound a long blast, and the people were to give a great shout. God would then miraculously cause the walls of the city to fall flat. The people followed these instructions, and the walls fell, and the people took the city (Joshua 6).
After the fall of Jericho, Israel's next step met with disaster. This defeat, which happened because of disobedience to God's commands, taught the Israelites the lesson that God required absolute obedience (Joshua 7, 8). Israel's next battles were successful, for God was with them. When Israel faced five kings of Canaan in battle, God caused the sun to stand still to allow time for Joshua's complete victory (chaps. 9, 10). After this battle Joshua defeated a coalition of the northern kings, giving him control over the whole land (chaps. 11, 12). The land of Canaan was then divided among the eleven tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi did not receive land, (14:4; cf. chaps. 13-20). Because they remained faithful when the golden calf was made at Mt. Horeb, they served in the tabernacle (Exodus 32).
When Joshua was old, he summoned Israel's elders and judges and addressed them. He told them to observe all that was written in the law of Moses, to keep separate from the nations around them, and to love the Lord their God. Joshua warned the leaders that the Lord would not continue to drive the remaining nations out of the land if the Israelites turned back and joined with any remaining remnants of the nations around them. The Israelites would perish from the good land given to them (Joshua 23, 24).
After Joshua died, the people entered into cycles of good and evil: "The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord . . . they forsook the Lord God of their fathers . . . and followed other gods" (Judges 2:11, 12). Whenever the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people because of their sins and they fell under the power of the nations around them, the Israelites would cry out to the Lord, and He would raise up a judge to deliver them. Then after a short time the people would repeat the cycle. The Book of Judges tells of several such cycles. It was difficult for the Israelites to learn that God was holy and righteous and wanted them to obey Him.
The Book of Judges ends with a significant observation: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (21:25). Israel was without a king, unlike the nations around them. Israel's government was supposed to be a theocracy: God was to rule over them through His Word and His judges. Yet the people refused to listen and obey but instead did what they thought was right.
When Samuel, the last judge, became old, he appointed his sons as judges. But "his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took brides, and perverted judgment" (I Samuel 8:1-3).
The elders of Israel, disturbed by the corrupt conduct of Samuel's sons, appealed to him to give them "a king to judge us like all the nations" (I Samuel 8:5). This displeased Samuel. The Lord told him this call for a king was due to their rejection of Him. Samuel warned the people of the dangers of having a king, but they refused to listen to him. They continued to insist on having a king, and finally God allowed them to have one. Instead of the kings bringing justice and righteousness to the nation, however, they often caused the people to reject God and to fall into sin.
The first of Israel's kings was Saul (I Samuel 9:16, 17). Samuel spoke to the people about their desire for a king. He reminded them they wanted "a king [to] reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you" (I Samuel 12:12, 13). He then told them, "If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: But if ye will not obey . . . then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers" (vv. 14, 15).
What did their king do? Although Saul was divinely chosen, he had weaknesses. These are evident when he chose three thousand men to go against the Philistines and was met with a superior force and routed. Not waiting for Samuel, Saul offered a burnt offering on his own. Samuel told Saul, "Thou has done foolishly: thou has not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God" (I Samuel 13:13). Because of this Saul learned that his "kingdom shall not continue" (v. 14). This did not stop Saul from being foolish. He made a second mistake. He sought to kill his son Jonathan for unknowingly eating after his father had commanded his men to abstain from food while in battle (14:24, 27, 39). Saul soon showed incomplete obedience to the Lord by not destroying all of Amalek. Because of this rebellion and stubbornness, and because of rejecting the Word of the Lord, the Lord "rejected thee [Saul] from being king" (15:23). These experiences show that having a king did not solve Israel's problems.
Israel's second king, David, was devoted to God and followed His ways, although not without sin. God used David to unite the twelve tribes into one strong kingdom. He became the central figure of Old Testament history. God rewarded David's service with a promise that He would establish David's house forever (II Samuel 7). As God used Abraham to found the Messianic nation, He used David to bless the world by being the head of the Messianic family. The plan for ONE GREAT KING to come from David's family to redeem man gradually began to unfold.
The golden age of Israel occurred during the reign of Solomon, David's second son and successor. This golden age did not last long. One hundred and twenty years after its beginning, the kingdom divided into two parts. The division resulted from the apostasy of Solomon, who accommodated the pagan shrines of his many foreign wives. The Northern Kingdom, consisting of ten tribes, was called Israel; the Southern Kingdom of two tribes was called Judah.
The Northern Kingdom departed from God and fell into idolatry. None of its kings brought the people back to God. God warned the people by prophets to turn from their evil ways and to keep His commandments. "Notwithstanding they would not hear" (II Kings 17:14). Therefore, two hundred years after the division, God allowed Assyria to defeat the Northern Kingdom. These ten tribes were carried off, never to return as a nation.
The Southern Kingdom, Judah, was saved from destruction by Assyria through listening to the Prophet Isaiah's message (II Kings 19). God defended Jerusalem because of His promise to David. Yet at this time Isaiah prophesied that "the days come, that all that is in thine house . . . shall be carried into Babylon" (II Kings 20:17). The Southern Kingdom entered into a cycle of worshiping idols and then reforming. Finally the people passed the point of no return. Then Jeremiah brought them the message that Judah had become more wicked than Israel had been. The people of Judah did not realize the significance of Israel's example for them and were carried into captivity by Babylon as prophesied by Isaiah.
