1729. The Blood of Christ in the Old Testament–Part II
The Blood of Christ in the Old Testament–Part II
"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness" (Zec_13:1).
1. The Psalms give prophecy after prophecy of the Cross of Christ. In fact the Psalms set forth in minute detail many of the happenings of that eventful day on which our Lord was crucified.
2. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes show the folly of following after the world, and the folly of offering the sacrifices of the wicked, or of fools (see Pro_15:8; Ecc_5:1).
3. The Song of Solomon describes the shepherd lover, as he woos his beloved. It also portrays how the promised bride refuses all to follow her true shepherd lover.
4. In Isaiah we have the great Calvary chapter, Isaiah 53.
5. Jeremiah describes Christ as the Branch, and in the Lamentations of Jeremiah we have the overwhelming anguish of Christ as He suffers for His people, Israel, Calvary is full in view.
6. Ezekiel preaches the story of redemption in his sixteenth chapter with a distinctness that makes the Cross of Christ glorious in its anticipation of the Blood of the everlasting covenant. Compare, Eze_16:60 with Heb_13:20.
7. Daniel has to do more with Christ's final triumphs, but the Cross is plainly in view when the little horn takes away the daily sacrifice; and in its stead sets up the abomination that makes desolate.
The minor prophets, like Daniel, have in view Israel's sin, the course of her weary wanderings, and her final forgiveness and restoration under one King, their returning Lord, and yet the Cross is often seen as the basis of their redemption.
8. Hosea says: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death" (Hos_13:14); then follows that marvelous passage, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction." This rivets the attention at once on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, as set forth in 1Co_15:1-3, 1Co_15:55-57.
9. Joel describes the day when the Lord shall be recognized and accepted by the very Israel who once denied and slew Him; then "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance" (Joe_2:32).
10. Amos cries, "Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?" (Amo_5:25). Yet, because of Israel's perfidy and sins, the Lord is described as standing upon the altar and saying: "Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake" (Amo_9:1). Amos closes with a most wonderful promise of the covenant renewed and Israel forgiven and restored.
11. Obadiah says: "Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance," and deliverance comes by the Cross.
12. Jonah in the belly of the fish, is a type of our Lord in the heart of the earth.
13. Micah speaks of Israel's deliverer as coming out of Bethlehem-Ephratah. He is a God who pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgressions (see Mic_5:1-2 and Mic_7:18-20).
14. Nahum concedes that the Lord, though slow to anger and great in power, cannot acquit the guilty; yet, in the day of Jacob's trouble He preaches good tidings and peace–a peace that is possible to a just God only by way of the Cross. Study Nahum 1.
15. Habakkuk, after portraying the holiness of God and the purity of His eyes, assures us, "The just shall live by his faith" (Hab_2:4); and upon this basis of faith, he foretells how "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab_2:14).
16. Zephaniah proclaims God a just Lord, and yet he sees that same Lord taking away the judgments of sinning but repentant Israel, as He rejoices over her with joy and rests in His love (see chap. 3).
17. Haggai, in his twenty-three verses, speaks twice of the day (see Heb_12:26-27) when the Lord will shake the heavens and the earth, and give glory and peace to His people Israel (see Hag_2:6-7, Hag_2:21).
18. Zechariah goes beyond the other minor prophets. They all, as we have seen, speak of the Cross, by inference. Zechariah tells us in plain, unmistaken words that Israel's forgiveness, restoration, and peace is based upon the Blood of the Cross. "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness" (Zec_13:1).
Lest some one might deny that the Crucified is in view in the Prophet's vision; we read in Zec_13:7, "Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."
Again, in Zec_12:10, we read: "I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced." Surely the Cross of Christ is the basis of the redemption of Israel.
19. Malachi, the last Book of the Old Testament, speaks of the Christ, in His Second Coming as the "Messenger of the Covenant"–a covenant sealed in the Blood of Christ.
Twentieth century skeptics may relegate the Blood of Christ to the scrap pile of ancient dogmas; but we prefer to recognize it as the basis of their forgiveness and their only hope of coming peace.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR