Cross Connections

Where’s Jesus?

By Mitch Henry Illustrated by Tom Cauthen

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the Author and Self-Publisher, Mitch Henry, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Published in Montgomery, Alabama.

-Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Oﬃce by Biblica, Inc.™

-Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. -Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESVⓇ (The Holy Bible, English Standard VersionⓇ), Ⓒ copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

-Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

-Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESVⓇ (The Holy Bible, English Standard VersionⓇ), Ⓒ copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

-Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

-Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software. © 2014 Logos Bible Software. https://lexhamenglishbible.com/ Used by permission.

Italics in scripture references indicate author emphasis. Names and details in some illustrations have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.

Tablet icons indicate Old Testament scripture connections to Jesus. Cross icons indicate New Testament scripture connections to Old Testament scripture.

Editing assistance by Cameron Stroughbridge, Pat Norman, Rhea Wynn, Emily Ann Nuttall, Summer O’Neil, Jeﬀ Helms, Lynn Walker, Mark Sabel, Madelyn Furlong, Cindy Henry, and members of the Vaughn Park Church Wednesday adult Bible class.

Cover Designs and artwork illustrations by Tom Cauthen. Photos by the Author. Print ISBN: 979-8-9855454-0-1; E-Book (adobe pdf) ISBN: 979-8-9855454-1-8; EBook (Ibook) ISBN: 979-8-9855454-2-5; Audio Book ISBN: 979-8-9855454-3-2.

Cover Designs and artwork illustrations by Tom Cauthen. Photos by the Author.

Print ISBN: 979-8-9855454-0-1; E-Book (adobe pdf) ISBN: 979-8-9855454-1-8; EBook (Ibook) ISBN: 979-8-9855454-2-5; Audio Book ISBN: 979-8-9855454-3-2.

Library of Congress Control Number: 20222910482.

Copyright ! 2021 by Mitch Henry

Table of Contents 1. Creation………….……………………1 2. Noah…………………..…………….…..20 3. Abraham……..…………………………34 4. Joseph …………………………………..50 5. Moses ……………………………………70 6. Sacrifices ……………………………..92 7. Samson ………………………………..110 8. Psalm 22 ………………………………128 9. Elisha ………………………………….144 10. Jonah ………………………………….160 Get Cross Connected…….178 Discussion Questions……184 Afterword…………………………190 Timeline …..…….……………….…192 Copyright ! 2021 by Mitch Henry i

Author & Artist

About the Author

In addition to writing, Mitch Henry is the president of and a professor at Faulkner University, a Christian university in Montgomery, Alabama. He is also a retired founding member of the law ﬁrm of Webster, Henry, Bradwell, Cohan, Speagle, and DeShazo, P.C. and practiced law for 29 years. He is a former Professor of Practice at Auburn University where he taught agriculture law. Mitch is also a former Elder of the Vaughn Park Church where he continues to teach Bible and serve. He and his wife Cindy have raised three children on Prairie Oak, their Registered Angus family farm located in Hope Hull, Alabama.

About the Artist

Tom Cauthen has been a professional artist employed for many years with the Alabama State Tourism Department. He now works as an artist for the Alabama Department of Conservation. His work can be seen in various media from books to CD covers to business logos. Tom also loves singing and playing the fiddle. He and his wife Laura have raised two children in Auburn, Alabama where Laura works for Auburn University. Mitch and Tom have been close friends since childhood.

Among Selma, Alabama's enduring legacies is Edith Smith — affectionately called Bible Smith by thousands of school children. Since at least 1950, she brought her ﬂannel board and cloth Bible characters into Selma's public school classrooms, telling old stories to new minds. Elementary students were spellbound by her words and fascinated by her artistry. Teachers and parents experienced meaningful behavior changes in students. Her words, her wit, and her wisdom developed moral character for generations.

When my friend and former Selma resident, Linda Slauson, learned I was incorporating ﬂannel board art into this Bible study book, she had to share Bible Smith's story. So dear was Linda's affection and respect, she could not contain her enthusiasm.

"Whenever I see a flannel board, I remember Mrs. Bible Smith. After all these years, I can still vividly see her hand with bright, red fingernails placing Bible characters on her flannel board as she told us stories like Noah’s Ark. She even sang as she showed us ‘the hippopotamus stuck in the door’ entering the ark."

Bible Smith memories for Linda did not end in elementary school. In 1978, years after becoming an elementary teacher herself, Linda and her husband, Milton, moved back to Selma.

"I was amazed to see Mrs. Smith still teaching with her ﬂannel board at Meadowview Public Elementary School where I taught. A local church was paying her. No one objected."

As an attorney, this surprised me. By 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled teacher led prayer and Bible study violated the U.S. Constitution's "Establishment Clause." The School Board, School Administration, the local church paying her to teach, and of course, Mrs. Smith herself, all risked being named in a lawsuit. Despite the risk, she continued her important work — her message was too essential.

Linda said, "As a result, my two older children, Karyn and Ben, received the same ﬂannel board experience that I had as a child in the early ’50s. Unfortunately, Mrs. Smith passed away in the mid 1980s before my youngest child, Amy, started school. I wish she also could have experienced Mrs. Bible Smith's ﬂannel board stories like so many Selma children did for decades."

Edith Smith's legacy today is reﬂected in Selma's citizens' personal moral character that continues to sustain goodness not only in Selma, but in every community to which Bible Smith's students have migrated.

Linda recently retired from teaching students at Alabama Christian Academy in Montgomery, Alabama. Her own sweet, genuine, godly inﬂuence has touched and encouraged my own children and thousands like them. She too is an incredible teacher who, like Bible Smith, recognized how old Bible stories can powerfully shape faith and build character.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to children’s Bible teachers like Edith Smith and Linda Slauson who have dedicated their time teaching young people about Jesus’ cross. Teaching God’s amazing story about redeeming mankind, bringing justice, mercy, and healing to everyone — has eternal consequences. God bless you all.

This book is speciﬁcally dedicated to the Bible teachers who taught me in my elementary years: My mother, Margery Henry, my father, Davis Henry, Dot and Jim Cline, Leslie and Miriam Williams, Linda and Don Torode, Roxanne Young, Mary Cauthen, Larry and Linda Nokes, Olene Williams, Chris Jackson, Tony and Iva Kate Hopper, Dwight and Patsy Davis, Feigh Brown, Kathryn Brown Loftin, Kerry and Susan Brown, and Crowell and Jennie Davis. You helped me form my character and ﬁnd my faith. May God bless you for all the good that you have done and the many happy hours we spent together.

Consistent with these Bible teachers’ love for children, the net proceeds Cross Connections hard copy book sales after payment of expenses such as publishing, production, and promotion will go to help children through adoption and foster care. Agape of Central Alabama is a Christian foster care and adoption agency that seeks to provide Christians with a way of carrying out the desire to mirror God’s heart for the vulnerable child. As a ministry of Jesus Christ, Agape’s mission is that vulnerable and orphaned children ﬁnd permanency in safe, nurturing families.

Agape’s director, Steve Duer says, “Our name comes from the original New Testament language word for ‘unconditional love.’ We seek to show Agape love in our ministry to vulnerable children and expectant parents.” You can learn more about Agape and how you can help at www.agapeforchildren.org.

It is my and Cindy’s blessing to offer the electronic version of this book for free on the website: crossconnectionsministry.com. It is a greater blessing for us to donate this ﬁrst book’s print and digital net sales proceeds to Agape.

Characters In This Bible Story Book

Old Testament = Collection of 39 books written by 28 or more different authors from the 1400’s B.C. until around 400 years before the birth of Jesus. Characters include:

Aaron = Moses’ brother, ﬁrst High Priest of God.

Abemilek = Canaanite king during Abraham and Sarah’s married years.

Abraham = Also known as Abram, was called by God to come to Canaan (modern-day Palestine) from Ur in Chaldea (modern-day Iraq), known as father of the faithful, father of Isaac and Ishmael, spoke directly with God.

Adam = First man.

Angels = Heavenly beings who occasionally interact with humans, often sent by God.

Arameans = Nation of Gentiles who fought with the nation of Israel during the time of Elisha.

Benjamin = Youngest son of Jacob, Joseph’s brother.

Caleb = Faithful Israelite spy who along with Joshua encouraged Israel to invade Canaan.

David = Shepherd who became King of the Jews, killed a Philistine giant named Goliath, wrote songs called Psalms, and was called a “man after God’s own heart.”

Delilah = Philistine girlfriend of Samson who betrayed him.

Devil, Satan, Serpent = The supernatural enemy of God and mankind who deceives and tempts people to sin and suffer death.

Elijah = Prophet of God and mentor of the prophet Elisha.

Elisha = Prophet of God who raised the dead, fed people miraculously, and told Naaman to immerse in the River Jordan to be cleansed from his leprosy.

Eve = First woman and mother of all living.

Gentiles = Any person who is not Jewish.

God, Jehovah, Yahweh, the Lord = The creator, father of Jesus, and spiritual ruler of heaven.

Hagar = Sarah’s servant who became a second wife to Abraham, mother of Ishmael.

Holy Spirit = Spirit of God.

Isaac = Son of Abraham and Sarah, father of Jacob.

Ishmael = Son of Abraham by Hagar.

Israel, Israelites = Nation of people descended from Jacob’s 12 sons, the Jewish Nation.

Jacob, Israel = Son of Isaac, God changed his name to Israel, father of the Jews.

Jews = Descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons who became a nation.

Jonah = Prophet of God who was swallowed by a ﬁsh, spit out onto land after three days, and who preached to the Gentile Ninevites resulting in their repentance.

Joseph son of Jacob = One of Jacob’s youngest of 12 sons who was betrayed and sold into slavery in Egypt, but later became a ruler.

Joshua = Faithful assistant to Moses who led the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan.

Judah = Older son of Jacob who was an ancestor of King David and Jesus.

Leper = Description of a person who suffers from a skin disease.

Levi = One of Jacob’s older sons who was an ancestor of Moses and Aaron.

Levites = The Jewish tribe who descended from Levi who were set apart to serve as priests in the Jewish religion.

Lot = Abraham’s nephew.

Manoah = Father of Samson.

Melchizedek = Priest of God Most High from Salem (later Jerusalem) during Abraham’s time.

Moses = Chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and into the promised land; wrote the ﬁrst ﬁve books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Naaman = Captain of the Aramean Army in Syria who suffered with leprosy and was healed by the prophet Elisha.

by Mitch Henry

Ninevites = Citizens of the Gentile city Nineveh during the time of the Israelite prophet Jonah.

Noah = Man chosen by God to build an Ark to save mankind and animals when God destroyed the earth with a ﬂood.

Pharaoh = Title given to the King of Egypt.

Philistines = Coastal people in Palestine who ruled over Israel during the time of Samson and who fought with King David and other Kings of Israel.

Potiphar = Ofﬁcial of Pharaoh who Joseph served.

Rahab = Prostitute in Jericho who protected Israelite spies and who was an ancestor of Jesus.

Rueben = Oldest son of Jacob.

Samson = Strongest man who ever lived who judged Israel and fought against the Philistines. Sarah, Sarai = Abraham’s wife and mother of Isaac.

Scapegoat = Goat that ceremonially received the sins of Israel during the Day of Atonement. Shunammite = Woman who showed hospitality to Elisha whose son was raised from death.

Simeon = One of the sons of Jacob whose descendants formed one of Israel’s 12 tribes.

New Testament = Collection of 27 books written by eight authors in the ﬁrst century A.D. who wrote about the life of Jesus and his Church’s birth. New Testament characters include: Elizabeth = Mother of John the Baptist, wife of Zechariah, cousin of the Virgin Mary

Gabriel = Angel of God who spoke to Zechariah about the miraculous birth of John the Baptist and to Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus Herod (Antipas) = Ruler of Galilee when John was beheaded and Jesus was cruciﬁed, son of Herod the Great.

Herod (the Great) = King of Palestine when Jesus was born.

Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Lord = The Son of God, promised “seed” of Eve and Abraham, the anointed one, savior of the world, both God and man, cruciﬁed Jewish Rabbi in ﬁrst century A.D. John the apostle = The youngest of Jesus’ 12 chosen apostles.

John the Baptist = The cousin of Jesus who “prepared his way” as the ﬁrst to teach people to repent (change from evil) and be baptized (immersed in water) for remission of sins.

Joseph father of Jesus = Carpenter from Nazareth in the region of Galilee, husband of Mary mother of Jesus.

Lazarus = Friend of Jesus from the town of Bethany outside Jerusalem who died and was raised to life again by Jesus before Jesus was betrayed and cruciﬁed.

Luke = A physician who wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, was a companion of the apostle Paul.

Mark = Disciple of Jesus and companion of the apostle Paul who wrote the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament.

Martha = Sister of Jesus’ friend Lazarus from Bethany.

Mary mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary = Virgin who was the mother of the Son of God. Mary sister of Lazarus = Lived with her sister Martha and brother Lazarus in Bethany where Jesus often stayed.

Matthew = Tax collector apostle of Jesus who wrote the Gospel of Matthew.

Paul, Saul of Tarsus = Persecutor of Christians who later became a Christian and apostle of Jesus and wrote 13 books of the New Testament.

Peter = One of the older original 12 apostles of Jesus who denied Jesus, but later preached the ﬁrst public sermon after Jesus was raised from the dead.

Pilate = Roman Governor of Palestine during the time of Jesus.

Romans = Dominant ruling people in the Mediterranean region during the ﬁrst century.

Zechariah = Levite priest who was the father of John the Baptist.

Mitch

Henry

Foreword

The Keys to Understanding This Book

Where’s Jesus? Connections between Old Bible stories and Jesus Christ’s cross impact souls — eternally.

From creation's dawn, God has revealed his plan through stories — the ones we learned in Sunday School and Summer Vacation Bible School from folks like Mrs. Dot Cline. Like a second mother, she cared deeply that her Bible School children would not only learn stories, but absorb moral lessons.

Mrs. Dot was particularly talented at making flannelgraphs: small cut-out Bible characters and images placed on a flannel cloth covered board to illustrate stories. This artwork formed my first Bible memories.

One of Mrs. Dot's students, Tommy Cauthen, became a professional artist. In this book, he has recreated childhood ﬂannelgraphs. Tommy's original artwork enlivens old ﬂannelgraph stories, and vividly stirs one’s imagination. Carefully viewing his art reveals subtle details which enhance the text’s meaning.

God’s plan is vividly revealed when connections are made with history’s greatest story — the cross. It’s helpful to review the Bible character lists above before beginning and as needed. The timeline on page 192 gives a historical perspective. This ﬁrst book in the series uncovers captivating connections between ten Old Testament stories and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection found in the New Testament.

How? We consistently ask a key question: Where’s Jesus?

Answering this question in each story makes “cross connections.” We ﬁnd Jesus and learn about God’s nature, justice, mercy, and healing.

Some connections are more obvious than others, like Jesus as our Passover lamb. Others are more subtle. Some connections simply highlight compelling similarities. All build faith. To help you make connections, pay attention to the margin icons. Tablet icons indicate Old Testament scripture connections to Jesus.

Cross icons indicate New Testament scripture connections to Old Testament scripture. What we are launching connects us to ﬁrst century A.D. Christians. When Jesus' disciples shared their faith, they began by reminding friends and family about these old stories; then they shared connections to Jesus' cross. Disciples in Berea were called “noble” because they searched “scripture” daily to see whether claims about Jesus were true. The only “scripture” available then was the Jewish Old Testament. See Acts 17:11 NIV (https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ACT.17.11) The reader can immediately connect to scripture by clicking such active bolded links in the e-book version. Discussion questions at the end allow more learning in Bible classes and small groups.

My background is in law and cattle production, not ministry or Bible scholarship. Despite such handicaps, I hope Cross Connections inspires you to look deeper into Old Testament Bible stories — to discover often hidden connections to Jesus’ cross — to allow God to reveal his plan and purpose for your life — a plan for you to be connected with his son, Jesus.

Let's discover and rediscover together. These connected stories scattered over thousands of years form one amazing story. I am conﬁdent your faith is about to grow substantially — as it did for those who made cross connections nearly 2,000 years ago.

viii

Animal Skins

Nothing fosters shame like a public display of whitey-tighties. My job was to feed our pet goat, Billy, every morning — even on Sundays. At age ﬁve, I was prone to dilly dally, and I had not gotten up, not gotten dressed, not eaten breakfast, and not fed the goat despite my mother’s urging. First gentle, then earnest, then stern, she had requested I comply so our family could get to church on time.

Getting no compliance, she then supplemented her words with action. She pulled me from the bed, gave me a ﬁrm swat on my rear end, and said, “Go feed that goat. Now!”

“But I’m not dressed.” I protested.

“You missed your chance. We don’t have time to wait for you to dress twice now. You’re making the whole family late.” She picked me up, carried me to the porch, let me down so that my bare feet slipped into my rubber boots, and scooted me out the door.

“Hurry!” she said.

And I did. I took off from the back porch and hid behind the ﬁrst tree I could ﬁnd between the house and the goat pen, hoping no one noticed me from the passing cars on Highway 31. I imagined children in those cars seeing me, laughing as they said, “Hey y’all, look at that kid. He’s outside with nothing on but his underwear!”

Like a soldier dodging bullets, I scampered from tree to bush to fence post, fed the goat, and then I made an all out dash back to the house. Safe inside, my embarrassment led me to vow never to be caught outside in my whitey-tighties again. I’ve been getting up early ever since.

One of the most signiﬁcant creation story cross connections is obscure. It involves God’s response to the ﬁrst couple’s shame — animal skin clothing. Many miss it.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.3.21)

This single event set a pattern associated with salvation that God repeated throughout the Bible. Surprisingly, what occurred here directly foreshadowed Jesus' death on the cross.

To understand the pattern, we need to uncover the back story leading to God making animal skin clothes for Adam and Eve. God created them, gave them a home in a beautiful garden called Eden, and provided all the plants and fruit trees for food they needed. There was just one requirement: “Don’t eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” They disobeyed. After they ate the forbidden fruit, things went downhill fast for the ﬁrst couple. Let’s see what happened. Concentrate on clothing (or lack thereof). And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed ﬁg leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Chapter

1 Creation

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”

And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And he said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

(Genesis 3:7-11 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.3.7-11)

Notice that once Adam and Eve got into trouble, they tried to fix the problem themselves. Fig leaves were not a good solution. I grew up picking figs for the family, even though I didn’t eat them. Fig leaves are scratchy. I itched for days after picking. I can’t imagine fig leaf briefs being as comfortable as cotton. When we try to fix our sin problem ourselves, we often make bad situations worse.

This explains current epidemics of prescription drug addiction, alcohol abuse, obesity, materialism, and narcissism. Human efforts to cover shame and guilt make matters worse and lead to depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to

Adam and Eve’s Salvation Pattern

Covering - Animal skins

Sin - Ate fruit from forbidden tree

Guilt - Wrongdoing became known and exposed.

Shame - Each felt naked and hid.

Judgment - Wrongdoing brought the curse of death.

Innocent Life - Innocent animals provided skins.

Death - To create skins for clothing, animals died.

Innocent Blood - Animal blood was shed to make clothing.

Sacrifice - God’s animals gave up their lives.

Safety/Salvation - Nakedness ended with clothing. God makes a self-sacrifice plan to end shame & overcome death.

cross. Though sinless, Jesus experienced the punishment for our Guilt. Jesus experienced Shame while being spat upon, mocked, and while hanging there nearly, if not completely, naked. Jesus took upon himself Judgment for our wrongful acts. At the cross, he gave up his Innocent Life. Jesus suffered Death. He shed his Innocent Blood. Because he and the Father were "one," his life was a Sacriﬁce to cover our sins with forgiveness. Jesus dying brings our spiritual Salvation and Safety in promised eternal life after physical death when we are clothed with him. Consider the apostle Paul’s words written thousands of years (see timeline) after Adam and Eve:

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV https://www.bible.com/111/ gal.3.26-29.niv)

As innocent blood was shed to clothe the ﬁrst sinners, so Jesus’ innocent blood was shed to spiritually clothe all baptized sinners with Jesus himself. Baptism is immersion in water for spiritual cleansing. We belong to Christ and become Abraham's seed (later discussed). When God looks upon the obedient believer, he sees not the naked sinner, but his sinless Son.

Today, our sin, like Adam and Eve's, requires justice and punishment, but God provided his Son's innocent blood sacriﬁce to substitute for our own spiritual death sentence. He allowed us to become his spiritual children by clothing us — not with animal skins — but with his Son. Praise God for his mercy! He has the perfect eye for fashion.

First Men — Adam and Jesus

As Adam’s first sin had consequences, one of my own foul-ups has also had consequences. In October 2001, my wife Cindy had a little stress in her life — I had just left a stable partner position at a large law firm and started my own firm with my partner Will Webster. I was consistently working 70 to 80 hours per week. We had three children (ages 8, 3, and 1). We had 75 cows in the herd around our home. They were calving. I fed them at night by spotlight.

Despite the stress, we wanted to serve our little church. So, I convinced my sweet wife to let me take on a small project. I volunteered to work as a youth minister without pay. In addition to teaching Bible class and organizing teen devotionals, I organized a yearly youth conference. The Youth Explosion was three days of dynamic speakers, small group workshops, and service projects such as visiting nursing homes, cleaning sick people's yards, and packing Christmas boxes for children in Panama.

Looking back now, I was nuts — blinded by my own pride. I thought I could handle anything. When the day arrived, Cindy warned I was biting off more than I could chew.

Cindy said, "Ashby is worn out. She needs a nap. I'm taking her and Lauren home."

"That's ﬁne, but let me keep Lauren," I protested. "She likes singing at the nursing home."

Cindy looked me dead in the eye, "Are you sure you’ve got her? I don't mind taking her.”

Pride trumped my common sense. In my most reassuring tone, I looked into her exhausted-young-mother eyes and said softly, "Don't you worry. I'll take care of Lauren. It’s under control."

The keynote speaker ﬁred up the teens, but put my three-year-old to sleep on the back pew. Lauren lay there like a log as I supervised the next climactic event, dividing 200 teens into small groups and sending them out on service projects.

Moments later I packed myself into the middle seat of the last van leaving the church parking lot. Desiring to make the experience memorable, I quickly struck up a travel tune for the teens.

I had pulled it off. I felt euphoric. Cindy's concern about biting off more than I could chew seemed silly. I could not wait to tell her how I handled each last minute crisis.

Then it hit me. Where's Lauren?

Futilely, I searched the moving van, hoping Lauren would magically appear. Parental shame overwhelmed me. I knew Lauren was at the church building asleep…alone on the back pew. My three-year-old could wake up and wander anywhere.

Thank God for technology. I grabbed my Blackberry phone and dialed the church ce. No one answered. I tried four more times. I got nothing but the preacher's voicemail. I did not want to call my wife. I needed to get someone to help Lauren. My options ran out — I called Cindy.

Hoping against hope, the most foolish question I have ever asked emerged from my lips.

"Have you got

"No. What have you done? Where is she? You left her! She's 3 years old! YOU

Nothing I said soothed her. She pulled Ashby from the baby bed and spun out for the church. I cut the nursing home singing short, and headed back. My Blackberry vibrated en route. Cindy said, "Lauren's okay. She wandered downstairs and was discovered by the Panama care package group, but you need to talk to your daughter.”

As soon as I saw Lauren, I ran to her, got down on my knees, embraced her and said, "Angel, I am so sorry for leaving you."

She paused, looked into my eyes and said, "It's okay, Daddy. I didn't cry much."

Though my child's forgiveness was pure, I still feel guilt 20 years later.

Fortunately, we now laugh about this episode around the dinner table. "Dad can defend multi-million dollar lawsuits, but can't keep up with a three-year-old."

Cindy laughs hardest. She has forgiven me, but she still does not fully trust me with child care responsibilities.

Hoping against hope, the most foolish question I have ever asked emerged from my lips…

Consequences follow foul-ups. It connects us to Adam and Eve. I let pride rule my conduct. Guilt, shame, embarrassment, and mistrust naturally resulted. It's the price we pay for sin — a price ﬁrst paid by the ﬁrst man at the dawn of creation.

Before God made the ﬁrst clothing, Adam disobeyed God, bringing sin, guilt, shame, embarrassment, and mistrust into the world. His and Eve's story explains much about humanity. In Eden, the stage was set for our own struggles with sin’s consequences — highlighting our own desperate need for forgiveness and spiritual salvation.

And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and you ate from the tree from which I forbade you to eat, the ground shall be cursed on your account. In pain you shall eat from it all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles shall sprout for you, and you shall eat the plants of the ﬁeld. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until your return to the ground. For from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19 LEB https://www.bible.com/90/gen.3.17-19.leb)

What led Adam to this fall — to this suspended death sentence? Until his fruit foul-up, things were going well for Adam. He was living in a garden paradise. Adam had the responsibility and satisfaction of giving names to creation's animals. He had all the food he needed without working. Adam did have to undergo surgery for God to remove a rib, but he got a beautiful wife for his trouble. They were both naked and felt no shame. Apparently he would live forever. What more could a man hope for?

