The old covenant was a lengthy preparation to teach the need for Jesus and a new covenant. Let’s look at Jesus in the book of Exodus. Did all the prophets speak of Jesus?
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.” (Luke 24:25-27 CEB)
Did Moses write about Jesus?
“Moses wrote about me, and if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me.” (John 5:46 CEV)
Did Moses understand suffering for Christ?
“He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.” (Hebrews 11:26 NLT)
The Exodus
Who led Israel out of Egyptian slavery? While some translations use the words “the Lord,” the original Greek uses the name Jesus.
“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” (Jude 5 ESV)
The Passover Lamb
A flawless lamb was offered at Passover.
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats” (Exodus 12:5 ESV).
This pictured Christ’s sinlessness.
“Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors. Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb.” (1 Peter 1:18-19 CEB)
The Bread from Heaven
When Israel was hungry in the wilderness, God miraculously intervened.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you…’ ” (Exodus 16:4a NASB)
This was a foretaste of a greater miracle.
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven…
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst…
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:32, 35, 50 KJV)
Miraculous Feeding
The feeding of several crowds was not the first time Jesus was involved in feeding a multitude.
“About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!” (Matthew 14:21 NLT)
On another occasion:
“Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 15:38 NKJV)
The miraculous feeding of a whole nation took place long before.
“He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky. Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full.” (Psalm 78:24-25 WEB)
The Rock
After the Exodus, Israel complained about having no water and so God provided.
“ ‘I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.’ Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched.” (Exodus 17:6 CEB)
Metaphorically, the rock from which the water flowed was Christ.
“All of them also ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink, which flowed from the spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4 CEV)
Living Water
The Lord is the source of living water.
“O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah 17:13 KJV)
That source of living water is Jesus.
“Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’ ” (John 4:10 NLT)
The woman at the well thought that Jesus was colloquially referring to flowing water as opposed to stagnant, so He further explained what He actually meant.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14 KJV)
At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus publicly taught that life-giving water can flow within us.
“On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, ‘If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.’ ” (John 7:36-38 ESV)
God’s future kingdom is pictured as a time when all will be led to those waters.
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ” (Revelation 7:17 NIV)
He Tabernacled
Most translations fail to render the original Greek literally, that Jesus tented or tabernacled with us.
“The Word became flesh and made his home [tabernacled or tented] among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 CEB)
Here is a seldom-noticed connection between the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles and the celebration of Christ’s birth. The festival of Tabernacles pointed to Jesus' tabernacling or tenting with us, in His incarnation. So too are our bodies like a tent.
“Our bodies are like tents [tabernacles] that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 5:1 CEV)
The tabernacle or “tent of meeting” was also a picture of heaven.
“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.” (Hebrews 9:11 NLT)
The high priest was the only one allowed to enter the holy of holies, once a year, on the Day of Atonement. In Jesus, every Christian is welcome in God’s holy space, behind the curtain, at all times.
“Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, and we have a great high priest over God’s house. Therefore, let’s draw near with a genuine heart with the certainty that our faith gives us, since our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22 CEB)
Will you have a change of heart and mind, believe the good news of God’s reign and enter the heavenly holy place to be with God? You decide!
