“What does all that Old Testament stuff have to do with salvation”?
This is the question asked by a gentleman some time ago. The simple answer of course is everything. The fun however is diving into the subject matter to gain the details. This in no way is meant to say that all the details will be explored. That would be an impossible feat to accomplish. We started in part 1 covering how the spiritual and symbolic patterns of creation connected us to the life of the Savior Jesus.
As a matter of fact we can take the names of the 10 generations from Adam to Noah found in Genesis 5 and receive the whole scope of the subject of salvation. It can be pieced together something like the following.
Adam = man or mankind
Seth= appointed
Enos = mortal
Kenan or Chenan = sorrow
Mahalalel = the Blessed God
Jared or Yared = shall come down or descends
Enoch = teaching or dedicated
Methuselah = his death shall bring
Lamech = the despairing
Noah = rest or comfort
In this we get a message that goes like this:
Mankind is appointed mortal sorrow the Blessed God comes down teaching his death shall bring the despairing rest or comfort.
In this we can see that there is a connection to the outcome of salvation. We have also explored the fact that Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. This is a word used 4 times in the gospel of John.
Joh 14:15-31 KJV
(15) If ye love me, keep my commandments.
(16) And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
(17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
(18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
(19) Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
(20) At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
(21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
(22) Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
(23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
(24) He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
(25) These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
(26) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
(27) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
(28) Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
(29) And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
(30) Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
(31) But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Joh 15:23-27 KJV
(23) He that hateth me hateth my Father also.(24) If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
(25) But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
(26) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
(27) And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Joh 16:1-12 KJV
(1) These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
(2) They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
(3) And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
(4) But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
(5) But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
(6) But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
(7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
(8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
(9) Of sin, because they believe not on me;
(10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
(11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
(12) I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Gen 2:16-18 KJV
(16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:(17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
(18) And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Gen 3:16-24 KJV
(16) Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
(17) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
(18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
(19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
(20) And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
(21) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
(22) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
(23) Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he
as taken.
(24) So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
We also know that God spoke with Noah at the time He decided to destroy the earth.
Gen 8:15-17 KJV
(15) And God spake unto Noah, saying,
(16) Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
(17) Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
The covenant promise after the flood.
Gen 9:1-17 KJV
(1) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
(2) And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
(3) Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
(4) But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
(5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
(6) Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
(7) And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
(8) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
(9) And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
(10) And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
(11) And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
(12) And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
(13) I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
(14) And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
(15) And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(16) And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
(17) And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Gen 9:8-9 KJV
(8) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
(9) And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
Noah was the 10th generation of mankind and 10 generations later we are introduced to another very important individual. This individual being Abraham.
Gen 11:25-27 KJV
(25) And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.(26) And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
(27) Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
Noah knew Abraham for approximately 56 years. Abraham no doubt was able to learn somethings about God through the teachings of Noah. A great event also took place in their lifetimes and that was the tower of Babel. God confounded the people from understanding one another. We can safely say this was the case for everyone except the lineage of the patriarchs. God also speaks directly to Abraham and brings him out of the chaos in the aftermath of the tower incident.
(1) Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
(2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
(3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
(4) So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
(5) And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
(6) And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
(7) And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
The focus of all this rests with the passage of verses 1-3.
Gen 12:1-3 KJV
(1) Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
(2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
(3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The promises that God made to Abraham were promises that would have global consequences. They were a continuation of promises made to Noah in addition to the message we transcribed from the first 10 generations. Some of these we have explored in other studies that had emphasis on the history of the God's chosen nation Israel. The blessing of Abraham certainly did take place as his fortunes in livestock and wealth were enough to in some cases influence those who would be an enemy to him. He certainly was a blessing to many nations of the earth. He is known for fathering both the Islamic nations through his son Ishmael. He is known for fathering the covenant nation Israel. The Christian population also considers him to be a patriarch of the faith.
Gen 16:8-12 KJV
(8) And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
(9) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
(10) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
(11) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
(12) And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
This is certainly a promise that has been kept in many different ways. The nations of the Arab world have many people and also much wealth from controlling most of the world's oil supply.
Gen 17:1-9 KJV
(1) And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
(2) And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
(3) And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
(4) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
(5) Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
(6) And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
(7) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
(8) And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
(9) And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
Gen 17:15-23 KJV
(15) And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
(16) And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
(17) Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
(18) And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
(19) And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
(20) And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
(21) But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
(22) And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
(23) And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
Gen 21:9-20 KJV
(9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
(10) Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
(11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
(12) And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
(13) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
(14) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
(15) And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
(16) And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
(17) And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
(18) Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
(19) And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
(20) And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
As we have touched on before the covenant for the nation of Israel and the ultimate salvation begins in this passage. If you are not familiar with the history Isaac goes on to father Jacob who becomes Israel.
Gen 32:24-28 KJV
(24) And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
(25) And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
(26) And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
(27) And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
(28) And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
We will move back a few chapters to our final look at the OT connections to our salvation. The act of a father who loved God enough to sacrifice his own son.
Gen 22:1-18 KJV
(1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
(2) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
(3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
(4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
(5) And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
(6) And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
(7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
(8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
(9) And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
(10) And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
(11) And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
(12) And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
(13) And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
(14) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
(15) And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
(16) And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
(17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
(18) And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
We have detailed the final act of obedience to God that provided us a Savior. The Savior being Jesus. Just as the passage teaches us God Himself would provide a lamb. The sacrificial lamb for all mankind or should we say those who choose to accept His sacrifice.
Joh 1:29-36 KJV
(29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
(30) This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
(31) And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
(32) And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
(33) And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
(34) And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
(35) Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
(36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
The fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.
Many people believe this to be the site of the temple mount that Solomon built. The way God works things spiritually it would not be surprising to find out it was the very spot where Jesus paid the price for us all. This is detailed in word study and it may also explain how Abraham knew where the sacrifice was to take place.
Gen 22:3-5 KJV
(3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
(4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.(H4480 H7350)
(5) And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
The word study has to do with the phrase “afar off”
H4480
מנּי מנּי מן min minnı̂y minnêy
min, min-nee', min-nay'
For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: - above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.
H7350
רחק רחוק râchôq râchôq
raw-khoke', raw-khoke'
From H7368; remote, literally of figuratively, of place or time; specifically precious; often used adverbially (with preposition): - (a-) far (abroad, off), long ago, of old, space, great while to come.
The word study implies that when Abraham was seeing the location afar off that he was seeing the location far off into the future. It's quite possible Abraham saw something more than we can ever know until we get to ask him. It appears God obviously provided him with a vision of things to come concerning Jesus our salvation.
Joh 8:48-59 KJV
(48) Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
(49) Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
(50) And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
(51) Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
(52) Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
(53) Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
(54) Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
(55) Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
(56) Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
(57) Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
(58) Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
(59) Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
This explains why Abraham could answer Isaac's question in the following passage.
Gen 22:7-9 KJV
(7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
(8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
(9) And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Now when someone asks what all that OT stuff has to do with salvation we who have studied the details together can be better prepared to say everything. Of course if you have the time available you can sit down and kindly explain your answer.
Joh 8:56 KJV
(56) Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
1Pe 2:6-10 KJV
(6) Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
(7) Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
(8) And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
(9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
(10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
As always God Bless
Merry “CHRIST” mas
Happy “HOLY” days
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