Then the devil got involved, and with a little encouragement from Eve, Adam took a bite. Adam’s sin messed everything up. He felt shame. His innocence was lost. He realized he was naked. When confronted, Adam did what most men do. He blamed someone else. It did not work out so well.

Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the windy time of day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. And Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

And he replied, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself.”

Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?”

And the man replied, “The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate.” (Genesis 3:8-12 LEB https://www.bible.com/90/ gen.3.8-12.leb)

Immediately after this confrontation, God cursed Satan, pronounced consequences upon Eve, and announced the ﬁrst man, Adam, would have to work cursed, weed-

infested ground. They would eventually physically die because of sin. Yet, God did not immediately destroy them. God chose not to start over with a newly created couple. Yes, he doled out justice by punishment, but he also began delivering mercy by promise.

Fortunately, God set in motion a plan to bring another "first man" who would make this right — a "first man" who would bring salvation to mankind — God's son, Jesus. This plan fulfilled the pattern we explore deeply in this book. We can begin to uncover it by comparing and contrasting Adam and Jesus.

Adam, like Jesus, was called "the son of God." Like Jesus, Adam had no father, but God himself. Adam and Jesus were both sons of God. In Luke's genealogy of Christ, the concluding words make this connection.

the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who is to come. But the gift is not like the trespass, for if by the trespass of the one, the many died, by much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, multiply to the many. And the gift is not as through the one who sinned, for on the one hand, judgment from the one sin led to condemnation, but the gift, from many trespasses, led to justiﬁcation.

Henry

Adam was the first man to sin. Jesus was the first man to be sinless. Adam was the first man to bring death. Jesus was the first man to overcome death. Adam was the first man to experience shame. Jesus was the first man to experience shame for all mankind's sin.

For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through the one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Consequently therefore, as through one trespass came condemnation to all people, so also through one righteous deed came justiﬁcation of life to all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:12, 14-19 LEB https://www.bible.com/90/rom.5.12,14-19.leb)

Powerful connections between Adam and Jesus exist as opposites — sin versus righteousness, and disobedience versus obedience. Here, Adam brought sin by a disobedient trespass — eating fruit God told him speci death to humans.

In contrast, Paul said Jesus brought a salvation "gift" that resulted in human "justification." Paul then zoomed in upon Adam’s and Jesus' conduct. Adam's one sinful act of eating the fruit brought "condemnation for all people." Jesus' one "righteous act” of submitting to crucifi on a Roman cross "resulted in justi brought sin to the world. Jesus brought salvation to the world. Another solid connection between Adam and Jesus relates to death and resurrection. Adam's disobedience ends Eden’s eternal life and condemns mankind to physical death. Jesus' obedience restores eternal life and frees mankind from eternal death. Those who come to Christ enjoy heaven after death. Those who refuse him endure eternal punishment after death. Adam lost eternal life. Jesus restored eternal life. In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul observed this significant contrast between these "first men.”

Adam lost eternal life. Jesus Restored eternal life.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the ﬁrst fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since through a man came death, also through a man came the resurrection of the dead. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 LEB https://www.bible.com/ 90/1co.15.20-22.leb)

We all have our own deeply personal connections with both Adam and Jesus. Our connection to Adam is automatic, occurring simply because we are human. It deﬁnes our existence in ﬂesh. Our connection to Jesus is not automatic. It depends upon and relates to our faith. Paul spells it out for us in Corinthians.

Thus also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul;” the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, made of earth; the second man is from heaven. As the one who is made of earth, so also are those who are made of earth,

Mitch

Henry

and as the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the one who is made of earth, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 LEB https://www.bible.com/ 90/1co.15.45-49.leb)

We all “bear the image” of Adam. We look like humans. We breathe, we eat, we drink, we live, and we die — just like Adam. The challenge Paul made is to “bear the image of the heavenly” man. Throughout this book, we explore this image — an image of a man nailed to a cross. We make connections between Old Testament stories and Jesus, revealing this image’s meaning. The Adam to Jesus comparison has eternal consequences, but it is not the ﬁrst such connection to Jesus contained in Genesis.

Hovering Spirit & Temptation

When you close your eyes and think about God, do you see an image? I do. I began my childhood experience with him in a wood frame church built in the 1800s. My great aunt, Blanch Garrett Perry, painted an 8 X 10 foot Bible scene in oil on canvas that covered the wall above the baptistry. It depicted sheep walking beside water, but the image I have of God was woven in the clouds she painted above this scene. A dove hovering over the water and a cross were blended in with the clouds.

When I think of God, I think of this image. I suppose it was the image I was looking upon when I ﬁrst began to listen and understand the preachers who spoke about God from the pulpit in front of this lovely baptistry painting.

Aunt Blanch was a proliﬁc artist. She painted large Bible scenes on canvas which were hung in at least one church in almost all 67 counties in Alabama and one in most of the lower 48 states. Perhaps you have seen one. Her dedication to using her talent to glorify God is inspiring, and it inﬂuences me every day. The next cross connection we will study has a connection to my Aunt Blanch’s dove image.

Consider the connection in the ﬁrst two sentences of the Bible.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth— Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2 LEB https:// www.bible.com/90/gen.1.1-2.leb)

These words yield scientiﬁc wonder. Questions immediately arise. Did God's creation exist for a time in chaos? Did it have no form? Did God create pockets of nothing? Is this a hint about dark matter's existence, still intriguing physicists today?

Now, before we get wrapped up in such questions, notice the last phrase that does not appear to fit with the first three cosmological phrases. "...the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." This phrase may have a hidden significance. Why did Genesis include this image of God's Spirit hovering over water as God begins creation of the physical world? Is there a connection with the cross?

To answer these questions, let’s think about a similar event in Jesus' life which involved the Spirit of God hovering over water.

Then, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is right for us to fulﬁll all righteousness.” Then he permitted him.

Now after he was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him.

And behold, there was a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17 LEB https:// www.bible.com/90/mat.3.13-17.leb)

God's work bringing order to the physical world began in the same way that Jesus' work would bring order to the spiritual world. Both beginnings included God's Spirit hovering over water — Genesis gently foreshadows Matthew's account of Jesus' ministry. All four recorded stories of Jesus' life — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — contain the Spirit descending on Jesus from above the River Jordan's water which Luke conﬁrms as the "beginning" of Jesus' ministry. (Luke 3:23.)

After good things happen, Satan often gets involved and tries to cause others to do bad things. He used temptations in Eden and at Jordan in an effort to thwart God’s plan.

Temptation

You can’t stop 1,600 pounds of love. Documenting who is the father of our baby Angus calves is a requirement for them to be registered with the American Angus Association. If not registered properly, the calf is less valuable ($700 to $1,000 less).

One windy morning, a tree limb fell on the back fence. Lemon Drop, our 6-year-old 1,600 pound herd bull, took advantage of this breach to explore “opportunities” on the other side. When I arrived, he had crashed through a second fence into the front pasture where a sultry female had been ﬂirting with our younger, smaller herd bull, Bexter, who was a little salty over this unexpected intrusion upon his romantic interlude.

The ﬁght I witnessed was epic. The bulls rammed into one another head on and began pushing. The female and her friends stood mesmerized by the spectacle.

I let the two duke it out while I ﬁxed Bexter’s front pasture fence and opened the gate to the empty middle pasture between the two herds. I then grabbed a long stick, mounted our four wheeler, and charged toward Lemon Drop as if in a medieval jousting match. Stunned by this, Lemon Drop broke into a full gallop toward the gate.

Then, from my peripheral view, bolted the female with Bexter trailing her. She had made her choice and was intent on being with Lemon Drop. I now had a love triangle in the middle pasture’s no man’s land. Slinging mud and making donuts with the four wheeler, I tried futilely to separate the battling bulls, but I nearly ﬂipped over.

Digging deep into my cow herding bag of tricks, I pulled out “cowboy in a bag.” That catch phrase was coined by my neighbor David Garrett to describe how he rounded up his cattle. Using a bag of feed, I coaxed the trio in a working pen, put Lemon Drop in the back pasture, ﬁxed the fence, and returned Bexter and his love to the front ﬁeld.

Then I heard a crash and rustling from an area 50 yards from where I had fixed the back fence. I turned to see Lemon Drop burst from the woods and hustle toward us. Pausing to bellow, paw the ground and throw dirt skyward, he appeared to be challenging Bexter and me for interfering with his love tryst. Lemon Drop had made a different hole in the back fence. I sprung into action, returned Lemon Drop to the back field where he belonged and fixed the second hole in the fence.

As I started home, from behind me, I heard the high pitched screeching of barbed wire being stretched. Turning, I saw Lemon Drop put his chin on the top wire strand, ex his bulging neck muscles and lean his 1,600 pound bulk forward. The fence had no chance. He crushed it down like a tin can. Stepping through the wreckage like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lemon Drop made it clear his love would not be denied.

I relented. I herded the female to Lemon Drop and moved the impassioned couple through the back pasture gate. While I ﬁxed the crushed fence again, I watched Lemon Drop and his girl disappear together into the back pasture woods. Considering Lemon Drop’s inability to resist temptation, I could not help, but hum the tune “You Can’t Stop Love” by Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet as I sauntered home, one defeated cowboy. Fortunately, we humans are a bit more adept at resisting temptation. It separates us from the animals. Right???

Henry

Fortunately, we humans are a bit more adept at resisting temptation.

Genesis follows the Spirit hovering over water in the beginning with mankind’s creation and the ﬁrst woman, Eve’s, temptation encounter with Satan.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God indeed say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods, knowing good and evil gen.3.1-5.leb)

Is there a similar event in the story of the cross thousands of years later? Remarkably, Matthew followed Jesus' baptism story, where the Spirit hovers over the water, with Jesus’ temptation story. Jesus, like Eve, was tempted directly by Satan.

Jesus, like Adam and Eve, was tempted directly by Satan.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (Matthew 4:1-3 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 1/MAT.4.1-3)

For Jesus and Eve, their direct encounter with Satan had similarities. Each faced Satan's three classic temptations, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. The apostle John outlined these three temptations in his first letter to the churches many years after Jesus was crucified.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the ﬂesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15-17 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 1/1JN.2.15-17)

Notice how Eve’s serpent encounter involved the same classic temptations John wrote about.

Mitch

Henry

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the ﬂesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eye), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6 KJV https://my.bible.com/ bible/1/GEN.3.6)

Then, after multiple curses, declarations, and promises, Adam and Eve were ejected from God's presence in Eden. The story ended with God's angels keeping them out of Eden with a ﬂaming sword.

In contrast, Jesus' direct encounter with Satan ended in triumphant resistance to the same three deceptive temptations Satan used to dupe Adam and Eve. Here’s the entire story:

And when the tempter came to him, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (lust of the ﬂesh) But he answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, ‘He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.’” (pride of life) Jesus said unto him, “It is written again, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’”

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (lust of the eye) Then saith Jesus unto him, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’” Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

(Matthew 4:3-11 KJV https://my.bible.com/ bible/1/MAT.4.3-11)

Jesus overcame each temptation by referencing an Old Testament scripture. Satan left Jesus' presence, and the story ended with God's angels ministering to Jesus' needs.

The temptations in the ﬁrst sinners' direct encounter with Satan in Eden foreshadowed the temptations in the ﬁrst sinless man's direct encounter with Satan in the wilderness. The timing is important here. Both encounters with Satan follow the image of God's Spirit

hovering over water.

While in both stories this image provided the comfort of the Lord's presence, the outcome of the first was troubling, and the outcome of the second was triumphant. Adam and Eve’s first sin reminds us of our own weaknesses. Jesus’ resistance to the same three underlying temptations gives us confidence to overcome our weaknesses by following him. We can trust him. He was tested like we have been. He overcame. We should follow him — confidently. Both temptation stories are woven into the greatest story ever told — God saving us from our own spiritual death through Jesus' death on the cross.

Curses & Promises

Cows don't eat okra. Except for Eden itself, all gardens begin with a seed planted by human hands. My 2007 garden was no exception. It was our best ever — a family effort.

My wife Cindy and my youngest daughter Ashby selected the seed. My son Mitchell and I tilled the soil. My daughter Lauren marked the rows. We all planted. Each seed buried beneath the ground promised transformation — to yield many more seed from the vegetables it would produce.

After God's watering and all of us weeding, what emerged was stunning: two silver queen corn rows, two golden queen rows, yellow squash, zucchini, ﬁeld peas, butter beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, pumpkins, and okra. After seven weeks, we were gathering delicious vegetables every day.

It was so productive, we started giving produce to our neighbors. I must confess; I caught myself bragging about my green thumb.

Late one Friday night in mid July, right about the time to harvest the golden queen corn, we pulled into the driveway, opened the driveway gate, and drove through the oaks toward the house. When the car headlights hit the front yard, two dozen pairs of dancing white lights glistened on the lawn. There were cows in the yard!

There were cows on the grass, cows on the sidewalks, and cows in the ﬂowerbeds. There were even cows on the front porch.

Then it hit me. There must be cows in the garden!

I stopped the car, got out, and uttered a visceral scream. The malfeasant beasts lumbered guiltily toward the back yard gate I left unlatched before rushing off to retrieve the children from Wiregrass Bible Camp. Before leaving, the gate had come unhinged. I had reasoned the cows were half a mile away grazing, and they rarely came near this back gate. I could save a few minutes and repair the gate when I got back.

Mitch

Henry

I trotted behind the mama cows and their baby calves to the back yard and shined my ﬂashlight on the garden. My mouth dropped open. My one careless act had apocalyptic consequences.

I never knew plants could be pressed so flat. A portly bull calf was lying on his back, hooves skyward, scratching his top-line on the flattened corn stalks. Scattered over the smashed garden were cow pies reflecting the efficiency with which our bovines had fully processed our prize produce.

The only plants left standing — untouched were the two rows of okra.

Well fertilized, we ate a lot of okra that year.

Our garden yielded a promise and a curse. Seed promised a harvest. Weeds and hungry cows reﬂected Adam’s curse. We all sweated. My lazy, unwise gate decision put all at risk.

Though Adam and Eve's sin also had consequences, God made a promise resulting from their sin curses that blessed all mankind. God’s promise got attached to Satan’s curse.

Let’s analyze the ﬁrst couple’s sin curses. Most signiﬁcantly, Adam and Eve were cursed to die and return to "the dust."

By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until your return to the ground. For from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19 LEB https://www.bible.com/90/gen.3.19.leb)

Death is sin's curse. Thousands of years later in the New Testament, Paul stated this plainly in his letter to the Romans.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/ROM.6.23)

Volumes have been written regarding death, the curse of sin, originating with man's fall. Again, think about similarities with the cross' story. Jesus substituted himself, taking on mankind's curse by becoming a curse for us when he died, hanging upon a wooden cross.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13

Paul's insight stops me in my tracks. The manner in which Jesus died, cruciﬁxion, placed a curse on its victim. Jesus became cursed. Jesus allowed his own curse to be substituted for mankind’s sin curse.

Jesus allowed his own curse to be substituted for mankind’s sin curse.

This forgave our curse. When we are forgiven, we become freed from death's finality. We will rise again like Jesus and live forever with him in heaven. Living forever is an important part of Adam and Eve's story also. Tragically, the curse's consequences for Adam and Eve included mankind being required to work for food, fight weeds, painfully bear children, and put up with dominant husbands. The next verse shows that had the first couple not been cursed by sin, they would have remained in the Garden, had access to the tree of life, and lived forever — naked and happy.

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 forever… (Genesis 3:22 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.3.22)

Jesus substituting himself to be cursed for us opened the door for our souls to experience eternal life after physical death. This includes access once again to the tree of life. Yes, the tree of life, the second tree described in Genesis, is revealed again for those being saved by Jesus in Revelation, the last book in the Bible.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.2.7)

In a spiritual vision from God, the apostle John saw the tree of life growing in heaven beside the river of life, and announced that the curse was over.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.22.1-5

In the Bible's last chapter, Jesus conﬁrms the promise of God's plan for salvation. Those whose “robes have been washed” in Jesus' blood (Revelation 7:14) have the right to eat fruit from the tree of life and live forever.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the ﬁrst and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Revelation 22:12-14 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/REV.22.12-14)

Partaking from the fruit hanging from the ﬁrst tree of knowledge of good and evil brought sin’s curse upon mankind. Then Jesus became a curse for us allowing himself to be hung from a “tree” — the cross. Connecting with Jesus hanging from the cross brought an antidote to sin’s curse for mankind — a “healing of the nations.”

Three “trees” played a role in sin’s curse and God’s salvation plan. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil bore fruit and resulted in a curse for man’s sin. Jesus died on a cross, made from a tree to substitute for our curse. The tree of life is in heaven bearing fruit and leaves for healing the believer’s curse eternally. These three “trees” illustrate God’s character for justice, mercy, and healing. They reﬂect God’s justiﬁed curse (the tree of knowledge of good and evil), Jesus’ merciful substitute curse (the cross) and God’s promised healing (the tree of life).

But there was yet another curse in this story. God cursed Satan after confronting Adam and Eve. As for Satan, the consequences for his wrongdoing did not turn out so well. Within his curse, God mysteriously began revealing his plan and purpose to redeem Adam, Eve, and ultimately all mankind from sin's curse. In Satan's curse, God foreshadowed his mercy and justice inherent in Jesus' sacriﬁce on the cross. Here is Satan’s curse.

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the ﬁeld; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/ GEN.3.14-15)

Growing up on a cattle farm, I have had the opportunity to crush a few snake heads — rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and an occasional malfeasant chicken snake. Poison comes from the snake's head, equipped with needle sharp fangs, lightning quick striking reﬂexes, and a sneaky disposition. Maybe you also have had a snake encounter. If so, it's easy to identify the similarities between snakes and Satan. However, Satan's curse has a deeper meaning than man's interaction with snakes, or even man's interaction with Satan, himself.

Satan’s curse is a prophecy. The key to understanding it is the word, “seed,” or “offspring” in other Bible versions. God indicated there is a person, a certain "seed" who will come from Eve and crush Satan's head. Satan's curse actually presents hope for mankind.

In Genesis, hundreds of years later, the seed theme morphs from a curse to a promise.

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: 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: 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.”

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. And Abram took Sarai his wife…and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 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. (Genesis 12:1-7 KJV GEN.12.1-7)

When Abraham obeyed God, left his country, and arrived in Canaan where he was called to go, God promised to give the land to his "offspring," or "seed." We explore this seed promise more deeply in chapter three about Abraham. There the “seed” is more speciﬁcally described and seems to point to Jesus.

Jesus had the predicted family tree.

Because Jesus was born from a woman, the Virgin Mary, a daughter of Eve, he was qualiﬁed to be "Eve's seed." Also, both Mary and Jesus’ father, Joseph, were descendants of Abraham. Thus, Jesus had the predicted family tree. The Bible takes care to provide a genealogy, listing the descendants of Adam and Eve down to Abraham. From Abraham, the genealogy continues to Jesus, himself. (See Matthew 1:1-17 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/MAT.1.1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 KJV https:// my.bible.com/bible/1/LUK.3.23-38)

There are more clues that Jesus is the "seed." Hundreds of years after Abraham's promise, the seed theme appeared in the prophet Isaiah's writings predicting a Messiah coming to save Israel. He described a suffering servant who would give his body to heal the people from the shame of their transgressions in Isaiah 53. Contained within this short chapter are vivid images foreshadowing the suffering and death of Jesus. Also contained within it is a reference to the “seed," connecting Satan's curse and Abraham's promise to the Messiah.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisﬁed: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11 KJV https://my.bible.com/ bible/1/ISA.53.10-11)

This “offspring,” this “seed” would "justify" people and "bear their iniquities." If Jesus was the Messiah, then he must have been the "seed" of Eve, and the "seed" of Abraham.

Hundreds of years after Isaiah wrote this, Jesus' apostles ﬁgured out the ''seed" mystery after Jesus was resurrected, and ﬁnally wrote about it. Paul brought clarity when he said,

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, “And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GAL.3.16)

So how does Jesus Christ, the "seed" of Eve, crush Satan's head? I can remember an old preacher, wrinkled face, baggy clothes, nearly crippled, leaning for support on a homemade wooden lectern, pose this same question. Getting no response from me or the other timid Sunday school audience members, he spoke distinctly and passionately.

"Old Satan thought he won when he killed Jesus on a cross, like a snake whose strike meets its mark on the heel of a man. He sank his piercing fangs into the ﬂesh of Jesus, drawing blood, and injecting the sting of death, the bite of sin, draining the life

He paused, raised and held his shriveled st in the air, and shouted, "Jesus trusted God, who then raised his ‘seed’ from the ground, gave life to Jesus Christ's dead body, and by his resurrection dealt a crushing blow to Satan’s head!"

Down came the ﬁst into his other hand with a clap that made us jump in our seats.

Then he whispered, "The bite of sin is death; the victory over death is Jesus’ resurrection."

Jesus' own position on the resurrection and death is powerfully simple and clear. The book of John recorded Jesus' encounter with Mary whose brother Lazarus had died. Mary expressed her hope that her brother would rise again in "the last day," but

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/ jhn.11.25-26.esv)

Then Jesus by God's power raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. This same power raised Jesus himself. To those who trust in his promises, the same power will resurrect them to eternal life after death.

"The bite of sin is death; the victory over death is Jesus’ resurrection."

Jesus' own words connect with the "seed" theme in Satan's curse to help us solidly conclude he is the "offspring" or "seed" predicted by God to crush Satan. Right before Jesus tells his apostles he will die by being “lifted up from the earth,” John records this:

And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be gloriﬁed. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:23-24 KJV https://my.bible.com/bible/1/JHN.12.23-24)

Jesus' death and resurrection are similar to a seed. At the right time, it is planted. It goes under the ground. It undergoes a transformation. A transformed seed, now a plant, rises up from the ground. It lives a new life, producing seeds like itself.

Jesus is the "seed" of Eve. At the right time he died, was buried, was transformed to be alive, and then arose to walk a new life. He now makes followers who are given the same transformation power like seeds — to be raised to new life — to reproduce — to destroy the curse and fulﬁll God’s promise.

Genesis' ﬁrst three chapters disclose God's plan for saving mankind and foreshadow his character for justice, mercy, and healing power later revealed in Jesus. God’s creation was "very good," but it wasn't perfect. Sin has consequences. Adam and Eve messed up, with some encouragement and deceit from Satan. God stepped in to cover their shame (with animal skin clothing), preview his plan (with a hovering Spirit and Jesus’ own temptation), punish their sin (with the curse of death), and prophesy their salvation (with Satan's curse). Creation connects to the cross.

These and other connections were not accidental. God’s plan, pattern, and purpose to reveal his love through Jesus are intentional. They began at creation, continue through scripture, climax at the cross, and include you.

The generations after Adam and Eve strayed further from God. Sin multiplied, and God took drastic measures. The cross connects even clearer in the coming ﬂood story. God’s pattern for salvation comes more into focus.

! 2021 by

Mitch Henry

NoahRain means life — or death. Pensacola, Florida gets rain, and lots of it. I remember sloshing along in a converted 1969 Blue Bird church bus, rain drops pounding the metal roof, water pouring over side windows, thickly blurring the soaked world outside. Storm water pooled in the wheel ruts, splashed from the roadway, and vibrated against the wheel wells under my feet, giving the sensation we were ﬂoating. The driver wasn’t bothered by this or the missing wiper blade on the passenger side, or the worsening weather as he sped back to the Warrington Church building.

Then we hit a large water pool in the roadway. The bus began to slide, the driver instinctively corrected, and the bus slid back to the left. We all screamed. Most 12-yearolds on board had never experienced ﬁshtailing (hydroplaning) in a bus. Lightning struck. Another scream. Then some wise older teenager started a song.

The Lord told Noah there's gonna be a ﬂoody ﬂoody. (Repeat)

Get those animals out of the muddy muddy, children of the Lord So rise and shine and give God the glory glory. (Repeat)

Rise and shine and give God the glory glory, children of the Lord….

The moment was transformative. We calmed down. We sang all the way back to the church. God was in control, and we were going to be alright. I’d never heard this song before, and I’ve never forgotten it. It has calmed my own children's fears in storms and brought joy in moments of chaos — like the real story of Noah.

Noah's story is apocalyptic, visual, and compelling. Sinners die. Saints are saved. Creation is cleansed. It all ends with a rainbow. This story powerfully foreshadows mankind's ultimate salvation story — Jesus' cross.

Unfortunately, many preachers, TV documentaries, historical authors, and Christian Apologeticists have focused tremendous attention on whether the flood happened historically and the Ark actually existed — whether a shepherd discovered petrified gopher wood on the slopes of Mount Ararat, whether a single pair of all land-dwelling animal species could fit within the Ark's dimensions, or whether early Chaldean flood myths have similarities with the Biblical text. Although intriguing, these topics distract from powerful connections between Noah's story and Jesus' story we can discover when we simply ask, “Where’s Jesus?”

Four unique connections — Pitch, Immersion, Hovering Birds, and an emerging Salvation Pattern — provide faith expanding opportunities for believers. Let's rediscover these connections in Noah's story.

Chapter 2

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 6:11-22 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.6.11-22)

building and creature collecting had to be perfectly performed.

boat

Noah’s careful obedience led to his family’s salvation despite the impending destruction. His boat building and creature collecting had to be perfectly performed. Any leaks caused by defective workmanship or a renegade rhinoceros could have fatal consequences during the deluge.

