TYPES OF CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2000 James Melough
Jacob/Israel
Jacob, though less easily
discerned than most of the others, is nevertheless also a type of Christ, and in
connection with the flaws in his life it is necessary to note, that with the
exception of Joseph and Daniel, of whom no sin is recorded, all the other types were
clearly also not without faults; and relative even to Joseph and Daniel, it is to be
noted that the absence of any record of sin in their lives is not to be
construed as meaning that they were sinless. They
weren’t, for there are no exceptions to Ro 3:23, “All have sinned,” hence the
need of the new birth to save men from hell and fit them for heaven.
Like his father Isaac, Jacob
was also a secondborn, his brother Esau being Isaac’s firstborn; and as Ishmael,
Abraham’s firstborn, hated Isaac his secondborn, so did Esau, Isaac’s firstborn,
hate Jacob his secondborn, this hatred manifesting the enmity that exists between
what is of the flesh and what is of the Spirit, as disclosed in the Jews’ hatred of
Christ; and in spite of its protest to the contrary, in the final analysis the flesh
hates God and everything and everyone belonging to Him.
Because of his brother’s
hatred, which as noted already typifies man’s hatred of God and which is therefore
the ultimate cause of sin, he had to leave his father’s house and go to Padan-aram
meaning their ransom is high, and few will have difficulty seeing in that
journey a typological picture of Christ’s leaving heaven to come down to earth, so
that men’s sins might be atoned for, and they reconciled to God. Nor will many miss the significance of the meaning of Padan-aram their
ransom is high: it points to the price that Christ had to pay to ransom men’s
souls from death. It cost Him His life,
that cost being further declared in 1 Pe 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the
precious blood of Christ....”
Connected also with
Jacob’s leaving his father’s house and going to Padan-aram, was his taking a
wife, see Ge 27:46; 28:1-2, it being emphasized that she was to be of his own blood
line, and so was it also with Christ. His
coming to earth to make atonement for sin and provide salvation for every believer,
has resulted also in His receiving a bride, the Church, made up of all those who
trust Him as Savior in the period between Pentecost and the now imminent rapture, it
being said of those believers that, “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and
of his bones,” Eph 5:30. See also 1
Cor 12:12-13, 27.
A further significant fact
connected with Jacob’s bride was the evil character of her family, particularly her
father and her brother, for in this, God would have us see the evil spiritual
parentage of all men prior to the new birth.
Another brush stroke has
been added to the symbolic picture by the divine Artist in recording that through the
conniving of Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law, he was tricked into a union with Leah,
the elder sister of Rachael who was afterwards given him as his bride, and whom he
loved dearly. It isn’t difficult to
see in this the foreshadowing of Christ’s coming first to offer salvation to “the
lost sheep of the house of Israel,” see Mt 10:6; 15:24, Israel being portrayed by
the elder daughter Leah; and the Church, by Rachel, the brevity of the time between
his union with Leah and his marriage to Rachel having its fulfillment in the brief
period between the presentation of Christ to Israel, and the dissolution of the
nation in AD 70.
Jacob’s evil treatment at
the hand of Laban is symbolic of Christ’s evil treatment at the hand of Israel, the
symbolic picture being brought into clearer focus in Jacob’s flight from Laban, and
God’s warning to Laban not to harm Jacob, see Ge 31:24.
In the preservation of Jacob, God would have us see His preservation of Christ
through resurrection. The Jews imagined
they had seen the last of Him when they sealed His tomb, but He having died to make
atonement for sin, has been raised again, as it is written, “Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him,” Ro
6:9.
Passing over many other
instructive details of his history, we find Jacob at last returned to the land, rich
and powerful, reminding us that Christ will also return in power and glory to subdue
His foes, and inaugurate His millennial kingdom.
For a detailed study of the
life of Jacob see the verse-by-verse Genesis studies.
(Another type
of Christ will be added next week, D.V.)