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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 11…

Galatians 4:4
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Luke 24:25
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

All of Scripture is about Jesus, all the way from Genesis to Revelation. When John writes that Jesus Himself “was the word” (John 1:1), he was being quite literal. All of Scripture is is about Jesus in one of four ways:

Predicting the work of Christ. (Prophecies that specifically refer to Jesus.)
Preparing for the work of Christ. (passover and the atonement rituals, which foreshadow his atonement.)
Revealing the work of Christ. (The Gospels, which reveal Jesus as the predicted one.)
Reflecting on the work of Christ. (The epistles, which apply the Gospel.)

A few of the prophecies concerning Jesus:

To be continued in Epic 13…

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 9…

From the time of Moses onward, we see three different kinds of leaders over the people of Israel: Judges, Kings, and Prophets. In the book of Judges, the events that proceeded after Moses are summarized:

This describes the story of Israel verbatim for many generations. However, the story takes a turn with Samuel, the last judge over Israel:

1 Samuel 8:1-9 (ESV)»

Because Israel was impetuous, impulsive, and self-seeking they demanded to have a king put over them like all the other nations. However, God planned for Israel to have a king the whole time – but according to his own timing and his own wisdom. If they had waited, they would have been given an honorable king. In fact, God promises in 2 Samuel to establish the throne of David forever. The Jews of Jesus’ day properly interpreted the prophecies concerning the Lordship of the Messiah, but missed entirely those concerning his Sacrifice. The prophecies about Jesus can be broken down into three categories, describing a certain aspect of his character:

»Conquering King

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 11:10
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

»Son of Man

Daniel 7:13-14
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

»Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53:2
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. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

To be continued in Epic 11…

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 8…

Having received the full measure of the Law from God, Moses returned to the crowd and spoke it to them. To this, they responded, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses then took the blood of the covenant and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The blood that is spilled in this covenant is reminiscent of the blood that was shed when God substituted the sacrifice of Isaac with a ram that He provided, and the blood that was shed when God made garments of animal hide for Adam and Eve.

However, though the covenant that the people of Israel committed to was solemn, they still turned away and broke the commandments. While Moses was with God on the mountain top for 40 days, the people became impatient and said, “Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Because of their transgression, God instituted an entire set of sacrificial laws to demonstrate the holiness of God and the severity of their sin. God also had them make a tabernacle that would hold the Ark of the Covenant, where the high priest would enter on the Day of Atonement to sacrifice a spotless goat for the forgiveness of sins for one more year.

The New Testament book of Hebrews tells us, though, that the blood of animals cannot atone for sin. This means that each time that the high priest entered the holy of holies and shed the blood of a spotless goat, he was demonstrating in faith the coming atonement of Jesus Christ, whom Hebrews describes as being a sacrifice “once for all.”

Related Passages:
Exodus 24» Exodus 32»
To be continued in Epic 9…

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 7…

After the exodus from Egypt, Moses lead his people into the wilderness where they wandered for many months. During this time, God provided for them miraculously. In the daytime, He provided them with bread from heaven (called Manna) and in the evening, Quail. God also protected them from invading peoples who attempt to destroy them. God said that He brought the Israelites to Himself “on eagles’ wings,” and said to them, “If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” It is through the Israelite people that God intended to spread the fame and the renown His own name.

God soon established the holiness of His name and His renown among the people of Israel when He came down on the Mount of Sinai. He commanded that no one was to approach the mountain, or else they would die. He appeared in great power – in lightning and fire and dense cloud – and gave the ten commandments to the whole people of Israel:

Adapted from Exodus 20:1-17

»No other gods – Anything can be your god. This includes your job, car, house, family, friends, relationships, etc.
»No carved images – God is separate from creation. He is the creator, this world is the creation. We are not to worship creation, but only the Creator.
»Do not misuse God’s name – God’s name is very holy, and should never be used as a flippant byword.
»Keep the Sabbath holy – The Sabbath is now celebrated on Sunday instead of Saturday because it is the day that Jesus raised from the grave.
»Honor your parents – This is for both children and adults, honoring your parents from beginning to end.
»No murder – This does not apply to war or social justice, but pre-meditated, hateful murder.
»No Adultery – This is when someone who is in a covenant marriage relationship with another desires to have intimacy with someone else.
»No stealing
»No false testimony
»No coveting

God also gave a much more extensive law system to the Israelites. This included the Moral, Civil, and Ritual law. As Christians, we must understand how these laws apply to us today. The law that God gave to the Israelites was a covenant He made with that nation; that covenant, or the “Old Testament,” is not our covenant. We are now in the new covenant, or the “New Testament,” established by Jesus, who fulfilled the old covenant. When Jesus established the new covenant, he renewed only part of it: the Moral law. The Ritual law is no longer necessary because Jesus died as an atoning sacrifice that is good once for all (see the letter of Hebrews). The Civil law was not renewed because Christians living in different nations will have their own Civil law; we are not citizens of the Israelite nation.

To be continued in Epic 9…