The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in. For forty days the ﬂood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark ﬂoated on the surface of the water.

Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:16-18,23 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.7.16-18,23)

Pitch

In September 2009, my friend and 6th grade Bible school co-teacher parent, Mark Churchwell, volunteered to take the Noah lesson. Mark was a true renaissance man: a small business owner, college business school professor, musician, inventor, graphic artist, school board chairman, gentleman Angus cattle farmer, Bible student, marksman,

wonderful husband, and, of course, a great father. He seemed more enthusiastic than normal about the Noah topic, and it made me a little nervous.

Mark's class started with this question: "What caused the ark to ﬂoat and kept the ﬂood water out?" Mark appeared delighted as he watched the 12-year-olds struggling for the right answer. Truthfully, I was struggling myself. Thank God he didn't ask me.

Then came his answer. "Pitch."

The British call it “bitumen.” On the farm, we called it tar — a thick, black, sticky substance which turned liquid when heated and stuck to everything it touched. Pitch sealed tin roofs, grain bins, and storage tanks incredibly well. Pitch kept water out. Pitch kept things it sealed safe and dry. It still oozes to the surface in some Middle Eastern countries.

After a few minutes, I could not help but wonder where Mark was going with this detail. Then he led me and the pre-teens to a new insight. He explained that the original Genesis text was written in Hebrew, not 17th Century King James English. The Hebrew word kaphar, רַפָכ, translated “to cover with pitch" in Noah's story, has multiple meanings and has been translated as different spiritually signiﬁcant English words other places in the Bible.

So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. (Genesis 6:14 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.6.14)

Kaphar is also translated "atonement," "reconciliation," "reconcile," and "forgive." It literally means to "to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch." (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/kjv/kaphar.html)

Mark continued, "Now think about it. The Ark was covered with a liquid substance that sealed it and prevented death from taking its eight human occupants. Pitch saved the ark. Do you see the connection with Jesus?"

Jesus' blood is like pitch! My mind opened. His blood covers believers. It coats us with salvation. His blood seals us through the Holy Spirit inside and out. It gives us power over death and saves our souls. Water represented death for those outside the ark, who were not covered and sealed with pitch. Death, including the second death, will come to all outside Christ who are not covered and sealed by his blood. Pitch brought salvation for Noah and his family. Jesus' blood brought salvation to all mankind. Pitch and Jesus’ blood both accomplish salvation by covering.

Pitch covered a wooden ark keeping water out, creating buoyancy, and saving mankind by lifting the ark and its eight human occupants above the waters of death. The blood of Christ coated a wooden cross, keeping sin from penetrating our souls, creating reconciliation, and saving mankind by lifting our souls from death.

Mark's lesson impacted me deeply. He taught me that even in small, overlooked details, God shows us his story's symmetry, coherence, and beauty.

Mark unexpectedly died shortly after I started writing this book. I still grieve for his loss, but count it a blessing to have known him as a friend. He was a man of God who cared passionately that young people know Jesus. Because of that, Mark's inﬂuence lives on, not just in his Noah lesson, but in all those he touched.

Likewise, Jesus’ influence lives on in every disciple. As the earth and Noah’s ark were immersed in the flood, Jesus’ influence covers every disciple.

Noah’s Immersion

“This man has asthma!” The Jamaican doctor’s declaration was oddly loud. He wouldn’t look at us. I didn’t believe him. Ricky’s elderly father had been coughing up blood for two weeks.

“Take this prescription. There’s nothing more I can do.” He nodded toward the door. Ricky dropped his head and muttered, “No use. Let’s go.”

Weak as water, Ricky and I held under each arm and shuﬄed his father past young mothers with crying babies, coughing toddlers, older ladies fanning themselves, and two posters which informed us, “Running Belly Will Kill Your Baby!!” and “Running Belly Will Dry Your Baby Out!!”

Searching for the government health clinic’s pharmacy, we ﬁnally found a window covered in rusty chicken wire with a 3X6 inch opening. We handed the white-coated attendant the prescription. I saw him crush some white tablets with a pestle and brush the white powder onto a sheet of brown paper which he folded into a square.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Acetaminophen,” he said.

I dropped my head and whispered to Ricky, “It’s a pain killer. Do you want to try another clinic?”

His father overheard and interrupted, “I’m done with doctors; let’s go home.”

The Toyota minivan’s suspension was challenged on the rocky path we navigated back to Ricky’s father’s home. The jostling stirred his cough. Ricky said, “It’s not

“No Ricky,” I said, trying to hide my frustration with 1989 third-world public health infrastructure. “It may be tuberculosis. The medicine will not cure him.”

Ricky’s father sat up, managed to hold oﬀ his cough, and whispered something to Ricky.

“My father says he wants to be baptized before he dies. Can you help us?”

“Ricky, you know how cold the water is in these mountains; the shock could kill him

“He wants you to take him to the sea where it is warm.”

At his home, I asked Ricky’s father if he believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

“Yes, he is da Lord. I done many bad tings, and I need his pardon.”

“Okay,” I said, “I will take you to be baptized. Ricky, get your father dry clothes to change into and lots of towels so we can keep him warm. We’ll need to go by the

“My father says he wants to be baptized before he dies. Can you help us?”

church and get the preacher and let my mission team know where I’m taking the van this afternoon.”

“I don want dat preacher to baptize me. You hep me so much, I want you to do it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I will if you want me to, but the preacher usually does this.”

“I’m sure.”

When we got to the bay at Port Maria, it was sunny and warm. The sky was blue, and the Caribbean was emerald. There was just one problem. The tide was out — way out. As we walked from the shore, the water was only ankle deep after 100 yards. Another 100 yards, and it was only knee deep, but there were occasional waves coming over the drop-oﬀ which were cresting almost waist deep.

Ricky and I turned his father gently to face the shore and his family and friends who had waded out with us.

I timed it.

“Upon your confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, I now baptize you for the remission of your sins in the name of the Father…and the Son…”

At this point I looked back to the ocean and spotted the next wave which was much further out than I anticipated and seemed to be taking its own sweet time.

“…and the Hoooooooooooooooooooooly Ghost.”

Then splash. I got him covered in the wave crest just in the nick of time.

Ricky’s father’s health got better, but he died two months after his doctor’s visit. I’ll never forget the look of hope in his eyes after his immersion.

Hope often springs from immersion. In addition to pitch, there is a second "covering" in Noah's story — water. While it represented death for those outside the ark, water represented life for the souls within. The apostle Peter recognized this.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.

In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (1 Peter 3:18-22 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/1PE.3.18-22)

I have to confess; this is a tough passage to fully understand. Much speculation occurs among scholars regarding the meaning of this "proclamation" by Jesus to the "imprisoned spirits" in the days of Noah. Let's not let this difﬁcult part distract us from

Henry

There is a second covering in Noah’s story — water.

Peter's clearer teaching — the people in the ark were “saved through water.”

The ark was raised up by the water, but below, sinful people, innocent animals, and plants all died. The earth under the water was cleansed through immersion. When the ark was raised up above the water, Noah's family was saved, and a new life began for all within the ark. In the same way, when we are baptized, we are raised up spiritually. We are saved from death by God raising Jesus' body above the earth on a cross, and a new life begins for us.

God baptized the whole earth in order to save the faithful. The flood waters contained sin from disobedient people who were destroyed, blood from innocent animals who were sacrificed, and judgment against those who disobeyed. rst recorded water immersion. Thereafter, many other water immersions appeared in the Old Testament. Often such immersions were connected flood cleansed the world. Sinful men and women ed from sin's corruption by God immersing it. The waters were upon the earth for 150 days. This killed everything except for fish and underwater plants. Yes, plants were gone too. Floods do that.

Now you are probably thinking, wait a minute; what about the olive branch? Doesn’t it prove that the water did not kill all plants? Five months submersion in water is enough to kill any tree.

Olive trees do not naturally sprout back to life after being covered in water for 150 days. God probably raised the dead plants back to life. This plant resurrection speaks volumes about God's grace, mercy, and provision. God made sure his people had a way to live and thrive, even if it took a miracle to accomplish.

If Noah's water symbolizes Christian baptism which now saves us as Peter indicated, how do we make sense of all this? Peter explains, "...not the removal of the dirt from the body..." Even though sin and its ﬁlth were destroyed by water, removing it, and cleansing the earth, this cleansing did not save Noah and his family. They were saved because the ark was raised up above the water. In the same way, baptism does not cleanse us by washing dirt and ﬁlth from our bodies.

Peter goes on, "...but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." During the ﬂood, Noah and his family had clear consciences. They listened to God and built, sealed, stocked, and outﬁtted an ark, got in it, and stayed in it, just like God asked them to do. They would not have had clear consciences unless they had faithfully trusted and obeyed God.

The ark being raised up by water saved Noah’s family. However, without the buoyancy created by God instructing Noah to build a wooden ark sealed with pitch, Noah's family would not have been raised up. Death would have overtaken them like the rest of mankind. Instead, through God's plan, Noah’s trust and obedience, and God's power, the ark rose up from the water. Noah's family was saved, and they

Noah’s ark: Through God's plan, Noah’s trust and obedience, and God’s power, the ark rose up from the water. Mankind is physically saved by faith.

Jesus' resurrection: Through God's plan, Jesus' trust and obedience, and God’s power, the body of Jesus rose up from the earth. Mankind is saved spiritually.

Our baptism: Through God's plan, our trust and obedience, and God's power, our body rose up from the water. Mankind is saved spiritually by faith.

don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:1-4 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ ROM.6.1-4)

As Noah's world was cleansed and his family saved by a water immersion, in baptism's immersion, we imitate Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We take part in a God-made pattern of cleansing and salvation. As God works in this pattern, the immersion is heartfelt and linked with one's faith, in humble submission to God's instructions. We imitate Noah's attitude — an attitude of faithful obedience.

There is another unique connection between the earth's immersion in Noah's story and Jesus' story. It involved birds.

Hovering Birds

Wild turkeys can’t hover. My brother Mike called upon the legendary hunting skills of our friend, Tom Cauthen, to help him bag a southern long-beard in April 1983. I got pulled into the venture because Mike was too young to drive, and Tom didn’t know how to get to the hunting spot.

As the sun rose, the mist began to burn off from the ﬂat sand hammock land south of Mike and Tom’s camouﬂaged position. As I slept in the truck hidden over the hill, Tom’s mouth call turkey clucking occasionally stirred me.

Then Tom’s hen clucks intensiﬁed. I got up and belly-crawled over the hill-crest. What I saw was fantastic.

There were at least 30 wild turkeys 100 yards in front of Mike and Tom, foraging, walking west away from them. But there was a problem. They were completely ignoring Tom’s turkey calls.

After an hour more, Tom and Mike gave up. We met at the truck to go home. Then inspiration struck me. “Why don’t I drive the truck around behind them, and Mike can shoot one out the window.”

“That’s not how you hunt turkeys. You’re supposed to call them up to you, then shoot.” Tom protested.

Mike gazed over at the turkeys still slowly walking away. “Let’s try it.”

I maneuvered the truck behind the flock, moving toward them at a good clip as Mike dangled his 20 gauge shotgun out the passenger window. To our surprise, the flock did not take flight immediately, but only began trotting as we approached. By the time we got within 20 yards, the birds were at a full run. Then they took flight, low to the ground, mostly gliding up to nearby tree branches. All were gone except five large Jakes who trotted in a line in front of us.

“Shoot one Mike!”

“You’re bouncing too much.”

I hit the brakes and cut the wheel to the left to give him a better shot. The birds ed by the truck cab deafened us temporarily. opping on the ground. Mike had winged nish it off.

I heard Tom yell to Mike, “Don’t shoot it again, I’ll take care of it.”

And with that Tom dispatched the bird humanely with his boot heel.

Recalling this experience, it is now patently obvious why Noah did not choose a wild turkey to explore the ﬂoodwaters to ﬁnd dry land.

In the Bible narrative after the 40 day oated around for another 150 days till it came to rest on Mount Ararat. Another 40 days went by, and then Noah took action. He sent out two birds, a raven and a dove. The raven didn’t return. The dove was sent out three times. Just as God's Spirit was hovering above the waters at the dawn of a newly created earth in Genesis 1, birds hovered above the water at the dawn of a newly cleansed earth in Genesis 8.

He sent out two birds, a raven and a dove.

Hovering over water occurred again at Jesus' baptism. Let’s think more deeply here: In creation, the Spirit of God was hovering over the water; in the ﬂood story, a bird was hovering over the water; and at Jesus' baptism, the Spirit in the form of a bird was hovering over the water. Two signiﬁcant “beginning” images connect to introduce Jesus’ ministry and baptism with a similar “beginning” image.

Why two birds of different species in Noah's story? One bird, a raven, is considered “unclean." The other, a dove, is "clean." Both were sent out. One bird never returned. The dove returned and brought evidence of new life in its mouth — an olive branch. Then it was set free again.

After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept ﬂying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.

Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could ﬁnd nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.

He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. (Genesis 8:6-12 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.8.6-12)

The Raven. Although Noah's story references "clean" and "unclean" animals, the ofﬁcial distinctions between such were ﬁrst made hundreds of years later in the Torah book of Leviticus written by Moses. Ravens fell in the unclean category.

These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven… (Leviticus 11:13-15 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ LEV.11.13-15)

The list includes scavengers who feed on dead animals and carnivorous birds who feed on rodents and carrion as well. These birds generally have large wingspans and the ability to hover easily. The Hebrew people were forbidden to eat any raven. Generally, ravens were a sign of torture and death.

The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens… (Prov. 30:17 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ PRO.30.17)

The Dove. Unlike the raven, the dove was a clean bird, used for food and later an important part of Jewish sacriﬁcial worship ceremonies. In Leviticus 14 (analyzed in more detail in a later chapter), clean birds were used in the sacriﬁcial ceremony for the leper who

had been cleansed from his skin disease, and for the Jewish home that had been cleansed from mildew and disease. One bird is killed, and the other bird is set free. Clean birds were offered by Jesus' parents on the eighth day of his life as part of his temple dedication ceremony. Just to sum it up, ravens symbolize death and uncleanness; doves symbolize life and cleansing. What moment in the cross story thousands of years later is similar to Noah's interaction with these two bird species? Consider Jesus and Barabbas. Both were tried by Pilate before Jesus' crucifixion. Barabbas, like the raven, represents sin and death. He was a murderer. But like Noah’s raven, Barabbas played a key role in mankind's ultimate salvation. The chief priests, elders, and the crowd were given a choice between having Barabbas or Jesus released. They chose Barabbas, and Jesus was delivered over to be crucified. Some even speculate Jesus was crucified on a cross prepared for Barabbas.

Jesus, like the dove, represents life and peace. His coming to be born of Mary is like the dove’s ﬁrst return to the ark (with nothing but himself). Noah’s dove then left the ark again. Jesus left this world when he died on the cross. Then, like Noah's dove returning the second time with an olive branch, Jesus returned from the dead with a message of salvation and peace. He was raised from the dead to walk a new life. Like Noah’s dove, Jesus then left the earth again, ascended to heaven, and has not yet returned.

Jesus’ resurrection message is our spiritual olive branch. This message’s power gives mankind hope, just like the olive branch from a resurrected olive tree in the dove’s mouth gave Noah hope.

Of all the trees on this earth, the dove brought back an olive branch to Noah. Then thousands of years later, the Son of God, on the night he is betrayed by Judas, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane surrounded by such trees on the Mount of Olives. Among the olive branches he contemplates his death, burial, and resurrection — the good message he later proclaims after being raised, that will bring salvation to all mankind. ight with an olive branch in its mouth as a universal symbol of peace. A dove hovered with an olive branch over the ﬂood waters, bringing hope to Noah. The Spirit, in the form of a dove, hovered over the Jordan's waters, bringing the Spirit to Jesus at his baptism. Jesus spoke a message of peace to all mankind, bringing salvation to the faithful through his death, burial, and resurrection!

These and other connections in Noah's story form a salvation pattern leading to the cross.

Jesus’ resurrection message is our spiritual olive branch.

Pattern

Salvation can be splashing. In September of 1988, my college friend, Herb Dowdy, and I waited respectfully beside a cold mountain stream near the Blue Mountains, as older Jamaican ladies assisted a younger woman who had studied the Bible with our mission team girls from the Auburn Christian Student Center. The young lady was changing into dry clothes after she had just been immersed.

While the ladies held the sheets for a make-shift changing room behind us, Herb and I watched three local boys, 7 to 10 years old, run down an embankment to the stream's edge, then launch airborne till they splashed into the water. Delighted with the result, they repeated the plunge, laughing and giggling without a care in the world.

On the third attempt by the tallest one, Herb said, "Watch this." As soon as the boy's bare foot launched him airborne from the stream bank, Herb quickly yelled, "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!" Then he went under with a splash.

Herb leaned toward me, and whispered, "Do you think that one counted?"

There is nothing magical about complete immersion in water. It happens for millions daily, accomplishing nothing more than washing dirt from one's body or providing delightful recreation.

Noah’s Flood

Covering - Water Immersion

Sin - Global violence and rebellion

Guilt/Shame - Mankind’s thoughts and intent were evil.

Judgment - Mankind's wickedness must be punished.

Innocent Life - Innocent animals were impacted.

Death - Mankind, animals, and plants died.

Innocent Blood - Innocent animal blood was shed.

Sacrifice - Animals and plants belonging to God died.

Safety/Salvation - Noah lifted up by God's plan and power

Jesus’ Cross and Resurrection

Covering - Jesus covered with Earth in the tomb

Sin - Global violence and rebellion

Guilt/Shame - Judas, Peter, and mankind felt guilt.

Judgment - Atonement - Mankind's sin debt must be paid.

Innocent Life - Jesus was perfectly innocent.

Death - Jesus was beaten and crucified.

Innocent Blood - Jesus' innocent blood was shed.

Sacrifice - Jesus' body

Baptism

Covering - Person covered with Water

Sin - Each person has sin.

Guilt/Shame - Wrongdoing brings regret and heartfelt guilt.

Judgment - Atonement - Mankind's sin debt must be paid.

Innocent Life - Jesus is innocent; we become innocent.

Death - Jesus was crucified; our old self is crucified with Him.

Innocent Blood - Jesus' blood — A person is immersed into his death spiritually.

Sacrifice - We Imitate Jesus’ sacrifice, burial, and resurrection.

Safety/Salvation - Person Raised up spiritually to new life with Jesus by God's grace.

This pattern repeated throughout the Bible reﬂects God's plan to save mankind — a salvation pattern that began in the Garden of Eden, was reﬁned in Noah's story, established at the cross and resurrection, and imitated when we are baptized. In Noah's salvation God demonstrated his power. This pattern speaks to us at our core as human beings. We are creatures of habit, so repetition builds upon itself as the best form of learning. Paying attention to this emerging pattern, revealed in these old Bible stories, leads us to understand God's plan and purpose more fully. Now, let's see how the pattern continued to unfold in Noah’s descendants. In the next chapter, we see God's divine providence at work in the life of a Chaldean man named Abraham.

! 2021 by

Mitch Henry

God’s timing is hilarious.

“You can’t have children.” That’s what Susan and Bart’s doctor told them. This news dashed dreams. Both loved children. Bart worked with the elderly, and Susan worked for Agape, a Christian adoption agency. They considered their options and prayed.

From the time my younger cousin Bart was a teen learning to pray at our small church, I remember he would often end his prayers by saying, "Not my will, but your will be done in all things." I remember thinking at the time how those words reﬂected a maturing faith at such a young age. Bart continued to pray these words with Susan, despite hurt and disappointment.

Years passed. Susan left her job at the adoption agency to care for her ill father after her mother died. Bart continued to work with elderly clients at Oak Grove Inn. They became that lovable, fun, church couple who "can't have children."

Faulkner University's cafeteria has great fried chicken on Sundays. It's a place to take the family and the parents after church, especially if you’re the one paying. One Sunday, Bart saw me walking with my tray and came over to me. We quickly caught up on family news, and I asked about Susan. Bart led me to their table where she sat with her father and some friends. She looked a little tired, but she sweetly asked about my family. We had a nice short visit before I found my own family and attacked my thigh and drumstick.

I remember thinking as I walked back to my own three beautiful children, “It's a shame that Bart and Susan can't have kids."

Three days later, Bart rushed Susan to Baptist East emergency room with excruciating back pain. They ran tests, they waited, they prayed.

Then the doctor gave the diagnosis.

"You are going to have a child....right now!”

They were speechless at ﬁrst. "We were told we can't have children." Most couples have eight months to prepare mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually for a baby. Lillah was born the next day, on February 29. That's right, she was born in a leap year — on leap day — to parents who thought they would never have a child — one day after her parents found out she was coming. God’s timing is hilarious — and wonderful.

At one year of age, Lillah was the most held baby at our extended family’s Fourth of July barbecue. As Bart and Susan were leaving, I told them I was writing a book with a chapter about Abraham and Sarah. Before I could ask, Susan gently interrupted, "I bet you want to tell our story, and the answer is yes." This is one cool couple.

Annunciation

At least Abraham and Sarah had a year to think about having a baby. The more I study scripture, the more I see God's sense of humor, particularly when he is announcing a new birth.

Chapter 3

Abraham

by Mitch Henry

At least Abraham and Sarah had a year to think about having a baby.

Abraham was 100 years old; Sarah was 90. God gave them a baby. That's hilarious. So much so that the couple later named their baby boy Isaac, which means laughter. Sarah thought God was making a joke when she heard his annunciation. She laughed out loud. A short time before this, Abraham also laughed when God made the announcement to him. This story is ﬁlled with unique details which connect with the coming baby Messiah.

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the ﬁnest ﬂour and knead it and bake some bread.”

Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said. Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’

Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” (Genesis 18:1-15 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.18.1-15)

Notice that God is directly communicating to this couple with the help of two beings who, as we discover, turn out to be angels. God announces an "impossible" event which requires faith to believe and human action combined with God's action to accomplish. Isaac did not appear to Sarah under a cabbage leaf. She was past the age of childbearing, yet she and Abraham conceived Isaac. She carried him for nine months and gave birth to him. She and Abraham raised him together. This new birth would not have occurred without God's power working in their old, worn out bodies to accomplish what unbelievers would think impossible.

So what does this story have to do with the cross? Where’s Jesus? There are at least three connections. First, around 2,000 years later, the apostle Paul recognized this event's power to deﬁne what Christian faith is when he wrote his letter to the Romans.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justiﬁcation. (Romans 4:18-25 NIV

Paul deﬁnes Abraham and Sarah's faith as " power to do what he had promised." Because this couple was " got past the absurdity of God's baby promise (which Paul correctly notes was tied with a "seed" / "offspring" promise) and got down to the business of miracle baby making, birthing, and raising. They fully accepted that God's promise to have a baby boy in one year was not just doable, but it was inevitable.

Paul says that we — who believe in the impossible absurdity of Jesus being raised from death so that we too will be raised from our own deaths — are like Abraham and Sarah. Their faith allowed them to believe new life could spring from Sarah's dead womb. Our faith allows us to believe that new life can spring from Jesus' dead body — for him and for us. Abraham and Sarah's story was written for us. Their faith story foreshadows our faith story. This is one cool couple.

A second way this story ties in with Jesus has to do with the meal. Notice what the three heavenly beings eat with Abraham — bread, beef, and cheese. (The cattleman in me views this as a solid scriptural endorsement for cheeseburgers.) The bread is likely unleavened (without yeast). In the next Genesis chapter, Lot gives the angels unleavened bread before they announce the destruction of Sodom. These may be the only recorded instances in scripture where heavenly beings other than Jesus ate meals with mankind. Isn’t it interesting that both meals involved unleavened bread? It’s intriguing how these two meals with heavenly beings may foreshadow Christians eating unleavened bread in the Lord's Supper.

Their faith allowed them to believe new life could spring from Sarah’s dead womb.

The third, and most direct cross connection is the similarity between this story and the annunciation of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Both announcements were that an impossible birth would take place — from a dead womb (Sarah), and from a virgin (Mary). Both couples received two messages from God — each to the husband and the wife, separately. Angels were involved in both stories. Both announcements were regarding sons. Both sons were promised to fulﬁll the prophecy and covenant regarding the "seed" or "offspring" of woman ﬁrst made in Eden and discussed in the next chapter. Both stories were followed by bloodshed — Sodom’s destruction (in Abraham’s story) and the slaughter of the innocent Bethlehem children (in Jesus’ story). Through both sons, all the nations of the earth would be blessed — and they have been.

While discussing this in a Bible class, Nancy Cutts, who is one of the most godly women I know, got my attention. She said, “Isn’t it interesting God fulﬁlled his ‘seed’ promise through women?”

Isn’t it interesting God

“seed” promise through women?

Genesis first revealed the promise to bless all mankind through Eve’s promised “seed.” Later, through miraculous birth, Isaac was born to Sarah and became Jesus’ ancestor. And finally, Jesus the “seed of woman” by virgin birth — no man, just the woman — fulfilled God’s “seed” / “offspring” promise to save and bless all nations.

