TYPES AND SHADOWS

TYPES AND SHADOWS

(Num 21:7 KJV) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said. ”We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us”. And Moses prayed for the people.(Num 21:8 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.(Num 21:9 KJV) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
(John 3:14 KJV) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:(John 3:15 KJV) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.(John 3:16 KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.(John 3:17 KJV) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved .John 3:14: Verses 14-18. Jesus Christ came to save us by healing us, as the children of Israel, stung with fiery serpents, were cured and lived by looking up to the brazen serpent, Numbers 21:6-9. In this observe the deadly and destructive nature of sin. Ask awakened consciences; ask damned sinners, they will tell you, that how charming so ever the allurements of sin may be, at the last it bites like a serpent. See the powerful remedy against this fatal malady. Christ is plainly set forth to us in the gospel. He whom we offended is our Peace, and the way of applying for a cure is by believing. If any so far slight either their disease by sin, or the method of cure by Christ, as not to receive Christ upon his own terms, their ruin is upon their own heads. He has said, Look and be saved, look and live; lift up the eyes of your faith to Christ crucified. And until we have grace to do this, we shall not be cured, but still are wounded with the stings of Satan, and in a dying state. Jesus Christ came to save us by pardoning us, that we might not die by the sentence of the law. Here is gospel, good news indeed. Here is God's love in giving his Son for the world. God so loved the world; so really, so richly. Behold and wonder that the great God should love such a worthless world! Here, also, is the great gospel duty, to believe in Jesus Christ. God having given him to be our Prophet, Priest, and King, we must give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him. And here is the great gospel benefit, that whoever believes in Christ, shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and so saving it. It could not be saved, but through him; there is no salvation in any other. From all this is shown the happiness of true believers; he that believeth in Christ is not condemned. Though he has been a great sinner, yet he is not dealt with according to what his sins deserve. (John 3:18 KJV) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.(John 3:19 KJV) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.(John 3:20 KJV) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.(John 3:21 KJV) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:18: Verses 18-21. How great is the sin of unbelievers! God sent One to save us, that was dearest to himself; and shall he not be dearest to us? How great is the misery of unbelievers! they are condemned already; which speaks a certain condemnation; a present condemnation. The wrath of God now fastens upon them; and their own hearts condemn them. There is also a condemnation grounded on their former guilt; they are open to the law for all their sins; because they are not by faith interested in the gospel pardon. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. It springs from the enmity of the heart of man to God, from love of sin in some form. Read also the doom of those that would not know Christ. Sinful works are works of darkness. The wicked world keep as far from this light as they can, lest their deeds should be reproved. Christ is hated, because sin is loved. If they had not hated saving knowledge, they would not sit down contentedly in condemning ignorance. On the other hand, renewed hearts bid this light welcome. A good man acts truly and sincerely in all he does. He desires to know what the will of God is, and to do it, though against his own worldly interest. A change in his whole character and conduct has taken place. The love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost, and is become the commanding principle of his actions. So long as he continues under a load of unforgiven guilt, there can be little else than slavish fear of God; but when his doubts are done away, when he sees the righteous ground whereon this forgiveness is built, he rests on it as his own, and is united to God by unfeigned love. Our works are good when the will of God is the rule of them, and the glory of God the end of them; when they are done in his strength, and for his sake; to him, and not to men. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a subject to which the world is very averse; it is, however, the grand concern, in comparison with which every thing else is but trifling. What does it signify though we have food to eat in plenty, and variety of raiment to put on, if we are not born again? if after a few mornings and evenings spent in unthinking mirth, carnal pleasure, and riot, we die in our sins, and lie down in sorrow? What does it signify though we are well able to act our parts in life, in every other respect, if at last we hear from the Supreme Judge, "Depart from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity? "Leviticus 16: (v. 1-14) The great day of atonement (v. 15-34) The sacrifices on it, The scape-goat READ THE REST OF THIS CHAPTER. The great day of atonement(Lev 16:1 KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;(Lev 16:2 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.(Lev 16:3 KJV) Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.(Lev 16:4 KJV) He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.(Lev 16:5 KJV) And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.(Lev 16:6 KJV) And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.(Lev 16:7 KJV) And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.(Lev 16:8 KJV) And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.(Lev 16:9 KJV) And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.(Lev 16:10 KJV) But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. Lev 16:1: Verses 1-14. Without entering into particulars of the sacrifices on the great Day of Atonement, we may notice that it was to be a statute for ever, till that dispensation be at an end. As long as we are continually sinning, we continually need the atonement. The law of afflicting our souls for sin, is a statue which will continue in force till we arrive where all tears, even those of repentance, will be wiped from our eyes.
