Old Covenant to New Covenant transition; Foreshadowed
In the Old Testament scriptures there is a recurring theme that I will give samples of. To the original hearers in ancient times it may have been obscure what these passages were alluding to. But now looking back we can ask ourselves if these passages were indeed foreshadowing the kingdom of God in Christ.
The person and ministry of Moses and his replacement by Joshua; “Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ “But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the LORD said to me, ‘ Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. ‘Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.” Duet. 3:25, 26.
Moses was the prophet and law giver. He gave us all of the OT laws including the 10 commandments. As some leaders stand as head of a realm we will look not only at the leader but also of the realm to which his name is attached. Therefore when we speak of Moses we are referring also to the law of Moses and to that covenant era.
Moses was heading towards the goal of bringing God’s people into the promised land but he sinned in an act of unbelief and was not able to bring the people into the land. His replacement was Joshua who’s name is the root name of Jesus, Yeshua. The promised land itself typifies or is symbolic of God’s presence and his kingdom. So the failure of Moses is also the failure of the law to be capable of bringing people into the fullness of what God desires for us. Joshua, symbolic of Jesus was the one to bring the people into the land, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17.
Also in the story of Joshua’s conquest we see a similarity between the story of Israel and the formation of the church in Acts. After Israel enters the land one of their first big setbacks and a warning from God is the story of Achan’s theft, Joshua chapter 7. This story is very similar to the story in Acts chapter 5 of the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira. These stories are very significant creating a literary parallel and showing us who is Lord over these kingdoms. The story in Acts is especially significant to us showing that hypocrisy or faking it is not God’s way. In God’s new kingdom the filling of the Holy Spirit will provide all the spiritual fruit which will bring glory to God alone. And this glory cannot be stolen.
Elijah and Elisha; the ministry of Elijah was characterized by judgments, “But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, ‘ You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” 2 Kings 1:3, 4. But the ministry of Elisha is characterized by grace, healing and reaching out beyond Israel. The transitional account can be read in 2 Kings chapter 2 the highlight is this, “As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 2 Kings 2:11-14 NIV. Notice immediately after the transition Elisha has a crossing of the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Then Elisha’s first miracle is purifying a flow of water which is deeply symbolic of the ministry of Christ.
Then there is the most significant story in chapter 5 of the healing of Naaman the Syrian and the judgment upon Gehazi for his covetous theft drawing again a literary parallel to both Achan and Ananias and Saphira. Naaman was a military commander of Syria an enemy of Israel. And the story shows the beauty of God reaching out beyond Israel in the same way that the New Covenant in Christ goes out to the Gentiles.
You may think that my imagination has gone wild but let me show you that the New Testament writers drew explicitly upon these 2 historical figures and the realms that they symbolized to show that they were foreshadows to the new era of Christ.
“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are stan ding here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. Matthew 16:28-17:8 NASB. Jesus continues on in the same passage explaining this vision and the symbolic relationship between Elijah and John the Baptist, “ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “ Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. Matt. 17:9-13.
Another key foreshadowing of OT/NT transition is King David and his son King Solomon. King David desired to build a temple for God but God refused his request deferring to David’s son Solomon. King David typifies the rule of God as king and we are told that the Messiah would sit on the throne of David. However in this foreshadow we see that there is a transition and that one man cannot represent the complete kingdom. The kingdom has two phases; the father and the son. And the son will build the temple that represents God’s presence, “The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. ‘When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever’”. 2 Samuel 7: 12,13 NASB