We will see in the next connection that this promise was almost sidetracked when

Isaac’s Sacrifice

I have only one son. When he was three, I took him onto the outside elevated balcony on the back of our house to "help" me paint some bookshelves. I had turned my back to him for a few seconds when I heard him say, "Hey Dad, look at me."

I turned around, and he had disappeared. My heart stopped. Then, straining my eyes along the long porch railing, I saw two small sets of knuckles. My child had squeezed through a gap in the rails. He was standing on the outside edge of the porch balcony holding the rails and leaning his body outward, looking at the concrete sidewalk 20 feet below.

God helped me calmly say, "Hey Mitchell, come over here; I want to show you something." Then slowly, I saw a hand, then an arm, then the rest of his little body squeeze back through the railing.

Thanking God he was safe, I grabbed his little arm, and spanked him saying, "Don't...you...ever...do...that...again!"

God later asked Abraham to sacriﬁce Isaac. I can't imagine sacriﬁcing my son. What was God thinking? What was Abraham thinking? Let’s look at this story.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and

Henry

fulfilled his

go to the region of Moriah. Sacriﬁce him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the ﬁre and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The ﬁre and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Abraham looked up and there went over and took the ram and sacri of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:1-18 NIV my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.22.1-18

The land of Moriah is the region where Jerusalem is located. Now think about this event. What other son of promise later walked up a hill in the land of Moriah with wood on his back in order for his body to be a sacriﬁce?

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they cruciﬁed him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. (John 19:17-18 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ JHN.19.17-18)

What a compelling connection spanning 2,000 years. Foreshadowing matters. Substitution also relates to salvation in another often overlooked connection: Like the ram, what other Lamb provided by God had his head surrounded by thorns immediately before his life was taken in a sacriﬁce?

In both stories, there was a substitution at the point of death. Isaac was exchanged with a ram. In Jesus' story he was substituted for Barabbas who went free like Isaac. Looking deeper, there was another substitution at the cross. Mankind was exchanged with Jesus, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ JHN.1.29) We deserve death because of our sins, but Jesus took our place like the ram caught in the thicket. He died instead of us — his head surrounded by thorns just like Isaac’s ram.

Let’s notice the numbers in each story. Isaac's story involved one donkey carrying the provisions for the sacriﬁce to the land of Moriah. Jesus' story involved a single colt carrying the Son, God's provision for our saving sacriﬁce, entering the city

of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday before the crucifixion. I don’t know what donkey breed Isaac and Jesus had, but my cousins, Tony and Iva Kate Hopper reminded me that many donkeys have an unusual marking — a dark brown or black line on the top-line from shoulders to rump and a dark line crossing the first perpendicularly from shoulder to shoulder. If Isaac and Jesus’ donkeys had a similar trait, both men would have seen a naturally displayed cross on the donkeys who bore them to the place where they were to be sacrificed.

Isaac's sacrifice involved two servants who played a role in preparing for the sacrifice. Jesus' sacrifice involved two thieves who played a role in Jesus’ sacri

Did you notice how many days it took Abraham and Isaac to reach the place for the sacrifice? Three days figured prominently in Jesus' sacrifice story as well. Isaac's story involved three days of preparation; Jesus' story involved three days waiting for resurrection.

Most importantly, both stories were coupled with a promise from God. After his obedience, Abraham received a blessing from God — his descendants would be great. Through the “offspring” of Abraham “all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 111/GEN.22.18) Through Jesus' obedience, all nations will be blessed, as Jesus later says:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ MAT.28.19-20)

Through Jesus' obedience on the cross, we have the hope of eternal life arising from his sacriﬁcial death. The apostle Paul encouraged early Christians with this thought when he said:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/PHP.2.5-11)

…Jesus, like the ram caught in the thorns, took our place.

Finally, lsaac's sacriﬁce foreshadowed Jesus' resurrection. The writer of Hebrews spelled out this wonder plainly.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacriﬁce. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacriﬁce his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.11.17-19)

Isaac’s near-death experience, God’s substituting a male lamb for Isaac’s life, and Abraham’s faithful acceptance that “God will provide” — all connect solidly with Jesus’ story. Now let’s ponder a more mysterious connection.

Melchizedek’s Mystery

Melchizedek's story starts with a kidnapping. Local kings aligned in two groups and made war. The dominant kings sacked Sodom and kidnapped Abraham's nephew, Lot, and Lot's family, along with many other people. They plundered the towns and hauled away many possessions. A young man escaped and found Abraham. After hearing the news, Abraham armed his servants, pursued the kidnapping thieves, rescued Lot, and captured the plunder. Then Abraham encountered Melchizedek. Talk about a mysterious character. Melchizedek is one of the most ephemeral in all Holy Scripture. He was a priest of God during Abraham's time who lived in Salem, later called Jerusalem. He is mentioned three times in three different books, Genesis, Psalms, and the New Testament book of Hebrews. Melchizedek's encounter with Abraham yielded a mysterious blessing.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-20 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.14.18-20)

What other priest of God Most High gave bread and wine to God's faithful in Jerusalem?

by Mitch Henry

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ MAT.26.26-28)

Remarkable connection, isn't it?

What's also remarkable is Abraham's response to the bread and wine; he gave an offering — a tenth of what he had recovered from the thieves — immediately after receiving the bread and wine. For years, well-meaning brethren have pointed out the "need" to separate communion from the offering in many churches where my family has worshipped. Some have made a public excuse after the cup is served that sounds something like this: "Separate and apart from the Lord's Supper, we now take this as a convenient time to give back to God as he has prospered us." I even said it myself before I discovered Melchizedek.

Some congregations have gone so far as to schedule the offering at different times well before or well after communion, so as to show they are "separate acts of worship."

To this I say, relax. If keeping the bread, wine, and offering all together was good enough for Father Abraham and Melchizedek, we might need to keep it that way and concentrate our minds on the powerful meaning and devotion reﬂected in communion together with the offering.

Speaking of powerful meaning, Melchizedek also brieﬂy shows up prophetically in the book of Psalms.

The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high. (Psalm 110:1-7 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/PSA.110.1-7)

This short Psalm makes two promises regarding the coming Messiah. First, God would make Jesus' enemies, including death, subject to him (under his footstool) as Peter pointed out, quoting this Psalm in his Pentecost speech recorded 1,000 years https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ACT.2.32-36).

The second promise was that the Messiah would be a priest from the order of Melchizedek. This seems random. Mysteriously, we learn nothing more about Melchizedek from the entire Old Testament.

Thankfully, the New Testament writer of Hebrews ﬁlled in the gaps about this mysterious ﬁgure and connected Melchizedek to the cross.

Jesus is not a Levite, not a descendent of Aaron, schooled in the law of Moses and its ritual animal and food sacriﬁces. Rather, Jesus is a Melchizedek priest — an ancient priesthood predating the Jewish Levitical order. As a Melchizedek priest, Jesus offered himself as the sacriﬁce to save all

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness;” then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”

Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in ofﬁce; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

As a Melchizedek priest, Jesus offered himself as the sacrifice to save all mankind…

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:1-3,11-28 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.7.1-3,11-28

So, Abraham gains even more signi Melchizedek priesthood to which Abraham's "seed" would later belong. Through the Melchizedek priesthood, Jesus, who lives forever, sacriﬁced himself on the cross, "once for all." He rose from the dead and lives forever as our permanent priest, interceding for us in heaven because he has an "indestructible life." The Hebrews writer reveals that God bestowed the Melchizedek priesthood upon Jesus with the oath contained in Psalms. Isn't God's word powerful and mysterious? Yet it must have made incredible sense to ﬁrst century Jews and Gentiles familiar with Judaism. Let's look now at other cross connections — direct promises, commands, and covenants in Abraham's story.

Covenant Seed

Leaving home can be dangerous. Suriname has tigers. Despite the risk, my friend, Jim Adams, went to this tropical South American coastal country to be a temporary missionary. There he met and fell in love with Irmy. Born into a Muslim family, Irmy was extremely bright, spoke four languages ﬂuently, and taught English to non-English speaking Surinamese students.

Through Jim and others, Irmy learned Jesus was not merely a prophet as Islam teaches, but the Son of God. When she was baptized, she did not know if she would be disowned. She was not. Then, Jim asked Irmy to marry him, leave Suriname, and move with him to America.

Leaving home, family, and her country permanently would be risky. She prayed and trusted God was calling her to fulﬁll his plan and purpose in a new land. A few years after getting married, Irmy learned she was expecting a baby.

Eight-and-a-half months into the pregnancy, Jim unexpectedly died from a massive heart attack.

Savannah was born fatherless.

He lives forever as our permanent priest… because he has an “indestructible life.”

Irmy was alone, with no family in America other than new friends at Vaughn Park Church. It seemed as if God's plan for her new life in this new land would not pan out. She considered going home.

Irmy, though separated from family, found support with God's family. At church, the Rittenour family "adopted" her and Savannah. They cared for her as if she were their own. Three years later at church, Irmy reconnected with Dennis, a friend whom Jim had introduced Irmy to years before. Dennis became Irmy's husband and Savannah's father.

Today, Irmy works in the administration of Alabama Christian Academy. Savannah graduated from there, a godly young woman, and a super volleyball player. Dennis and Irmy teach marriage classes at church and counsel couples with distressed marriages. Through hardship, her new faith has been tested. Irmy's life shows God is faithful. When life's circumstances become challenging for her and her family, I often hear her say, "God is good." Her faith reminds me of Abraham's.

Like Irmy, Abraham also left his family and his homeland to begin a new life. First, he was called directly by God to leave, and he was promised a reward of many descendants if he did so. God rewarded him by making a covenant — an agreement based on a promise. The covenant had two parts, a promised son and a promised land. There were responsibilities for both parties to the covenant (God and Abraham).

Abraham's responsibility was deﬁned to include himself and his descendants cutting off every male's genital foreskin. This is ned a ﬁnal time after Abraham's faith was ce Isaac. The covenant then clearly promised Abraham’s "offspring" or “seed" would bless all nations. Foreshadowing the cross, God's covenant with Abraham still blesses us today. It started with Abraham’s calling.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3 NIV https://my.bible.com/ bible/111/GEN.12.1-3)

The New Testament book of Hebrews emphasizes the powerful lesson of God's calling Abraham.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect

Foreshadowing the cross, God’s covenant with Abraham still blesses us today.

and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ HEB.11.8-10)

This calling was direct: Abraham, leave, go to a new land, you will have offspring who will become a great nation, and all people will be blessed through you. Abraham obeyed, but there were difﬁculties.

His father died, there was a famine, he got in trouble with Pharaoh and King Abemilek over Sarah, and he lied about their marriage status. He and Sarah conspired to get children their own way through a "surrogate," Hagar, who gave birth to Ishmael, leading to jealousy, abandonment, and lingering hatred. Abraham's nephew, Lot, left Abraham, chose the best land for his livestock, lived among evil people in Sodom, got kidnapped, and lost everything including his wife when God destroyed the city. Lot committed incest with his two daughters, who gave birth to sons whose descendants, the Ammonites and the Moabites, later torment Isaac's descendants. Abraham's possessions grew, his power increased, and he aged well, but he turned 100 without Sarah having a baby. It seemed God was not going to fulﬁll his promise. So Abraham questioned God.

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own ﬂesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram believed the Lord , and he credited it to him as righteousness. said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” (Genesis 15:2-7 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.15.2-7

God gave Abraham assurance: What God had promised, regarding a son and regarding land would come true. Abraham believed this, and God credited him with righteousness. Later, in Abraham's next encounter, God coupled his promises with a ceremonial obligation — one that was deeply personal.

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a

…God couples his promise with a ceremonial obligation.

foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your ﬂesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the ﬂesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call as an everlasting covenant for his https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ GEN.17.3-14,19)

God, you want me and my offspring to do what? Notice circumcision is the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham. God chose this operation to be passed on from one generation to the next. I suppose, at least for the adults, those who submitted to this operation would be viewed by others as being seriously devoted. So how does the circumcision covenant

Like Jesus' innocent blood on the cross, innocent blood is shed by eight day old male infants. The blood is shed through the action of another who performs the operation. Similarly, the soldiers shed Jesus' blood. For the adult receiving circumcision, it requires a submission based on that person's free will, like Jesus who submitted to the cross even though he could have "called ten thousand angels."

Through circumcision, God's covenant with Abraham is tied to blood. God's new covenant with all mankind is tied to Jesus' blood. How?

Paul ties circumcision intimately to Jesus' disciples under the new covenant in a letter he wrote to the church at Colossae.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the ﬂesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your ﬂesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge

Circumcision covenant connects to the cross.

of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:9-17 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ COL.2.9-17)

Circumcision foreshadows baptism. In actual circumcision, a man performs an operation on another’s flesh. In baptism, Christ performs a spiritual operation on another’s heart, cutting off the old "self ruled by the flesh." In baptism, God's work raising Jesus from the dead saves us as Jesus does the work spiritually. In the Mosaic law, a priest often performed the circumcision. In baptism under the new covenant, Jesus, our Melchizedek High Priest, performs the spiritual cutting off of the fleshly self. Paul indicated baptism is God's operation on the heart of believers through the work of Jesus. When Abraham was later tested, God expressed the covenant for descendants and land concisely.

Reflecting upon God's covenant communications to Abraham, I am impressed with God's constancy. Abraham's humility is also impressive. Even when questioning God, his trust never wavers. Such defines faith. This sentiment is expressed by the apostle Paul, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Phil. 2:13 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/PHP.2.13)

God’s work — his willing, his acting, his doing that brings about his good purpose — is a theme in Abraham's life and his descendants' lives, leading to the cross. The challenge for us is allowing God to work this way in our own lives. Abraham’s life events reﬂect God’s plan and purpose revealed throughout the Holy Bible — a plan that began at the dawn of creation to bring about justice and mercy for mankind through the gift of Jesus. God continues to work in Abraham’s family through his great-grandson Joseph, son of Jacob, to accomplish his plan and foreshadow Jesus’ coming.

! 2021

by Mitch Henry

Joseph

Flannelgraph changed my life. Once the dominant visual learning aid among children's Bible school classes, strips. Still, it was amazing. Mama and Mrs. Miriam Williams sported a 3X3 foot board covered in soft blue paper Bible characters, lovingly cut from Bible school materials ordered from Nashville. Foreshadowing velcro, thin gritty, parallel lines coated the backside of each paper Bible character, animal, tree, rock, palace or chariot. When this backside was placed onto the ﬂannelboard, the paper Bible character magically stuck. Flannelgraph characters came to life before 4-year-old eyes. They could be placed, removed, and moved around to tell a Bible story.

Mama and Mrs. Miriam taught us what I still consider to be the ultimate ﬂannelgraph lesson — Joseph's coats. Joseph, a handsome, dark haired, tanned young ﬂannelgraph man wore a coat of many colors given to him by his father, Jacob.

To our amazement, this coat detached, and was replaced with a plain slavery coat Joseph wore while working for his Egyptian master, Potiphar. This coat was removed by the seductive fl falsely accused Joseph. This resulted in Joseph having to wear a shabby Then Joseph's prison coat was replaced with a final flannelgraph royal coat, given to Joseph by Pharaoh who asked Joseph to rule Egypt. Joseph was wearing this last coat when he was reunited with his flannelgraph brothers. Fortyafter Mama and Mrs. Miriam shared Joseph's coats, I am now realizing how Joseph's life foreshadowed Jesus’. Every insight below is built upon a flannelgraph foundation.

Joseph’s Betrayal

Betrayal keeps attorneys in business. encounter jealous siblings conspiring against one another — belongings.

A few months after I passed the bar exam, I drafted a Last Will and Testament for a sweet, elderly client who had seven children. A year later, my client died. I helped

Chapter 4

by Mitch Henry

submit the Will to probate, and the youngest daughter, Shelby, was duly appointed as the Executrix to follow her mother’s instructions to distribute Mama’s possessions. All seemed routine, until Shelby called.

Without saying hello, she frantically said, "I need to know if I should call the sheriff."

I said, "Tell me what's wrong."

She said, "Sis was swinging her walking cane for my head. I ducked, and she hit my sister, Alberta, in the eye socket. Alberta's bleeding like a stuck pig. Sis chased me into my old bedroom. She's banging her cane on my locked door, and I need to know what to do."

Sis was a robust, 75-year-old retired women's prison guard.

Quickly, but carefully analyzing this complex legal morass’ ﬁner points, I gave the best legal advice of my young career.

"Is there a window you can jump through?"

"Yes."

"Then git gone."

When Shelby called again from her neighbor’s house, I learned the siblings had gathered at Mama's house to divide Mama's personal belongings. The Executrix, Shelby, who now admitted she was Mama's favorite, sensed some lingering resentment. She decided to take a hands off approach, letting her older siblings divide things as they agreed. She resolved only to get involved if there was a disagreement.

All went well until late in the evening when Shelby announced that the only thing she desired to have of Mama's stuff was Grandma's quilt (a colorful western star design, painstakingly preserved for almost 100 years).

Unbeknownst to Shelby, Alberta, who had previously been friendly, cooperative, and even helpful to Shelby, had betrayed her. Alberta had conspired with Sis so that Shelby would get nothing valuable from Mama’s stuff.

Ironically, Alberta unintentionally experienced the full impact of sibling jealousy. After the sheriff arrived, Shelby gave Grandma’s quilt to Alberta.

Puzzled by this, I asked why she gave Alberta the quilt. Shelby said, "I guess I felt like it would constantly remind Alberta that betrayal hurt her more than me. We've been good sisters ever since.” Mercy overwhelms betrayal.

Joseph's betrayal by his brothers, though evil, also led to a good outcome. It set in motion a series of events allowing God to save the world from famine. Ironically, this betrayal helped establish Israel as a nation in Egypt, who would bring the promised

Later God would say, "Out of Egypt I have called my Son." Joseph's betrayal has common elements with Jesus' betrayal, foreshadowing the cross. As you read, focus on the similarities.

Joseph’s betrayal, though evil, led to a good outcome.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms. Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the ﬁeld, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

Judah said to his brothers, “What pro for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own ﬂesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” (Genesis 37:3-8,18-24,26-28,31-32 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ GEN.37.3-8,18-24,26-28,31-32

Joseph's betrayal involved jealousy by his own people, a delivery to Gentiles, an exchange of a person for pieces of silver, a shedding of innocent blood, and a blood soaked robe.

The similarities with Jesus are stunning. As to jealousy's role in Jesus' betrayal, observe Pontius Pilate’s thoughts during Jesus' trial: “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” (Matthew 27:18 ESV http://bible.com/59/mat.27.18.esv)

Both betrayals involved a delivery to Gentiles. The "they" Pilate referred to was the Chief Priests and mob of Jesus' own people who were shouting that Jesus should be cruciﬁed by the Romans who were Gentiles. Joseph’s brothers, the literal children of Israel, delivered a betrayed Joseph over to the Gentile Ishmaelites. The leaders of the Children of Israel delivered a betrayed Jesus over to entile Romans to be killed, since capital punishment was a power reserved to the Romans at the time.

As to silver being a part of the betrayal, both Joseph's and Jesus' betrayals exchanged a human life for this precious metal. Is it just a coincidence in Joseph’s betrayal story that Judah had the idea to sell Joseph for silver? Remember in Jesus' betrayal, it is Judas' idea to sell out Jesus for silver.

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. (Matthew 26:14-16 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/

Make sure you are sitting down for this one. Judas is the New Testament translation for the Hebrew name Judah. (See http://biblehub.com/greek/2455.htm)

Innocent blood is a part of both betrayals. An innocent goat’s blood was shed by Joseph’s brothers and placed on his robe to cover up their sin and deceive their father. Jesus’ blood was innocent. Even Judas, his betrayer, realized this.

Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that ﬁeld has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulﬁlled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.” (Matthew 27:1-10 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/MAT.27.1-10)

Jesus’ innocent blood was shed to cover mankind’s sin and make atonement to his Father. Notice the similarities in Joseph's coat and Jesus' robe. Both garments were soaked in innocent blood. Joseph's coat was soaked by the hands of men who caused the death of the innocent goat. Jesus’ robe was soaked by the hands of men who caused the scourging and death of the innocent Son of God.

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. (John 19:1-3 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.19.1-3)

Later Jesus was cruciﬁed by these Roman soldiers; his blood soaked robe was removed. Jesus’ robe, like Joseph’s blood soaked colorful coat, brought trouble, jealousy, and shame. Not only are Joseph’s and Jesus’ betrayals similar when comparing what happened to both men physically, both betrayals involve a common emotion — shame. My daughter’s high school English teacher and friend, Candace Foster, recently shared her insight regarding shame associated with both coats. The removal of Joseph’s coat and immersion in goat blood brought him shame, terror and fear.

Jesus' pre-cruciﬁxion torture involved uncovering, nakedness, and terror. Although Jesus had no shame from sin, he experienced the natural shame that comes from being forcibly unclothed and beaten without mercy. This natural shame connects back to Adam and Eve's shame in the garden of Eden, and to Joseph's shame when he was stripped of his colorful coat and thrown into a cistern.

Candace also suggested a connection with shame involving Joseph's second coat. Joseph was bought by Potiphar, who was Pharaoh's captain of the guard. Good looks and intelligence helped Joseph advance to become the head of Potiphar's household. Good looks also caught the eye of Potiphar's wife, who tried to seduce Joseph to sleep with her while Potiphar was away. Joseph resisted.

“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!”

And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.”

So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and ﬂed outside.” Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. (Genesis 39:9-19 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.39.9-19)

Joseph resisted Potiphar's wife's desire to undress him, but she still managed to get him partially undressed. He ran away cloak-less. She took advantage of the situation with a well timed scream, and conveniently turned her scorn into revenge. She faked an attempted rape. Then Joseph again experienced undeserved shame — the shame that comes from wrongful accusation and wrongful punishment.

Jesus and Joseph both experienced similar shame in their betrayals. Jesus was imprisoned after false witnesses testiﬁed against him. The wrongful accusation against him ended in ﬁxion and death. Joseph was taken to a dark prison cell. Jesus was taken to a dark tomb.

Joseph Experienced undeserved shame — the shame that comes from wrongful accusation…

“Joshua Smith….Report to the chapel,” announced an intercom. Chapel was not typically the place Joshua Smith would hang out in prison.

“You’re gonna be the new inmate assistant — the chapel runner,” said David “Chap” Noles.

“I will not be attending any of the church services,” was Joshua’s reply. Unbothered by this, Chap Noles was the kind of guy who could love and accept a person for how he was and where he was. He had a subtle way of building relationships. In 2010, Joshua was not following Christ, but soon he would be.

“Over the next year and a half, Chap put lots of books in my hands — Christian books I still read to this day, the classics as a child, and he and his wife Amy bought me a twelve volume set with titles like Tom Sawyer Huckleberry Finn. I read them all.”

They had the best conversations in Chap’s oﬃce. Chap was full of teaching points. Once he put up a large marker board with a picture of a turtle on top of a fencepost and asked how the turtle got there. After each guy gathered there gave wrong answers and became perplexed, he announced, “Someone put it there….In life no one gets to the top without a little help from some other people.”

Chap had worked in banking before becoming a volunteer prison chaplain at Red Eagle Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Alabama. He taught Joshua about interest, amortization, and ﬁnance. He taught him about life, like a father would teach his son.

“Chap was the kind of guy I knew I would want to keep a relationship with and be his mentee long after I got out of prison,” Joshua said to me and the small crowd who had gathered before him on February 28, 2021.

Joshua got out of prison and went on to be a professional karate ﬁghter. Every year when he competed in Atlanta, Chap would be there. The ﬁrst competition year, Joshua’s girlfriend, whom he would later marry, “snitched” on him to Chap. She shared what a miserable human being Joshua was to be around at that time and how bad his attitude had been. Chap talked with Joshua and went a step further. He asked him if he could pray with him before they left.

“Chap laid hands on me and prayed. We still joke to this day that Chap cast the demons out of me, and he is the reason we are still married.” In the audience, I heard a few chuckles.

Soon thereafter, Chap met Joshua and his fiancé at Dauphin Island and performed their wedding ceremony. He came to visit them after their first child’s birth while they were living in Western Kentucky. Chap was there when Joshua opened his first business; he was one of the first to come. He would get on the phone to talk with Joshua about politics and religion and what was going on in the world.

Chap’s Chapter

“I will not be attending any of the church services,” was Joshua’s reply.

“Chap would often tell me how proud he was of me and the progress I had made.” Joshua’s voice broke brieﬂy as I and the other members of the audience collectively connected our eyes with his to show support. Joshua continued.

“Every year when I celebrated my recovery date, Chap would call and be one of the ﬁrst to reach out and congratulate me. This last year, I lost my little brother to suicide; Chap was the ﬁrst person I called in that situation. My mind immediately thought, ‘Chap…’ He had such a way of just calming me and bringing me into the reality of what was happening and letting me know things would be okay. He talked with me. He prayed for me, and then he continued to follow up on that. Chap was a master at relationships.”

I glanced sideways to see men sitting near me, diﬀerent races, small and large, tattooed, pierced, bearded, and clean shaven — all leaning forward, nodding, soaking rming in their own minds, “He did this with me too.” I sensed a connection among the people sitting outside on the makeshift benches in the woods near the stream behind the Redland Hills Church that Sunday afternoon.