After seventy years in captivity, Babylon was overthrown by the Persians, and the Jews returned to Palestine. The captivity cured them of idolatry. After the return, Ezra read the law to the people and, with the aid of the Levites, "caused the people to understand the law" (Nehemiah 8:7). This brought a great revival to the remnant of believers. "Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers" (9:2; see chaps. 8, 9).
Throughout Israel's history prophets arose with divine explanations of what was happening and with assurances that the people's failures did not end God's redemptive plan. The failures may appear to have slowed God's plan, but in the fullness of time it would still be carried out.
God did not give up on His people. He sent sixteen prophets who gave seventeen of the Old Testament books from Isaiah to Malachi. This prophetic period began at the time of Solomon's reign, when the apostasy of the ten tribes occurred. The greatest period of activity came just prior to Judah's overthrow, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, captured Jerusalem. Thirteen prophets were associated with the time of destruction (606-586 B.C.) and three with the time of restoration (536-444 B.C.).
In addition to foretelling judgment on Israel, the prophets had much to say concerning Israel's idolatry, political corruption, and immorality. The prophets also brought messages concerning the Seed promised in Genesis 3:15, although they did not understand all the details of God's redemptive plan. About this "salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (I Peter 1:10, 11).
Isaiah, who prophesied at the time the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians, wrote the first and the largest of the prophetic books. His prophecy contains some of the clearest Messianic passages in the Old Testament. "He [Isaiah] saw his [Christ's] glory" from afar (John 12:41). Some of Isaiah's prophecies concerning Christ are:
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [7:14], which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23
Afterward . . . beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. 9:1, 2, also referred to in Matthew 4:15, 16 -- this is a prophecy of His ministry to the Gentiles.
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 9:6
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 40:3-- this describes a forerunner; see Matthew 3:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfed: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 53:3-12
And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. 62:2
For the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name. 65:15 -- God's people will be known by a new name.
Jeremiah came one hundred years after Isaiah and prophesied to Judah before the nation fell to Babylon. After the fall, he brought hope of a new covenant that would put God's law into their hearts:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34; see also Hebrews 8:8-12
Other Messanic prophecies are:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Joel 2:28 -- this out-pouring occurred at Pentecost; see Acts 2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old; from everlasting. Micah 5:2 -- this speaks of the birthplace of the Messiah; see Matthew 2
I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH . . . I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Zechariah 3:8, 9
Thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass. Zechariah 9:9; see John 12:15
These prophecies, along with others (thirty pieces of silver, Zechariah 11:12 -- see Matthew 27:3; his hands pierced, Zechariah 12:10; 13:6; cf. John 19:37; the Smitten Shepherd, Zechariah 13:7; cf. Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27), give details of Christ's life that were literally fulfilled at His first coming.
Malachi, the last Old Testament book, describes the final preparation for the Messiah. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me" (Malachi 3:1). "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5, 6). This prophecy of Elijah was fulfilled in John the Baptist's ministry (see Matthew 3; 17:11-13).
After the promise and plan for Christ's coming had been given, no prophetic voice was heard for four hundred years. This was a period to study the details of the written Word concerning this plan. Great reverence for the Scriptures existed among the Jews. The synagogue, which came into prominence during the Babylonian captivity, became important as a center of Sabbath worship and a meeting place. The Gospels show that many synagogues existed throughout Palestine, and Acts show they existed in many other parts of the Roman world. Here the Scriptures were read and discussed. Its leaders, the elders, exercised discipline and oversaw the people's morals.
During this four-hundred-year period, the Jews were scattered throughout the known world. This prepared them to fulfill their mission to make known the Hope of Israel.
Finally, "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law" (Galatians 4:4, 5). The plan of redemption was fulfilled when all the conditions were right¾when the proper political, economic, moral, and religious conditions converged. The time was right for the rapid spread of the Good News of God's provision for redeeming lost man from his sinful condition. Some of the conditions contributed to "the fulness of the time" were:
1. Politically, the world was unified under the Roman government. This was a time of peace, when national frontiers were open to permit the Good News to travel freely. The people were not concerned with fears of war and had time to listen to the news of God's redemption. The Roman Empire also had good roads, which made it possible for the first missionaries to travel freely. Also, the language barrier was broken down. Throughout the empire most people were bilingual, with Greek being the common trade language. This made it possible for the New Testament books to be read in all areas of the empire. The missionaries could tell the story everywhere and know it could be understood.
2. Economically, the world was not prosperous. Poverty was commonplace. Two out of three men were slaves. These factors worked together to make life depressing. In contrast to this the Good News appeared as a bright light, and many men were ready to listen. Always man more readily turns to religion in times of economic depression than in times of prosperity.
3. Morally, the people were bankrupt. The first chapter of Romans describes the conditions of that day. Moral depravity caused down-trodden men to want to turn to something better.
4. Religiously, the old man-made gods and idols did not satisfy man's inner need to the be right with his Creator. The religions of the day were being rejected. Caesar worship was forced upon many, but this man-made "deity" did not satisfy. Spiritually and morally there was a growing vacuum that men were eager to have filled.
In summary, the political, economic, moral, and religious climate blended together to make the times right for the revelation of God's program of redemption. The Good News about God's Son coming to redeem man from his sinful condition would spread rapidly.
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The above is chapter 2 of Redemption Realized Through Christ, by Leland M. Haines. Copyright 1996 by Leland M. Haines, Northville, MI 48167-2053
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