The apostle observes it as a proof that the sacrifices could not take away sin, and cleanse the conscience from it, that in them there was a remembrance made of sin every year, upon the day of atonement, Hebrews 10:1,3. The repeating the sacrifices, showed there was in them but a feeble effort toward making atonement; this could be done only by offering up the body of Christ once for all; and that sacrifice needed not to be repeated. Vs. 16:1 The Day of Atonement, described in this chapter, was the most important of all the ordinances given to Israel because on that day atonement was made for all the sins of the entire congregation (vv. 16, 21, 30, 33), as well as for the sanctuary (vv. 16, 33). It took place on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri, v. 29), and fasting was required from the evening of the ninth day to the evening of the tenth day. See also note on Matt. 9:14. Vs. 16:2 the Most Holy Place. I.e., the Holy of Holies, inside the veil (cf. Heb. 9:7). whenever he chooses. The high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. Vs. 16:3-4 First, Aaron, the high priest, bathed himself, put on simple clothing, and offered a sin offering for himself and the other priests (v. 11). Vs. 16:5-10 Next, the high priest presented two goats as a sin offering for the people. One was slain, and the other was sent into the desert. Scapegoat (v. 10). Lit., Azazel, a combination of the words for "goat" and "depart." The live goat was the removing goat, symbolizing the removal of Israel's sins. Vs. 16:12-15 Next Aaron went into the Holy of Holies with burning incense, the smoke from which shielded him from gazing on the glory of God, lest he die. Then he went in a second time with the blood of the bull (v. 3). On his third trip inside the veil he took the blood of the goat (v. 9). Vs. 16:16-19 The Most Holy Place and the altar of burnt offering also had to be cleansed because the Tabernacle was in the midst of sinful people (cf. v. 16). Vs. 16:23-28 Finally Aaron, dressed again in the regular garb of the high priest, offered his own and the people's burnt offerings (on the altar of burnt offering in the outer court), burned the fat of the sin offering on that altar, and saw that the remains of the animals used in the sin offering were carried outside the camp and burned.
Their use and meaning (Heb 9:6 KJV) Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. Heb 9:6: Verses 6-10. The apostle goes on to speak of the Old Testament services. Christ, having undertaken to be our High Priest, could not enter into heaven till he had shed his blood for us; and none of us can enter, either into God's gracious presence here, or his glorious presence hereafter, but by the blood of Jesus. Sins are errors, great errors, both in judgment and practice; and who can understand all his errors? They leave guilt upon the conscience, not to be washed away but by the blood of Christ. We must plead this blood on earth, while he is pleading it for us in heaven. A few believers, under the Divine teaching, saw something of the way of access to God, of communion with him, and of admission into heaven through the promised Redeemer, but the Israelites in general looked no further than the outward forms. These could not take away the defilement or dominion of sin. They could neither discharge the debts, nor resolve the doubts, of him who did the service. Gospel times are, and should be, times of reformation, of clearer light as to all things needful to be known, and of greater love, causing us to bear ill-will to none, but good-will to all. We have greater freedom, both of spirit and speech, in the gospel, and greater obligations to a more holy living. (Heb 9:7 KJV) But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:(Heb 9:8 KJV) The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:(Heb 9:9 KJV) Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
(Heb 9:10 KJV) Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. These fulfilled in Christ(Heb 9:11 KJV) But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Heb 9:11: Verses 11-14. All good things past, present, and to come, were and are founded upon the priestly office of Christ, and come to us from thence. Our High Priest entered into heaven once for all, and has obtained eternal redemption. The Holy Ghost further signified and showed that the Old Testament sacrifices only freed the outward man from ceremonial uncleanness, and fitted him for some outward privileges. What gave such power to the blood of Christ? It was Christ's offering himself without any sinful stain in his nature or life. This cleanses the most guilty conscience from dead, or deadly, works to serve the living God; from sinful works, such as pollute the soul, as dead bodies did the persons of the Jews who touched them; while the grace that seals pardon, new-creates the polluted soul. Nothing more destroys the faith of the gospel, than by any means to weaken the direct power of the blood of Christ. The depth of the mystery of the sacrifice of Christ, we cannot dive into, the height we cannot comprehend. We cannot search out the greatness of it, or the wisdom, the love, the grace that is in it. But in considering the sacrifice of Christ, faith finds life, food, and refreshment. (Heb 9:12 KJV) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.(Heb 9:13 KJV) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:(Heb 9:14 KJV) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?(Heb 9:15 KJV) And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Heb 9:15: Verses 15-22. The solemn transactions between God and man, are sometimes called a covenant, here a testament, which is a willing deed of a person, bestowing legacies on such persons as are described, and it only takes effect upon his death. Thus Christ died, not only to obtain the blessings of salvation for us, but to give power to the disposal of them. All, by sin, were become guilty before God, had forfeited every thing that is good; but God, willing to show the greatness of his mercy, proclaimed a covenant of grace. Nothing could be clean to a sinner, not even his religious duties; except as his guilt was done away by the death of a sacrifice, of value sufficient for that end, and unless he continually depended upon it. May we ascribe all real good works to the same all-procuring cause, and offer our spiritual sacrifices as sprinkled with Christ's blood, and so purified from their defilement.
(Heb 9:16 KJV) For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
(Heb 9:17 KJV) For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
(Heb 9:18 KJV) Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
(Heb 9:19 KJV) For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
(Heb 9:20 KJV) Saying, this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
(Heb 9:21 KJV) Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
(Heb 9:22 KJV) And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.