In Nashville, just months before, Chap had come to Joshua’s fourth franchise location grand opening. “He talked to me about how we were doing, about business and ﬁnance. He was just like a father to me.”

I heard sniﬄes from several seated near me, and I felt my own emotions welling up. Then in true missionoriented, former-marine fashion, Joshua ended his speech honoring Chap.

“This last week, I got the tragic phone call that Chap had dropped dead of a heart rst, I was distraught. Tears came to my eyes, and I was so saddened. Then I realized every single one of us is put on this earth with a mission, and we are all going to die at some point. And I realized that Chap had completed his mission here on earth. He had been the father to hundreds if not thousands of broken young men like myself, and he helped see them to restoration, and helped them get their lives back together. So I have every reason to believe that Chap’s mission is complete, and he is at home with our Heavenly Father.”

My and many others’ emotions welled over, yet Joshua’s words about faith, fathering, and fulﬁllment had given us hope. Chap encouraged Joshua to share his dreams, and he helped him build the faith necessary to fulﬁll them.

Years ago, my friend Chap once told me that many of the men he mentored in prison like Joshua shared their dreams with him, actual dreams and aspirations. It seems such dream sharing was a part of Chap’s prison ministry, but it did not originate with him; it dates back at least 3,000 years to an Egyptian prison with the unfolding of the ﬁrst prison minister’s story — the story of Joseph and an imprisoned cupbearer (butler) and an imprisoned baker.

After Joseph was thrown in prison, he made the most of his circumstance and was promoted by the prison keeper. There must have been something about his character

He had been the father to hundreds if not thousands of broken young men like myself…

and work ethic that caused others to desire to put Joseph in charge. (Perhaps the prison keeper suspected Joseph got a raw deal regarding Potiphar's wife.)

In his leadership position, Joseph had the opportunity to interact with two special prisoners who were servants to Pharaoh.

And it happened that after these things the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did wrong against their lord, against the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two ofﬁcials, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was conﬁned.

And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days. And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were conﬁned in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation.

When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. And he asked the court ofﬁcials of Pharaoh that were with him in the custody of his master’s house, “Why are your faces sad today?”

And they said to him, “We each dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.”

And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, “In my dream, now behold, there was a vine before me, and on the vine were three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, and its clusters of grapes grew ripe. And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.”

Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches, they are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your ofﬁce. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as was formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit.”

And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed. In my dream, now behold, there were three baskets of bread upon my head. And in the upper basket were all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head.”

Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets, they are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat your ﬂesh from you.”

And it happened that on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing position. And he placed the cup in the hand of Pharaoh.

But the chief baker he hanged as Joseph had interpreted to them. But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Genesis 40:1-23 LEB https://www.bible.com/90/gen.40.1-23.leb)

So, where’s Jesus? The connections with the cross here are subtle, yet striking. Among all Pharaoh's servants, he did not imprison the captain of the guard, the stable keeper, the chief architect, the butcher, or even the jester — he jailed the baker and the cupbearer. Of all the possible things these two could have dreamed about, they dreamed of bread and wine. Of all the numbers of branches and baskets they could have envisioned, they both saw three. One goes free, and one is sentenced to die — lifted up between heaven and earth on a wooden pole. Verse 19 of Genesis 40 in the NIV version reads: “Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your ﬂesh.” The bread giver dies with his body bound to a wooden pole.

Consider the connections to Jesus and the cross. Think about what Jesus told his apostles during the last supper before his cruciﬁxion.

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ MAT.26.26-28)

The bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper occur before Jesus’ substitutionary death. Just like Pharaoh, another Gentile ruler named Pilate, set one man free (Barabbas) and sentenced another (Jesus) to die. The deaths selected by both Pilate and Pharaoh were similar. Each Gentile ruler had the condemned man lifted up between heaven and earth to hang upon a wooden pole. Pharaoh’s bread giver died bound to a wooden pole. Jesus, mankind’s Bread of Life, died bound to a wooden pole. The cupbearer waited three days before he was set free from his dark prison cell. Jesus waited three days before he was set free from his dark tomb.

Joseph’s prison ministry accomplished God’s plan and purpose to save Joseph’s family and save the world. It was the freed cupbearer who later remembered Joseph’s

ability to interpret when Pharaoh needed his dream interpreted. It was Joseph’s interpretation which led to his becoming second in authority to Pharaoh to oversee preparation for the predicted massive famine which occurred. Joseph’s family moved to Egypt and survived starvation because of Joseph’s preparation and protection. Joseph’s family multiplied in Egypt, became the nation of Israel, escaped slavery, returned to the Promised Land, and provided the ancestry for the birth of the Messiah, Jesus.

Chap Noles’ prison ministry had eternal consequences as well. His attention to building faith in Jesus in each relationship he made has impacted and will continue to impact lives till Jesus returns. Listening to dreams and helping others fulﬁll them through God’s grace re men like Joshua Smith and many others Chap mentored will continue to share this message and bring light to this dark world.

Exaltation

“Just one second.” I spoke these words to the cashier at the west upper deck concession stand in Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama because they did not have my usual pre-game candy bar in stock. After a moment, I chose a package of multicolored chocolate covered peanuts instead. I climbed to the cheaper seats where Cindy and the girls were waiting to watch an eagle circle the stadium and land on Pat Dye Field. Auburn University’s Tigers were about to play the Iron Bowl football game against their rival, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. It was November 30, 2013.

I opened my candy, and the ﬁrst one that popped into my hand was crimson red. Feeling superstitious I said, “Look at this, girls. It’s not a good sign.”

Ashby said, “Relax Dad. Auburn can win this game.”

I was not relaxed. My mind ﬂashed back in time before we entered the stadium to the conversation I had with Don, my slightly over zealous Alabama fan friend I bumped into in the crowd. He was supremely conﬁdent, and he had reason to be. Undefeated Alabama was ranked number 1 and had been national champions the two previous seasons. Their quarterback was a leading Heisman trophy candidate. Coach Nick Saban had been coach of the year. Auburn, ranked number 4 with one loss, was gassed and bruised from their recent slugfest showdown miracle win against the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Auburn was a 10 point underdog.

Oddly, Don was wearing no visible Alabama gear. I asked him, “Are you going to the game?”

“Yes. I’m gonna be in the Auburn student section,” he said proudly.

Listening to dreams and helping others fulfill them through God’s grace reflects the power of the cross.

“Don, you’re the biggest Alabama fan I know. Aren’t you a little concerned about being surrounded by all those Auburn students?” I questioned.

“Not at all. Everything is gonna be just ﬁne,” he proclaimed. “Everything…” His words tapered off into a smile as if he were already savoring the expected victory.

My mind was jostled back to the present by thousands shouting “Warrrrrrrrrrr Eagle” as Auburn’s eagle ﬂew into the stadium, circled, and landed on the 50 yard line.

As I ﬁnished my candy, the last two pieces popped out orange and blue.

“Oh no, girls, the last ones are Auburn’s colors. I can’t believe it.”

Lauren said, “Stop being superstitious. The game is starting.”

The game was an emotional lead changing roller coaster with regulation time appearing to end in a 28 to 28 tie that would send the two exhausted teams to overtime. Then Nick Saban called over a referee. He requested a video review that resulted in one second being put back on the clock, allowing Bama one more play.

As Alabama’s field goal kicker trotted onto the field, I had a flashback to 1985 when I eld goal from 52 yards away in Legion field to defeat Auburn 25 to 23. My 18-year-old freshman eyes witnessed the euphoria erupt from Alabama fans in the stadium, screaming and throwing things into the air as the n’s foot and sailed easily through the middle of the goalposts. I went from anticipating the thrill of victory to immersion in the agony of defeat. For years afterwards, I had experienced periodic post-traumatic Van flashbacks seeing artwork displaying “The Kick” in attorney offices or experiencing dinner conversations with reminiscent Alabama fans savoring that moment.

My heart pounded like it did when I was 18.My blood pressure increased. My ashback fully vested as the ball exploded from the Alabama kicker’s foot and sailed through the air toward the middle of the goalposts as the last second ticked away. rmed by my superstitious pre-game candy

Then the kick fell short and was caught by Auburn’s Chris Davis in the back of the end zone. My scream morphed into, “Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!” as I witnessed Davis run with the ball down the Auburn sideline nearest us more than 100 yards for a touchdown, scoring 6 points to win the game!

In a second, I went from despair to exaltation.

Then I witnessed the people in Auburn’s student section empty in mass. I imagined my friend Don, the most vocal Alabama fan I knew, standing among them in shock and disbelief being jostled as exuberant students melted past him onto the ﬁeld in celebration. I thought, “Wow, you can’t make this up. How ironic!”

Then, trying to make sense of my first crimson candy and the last orange and blue pieces, I remembered the words of our Lord, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” It all made sense.

For years, I had experienced posttraumatic Van Tiffin flashbacks…

The cathartic exaltation my fellow Auburn fans and I experienced lingers still. Now routinely referenced as “The Kick Six,” many maintain it to be the greatest moment in American college football history. Why? Because the underdog dramatically turned defeat into victory.

Think about it for just a second.

When the humble triumph, we cheer. Joseph and Jesus were both exalted. Joseph’s journey to triumph was dark. Sibling rivalry led to slavery. Resisting lust led to imprisonment. Despite his kindness to his fellow prisoners, the cupbearer forgot to mention Joseph to Pharaoh, and Joseph continued to languish in prison. Yet a way to work through the cupbearer's ingratitude, Potiphar's wife's injustice, Joseph's brother's betrayal, and Joseph's unjustiﬁable shame. Two years later, when all seemed hopeless for Joseph, God turned despair into exaltation.

…God turned Despair into exaltation.

Pharaoh had two similar disturbing dreams. He recounted them to his wise men, but they couldn't interpret them.

Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses. Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in conﬁnement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my ofﬁce, but he hanged him.”

Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” (Genesis 41:9-16 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ GEN.41.9-16)

Pharaoh then told Joseph his dreams — seven lean cows came out of the Nile River and ate seven fat cows, but the lean cows didn't get fat. Then, seven shriveled ears of grain ate seven fat ears of grain.

Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.

The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine. It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land. So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about. (Genesis 41:25-32 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.41.25-32)

When Joseph ﬁnished, he wisely suggested Pharaoh appoint someone to collect extra grain in the seven years of abundance and store it up for the coming seven famine years. Pharaoh appointed Joseph to this task. Joseph was exalted.

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” (Genesis 41:39-40 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.41.39-40)

Joseph went from injustice and shame to being exalted above everyone in Egypt except Pharaoh himself. In just a second, he went from being a prisoner to being

Notice the similarities between Joseph and Jesus. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, abandoned by his closest friends, and unjustly tried before the Jewish Sanhedrin Council and the Roman procurator, Pilate. He was treated shamefully — falsely imprisoned, spat upon, slapped, stripped, beaten, insulted, cursed, and publicly tortured. Then, he died a criminal death on a Roman

Yet he triumphed. God raised him from death’s prison. God exalted him to the highest place.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/ 100/PHP.2.8-11)

Joseph went from injustice and shame to being exalted above everyone…

Human beings naturally respond to a humble person being exalted. Joseph’s exaltation gives us a taste of both Jesus’ exaltation and our own exaltation to come. Knowing good things later happened to faithful Joseph and Jesus, who were both oppressed, provides the seed for humanity’s greatest hope — life after death. We long for our own exaltation.

It’s no coincidence that Revelation, the last book of the Bible, foretells what life after death will be like for Christians by describing them as wearing white blood-washed robes.

…“These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. ‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’ For the Lamb in 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 7:14-17 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 111/REV.7.14-17

God’s spiritual exaltation of Christians after death connects with Joseph and Jesus’ exaltation stories in detail. On each journey to exaltation Joseph, Jesus, and Christians in heaven each wore a robe that had been soaked in blood. Has your spiritual robe been washed in the blood?

Reconciliation

Peacemaking restores a home.

Running away from home can be dangerous. Fourteen-year-old Bobby hiked off the road. He followed a ditch down to Pintlala Creek and turned upstream following the creek through the cane breaks, privet thickets, cypress swamps, and dense hardwoods — white oaks, hickory, walnut, sweet gum, thorny mock orange, and occasional sycamore were his company for mile after winding mile.

Bobby left home with hurt feelings and a gallon jug of water. Like most country boys, he also had a lock blade buck knife. He needed it.

He dodged cottonmouth snakes, pygmy rattlesnakes, bobcats, and copperheads. In the swamps, he waded with alligator-snapping turtles and leeches. He walked through poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. He tore his pants on wild lemon thorns, ripped his shirt on mock orange thorns, and pierced his skin with blackberry stickers. His sweat attracted sweat bees and mosquitoes. Red bugs and chiggers found their way into every body crevice.

Human beings naturally respond to a humble person being exalted.

But he was free. It was worth it — at least he felt that way at the end of his ﬁrst day as a runaway. He curled up next to a log along the creek bank and fell fast asleep on the sand.

The thunder woke him around 3:00 in the morning. The rain quickly followed — hard, large drops. The wind whipped the tree leaf canopy, causing a sustained roar. He tried to stay dry under a plastic poncho, ﬁghting the wind which whipped around and through him for the next two hours.

By sunrise, the temperature had dropped 20 degrees as the cold front passed through. Wet, cold, and exhausted, Bobby stood up, grabbed his empty water jug, and made his body move. Shivering, he continued walking upstream. He had nothing to eat. He dared not drink the creek water for the parasites and silt. The wild magnolia smelled nauseatingly sweet. The mock orange thorns cut painfully deep.

Home, as horriﬁc as it had been lately, seemed not so bad.

His nose caught death's pungent smell. He saw a few dry cow bones, and then a couple of fresh carcasses surrounded by buzzards. He had stumbled upon my family's dairy cow graveyard in the back pasture near the creek.

Then he heard machinery. My older sister was driving my father's tractor and pulling a bush cutter near the wood's edge. Bobby tried to hide, but then he recognized my sister. Stumbling from the woods into the open bottom, Bobby ﬂagged her down.

"Bobby Stiles, what are you doing in our woods?"

"Just needed to get away."

"Where did you come from?"

"My house, near the airport."

"Bobby, that's 10 miles from here."

"Yeah, my feet know it. Have you got some water?"

Bobby gulped a whole gallon jug, not stopping to breathe till he had siphoned the last drop.

My sister said, "Mama has lunch ready. Hop on. I'll get you to the house."

There, I saw my sister sit with Bobby on the front porch talking. Mama would not let me get close enough to hear what they were saying, but I could tell by his tears and red face, he was pouring his heart out. My sister listened for an hour, then stood and went inside. She came out moments later, sat, and listened to Bobby for another half hour till a car pulled up.

A beautiful woman and a handsome, well dressed man got out. Bobby walked up to them. They stood together talking for almost an hour. Finally, Bobby embraced his mother and father — they must have held one another for ten minutes.

Then Bobby turned and ran back to the porch, rang the doorbell, waited for my sister, y hugged her there on the porch. He turned and got in the car with his

My sister became tearful watching him leave. She and Bobby were not close before nor would they be close in the future, but she would forever feel the bond a peacemaker feels — the upwelling satisfaction knowing she helped bring a lost son back to his parents — back to his home.

…She would forever feel the bond a peacemaker feels…

“Blessed

(Matthew 5:9 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/MAT.5.9)

Joseph too was a peacemaker. So was Jesus. Joseph made peace with the children of Israel and was united with his father, Jacob. Jesus made peace with all mankind and was united with his father, Jehovah God.

Joseph's exaltation did not end with Pharaoh making him Egypt’s ruler. Remember the ﬁrst dream Joseph had that led to his brother's jealousy. His brothers’ sheaves of grain had bowed to Joseph’s. Well, it came true. Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain during the famine, which was also impacting Canaan.

They came before Joseph who recognized them, but the brothers didn't recognize Joseph. They bowed down to Joseph. It was a perfect set-up for revenge. Joseph demanded that they take their purchased grain to Canaan and bring back his younger brother, Benjamin (who had nothing to do with Joseph's betrayal), and Joseph kept his brother, Simeon, as a hostage.

In Canaan, Jacob refused to let the brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin. Rueben begged his father to change his mind, but Jacob refused. Then Judah made a plea to which Jacob (then called “Israel”) listened.

Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.”

(Genesis 43:8-9 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.43.8-9)

So they returned to Egypt with Benjamin to buy grain before Joseph again. This time, Joseph put his silver cup in Benjamin's grain sack and sent his servant after his brothers on their journey back to Canaan. The servant "discovered" the cup, and the brothers returned to Joseph. All eleven bowed down to him and begged for forgiveness. Joseph declared he would make Benjamin his prisoner. Then Judah said something stunning.

“Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?”

(Genesis 44:33-34 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.44.33-34

Judah's self-sacriﬁce moved Joseph to tears.

Now think, ... what descendant of Judah offered himself as a substitute sacriﬁce to save spiritual Israel from slavery to sin?

are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Judah’s self-sacrifice moved Joseph to tears.

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was cruciﬁed with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:5-7 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/ROM.6.5-7)

Jesus, a descendant of Judah, substituted himself for us. This is similar to when Judah offered himself as a substitute slave for Benjamin. When a person is united with Jesus’ death, Jesus’ death substitutes for their own spiritual death. Jesus gives freedom from sin’s slavery through sharing his resurrection. When this occurs, the apostle Paul says we belong to Jesus. Jesus’ sacrifice makes us all Israelites. That same brotherly love, a willingness to give one’s self up for one’s brother, is reflected in Judah’s love for Benjamin. Jesus’ self-sacrificing love unites us all.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:29 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ GAL.3.29)

Next, perhaps the second most dramatic moment in all scripture occurs. After Judah’s offer to be Benjamin’s substitute, Joseph reveals his identity.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?”

But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.”

And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still ﬁve years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” (Genesis 45:3-7 NASB https://my.bible.com/ bible/100/GEN.45.3-7)

Joseph's story is a salvation story — one involving a ﬁgurative resurrection. God takes betrayal, injustice, shame, ingratitude, and despair, and through his plan and purpose, brings about salvation for his people. Does Joseph’s story sound a little bit like Jesus' betrayal by Judas, arrest, trial, denial by Peter, cruciﬁxion, burial, and resurrection bringing salvation? Joseph’s brothers reconciled with him. Their contempt, Joseph’s bitterness, and all that was wrong between them was made right. They were

Henry

all saved from starvation, saved from bitterness, and saved as a family. Joseph’s kindness resulted in such gratitude from his brothers that they bowed before him.

Jesus’ story is the ultimate salvation story. God gave himself by his son, Jesus. Through Jesus, God allowed betrayal, injustice, shame, ingratitude, and despair to bring about salvation. Our gratitude for Jesus’ sacriﬁce leads us to bow before him.

Not only was Joseph exalted before the Egyptians and exalted among his brothers, he was exalted before his father. Joseph sent for Jacob. At ﬁrst, upon hearing the good news, Jacob struggled to believe. Then, he made the following incredible statement:

Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” (Genesis 45:28 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.45.28)

After God speaks to Jacob and promises his descendants' later return to Canaan, Jacob, his entire family, and all of his possessions were brought to Egypt. Upon meeting Joseph there, Jacob's words were moving. “Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.’” (Genesis 46:30 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/GEN.46.30). For Jacob, he received Joseph back from death.

Joseph's story foreshadowed Jesus' betrayal (Joseph's brothers selling him for silver like Judas Iscariot), the blood soaked robes (Joseph’s coat, Jesus’ robe, and each Christian’s blood-washed heavenly robe), the last supper (the bread and wine in the prison dreams), Jesus’ crucifixion (raising the baker upon a wooden pole), Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice (Judah's self-sacrifice), and Jesus’ resurrection (Jacob, in his mind, receiving Joseph back from “being dead”). For Joseph, all the world was saved from famine, and Joseph and God were exalted among the nations. Jesus' resurrection brought salvation to all mankind and exalted him and God among all nations.

Making these connections between Jesus' cross and Joseph's story fills my mind with wonder. I experienced the same feeling when sweet godly women first shared Joseph's flannelgraph coat story. It is that sensational moment when we experience discovery — when we make a connection between familiar things we learn are related. Joseph's story's connection to Jesus has faith-building power.

For Joseph’s extended family, however, the next 400 years did not go so well in Egypt. They became enslaved. They suffered terribly and cried out to God for salvation. Fortunately, God had a plan, and it began with a baby.

! 2021 by

Mitch Henry

MosesThere usually comes a time in one's life when a cry goes out to God. Cindy was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was nine, but the chronic spine curvature condition did not get bad until she was twelve. Her pediatric spine specialist at Vanderbilt Hospital told her, "Come back in one more month, and if your spine has moved at all, even slightly, you’re going to have to wear a Boston brace."

For more than a year her monthly X-rays had shown her spine moving, curving unnaturally despite exercise, swimming, and cutting edge Rolﬁng therapy. Nothing worked. A Boston brace's bulky metal rods, worn under clothing, bulged outward and protruded above the collar. For an introverted 12-year-old girl, it would mean constant explanations, embarrassment, and unwanted attention.

Cindy cried out to God. She prayed, earnestly, "God...I need you to show yourself...show your power." Cindy's young faith was growing. She was encouraged by her parents, who brought her to church, but she was reading the Bible on her own, learning, listening to God, seeking him. Years later she told me, “In this dark time, it was natural to just beg him."

She prayed every day, constantly. On the way from Moulton to Nashville, she prayed every moment, during the drive, during the x-rays, during the long wait for the specialist. Then she heard these words, "Your spine has not moved at all." It had stopped moving, and has never moved since.

To this day, Cindy will tell you, "God was listening to my cries." Her faith was solidiﬁed. Life has not been easy for Cindy since that moment — three miscarriages, family loss, and disappointments. Although God has not always answered her cries with desired outcomes, God's truth has been consistently afﬁrmed for her, powerfully. Sometimes both tangible and intangible good arises from life's hardest moments — those moments when we cry out to God. God heard enslaved Israel’s cries, and one young couple in particular, Moses' parents.

Floating Miracle Baby

Before his birth, Moses had only a ﬁfty percent chance of surviving. All the baby boys among the Hebrew slaves were being murdered. The baby girls were being spared. The Egyptians were

Chapter 5

becoming outnumbered by the enslaved Jews, and the Egyptians feared rebellion.

Pharaoh's solution was to order midwives to kill newborn sons. This did not work so well because the midwives feared God, spared the baby boys, and made excuses to Pharaoh. Feeling thwarted, Pharaoh ordered that all baby boys be thrown into the Nile River.

Imagine the cries that must have gone up to God from Jewish couples expecting children. No one knows how many baby boys lived or how many were devoured by crocodiles or drowned, but we know of one

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to ﬁnd out what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying.

And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?”

Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.”

So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.”

So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:1-10 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/EXO.2.1-10)

A savior is born. A savior is saved. God hears the oppressed cries of his enslaved people and brings their deliverance through Moses. Pharaoh's daughter heard Moses' cries and delivered him from the dangers of the Nile. He survived to then be called by God to deliver his people from slavery and return to the promised land. Where’s Jesus in Moses’ story? Have you ever noticed how often God begins salvation stories with remarkable births? We have already studied Isaac's birth to an elderly couple. Moses’ birth continued this pattern. Hundreds of years later, Samson and Samuel's births would be supernatural, and each one would help save their people. Each miraculous birth uniquely foreshadowed Jesus' birth and salvation story.

No one knows how many baby boys lived…but we know of one survivor.

Let's now compare Moses' birth to Jesus'. First, both survived a government sponsored infanticide. Both had courageous parents who took extraordinary measures to save their child's life. Both were born in a time of oppression for their people. Both stories involve being called out of Egypt.

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and ﬂee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulﬁll what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulﬁlled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.” (Matthew 2:13-18 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ MAT.2.13-18)

Let's now explore more subtle connections between baby Moses' story and the

Baby Moses Covering - Water —Nile River and Pitch — Basket Sin - Pharaoh/Egyptians kill babies in water. Guilt/Shame - Pharaoh’s daughter felt compassion. Judgment - All Egypt and Pharaoh will pay for sins. Innocent Life - Baby boys died. Death - Babies die in Nile River. Innocent Blood - Babies’ blood mixed with the Nile’s water. Sacrifice - Moses’ family risked their lives hiding Moses. Safety/Salvation - Pharaoh’s daughter saves Moses, raising him from the water.

I don't remember my teachers asking me to relate the baby Moses salvation story to the cross. Making this comparison now is faith-building in several ways. First, reﬂect on what was in the Nile River.

ood? Like Noah’s ﬂood waters, the Nile River water represented both death and salvation at this moment. Again, all of the ood water.

cantly, these same items were present at the cross — water, innocent blood, ce, and salvation. God's Son either embodied or submitted to these things voluntarily. Remember from the cross, he “could have called ten thousand angels” to set him free. Yet Jesus chose to fulﬁll God’s plan and purpose to save mankind from sin’s consequences — a plan God started in Eden at the dawn of creation — a story which continued to unfold until the cross. Jesus was determined to follow God’s salvation plan and pattern even if it caused him stress, pain, and shame — even if it cost him his life blood. Jesus knew what was coming. For example, shortly before he was arrested, Jesus compared his impending xion to an immersion. Jesus asked James and John the following question when they asked to be allowed to sit on his right hand and left hand when he came into his glory:

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mark 10:38 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/MRK.10.38)

It’s inspiring that Jesus regarded his suffering, trial, and torture on the cross as a baptism. He connected his own commitment with every disciple’s faithful commitment. Later, Jesus and the apostle Paul made a connection between Jesus’ cruciﬁxion and Christian baptism. First, as referenced earlier, the last command Jesus gave his disciples before leaving this earth after his resurrection was to make disciples by teaching and baptizing them.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:18-19 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/MAT.28.18-19)

As the water represented both death and life for Noah’s family and for baby Moses, baptism’s water for disciples represented both a death with Christ to selfish desires and sin, and newness of life. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans compared baptism to a crucifixion — a crucifixion of our “old self.” Paul explained Christian baptism’s significance by merging its meaning both with Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection to new life.

