Let’s read the book of Genesis together, not like a storybook, chapter after chapter, but analytically, verse by verse, with a specific purpose. As we read, let’s search for two forms of precious treasure. With determination, and of course, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we’ll mine some priceless nuggets from Genesis, the Book of Beginnings. (Genesis means “beginning”.)
First, let’s explore the first book’s fifty chapters in search of reflections or symbols of Jesus and His Gospel of Grace.
Theologians might call these “types.” A type in Scripture is a person or thing in the Old Testament that foreshadows a person or thing in the New Testament. Said another way, a type is something which was divinely ordained by the Omniscient God to be a prophetic picture of that which He planned and purposed to bring to fruition later.
To whet your appetite and excite your imagination, consider some of the types we’ll discover in our explorations. Adam and Eve’s fur coats are an obvious reflection of our blood-bought atonement. Noah’s ark (Genesis 6), with its absolute security in the storm, is a type of Christ’s sufficient and saving work at Calvary. And, the ram caught in the thicket atop Mount Moriah (Genesis 22) is another type of Christ, symbolizing and foreshadowing Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice. In Genesis, we’ll find many reflections and symbols of Jesus and His Gospel of Grace.
The second kind of priceless gem we’ll be in search of is much more uncommon and extraordinary. Let’s explore the inspired words of Genesis in search of Jesus Himself. But one might argue, Jesus doesn’t appear until Joseph and Mary arrive at Bethlehem in the New Testament. Yes, but if we search, we can find that the Eternal Son of God prowls the pages of the Old Testament.
Here again, theologians have a fifty-cent word to describe what I’m referencing: Christophany. In short, a Christophany is an appearance of Christ. Maybe the clearest example of an Old Testament appearance of Christ is found in the story of the “Commander of the Lord’s Army” (Joshua 5:13-15). Who could have appeared before God’s humble servant at Jericho? Who would have demanded Joshua’s reverent worship? Who could have provided God’s battle plans? It simply must have been an Old Testament appearance of the preincarnate Jesus.
So, let’s uncover some beautiful gemstones in Genesis. Let’s discover Jesus and His Gospel of Grace.
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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