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/ROM.6.3-11)

The salvation pattern is not only reflected in the cross, but it is reflected in our own baptism with Jesus. God intended his salvation pattern to continue in every believer. When believers are baptized, the believer shares in Jesus’ innocent blood, water, innocent life, sin, death, judgment, sacrifice, resurrection, and salvation.

In baby Moses’ story, the salvation pattern foreshadows the cross and baptism. Although this pattern started in Eden with the clothing of Adam and Eve, it was clariﬁed in Noah's ﬂood. In baby Moses’ salvation story the pattern connects with baby Jesus and the cross through similarities in these stories.

We can't leave the baby Moses story without noticing one more subtle, but signiﬁcant detail. Did you notice what shows up on baby Moses’ basket? It's covered with pitch that sealed it and prevented baby Moses from drowning. Pitch saved baby Moses. Do you see the connection with Noah? Pitch saved Noah’s family also.

Remember, the Hebrew word kaphar, רַפָכ, translated “to cover with pitch” in Noah’s ark story also means to reconcile and make atonement. It is no coincidence that pitch was mentioned in Moses’ story. Baby Moses’ basket pitch also helped “make atonement for” and protect baby Moses. Pitch created buoyancy and lifted up baby Moses from the death which lurked in the river water. The connection with Jesus again is astounding. Jesus' blood is like the pitch that covered baby Moses' basket. His blood covers believers. It coats us with salvation — reconciles us to God — atones for our sins — seals us with his spirit.

Blood Plagues

I was home on Spring Break 1986 from Auburn University, sleeping soundly at 5:00 in the morning when my father shook me awake and said, "Get up, the cows are dying!" I sprang from the bed, pulled on my socks, jeans, and boots, and ran out the door with my younger brother, Mike, limping behind me from a football knee injury. The ﬁeld where the dairy herd grazed after milking was scattered with dead and dying cows. Some foamed at the mouth, staggering and shaking. Others lay sprawled, convulsing, moaning, gurgling, gasping for breath, and bloating. Steam drifted up from those who no longer moved.

In the dawn's early light, I saw and heard my father and Dr. Robin Embry, our veterinarian and neighbor, moving from one dying animal to the next, talking to one another in urgent, deliberate tones, trying to diagnose this massive sudden death outbreak.

Dr. Embry suspected poisoning, perhaps prussic acid poisoning from sudan or johnson grass damaged by frost. But there had been no frost, and these grasses were not in season. Nevertheless, the symptoms matched, and he tried administering sodium thiosulfate through an IV needle jabbed into a dying cow’s jugular vein. In minutes, she recovered. Four other large animal veterinarians from surrounding counties had shown up by this time, and they were trying everything and anything they had in their box-bodied pick-up trucks to diagnose and treat the dying holsteins.

The call went out to use sodium thiosulfate, and we all went to work. Mike and I got some medicine and a spare IV needle from Dr. Embry and ran to the nearest dying cow. She was a 3 year old I recognized, who had just calved a few weeks before — convulsing, foaming, and shaking. Mike slipped the halter around her chin and ears and pulled her head around to the right. The jugular vein presented itself under her black hair and skin, and I jabbed home the needle. Blood pulsated from the needle’s open end. I forced the flexible medicine line onto the connection and lifted the sodium thiosulfate bottle as high as I could reach to help the medicine flow. Mike bore down on the halter, keeping her head in position so she wouldn't dislodge the needle. She panted and jerked involuntarily. The medicine dosage finished; I pulled the needle out and rubbed the wound. My fingers covered in blood and clear, oily medicine, I helped Mike release the halter, and we watched. Within a minute, she stopped shaking,

We moved past a couple of dead cows and found the next one struggling to live. There were 120 cows in the milking herd. The process took about ten minutes per animal. There were eight needles and IV lines. All the cows were at different stages in the dying process. One died while I was administering the medicine to her. We began to run out of medicine.

My mother ran to the house to use the rotary phone. She called Durr Drug Company in

All the cows were at different stages in the dying process.

Montgomery, a wholesale family owned business, and she got a recording with a number for emergencies. She called it, and to her surprise, Mr. John Durr, the almost retired owner, answered, listened to her brief explanation, and said, "I'm leaving home now; I'll meet you at the warehouse."

It was 8:15 on a Sunday morning. Mr. Durr would not accept my mother's attempts to pay him. Mama returned with a large case of Sodium Thiosulfate, all that Durr Drug Company had, and we kept on triaging the herd.

We lost 40 milk cows. Through autopsies performed at the Alabama State Diagnostic Laboratory, we learned someone, possibly a farmhand my father had recently ﬁred, had poisoned the cattle with cyanide in their feed and water troughs.

I can’t speak or write about these events without battling rising emotions. These emotions arise not so much from the horror and trauma of that morning, but from remembering my father and Dr. Embry's calm heroism and what happened two weeks after the poisoning.

Four pick-up trucks pulling trailers ﬁlled with fresh milking dairy cows pulled into our driveway. I remember asking the driver in the ﬁrst truck, Albert Sharpe — our neighbor, a fellow dairyman and a member of a nearby church, "Mr. Sharpe, what's this all about?"

He said, "These are from our farm and from dairymen all over the state of Alabama. Milk them. Keep them for as long as you need to get back on your feet. We’re glad to help."

I'm sure what my family experienced was similar to what the Egyptians experienced when they lost their livestock in the ﬁfth plague. I’m not sure whether the Israelites shared their livestock with the Egyptians as did our neighbors and friends, but I have a suspicion they did. The Egyptians needed milk, meat, and draft animals to survive. From necessity, the Israelites probably loaned their livestock to the Egyptians. Why else would the Egyptians later be so eager to give the Israelites anything they wanted to borrow from the Egyptians when Israel was leaving Egypt?

This ﬁfth plague foreshadows the cross along with the other blood plagues: numbers one and ten. Here are all ten:

Copyright ! 2021 by Mitch Henry 1) Water turned to blood 2) Frogs 3) lice/gnats 4) Flies 5) Death of cattle 6) Boils 7) Hail 8) Locusts 9) Darkness for 3 Days 10) Death of firstborn/passover

The plagues' story spans six chapters in Exodus. God called Moses to approach Pharaoh ten times to ask for Israel to be delivered. Each plague shows God’s superior power over gods the superstitious Egyptians served during this time period. The ﬁrst, middle, and last plagues involved blood and were the most disruptive.

Ever wonder why God didn't just allow Moses to go right in and immediately accomplish the big exit? The text gives an answer:

“But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you [Pharaoh] to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/EXO.9.16)

The plagues demonstrated God’s power to Pharaoh. As a result, the word about God’s power spread across the world. There is a connection here with the cross. In general, there is nothing in world history which shows God's power and proclaims his name more than the story of Jesus overcoming death on the cross.

His passion story, which began in the Garden of Gethsemane, connects to the ﬁrst plague — water turns to blood.

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. Luke 22:44 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.22.44)

The ﬁrst plague also has a connection to Jesus' cruciﬁxion experience. Remember what happened when the soldiers came to break the legs of those hanging there.

Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the ﬁrst man and of the other who was cruciﬁed with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

And he who has seen has testiﬁed, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulﬁll the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” (John 19:31-37 NASB https://my.bible.com/ bible/100/JHN.19.31-37)

Blood and water flowed from Jesus' body. As blood and water were a part of Israel's deliverance in Exodus, blood and water were a part of mankind's deliverance in the crucifixion. The apostle John elaborated more on how blood and water played a significant part in mankind's deliverance in the book of 1 John.

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testiﬁes, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testiﬁed concerning His Son.

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:6-12 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/1JN.5.6-12)

What did John mean when he said Jesus came by water and blood? Water and blood appeared at the beginning of Jesus’ passion (in the garden) and at the end of Jesus’ passion (on the cross). His death there led to resurrection and salvation for mankind. John connects God’s testifying Spirit with these events. He says the water, blood, and spirit testify and “are in agreement.”

While some scholars have struggled to fit this passage with a particular theological viewpoint, a practical approach makes sense here. Ask what event in the life of the believer involves the Spirit, the water, and the blood? Think about what occurs when a believer is baptized. We have already read Paul's word on this in Romans 6 where he compares the believer's baptism to a crucifixion — a death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. Let’s read what Peter said when the first large group of people were coming to salvation as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you cruciﬁed.”

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:36-39 NASB https://my.bible.com/ bible/100/ACT.2.36-39)

Baptism involved the Spirit’s gift and was connected to Jesus’ blood and water. Immersion of believers in water symbolizing Jesus' death and blood sacriﬁce was no accidental afterthought by God. It had been foreshadowed in scripture, particularly here in the blood plagues. John indicated that Jesus’ blood, water, and Spirit were in agreement. Peter and Paul declared baptism to involve the Spirit, and both declared baptism

connected us with Jesus’ death — a death that involved both blood and water. fth plague, death of Egyptian livestock, was particularly devastating for Pharaoh and his people. For the people who depended on livestock for food, milk, fiber, and labor, it meant temporary hunger, infants and toddlers short on milk, more expensive clothing, and more manual labor for those who depended on oxen. God made a distinction between the Israelites' and the Egyptians' livestock, sparing the former and annihilating the latter. Regarding the Egyptian animals, the middle plague again illustrated the theme of how innocent life being sacrificed led to mankind’s ced similarly led to mankind’s deliverance. rstborn, most closely connected to the cross. Its cance was previewed, however, by the ninth plague — darkness. Again, there was a connection with the crucifixion. Notice this plague's timing. Darkness for three days occurred immediately before the passover lamb was sacrificed to substitute for the life of the Israelites' firstborn. Now witness what happened for three hours before Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on the cross.

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.23.44-46)

Darkness was a fitting prelude both to the final plague and the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God whose sacrificial death substituted for all mankind’s.

Passover

The death of the first born, the tenth and final plague, crushed Pharaoh and led to Israel's exodus from Egypt. Death of the firstborn is the pivotal moment in Israel’s deliverance. Similarly, the death of Jesus on the cross is the pivotal moment in mankind’s deliverance.

This plague has been celebrated as the Passover holiday by Jews for millennia, even to the present. This story's detail foreshadowed the cross in wonderfully memorable ways.

Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the ﬁrst month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb

The last plague…most closely connected to the cross.

for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the ﬂesh that same night, roasted with ﬁre, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with ﬁre, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with ﬁre. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.

For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the ﬁrstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord .

The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the ﬁrst day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the ﬁrst day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.

Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the ﬁrstborn in the land of Egypt, from

Henry

the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. (Exodus 12:1-15,21-23,29-30 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/EXO.12.1-15,21-23,29-30)

Passover connects to the cross in amazing ways. First, the Passover lamb itself ce. Innocent blood was shed. It was male with no physical blemish, as Jesus had no blemish from sin. None of the lamb's bones ce. None of Jesus' bones were broken during the xion, even though the bones of the thieves' legs crucified with him were broken to hasten their deaths. Both the passover lamb and Jesus' blood were placed on wood — doorposts for the Israelites and a wooden cross for Jesus. Both sacrifices substituted for someone else — the Passover lamb for the first born male of the household and Jesus for all of mankind. Without the covering of the Passover lamb's blood upon the doorpost, that rstborn would have been lost and died. Without the covering of Jesus Christ's blood, every person would

Second, Passover and the cross share other key details. The hyssop plant was used xion, lifting a vinegar soaked sponge to his parched lips. The Passover lamb's sacriﬁce became a celebrated part of a seven day ceremonial meal.

Passover involved eating the sacrificed lamb and unleavened bread to remember the Lord delivering his people. Jesus' death on the cross is celebrated now in a ceremonial meal — the Lord's Supper — once every seven days — each Sunday. It involves eating unleavened bread, representing the Lamb of God’s sacrificed body, to remember his crucifixion. Passover celebrated God delivering Israel from slavery. The Lord’s Supper celebrates the Lord delivering all mankind from sin's slavery and death.

Third, let’s compare how the ﬁrst Passover ﬁts with the emerging salvation pattern we have been examining.

by Mitch Henry

Passover

Covering - Blood on wooden door posts

Sin -Slavery/Oppression; Pharaoh refuses Israel’s worship.

Guilt/Shame - Pharaoh felt sorrow at son’s death. Judgment - Pharaoh who killed Israelite sons, lost his son.

Innocent Life - Passover lamb and some firstborn males.

Death - Passover lambs and uncovered firstborn males died.

Innocent Blood - Lamb's innocent blood covered doorposts.

Sacrifice - Lamb's death substituted for firstborn male.

Safety/Salvation - Firstborn is saved when Lord passes

sheep.” (John 10:7 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.10.7)

Jesus claimed he was the door. When we submit to his will — to his self-sacriﬁce — his blood soaked wooden cross is our doorway to salvation. Blood soaked wood was the prelude both for Passover’s deliverance from death, and for Jesus’ resurrection — the ultimate deliverance from death. Jesus’ cruciﬁxion began the historical moment where God provided all mankind a way to overcome death. This way requires us to pass through Jesus’ death. He is the doorway to salvation.

At Passover, a ﬁrstborn male who entered through the blood soaked wooden doorway and remained within the house was saved from death. Through Jesus, all mankind who enter through the blood soaked wooden cross and remain faithful in God’s house, the church, remain saved from spiritual death.

There is a more subtle, yet compelling connection between the ﬁnal plague and the cross. It is reﬂected in how Jewish people have celebrated Passover for thousands of

years. A dear friend and law school classmate at the University of Alabama who is Jewish was having lunch with me at Lek's Railroad Thai Restaurant in Montgomery's old Union Station a few years ago, and our conversation drifted to how our families celebrated holidays. I was mesmerized as he described his family's Passover Seder, a carefully ordered traditional meal followed each year and handed down from one generation to the next.

He described how a father or “Seder leader” at the beginning of the Passover meal takes the middle piece of three matzos (unleavened bread), breaks it into two pieces, takes the larger of the two broken pieces (called the afikoman) and wraps it in a linen cloth, and hides the wrapped afikoman for the children to find. The leader proclaims, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” My friend then described the joy of the child who found the afikoman and received a gift for finding it.

I stopped eating my tofu pad thai and stared at him, my mouth slightly open.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you realize that what your family has been doing each Passover for generations reﬂects Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection?" I stammered.

"No, it’s got nothing to do with Jesus. It's a traditional reminder of our redemption from Egyptian oppression which also captivates the kids," he replied.

"Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. He was cruciﬁed in the middle of two other compared his body to "broken bread". After his death on the cross, his body was wrapped in a linen cloth and buried — hidden from view. All people are invited to come to him. Those who ﬁnd him will receive the gift of eternal life," I said, not really sure these words had actually come out of my mouth.

My friend stopped eating and stared at me.

"That is really interesting,” he said. “I've got to think about this. There are no coincidences in Judaism.”

After our meal, I then spent some time studying the Jewish Passover Seder. Guess what the father does with the found komen at the end of the meal?

He breaks off thumb sized pieces and gives one to each Passover participant as a type

The story of the blood plagues, Passover, and the Jewish Passover Seder foreshadow Jesus' cruciﬁxion, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.

Like Passover, the next epic event in Exodus — Israel crossing the Red Sea — also connects to Jesus in multiple ways. Dramatically, God brings deliverance from desperation.

He breaks off thumb sized pieces and gives one to each Passover participant as a type of dessert.

Red Sea Crossing

Deliverance is holy.

Montgomery’s only Dominican restaurant had the best salsa that had ever touched my tongue. Ali and her husband Pedro raised their children in this family restaurant, helping with homework and caring for little ones in between checking out customers and minding the kitchen.

Several years ago, after the lunch crowd had melted away, the restaurant was empty before the dinner crew arrived for the afternoon prep. In walked a criminal with a gun who confronted Ali and her children. Pedro was away getting supplies, and there was no one in the kitchen to call. She gathered her children and stood between them and her antagonist. He lingered menacingly. She calmed the children and prayed. Fearing the worst, she convinced him to leave. Her description to police led to his capture.

Months later, I saw Ali in Judge Charles Price’s courtroom while waiting for my civil case hearing to be called. I had no clue why Ali was there. A large man in an orange jumpsuit and shackles was escorted in by two ofﬁcers. I saw Ali rise and answer the district attorney’s questions. She did not tremble as some victims would. The courtroom grew intensely quiet as she gave details about her children and their deliverance. Her calm words describing her conduct during the robbery, putting her own life at risk to protect her children, left me with the impression that she simply did what any mother who loved her children would do: she did not back down until they were safe. She set her children apart from danger. Holy means to be “set apart.”

Similarly, for Moses and Israel, fearless deliverance was holy — worthy of respect. Deliverance here had a divine quality. As such, the Red Sea crossing was a pivotal event in Israel’s history. They were ﬁnally set apart from Egyptian oppression. It illustrated God's sovereignty, and it foreshadowed the cross' deliverance for all mankind.

Deliverance from sin and death has been God's plan for mankind since Adam and Eve's sin in Eden. In time, humanity’s sin habit had gotten ugly. In Egypt, slavery experienced by the Israelites was terrible, oppressive, and dehumanizing. Physical and emotional suffering were unavoidable. God heard Israel’s cry for help and provided a way to escape. Shockingly, as Israel's escape story unfolded, some were so deceived that they felt like returning to Egyptian slavery when times got hard.

Slavery to Pharaoh is comparable to slavery to sin. Sin too is terrible, oppressive, and dehumanizing. All of us have experienced physical and emotional suffering resulting from sin's impact on both the sinner and the innocent. Sin has horriﬁc consequences in this fallen world. Often, however, sin is subtle, deceitful, and personal. Sin lures free people back to its enticements.

Sin enslaves.

For Moses and the Israelites, the dash for freedom must have felt euphoric after the ﬁnal Passover blood plague, killing

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All of us have experienced physical and emotional suffering resulting from sin’s impact on both the sinner and the innocent.

Pharaoh's ﬁrstborn son and the other Egyptian ﬁrstborn males. Moses told the people to borrow all they could from the Egyptians and hurry, not even pausing long enough for their bread dough to be mixed with yeast, or to rise, or bake. While packing to go, extraordinary acts of hospitality occurred. The Egyptians gave the Israelites lots of valuable items — likely because Israel had shown them kindness during the plagues — so Israel was loaded and set to leave.

Imagine the word from Moses, “Get your livestock, your personal items, Joseph's bones, and let's go! Now! This is the Exodus!" A couple million people or more, if you count children, suddenly headed east from the Nile into the desert toward the Red Sea. God showed them protection by a giant cloud hovering over them, guiding them in the day, and a pillar of ﬁre, guiding them at night.

Then something odd happened. God told Moses to circle back to a certain location along the edge of the Red Sea. Not only was this against all human ﬂight instincts, it sent a message to Pharaoh that Israel was wandering around in confusion. Strategically, God was setting a trap for Pharaoh with the entire Israelite

“Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. (Exodus 14:4 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ EXO.14.4)

What happens next not only resulted in Charlton Heston's nomination for a Golden Globe award for his role in The Ten Commandments, but it ranks among the most dramatic events in Jewish history. It is later referenced multiple times in the Bible to illustrate God’s power.

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will ﬁght for you while you keep silent.”

God was setting a trap for pharaoh with the entire Israelite nation as bait.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were ﬂeeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.

But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people

by Mitch Henry

feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses. (Exodus 14:10-18,21-31 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/EXO.14.10-18,21-31)

God's salvation was completed after the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians were drowned in it. There is a continuing pattern here that foreshadows the deliverance that comes to mankind through the cross. We have already touched on Jesus' description of his cruciﬁxion suffering as a "baptism." (See Mark 10:38-39.) Did you know that the apostle Paul also described what occurred to the Israelites in the Red Sea as a "baptism?"

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food.

And all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also

Red Sea Covering - Red Sea's water Sin - Slavery/Oppression; Pharaoh's refusal to free Israel Guilt/Shame - Pharaoh felt regret for not letting Israel go. Judgment - Pharaoh who caused death loses his own life. Innocent Life - Drowned horses and some soldiers Death - Pharaoh, his army, and his horses die in the water. Innocent Blood - The horses and some soldiers Sacrifice - Pharaoh, his army, and his horses are sacrificed to bring Israel's deliverance. Safety/Salvation - Israel is saved from slavery. Faith - Each person's faith allowed each to cross.

Did you notice there was a new word in our salvation pattern — faith? It must have taken signiﬁcant faith for the Israelites to go down into the seabed and cross with water on either side of them. Think about it. What had they been doing immediately before Moses told them to cross? Imagine their thought process after sarcastically complaining and insulting God and Moses.

"Am I going to willingly walk between walls of water created by the deity I have just insulted?" It took trust in God's love and grace for these folks to cross. Now you have to admit, they may have been motivated by fear since they were being pursued by Pharaoh and his army. Nevertheless, by faith, they crossed. The writer of Hebrews even noted this.

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. (Hebrews 11:29 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/HEB.11.29)

Thinking carefully, we can make an illustration similar to baby Moses and Noah's Ark. In this case, the saved ones are not ﬂoating in the water, but rather are passing through

Sea’s waters? Will I, like the Israelites, accept this undeserved deliverance?

It's no coincidence this event happened at the Red Sea (also referred to as the “Sea of Reeds”). I suppose God could have chosen the Mediterranean, or the Nile River, or some other large body of water to have this crossing. Instead, he chose a body of water whose name is the color of blood. The Red Sea's long, narrow, straight shape when intersected perpendicularly by the Israelites' path to deliverance forms a unique shape viewed from above. The Red Sea crossing forms a cross.

Israel’s passage through water and Jesus’ passage through the cross’ pain are both described as a baptism. Both the crossing and the cross signify deliverance — a deliverance from Pharaoh’s physical slavery and a deliverance from sin’s spiritual slavery.

In addition to the Red Sea crossing, there is another deliverance that occurred in Moses’ story. This deliverance is from more than slavery; it is a deliverance from death itself. Little is said about it. However, this obscure deliverance story foreshadows the cross and is even highlighted by Jesus in his teaching ministry.

Moses, like Jesus, was God’s instrument of Salvation centuries before the Messiah. His birth, his ministry, his deliverance of Israel by the plagues and institution of the Passover, and his work to bring salvation to Israel at the Red Sea not only shared common elements with Jesus' ministry story, but Moses' work foreshadowed what our savior Jesus did at the cross.

In the next chapter, we explore hidden meaning in the laws and ceremonial regulations imposed by Moses upon the people in the book of Leviticus. Don’t skip the next chapter. Your past attempts to study Leviticus may have left you feeling bored or confused, but I promise this next chapter will make Old Testament ceremonial sacriﬁces come alive and make good sense to you.

2021

by Mitch Henry

Sacrifices

I tried to counter the guilt I felt for speeding 65 mph on the 55 mph country highway between Mount Willing and Camden, Alabama, by playing the Bible on CD. I was late for Judge Marvin Wiggin's courtroom when the British actor's voice coming from my pick-up truck stereo changed my life. Let me warn you: if this is the ﬁrst time you have carefully read or paid close attention to the following scripture, get set to be stunned.

The Bird Sacrifice

The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their deﬁling skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed.

Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the deﬁling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open ﬁelds.

“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days.

On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.”

(Leviticus 14:1-9 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/LEV.14.1-9

I have to confess; until that moment, Leviticus had been " country" for me. I had either skimmed it or skipped it. But at that moment it came alive for me as my mind formulated the question, “Where’s Jesus?”

I wondered why God had his people perform this oddly detailed ritual — killing one clean bird, setting the other bird free, mixing blood and water with wood, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and immersing the live bird in this mixture before it was set free. Then a realization struck me. What event in the New Testament involved blood and water, wood, scarlet, a stalk of hyssop, death for one, and freedom for another?

Chapter 6

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden ﬂow of blood and water. (John 19:33-34 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.33-34)

Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (John 19:17 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.17)

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. (Matthew 27:28 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.27.28)

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19:29 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.29)

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus ﬂogged, and handed him over to be cruciﬁed. (Matthew 27:26 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ MAT.27.26)

About half of those I now ask this question get it right immediately by saying, "The cross!" It’s fun to watch. When people ﬁgure out this sacriﬁcial ritual foreshadows the cross, their facial expressions combine delight with wonder and satisfaction all in one moment. You can’t make this up. This is not simply a quirky coincidence that draws a smile.

Of all the many sacrifices in the Old Testament, Jesus himself singled this one out. Other than the Passover lamb, what is the only other time Jesus asked someone to ritually kill an animal? Other than Passover, the bird sacrifice is the only other sacrifice the Messiah commanded someone to do. Jesus connected it with rst healing miracle after his teaching called the Sermon on the Mount.

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.8.1-4)

The House Sacrifice

Since Christ himself called attention to it, could this ritual sacrifice have a fuller meaning in addition to foreshadowing the cross? Let’s dive deeper. Looking back in Leviticus 14, we find the same bird sacrifice ritual for cleansing a person's leprosy is required again for cleansing a person's house.

“But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the de mold is gone.

To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. Then he is to release the live bird in the open ﬁelds outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.” (Leviticus 14:48-53 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ LEV.14.48-53)

So, this sacriﬁce, involving a living bird being baptized into a sacriﬁced bird's blood mixed with water, is for cleansing the person cleansing the house. Could there be a connection with another ceremony Jesus is bringing to mankind — one that cleanses both the person and the house of God? consider again what Paul had to say on this topic with a few highlights.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was cruciﬁed with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:1-14 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/rom.6.1-14.esv)

As the bird is immersed in the ﬁrst bird's death, Paul says the believer is baptized in the death of Jesus. Being immersed, buried and covered in one bird's blood and water means a new life of freedom for the other bird. Being immersed, buried, and covered in Jesus' blood and baptism's water means a new spiritual life of freedom for the believer who is immersed. One bird is being physically united with the other bird's death. The believer is being spiritually united with Jesus' death. Because of uniting with one bird's death, the other bird is set free from bondage. Because of uniting with Jesus' death, we

For the two birds, one is destined to die in this cleansing ceremony. In a sense ced so that the other might live. For Jesus and mankind, the price for sin is death. Jesus died once for all of mankind to be cleansed from sin and set free from death. Jesus is like the first bird. It died so that the ceremonial price was paid with its blood to cleanse the leper, and in the process, the second bird goes free. The surviving bird was literally and figuratively brought from death to life when baptized into the other bird's blood mixed with water. You and I are like the second bird. Paul says we should live sacrificial lives because we have been brought from death to life when baptized into Jesus' death. Think about it! We have been brought from death to life! Baptism has yet another level of meaning. The path to freedom for the living bird involved the priest immersing it into the other bird’s death before setting it free. Here, as in the sacrifice which foreshadowed it, baptism is not merely symbolic —it accomplishes what it symbolizes. So what significance is there regarding the house being cleansed by the same ceremony? Oddly, I stumbled on a part of the answer while preparing to perform the wedding ceremony of Dr. Scott Bolton and my cousin, Everlie Davis. Wedding preachers love to read or quote Paul's words in the book of Ephesians about husbands' and wives’ roles toward one another.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/EPH.5.25-27)

So Jesus "gave himself up" by sacrificing his blood upon a cross to make the church holy. In doing this, he cleansed the church by "the washing with water through the word.” This was a ceremonial cleansing involving water, foreshadowed in the words of the Old Testament (including the bird sacrifice) and the words of Jesus himself. Simply put, the church would be cleansed by the baptism Jesus taught his disciples to perform. Again, this baptism was part of Jesus' final commission to his disciples.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/ mat.28.18-20.esv)

Weeks after Jesus' death, the apostle Peter, with the Holy Spirit's help on the Jewish Pentecost holiday, preached to a crowd in Jerusalem. He convicted them of causing the death of God's son, and convinced them Jesus had been raised from the dead. Respecting Jesus’ last request for his disciples to make more disciples, Peter ends his speech with a call to Jesus' baptism. Let’s look again at Peter’s conclusion.

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you cruciﬁed, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:36-41 NIV https://www.bible.com/ bible/111/ACT.2.36-41.NIV)

So, the church begins with the baptism of 3,000 people. It’s no accident this mass rebirth beginning the church happened on Pentecost — the holy Jewish feast celebrating ﬁrst fruits of harvest. These 3,000 represent the of believers forming the church. From these ﬁrst fruits, God’s harvest continued. The church grows. Luke made a historical remark at the end of this chapter about the Lord's work in all of this.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47 NKJV http://bible.com/114/ act.2.46-47.nkjv)

Notice it is God who was doing the work here, saving and cleansing people. Hearts were changed, and people were glad. These baptized, cleansed people were added to a collective group known as the church. The Greek word “ecclesia,” translated “church,” means “called out.”

From these first fruits, God’s harvest continued.

Later in the New Testament the church is referred to as "the house of God." Jesus is the High Priest over the house of God, the church.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have conﬁdence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see https://my.bible.com/bible/111/

blood

It is no coincidence that the bird sacriﬁce in Leviticus 14 cleansed both the individual and the house. Jesus' blood and baptism cleanse the individual and the house of God, the church. This same cleansing ceremony is used exclusively for only two distinct things — cleansing a person from skin disease and cleansing a house from mold. Both skin disease and mold represent sin's uncleanness, and the ceremony represents God's work in Jesus' death bringing about salvation for every person in the house of God. Jesus’ blood is the key

Although this cleansing ceremony for lepers and houses may seem obscure to us today, it was common knowledge to Jews in the ﬁrst century, including Jesus, the leper he healed, and the priests who made their living performing it. Yet every part of this cleansing ceremony connects with the cross. A death to save another, blood, water, scarlet cloth, wood, hyssop, immersion, being set free, cleansing the person, and cleansing the house — each connects to Jesus’ death on the cross and to Christian baptism.

The bird sacrifice is not the only sacrifice in the book of Leviticus which connects with the cross. The next unique sacrifice involves live animals as well with a direct connection to sin’s removal.

Atoning Goat

My parents were kind enough to let us have a goat for a pet. We named her Billy, mistakenly thinking she was a buck when we picked her out inside Mr. Jimmy Lee Crenshaw's unlit barn. When we got her home, we learned she was a doe, so we

Jesus’

is the key ingredient in baptism connecting us to his death.

changed her name to Billy Sue. She was solid white, ﬁlled with energy, fun to play with, and so young and impressionable, I’m convinced she thought she was a human. We kept her in the house until our house training ended unsuccessfully. It’s tough to clean up after a well fed baby goat on 1970s shag carpet. So, Billy left the house to live in the back yard with Sambo, our dachshund, and Puddin, our feist, convinced she had become a dog.

During the dog phase, my older brother, Gus, built a cart out of plywood and two old bicycle tires. It looked like a rickshaw. We made Billy a harness by cutting holes for her head and front legs in a burlap feed sack, and strapped the harness to the cart with hay twine. We controlled her speed and turns with ground corn in a plastic sandwich bag, tied on the end of a cane ﬁshing pole. When we wanted her to stand still, we held the bag of feed close enough where she could stop and eat it. When we wanted her to move forward, we held the bag of feed just out of her tongue's reach, and she walked forward trying to get the corn. We could turn her right or left by simply moving the bag at the end of the ﬁshing pole in the direction we wanted to go.

My younger brother, Mike, became particularly skilled in goat maneuvering, and Billy and he made a great team, entertaining the other kids and adults in the neighborhood.

Then, one day Sambo upset Billy, growling and barking at the wheels on the cart. Billy shot away at a gallop. Mike dropped the Billy was out of control.

Mike's screams made Billy run faster. The fastest kid in the neighborhood couldn’t catch her. Mike was helpless. Too scared and startled to get out of the cart, he was along for the ride.

Billy naturally tried to escape the chaos and shot toward the ﬁrst thing she could ﬁnd to hide under — my Dad's new Gooseneck cattle trailer. It was jacked up high enough for Billy and the cart to get under, but not my brother's head which hit the angle iron edge.

The whole affair ended in a trip to the ER, eight stitches, and Billy's retirement from cart pulling. When Mike's hairline receded, if you looked carefully, you could still see the faint imprint where his wound healed. If anyone asked about it, he told this story.

There is no bitterness for Billy, only affection. Even as a 4 year old, Mike maturely recognized Billy was only doing what was natural. Mike didn’t blame her for his scar; he held no grudge. In fact, he developed an affection for goats, and if you pass by his home today, you will see forty white goats beside it grazing peacefully, tended by his children.

Not everyone has an affection for goats, however. A few reading this may have had bad experiences being chased, butted, or bitten. Others view them negatively compared to those more gentle, ﬂuffy barnyard animals — sheep. Oddly for goats,

Mike was helpless. Too scared and startled to get out of the cart, he was along for the ride.

there seems to be a mass general disdain for them. Some goat haters associate goats with Satan. From whence comes such unwarranted prejudice?

It may relate back to the Jewish scapegoat. What was a scapegoat? It was an actual goat that played an important part in the Day of Atonement — an annual Jewish holy day where all the sins of the Nation of Israel were remembered, were paid for in blood, and the people were forgiven. Here's how it worked:

From the Israelite community he [the High Priest] is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.

Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacriﬁce it for a sin offering.

But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat. “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood:

He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.

When Aaron has ﬁnished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head.

He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacriﬁce the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, ﬂesh and intestines are to be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.

The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Leviticus 16:5-10,15,20-34 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ LEV.16.5-10,15,20-34)

The Day of Atonement foreshadowed the Day of Cruci making the atonement sacrifices in the Holy Place foreshadowed our High Priest, Jesus, making the ultimate Atonement Sacrifice of his own body and blood on the cross. The sacrificed goat and the scapegoat chosen by lot both foreshadowed Jesus' substitutionary death for us, instead of us receiving the punishment of eternal death for our sins. The High Priest pronouncing out loud all the different sins of the Nation of Israel with his hands on the scapegoat, and spiritually placing the sins upon the animal, foreshadowed Jesus taking mankind's sin upon himself when he died on the cross. The High Priest then removing the scapegoat from the people foreshadowed the forgiveness and cleansing that comes to those who put their trust in the cross and put off the sinful former self!

I can remember Brother Leslie Williams teaching me and my teenage buddies while in his early 80s, answering an important question: "Why don't we sacriﬁce animals anymore; it's in the Bible isn't it?" Brother Williams answered thoughtfully, sharing about the Day of Atonement, and other Old Testament sacriﬁces, comparing them to the cross.

"Young people, when Jesus died on the cross, he died once for all. His blood was more precious than all the bulls, sheep, birds, and goats ever sacriﬁced. The Israelites could only roll their sins forward from one year to the next."

When he said "roll their sins forward" he moved his arm from his right to his left across the wooden desk he sat behind, and we all stared at his hand with a missing thumb, lost to a post hole digger in a farming accident.

He continued, "It took Jesus' blood on the cross to forgive our sins forever. That's why we don't sacriﬁce animals anymore. All the blood of those bulls and goats led right up to the foot of the cross." Then he shared a scripture with us from the New Testament book of Hebrews.

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacri

year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacriﬁces are an annual reminder of sins.

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacriﬁce and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.

Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’ ” First he said, “Sacriﬁces and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law.

Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”

He sets aside the ﬁrst to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacriﬁce of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacriﬁces, which can never take away sins.

But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacriﬁce for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

For by one sacriﬁce he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testiﬁes to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacriﬁce for sin is no longer necessary. (Hebrews 10:1-18 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.10.1-18)

All blood sacrifices including the Day of Atonement foreshadowed the cross. Jesus submitted voluntarily to do God’s will like many Jewish lambs submitted to be sacrificed. By Jesus submitting, we through God’s will “have been made holy through the sacrifice” ce perfected us. God’s law reflecting both

1)justice — requiring punishment for wrongs (a costly sacriﬁce to pay for our sins), and ecting mercy — providing his only son, a part of himself, to serve as that ce (instead of us being punished as we deserve), touches both our minds and our hearts. Instinctively we know in our minds that wrongs, including our own, deserve punishment. Emotionally we crave in our hearts forgiveness we don’t deserve. Jesus’ cross is the perfect climax to an amazing story of justice and mercy. By Jesus submitting to die on a Roman cross, God’s law of justice and mercy naturally connects with our minds

Jesus’ cross is the perfect climax to an amazing story of justice and mercy.

and our hearts. The writer of Hebrews indicated that God piles on the mercy by declaring he will no longer remember believers’ “sins and lawless acts.” After all, when our sins are spiritually forgiven because Jesus’ sacrifice substituted for our own to fulfill justice, we no longer are required to sacrifice to pay for our sins before God. Jesus mercifully paid for us already.

Perhaps we don't need to view goats so negatively after all. The scapegoat took the blame for Israel. Jesus took the blame for us. The scapegoat allowed the people to have their sins removed and taken away, as Jesus later allowed mankind’s sins to be put upon him, removed, and taken away. It was God’s plan for Jesus, the Messiah, to be mankind’s scapegoat, so all mankind could be allowed to be made holy. By one sacriﬁce “once and for all,” Jesus made us perfect and holy, taking our sin upon himself and taking it away from us. No love is greater.

The next sacriﬁce connects directly with baby Jesus. It also gives insight into God’s justice and his costly mercy necessary to redeem mankind.

Redeeming the Firstborn Son

Our home's double porches leak. So we recently had to do major maintenance to replace rotten wood. Sammy Razik's construction workers are like no other construction crew I've ever been around. The lead man, David, had a boom box that blared K-LOVE Christian radio all day as they hammered, sawed, and manhandled power tools. Occasionally my wife, Cindy, was startled by a worker on the front porch spontaneously singing loudly along with the radio, "I've been redeemed!…” These guys have got it together. They appeared genuinely, consistently joyful about what God had done to redeem their lives. Some in the crew told me Sammy gave them a chance to work when others wouldn’t. Sammy chose redemption over economic risk. Redemption’s joy is powerful, public, and pricey.

Mary and Joseph experienced this joy with baby Jesus when they presented him in the temple when he was eight days old. This joy was contagious. Even spectators experienced it. I remember the wrinkly older woman, Anna, in my school book, pictured as she held a radiant baby Jesus surrounded by smiling young Mary and Joseph. So what did this Bible story have to do with being redeemed? So far in our study, we have started with an Old Testament story and connected it to a cross story in the New Testament; this time, let’s start with the New Testament story and then go back in time.

And when the time came for their puri they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who Lord”) and to offer a sacriﬁce according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

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Henry

Redemption’s joy is powerful, public, and pricey.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according my eyes have seen your that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:22-38 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/luk.2.22-38.esv)

Let’s examine what Old Testament traditions brought Mary and Joseph to this moment. First, God was serious about his people dedicating ﬁrst things to Him. Starting with the Passover in Egypt, the ﬁrstborn belonged to the Lord.

After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.

Redeem every ﬁrstborn among your sons. “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the ﬁrstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I

sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’

And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” (Exodus 13:11-16 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/EXO.13.11-16)

These firstborn redemption requirements were expanded in the Law of Moses. For Mary and Joseph, the eighth day of Jesus' life was an important, busy, and expensive day. The Old Law required a good new Jewish family to travel to Jerusalem, go to the temple court, and pay for animals to be sacrificed (or bring their own) for the young mother's purification rites. While there, the proud couple would present the firstborn son for circumcision (required for every male).

The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised…’”

"When the days of her puriﬁcation for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her ﬂow of blood.

These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.” (Leviticus 12:1-3,6-8 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/LEV.12.1-3,6-8)

Isn't it interesting that Joseph and Mary took the two bird option instead of a lamb? I suppose this suggests they were poor, but in a sense, they did present a lamb. Their son was the Lamb of God. Additionally, if the baby was a ﬁrstborn son, they would also present him to God and then pay for him to be redeemed back to them. That's right, God expected cash.

The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son every firstborn male of unclean animals. When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. (Numbers 18:15-16 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ NUM.18.15-16)

Silver coins were presented in the temple as the price for Jesus. Sound familiar? This seems to foreshadow another event involving silver coins in the temple.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.27.3-5)

Ironic, isn’t it? Jesus’ life begins with the presentation of silver coins in the temple to redeem him as ﬁrstborn, and Jesus’ life ends with Judas throwing silver coins in the temple, coins presented to him by the chief priests to betray the rstborn’s blood.

To redeem is to buy back. For ﬁrstborn baby boys, it meant parents showed respect to God when they "bought back" their baby by paying the redemption price. It was part celebration, part ceremony, and part devotion. For baby Jesus, this need for redemption brought him to the temple, where the prophets Simeon and Anna connected this baby with Israel's future salvation and redemption.

This redemption theme which began on the eighth day of Jesus' life was fulﬁlled on the day of Jesus' death. Peter, Paul, and John spell out Jesus' ultimate role in redeeming all of mankind.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulﬁllment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:7-10 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/EPH.1.7-10)

Redemption is a mystery revealed in Jesus' cross — a planned event, fulﬁlled at the right time. The redemption price for baby Jesus was ﬁve sanctuary shekels. The redemption price for mankind is Jesus' blood. In another letter Paul writes:

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:4-5 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/GAL.4.4-5)

Jesus' blood was really spilled for us to pay our redemption price on the cross, preplanned by God, so that we could become God's children. Here is Paul again, sharing Jesus' role in paying our redemption price:

…who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:14 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/TIT.2.14)

His redeeming blood is Jesus' gift: a gift of his very self — perfect and priceless. His blood redeems us from evil and puriﬁes us completely. The result is gratitude so powerful, we are eager to do good. Redeemed people want to share redemption's joy. If we are humble about this, we acknowledge how messed up we are, and we recognize how blessed we are for what Jesus did to redeem us. Paul wrote to the Romans:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ ROM.3.23-26)

God, who is just, and who must punish wrongdoing in order to be just, chose to endure the required punishment himself, through Jesus' blood being shed on the cross. He planned this to occur to pay our redemption price instead of us receiving the just punishment for our wrongs —eternal death. We have this redemption through faith. The redemption price, Jesus' blood, rescues us from death and darkness, and allows us to be redeemed — to be forgiven.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/COL.1.13-14)

By Jesus allowing himself to bleed, he purchased redemption for all mankind. God's redemption through Jesus' blood is powerful, overcomes all evil and saves us from death. God's redemption through Jesus' blood is public, for all mankind to experience. God's redemption is pricey — nothing costs him or us more. We give him all our devotion. He gave up all his blood.

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all (Hebrews 9:12 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/HEB.9.12)

Redemption brings about joy. One day Sammy and I had a conversation, and I could not resist asking him how he came to hire the men in his construction crew ﬁxing my porches and singing about being redeemed. His response startled me. "God brought them to me. This business has turned into a ministry. David, Joshua, and Sam, those guys all have a story. God is in it. I just give them a chance to make a living, and God does the rest." Praise God for men who encourage others to ﬁnd redemption!

The leper’s cleansing ceremony, the Day of Atonement scapegoat, and the ﬁrstborn redemption price, all reﬂected the substitutionary death of Jesus. They foreshadowed redemption, the baptism practiced by Jesus’ apostles, the Lord’s supper, and the replacement of God’s ceremonial law with the law of Christ. Jesus’ blood brought a new order. The Messiah made a new covenant, foreshadowed by the old. Priests were uniquely positioned to see the connections. Below is an excerpt from the New Testament book of Hebrews, which I now suppose may have been written by a Jewish priest who became a Christian.

This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacriﬁces being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the ﬁrst covenant. (Hebrews 9:9-15 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ HEB.9.9-15)

Through the cross, the Old Testament ceremonial sacriﬁcial system was fulﬁlled. It ended perfectly; Jesus’ blood given once for all on the cross began new promises for mankind: a new covenant for cleansing sins, a new order replacing the old Levitical priesthood order, and a new order embracing a new High Priest, Jesus. God

Mitch Henry 108 Through the cross, the ceremonial Levitical sacrificial system was fulfilled.

planned it, and his purpose fulfilled it. It’s interesting how it all fits together — incredible how these sacrifices connect to the cross — amazing how God's plan to redeem mankind unfolds!

In the next chapter, we’ll see how God’s plan can use even ﬂawed people and unfortunate events to bring about his plan and purpose. Samson was an unlikely candidate to be considered a judge of Israel, but God used him to defeat his enemies. His connections to the cross are subtle, yet still just as powerful.

2021

110

by Mitch Henry

SamsonSamson was the Old Testament's Superman. Note the similarities: Both Superman and Samson had unique birth stories. Both had superhuman strength. Both had a secret way to lose their strength. Superman had his kryptonite; Samson had his haircut.

I identify with Samson's aversion to haircuts. Until I was 42, no one other than my mother and my wife had ever cut my hair. My mother's haircuts re style — cropped close, short sideburns, parted on the side.

On one rare occasion when Mama was exhausted from handling a household of seven, helping Daddy on the dairy farm, harvesting and canning the garden vegetables, and staying up all night ﬁnishing the farm books, I ended up with a quick bowl cut. My friends snickered for a few days till it grew out again. Mama usually did a great job, but I must confess; for the next two years I quietly feared another bowl cut.

Samson was the Old Testament’s superman.

When I turned 15, Scott Baio's middle-parted hairdo was the rage. I asked my mother to please cut my hair with a middle part, so I could feather it back on each side. It was transformative. Suddenly, girls began to notice me. Some guys even asked me to ask Mama to cut their hair too.

When Cindy and I were a few weeks from getting married, she opened a gift from Mama — a Wahl electric hairstyling set, complete with detachable plastic guides and a stainless steel pointed scissor set.

Cindy said, "You don't expect me to start cutting your hair after we’re married, do you?"

In my most charming tone, I gently asked her to help me keep my streak for having never gone to a barber shop as long as I’ve been alive, pointed out how conﬁdent I was she could do a great job, and promised I would go to a barber shop if she tried it, but didn't like doing so. After emphasizing how much money we would save while I was in law school and we were struggling to get by on her ﬁrst year teacher’s $13,000 annual salary, she reluctantly agreed to give it a try.

Three weeks after the honeymoon ended, I was getting a little shaggy. I let her know it was time for her to give it a try. We went outside to avoid having to clean up hair in our cute little new-to-us Tuscaloosa home, and I sat motionless in a wooden chair under a shady backyard boat shed. She began with the pointed stainless shears. For 20 minutes, she painstakingly worked on my right sideburn, ﬁnally successfully getting an inch trimmed off the bottom.

She handed me a little mirror and asked, "Well, what do you think?" She had never cut hair and had never even touched a pair of clippers. I looked, I hesitated, then I said as positively as I could, "Umm, that's a good start."

Next thing I knew, there was a sharp pointed set of stainless shears stuck in the ground. The love of my life was marching back to the house saying, "I've tried. I can't do this. You're going to a barber!"

Chapter 7

I managed to get between her and the back door, begging her to ﬁnish. "If I go to a barber shop, they'll laugh at me, and I'll have to tell them what happened." After much more coaxing, she relented, ﬁnished the haircut, and cut my hair for the next 20 years.

She did a great job till the electric clippers began to wear out. Whenever they got to a thick lock, they would jam, grab my hair, and pull some of it out by the roots. Wincing from the pain garnered no sympathy. In fact, it had the opposite effect.

"You have got to go to a barber. The clippers are worn out. I haven't cut enough for you to be embarrassed; I’m not cutting your hair. I've got an 8 year old, an 11 year old, and a 14 year old playing three different sports, a garden you planted for me to weed and pick, a herd of cows to keep your books on, a giant yard to keep up, and you are gone working 80 hours a week starting your own law ﬁrm. I'm not cutting your hair. It is time for you to end this."

I admitted she was right. So, I ended it.

The next morning, desperate because I was due in court at 10:30, I began an odyssey to find a barber shop, going first to the old shop with the rotating, candy striped barber pole on Norman Bridge Road. I had eyed it as a youngster, wondering what it would be like to get a haircut in a traditional shop, like all the other boys. It was full. All the chairs along the wall were filled with slightly shaggy old men and squirmy youngsters who all paused and stared at my suit and tie like I was an alien. Who wears a suit and tie to a haircut? I didn't know any better.

I apologized for no reason and left.

Two other shops had signs saying "Appointments Only." I was running out of time before my court hearing. In a panic, I pulled into a strip mall hoping to ﬁnd a shop, and said a prayer, "Lord please help me ﬁnd any place to get my hair cut." Shortly thereafter, I spotted an empty barber chair through a plate glass window. I parked and then trotted inside.

In the occupied chair, there was a man already getting his haircut, but no barber. "I've got a hearing downtown in two hours. Is there any way you can work me in?" The barber burst from a doorway covered by an old curtain. Samson was alive and cutting hair in Montgomery, Alabama. I could not help but admire his long hair, carefully trimmed mustache, and double muscled physique.

"You're in luck, buddy; I just had a cancellation. Park it in that empty chair, and I'll be right with you."

Too shocked to speak, too desperate to leave, and too embarrassed to question God's answer to my prayer, I sat down. He did a good job, but I didn’t let him trim my eyebrows. A guy has got to draw the line somewhere. I left my ﬁrst barber shop haircut air for the dramatic when it comes to

Like most Sunday School boys, I was fascinated with Samson, but it had nothing to do with his haircut experience. Samson was a real man — the strongest man who ever lived. I remember pausing our normal freeze-tag game after church to

….too embarrassed to question God’s answer to my prayer, I sat down.

play Samson with the other kids. I even named a calf I bottle-fed Samson. He grew to be double muscled and powerful, just like I imagined Samson.

I have to confess; re-reading Samson's story to my own children left me disappointed with this character's character. Samson's story goes from G to PG-13 to R quickly. I had to skip some parts with my 4 year old — parts we never covered in Sunday School. Reﬂecting on Samson's story now illustrates how God uses ﬂawed people to unexpectedly accomplish his plan and purpose.

Extraordinary Birth

The Old Testament contains a building theme of extraordinary births followed by salvation stories. It started with Isaac’s birth to Abraham and Sarah who were too old to have a baby. Through Isaac, all nations were blessed. Moses’ extraordinary birth was followed by God bringing salvation to Israel from slavery. Samson also was born miraculously and later saved his people. God seemed to like to bring men into the world to save their people through humanly impossible births. In every instance, he demonstrated his power and worked through the parents' faith — they believed God was able to do what he promised. Samson is not the ﬁrst to be born under extraordinary circumstances, but studying his birth begins to answer the question,“Where’s Jesus in his story?”

Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name…”

Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the ﬁeld, but Manoah her husband

So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me.”

Manoah said, “Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation?”

So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong , nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.”

Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.”

The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the ﬂame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the ﬂame of the altar.

When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”

Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. (Judges 13:1-6,8-10,12-16,19-24 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/JDG.13.1-6,8-10,12-16,19-24)

Like Jesus, Samson's parents were both visited by an angel of God to announce his birth. Notice the angel also foretold the child's role in helping his people: "He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." A similar prediction was made concerning Jesus.

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/MAT.1.20-21)

So Jesus' role, announced by the angel, was to save his people from their sins, while Samson's role, announced by the angel, was to deliver his people from the Philistines. The Israelites were in bondage to the Philistines because of their sin, and all mankind is now in bondage to sin.

What could God be leading up to with this extraordinary birth theme? Many would answer the question by saying, "The birth of Christ." No question, it re continuing theme of extraordinary births followed by salvation stories. But I think this biblical theme was leading to something even more signiﬁcant than Jesus’ birth. Based on the conversation Jesus had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, recorded by the apostle John, this miraculous birth theme was leading up to mankind’s salvation: a miraculous spiritual rebirth offered by Jesus to all people. Notice Jesus' ﬁrst question to Nicodemus in this narrative:

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the ﬂesh is ﬂesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” (John 3:2-10 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/ jhn.3.2-10.esv)

In a sense, Jesus gently reminded Nicodemus that he as a teacher should be familiar with what the Old Testament scriptures said about miraculous birth, and how these stories related to what he said about being born again. The birth stories of Isaac, Moses, Samuel, and Samson foreshadowed the new spiritual birth for all mankind in Jesus. Through faith — trusting that what God promised, he is able to do — we have

…this miraculous birth theme was leading up to mankind’s salvation — through a miraculous spiritual birth offered by Jesus to all people.

new birth into an eternal life.

Jesus said it begins with our being born again. Yes, Samson's birth was extraordinary, but our spiritual new birth in Jesus is no less extraordinary.

What does it mean to be a Nazarite? Here the Bible is speciﬁc. When the angel said Samson would be a Nazarite, Samson and his parents had a detailed description in the Book of the Law to follow:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long. “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.”

“And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he deﬁles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was deﬁled.” (Numbers 6:1-12 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/ num.6.1-12.esv)

The Nazarite law envisioned a temporary vow — one that had not only a deﬁnite beginning and an end, complete with ceremony and sacriﬁce, but also a penalty if the Nazarite contacted a dead body: The vow had to start over. This rededication involved a haircut and a do over. The Nazarite law also required a haircut at the end of the vow

Through faith — trusting that what God promised, he is able to do — we have new birth into an eternal life.

time period. (It’s kind of ironic that Samson’s story involved a haircut at the end as well.) It even allowed the person to drink wine when the time ended after offering lambs, unleavened bread, and wine to the Lord.

In contrast, Samson’s Nazarite status was permanent. This was extraordinary. The angel told Samson's mother that even she could not drink wine, and Samson's head was "never to be touched by a razor because the boy was to be a Nazarite, dedicated to God from the womb."

Does this sound like anyone in the New Testament? Think about Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist who was born hundreds of years after Samson. Samson’s Nazarite status foreshadows John’s. Let’s make connections between Samson's story and his. First, John’s father also had a supernatural encounter.

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:11-16 ESV https:// www.bible.com/59/luk.1.11-16.esv)

This encounter continues the miraculous birth theme outlined previously. Samson’s mother and John’s mother were both “barren” and could have no children. Both future births of baby boys were announced by an angel of the Lord. Both sets of parents were instructed by the angel to not allow their son to drink wine or liquor. John the Baptist, as Jesus' forerunner, shares other similarities with Samson. The angel Gabriel's declaration about John to Zechariah similarly highlights the baby's pre-birth condition. Both Samson and John the Baptist were dedicated to God from the womb, ﬁlled with God's Spirit before being born.

“…for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be ﬁlled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:15-16 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.1.15-16)

Both Samson and John the Baptist were dedicated to God from the womb, filled with God’s Spirit before being born.

This scripture is often cited to support a pro-life position against abortion. While it is a compelling argument that babies in the womb must have human life, because they can be indwelled by the Spirit of God, this focus may distract us from a powerful eternal truth illustrated by comparing Samson's indwelling to John's. Samson was indwelled in the womb as a Nazarite, dedicated permanently to God under the Law contained in the Torah. John was indwelled in the womb by God's Spirit, foretold by the Old Testament prophets to someday dwell in all believers. John represents the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ, while Samson represents the Law of sin and death.

Because Samson was dedicated as a Nazarite under the Law's command from the womb, he represents the Old Law's call to dedication to the physical commands associated with the Nazarite vow. Yet, Samson’s life highlights man's weakness and failure to gain perfection by the Law. Read Samson’s remaining story in Judges chapter 14 through chapter 16 and notice how Samson later failed in his obedience to the Nazarite vow and to the Old Law.

He marries a foreigner. He kills 30 men because he loses a bet over a riddle he made up about getting honey out of a bee hive in the carcass of a lion he had killed. This violated the Nazarite vow in touching the lion's dead body and thirty men's dead bodies he stripped to get the clothes to pay off the bet. He destroyed others’ property and crops by abusing animals, tying fox tails together with a torch and letting them loose elds and vineyards. He committed fornication with a prostitute and destroyed public property when he ripped off the city gates and carried them away. He killed 1,000 men who came to arrest him for his crimes with the jawbone of an ass. He likely committed fornication with Delilah — the Bible does not say they were ever married. He lied three times to Delilah about his strength's source.

You have to admit, that's a lot of law and vow breaking. Yet the scripture says the Spirit of God came upon him when he dished out capital punishment to Israel’s Philistine oppressors. When God's Spirit was upon him, he did great things. Samson's life represented imperfection that must result from the commands of the Law when relying only on human willpower to obey them. His connection to the physical is even ected in his name which means “from

John, on the other hand, was dedicated by the indwelling of God's Spirit from the womb. John represents the New Law's call to dedication to the spiritual commands associated with faith, highlighting God's power that gives man perfection by grace through the Spirit. John's story contains no account of John ever sinning. His job is to prepare people for the Messiah by bringing "knowledge of salvation." He dressed modestly in camel skin and enjoyed

More importantly, he calls men to repentance. He

encourages the poor, challenges soldiers and servants alike to do good, and exposes hypocritical religious leaders. He prepares the way for Jesus by proclaiming a ceremonial washing for the forgiveness of sins: baptism. Thousands humbly submit. Jesus himself submits, and John publicly proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah. John courageously challenges king Herod for committing adultery by marrying his brother's wife. When arrested, he does not resist. Like Samson, John is imprisoned and dies there.

Although many would assert Samson was the strongest man who ever lived for his physical strength, John was proclaimed by Jesus to be the greatest man "ever born of women." The meaning of John's name shows the contrast between his life and Samson’s. It points to the purpose behind his Spirit indwelling from the womb. The name, John, means God is gracious. through seeking spiritual life in Christ. Samson represented a life led by the Spirit. The apostle Paul explained the difference between the Old Law's imperfect call to obedient perfection based on human will, and the grace which comes through following the law of the Spirit set forth in the New Testament.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the ﬂesh, could not do.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the ﬂesh set their minds on the things of the ﬂesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the ﬂesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

See https://www.behindthename.com/name/john.

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Samson represented a life led by the flesh, and John represented a life led by the Spirit.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer ed with him. (Romans 8:1-17 ESV

If there was ever a character who illustrated a "mind set on the things of esh," it was Samson. Although he foreshadows John, his life stands in contrast to John's dedication to bringing knowledge of spiritual salvation. For all of Samson's imperfections, he still powerfully illustrated awed character. Even in his betrayal and death, Samson's life revealed God's power to bring strength from weakness, and deliverance from desperation. In this, he can be compared not only to John the Baptist, but also to Jesus himself.

Samson’s Betrayal

Beware of Bible analogies in jury trials. Nick Braswell asked me to help him try a lawsuit filed against his workers’ compensation insurance client. The suit alleged the insurer had wrongfully refused to pay for an injured employee to undergo a neck surgery she claimed was needed because of an on-the-job injury. Nick and Charlie Stakely had hired me five years before. My interview had no questions about my law school courses or career goals. They questioned me for more than an hour about my farm experience milking cows, fixing fences, and making hay. I guess they wanted to know whether I knew how to work hard. I felt I owed Nick, so I wanted to help him.

I had to work extra hard preparing for this trial. The case ﬁle was massive, and the facts were tricky. Nick was a super attorney, but his expertise was in bench trials before a judge, not jury trials. As a rookie, I was sporting a decent jury trial win record, so Nick

…Samson’s life revealed God’s power to bring strength from weakness, and deliverance from desperation.

pulled me into this complex litigation. I pulled out all the stops in preparation, lost a lot of sleep, and dug deep into my growing bag of trial technique tricks.

Nick and I agreed on a trial theme — exaggeration. The plaintiff had preexisting neck issues, and there had been a 6-month gap with no medical treatment after her fall. Her medical records indicated she claimed intense pain that did not always match up with her doctors’ physical examinations or testing.

The exaggeration theme had worked well in other trials — so had a biblical closing argument analogy. Here’s how it went: I talked to the jury about responsibility and how those who teach Sunday school might be tempted to stay home on a rainy cold morning, but how good it was when people showed up despite bad weather to teach the children. I compared the juror’s own responsibility to follow the judge’s legal instructions (even if it was difﬁcult to do so) with the dedicated Sunday school teacher’s responsibility to teach the children.

Then I pointed out the plaintiff’s exaggerations. I showed poster size enlargements of her medical records, a detailed color coded timeline poster illustrating her 6-month gap in treatment, and more posters showing her inconsistent trial testimony about her injury.

Pausing for dramatic impact, I then said. “You know folks, when I was in Sunday school, I remember my teacher sharing a Bible story about exaggeration. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness, waiting to enter the Promised Land. Moses sent out 12 men to spy out the land. They brought back giant clusters of grapes and said the land was ‘ﬂowing with milk and honey.’ But rather than encourage the people to invade the land, ten spies exaggerated what they saw and said the natives were giants. They said, ‘We are like grasshoppers compared to them.’ Because of this, the Israelites were scared to enter the land. But there were two spies, Joshua and …” (I paused long enough for a juror to complete my sentence for me.) “… Caleb.” “That’s right — Caleb. Joshua and Caleb gave a good report and said the Israelites could conquer the land. Unfortunately, the people believed the exaggerations of the ten spies and refused to go into the Promised Land. God was so upset about this exaggeration, he made the people wander 40 years before they could enter the Promised Land.”

I walked silently to my chair 20 feet away, gazed at the jury, and in my most earnest tone said, “Members of the jury, follow Judge Ben Fuller’s instructions and do not be swayed by exaggeration. Remember your responsibility. Render a just verdict in favor of my client.”

No sooner had I sat down when Bill Abel leaped from his opposing counsel table and addressed the jury in his lovable yankee accent, “You know guys, I may not have attended as much Sunday school as Mr. Henry, but there’s a story I remember that reﬂects what this case is really about. My client put her trust in Mr. Henry’s client to pay for health care for her injuries. This company never let her have surgery, despite her being in intractable pain. And all the while, delay after delay, week after week, month after month, in every conversation, in every letter, in every email, they weren’t mean about it. They were nice. Not only was the claim representative who testiﬁed here polite and courteous in court, she was sweet and kind to my client the whole time she betrayed my client by denying the surgery needed to cure her severe pain.”

He paused, then whispered loud enough for the jury to hear, “Like Jesus himself, my client was betrayed with kindness, just like Judas betrayed Jesus with a ………..kiss.”

He paused again, let the analogy linger in the air above us, then sat down.

We were toast. We settled the case for a substantial amount during the jury deliberations, just before they rendered their verdict.

Few events stir human emotion more than betrayal. Samson’s betrayal had its roots

Men's lust for beautiful women breeds emotional blindness. For Samson, such blindness combined with his arrogance was fatal. Movie themes, best selling novels, Hollywood gossip columns, and the rise and fall of certain political empires have resulted from men not thinking with their brains. Earlier we saw that Joseph's character allowed him to resist, but it did not work out so well for Samson. Here's how the story

After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of ax snaps when it touches the ﬁre. So the secret of his strength was not known.

Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.”

And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become

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weak and be like any other man.”

So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web.

And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”

And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.

And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.”

Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”

And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. (Judges 16:4-21 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/jdg.16.4-21.esv)

He allowed her to cut his hair. I know the text says he was sleeping when he got his haircut, but he had to know she would cut it after she tried three times to get him to tell her the secret of his strength. Each time, Delilah and the Philistines had unsuccessfully followed the strength depleting tasks in Samson’s three lies. Wouldn’t most men suspect she might be in cahoots with the enemy? Yet, he ﬁnally revealed his secret to her.

Was he deceived by her beauty? Did he think she could not cut his hair because he would wake up? Did her challenge to his ego — "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't conﬁde in me?" — get to him? Was he fearful he would lose her love? Could

it be he was willing to risk his life for her devotion? Perhaps he really believed she would love him and keep a secret as true lovers do. Perhaps, as the text suggests, he was so tired of her nagging, he was willing to do anything — or maybe he didn’t think a haircut would actually sap his strength.

Whatever it was, Samson telling her the truth did not set him free. Ironically after being blinded to her continued deceit and betrayal, the rst thing the Philistines did to him after his strength sapping haircut was to physically blind him. Do you notice any similarities with Jesus' betrayal?

Like Judas, Delilah betrayed Samson for silver. Since Samson and Delilah were lovers, it's safe to assume her betrayal involved kisses. Judas betrayed Jesus with a single kiss.

…but Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.22.48)

Samson denied telling the truth about his divine strength three times. Peter denied telling the truth about Jesus' divinity three times. Both Samson and Jesus were captured and bound by the enemies of God. Both were tortured. The similarities become even clearer as we reﬂect upon Samson's death.

Sacrificial Death

My friend, Alan, has strong faith. When he called me, I was so shocked by what he said, I could not speak for a moment. Then I said, "Of course, we will be there." Alan's dad had taken his own life. Nothing like this had ever happened to any friend of mine. Cindy and I prayed, got together some food, and left Hope Hull for the three-hour drive to be with Alan and his family.

They were crushed. I had never seen Alan so hurt, yet he held himself together. Reaching deep, he held up his mother and sister and every close family member. At a time like that, strength was needed.

When it came time for the funeral at the small church, I wondered what the preacher, Neil Myers, was going to say. I had heard several sermons on suicide. I think one was titled, "The Final Sin." I must confess that I worried that the preacher would either ignore how Alan's father died altogether, or we would get a mini sermon on the evils of taking one's own life. Instead, what he said amazed me.

He read Samson's story. He spoke of the power and wisdom of God to work in events in the lives of men, in ways we do not understand and cannot understand. As a friend, he spoke of how depressed and troubled Alan's father's mind had become. Then, he challenged the audience to mark this loss as a turning point both for ourselves and our families. It impacted me — since that time I have been more aware of how God

can use very bad, awful, terrible events to inﬂuence and bring about hope and transformation.

To this day, Alan's strength has earned my respect, despite other struggles and setbacks. He continues to challenge life, raise his sons, and show grace and mercy to his family and friends. Many would have never recovered from a father's suicide. Alan's faith is extraordinary, like Samson's physical strength.

Rarely does a person face death voluntarily like Samson. However, doing so is gloriﬁed as a consistent theme in movies and books. Some religions even require suicide as a ﬁtting response to human failures. Samson's death was a shocker for me as a child. I wanted him to crawl out of the rubble or be raised to life. After all, he had defeated the enemies of God! But it didn’t turn out that way. Here's the story:

Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacri god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”

And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”

And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars.

And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.”

Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.”

Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

(Judges 16:23-31 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/jdg.16.23-31.esv)

Samson’s death was a shocker for me… I wanted him to crawl out of the rubble or be raised to life.

Think about his body position. Samson sacriﬁced his own body to defeat the enemies of God with his body in an upright position, arms stretched outward at the moment of death. Isn’t it interesting the writer of Judges gave so much detail here? "Samson reached toward the two central pillars...his right hand on one and his left hand on the other." Dwell for a minute upon all the ways Samson could have died. The Philistines wanted him dead and had tried to kill him for years. Instead, it happened in this unique way.

What character in the New Testament gave his body as a self-sacriﬁce, dying in an upright position with his arms reaching outward, in order to defeat the enemies of God? Jesus' body position at death is the same as Samson’s self-sacriﬁcial death.

Jesus taught his disciples the merits of self-sacriﬁce.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.15.12-13)

Samson is one of only a few major Old Testament characters who offered their bodies as a sacriﬁce. What motivated him? The text does not indicate it was love. Rather, it was revenge for his "two eyes."

In many ways, Samson is a shadowy opposite of Jesus — a flawed rated R character whose superhuman power brought about death. On the other hand, in the crucifixion, Jesus' superhuman power brought about resurrection. Samson's selfsacrificial death led to as many as 3,000 Philistine deaths. Jesus’ death led to 3,000 Christian baptisms at Pentecost.

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Acts 2:38-41 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/act.2.38-41.esv

Samson's story still surprises me today. His birth's similarity with that of Jesus and John the Baptist, his Nazarite wildness, his betrayal for silver and affection, and his selfsacriﬁcial death all connect him with Jesus. Yet his from his connection to life's physical offerings — sexual lust, triumph, hunger, and revenge — led to Samson’s self-sacri plan and purpose despite Samson’s character

Jesus' flawless character, along with his connection to the spiritual realm's greatest outcome — love for mankind — led to a self-sacrifice that, naturally, fulfilled God's ultimate plan and purpose: mankind's salvation.

The next chapter will provide an intimate view of Jesus’ self-sacriﬁce. We’ll examine a “preview” of Jesus’ cruciﬁxion written by a king hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. This man, like Samson, was a warrior with some imperfections, but he had a heart for God. This preview writer was David.

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by Mitch Henry

Randomly selected scripture can be life changing. Have you ever opened up the Bible and read a random chapter? I did so in the Spring of 1989 while I was a graduate student at Auburn University. It opened to Psalms, and I thought I would read the chapter that corresponded to my age: 22.

My faith grew more in that moment. How had I missed this? Some Old Testament stories foreshadow the cross, but this passage did more than drop hints — it provided a “preview.” Images ﬂooded my mind like a movie trailer as I asked, “Where’s Jesus?”

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I ﬁnd no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.

All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

Chapter

8 David's Psalm 22

I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afﬂicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulﬁll my vows. The poor will eat and be ed; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it! (Psalm 22:1-31 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ PSA.22.1-31)

Reading Psalm 22 for the first time at age 22 stunned me. The power of David's prediction overwhelmed me. Having grown up hearing the story of the cross hundreds of times, it shocked me how David's Psalm specifically foretold Jesus' crucifixion experience hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth. The only explanation was supernatural.

I closed my Bible, I closed my eyes, and the words came involuntarily from my lips, "My God, you must be real."

How did David see these vivid images? What possessed him to write a song about them? David lived 1,000 years before Jesus was born — 500 years before Persians invented cruciﬁxion as capital punishment. Although David understood God's unbroken presence when he felt forsaken and then experienced God's deliverance, here he was not talking about himself.

David wrote a detailed song about Jesus’ suffering and cruciﬁxion before Jesus was born. He began writing lyrics in the ﬁrst person, — “...why have you forsaken me?..." —

and then ended by telling a story about another, — “...he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afﬂicted one..."

We see the Spirit of God at work powerfully in this song. You can't make this up. If there was ever an Old Testament scripture where the following words from the apostle Peter applied, it was David's Psalm 22:

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 111/2PE.1.20-21)

Psalm 22 is rich in images that came true at the cross, images that appear to have been experienced by the writer. It is as if David was dreaming what Jesus would experience 1,000 years before it happened. It is almost as if David was transported forward in time and experienced what Jesus felt, saw, and tasted on the cross, then woke up and wrote a song about it. For me, David’s Psalm's power was prediction.

Fulfillment

Let’s discover this Psalm's prophetic images fulﬁlled at the cross before the eyes of those standing near Jesus. Fulﬁllment began for these witnesses with Jesus’ words after being lifted up.

The shout Psalm 22 — "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?..."

The cross — About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)

(Matthew 27:46 NIV

Hundreds of years after David, the King of the Jews, sang these words, the same words came from the lips of Jesus, sometimes called the "Son of David." Nailed to the cross above Jesus' head as he spoke was the title, "The King of the Jews.”

David's Psalm predicts Jesus' actual words from the cross!

David’s Psalm predicts Jesus’ actual words from the cross!

Psalm 22 — "... All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the LORD,’ they say, ‘let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’…"

The cross —Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:39-43 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.27.39-43)

The Roman soldiers also mocked Jesus before and during the cruciﬁxion.

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27-31NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.27.27-31)

After they cruciﬁed Jesus, the soldiers did not let up on their mocking. Even the thief cruciﬁed with Jesus cast insults.

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” (Luke 23:36-37 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.23.36-37)

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ LUK.23.39)

David's Psalm predicts the soldiers', the thief's, and the crowd's mocking. This included the speciﬁc insults shouted toward the cross.

Mocking

Casting Lots

Psalm 22 -"...They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment..."

The cross - When the soldiers cruciﬁed Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulﬁlled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. (John 19:23-24 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.23-24)

David's Psalm predicts the soldiers’ speciﬁc actions at the cross.

Thirst

Psalm 22 - "... My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death..."

The cross - Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.28-30)

David's Psalm predicts Jesus' thirst. Also, notice the timing here. Jesus expresses his thirst and immediately thereafter, he dies. It matches perfectly with the Psalm.

Piercing

Psalm 22 - "...they pierce my hands and my feet..."

The cross - But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus ﬂogged, and handed him over to be cruciﬁed. (Matthew 27:20-26 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ MAT.27.20-26)

David saw pierced hands and feet. His Psalm predicts Jesus' method of capital punishment.

Mother's Presence

Psalm 22 - "...Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God..."

The cross - Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.19.25-27)

Isn’t it interesting that David references the Messiah’s mother in his Psalm, and Jesus speaks with his mother from the cross? The dying often think about and even speak about their mother in the moments before death. David's Psalm appears to predict Jesus' mother's presence at the cross.

Dogs/Villains Encircle

Psalm 22 - "...Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me...Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs..."

The cross - The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. (Mark 15:16-17 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MRK.15.16-17)

These Roman soldiers who ﬂogged and cruciﬁed Jesus were Gentiles. Do you remember what animal Jesus compared to Gentiles when a Syrian woman asked him to heal her child?

In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all

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they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” (Mark 7:25-29 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MRK.7.25-29)

David's Psalm predicts Gentiles will bear the sword, the power of death, at the cross, and that these Gentiles will surround, torture, and kill Jesus. The Gentile Romans were only one of three authorities that had ﬁnal power and inﬂuence over Jesus' life and freedom. King Herod (Antipas) and the chief priests also wielded power, yet the Gentiles held and administered the power of death.

Lions

Psalm 22 - "...Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me...Rescue me from the mouth of the lions..."

The cross - Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I ﬁnd no basis for a charge against this man.”

But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him.

Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. (Luke 23:4-12 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.23.4-12)

Lions were associated with royalty. This was the same King Herod (Antipas) who beheaded John the Baptist. In killing John, he had demonstrated a brutality and willingness to “tear… prey.” Yet Jesus referred to this same Herod as a "fox" rather than a lion earlier in his ministry, when people informed Jesus that Herod was threatening to kill him. Although Herod, who ruled in Galilee, had power to punish or release Jesus, he chose instead to "open his mouth" against Jesus with ridicule and mocking, then sent Jesus back to Pilate. Unlike the dogs, who actually inﬂicted harm in David's Psalm, the lions had power to harm the afﬂicted one, but only opened their mouths against him. The Psalm predicts Herod's actions.

by Mitch Henry

David’s Psalm predicts Herod’s actions.

Psalm 22 — "... Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me... save me from the horns of the wild oxen."

The cross — Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not ﬁnd any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”

But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

Then they spit in his face and struck him with their ﬁsts. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?” (Matthew 26:57-68 NIV https://

As we have already seen, bulls are closely associated with the priesthood. Of the three authorities involved in Jesus' death sentence, the chief priests' power and uence brought about Jesus' torture and crucifixion. They were the instigators. Without the Priests’ insistence, Pilate would likely have set Jesus free. They surrounded Jesus in a mock trial, goaded the Sanhedrin council of Israelite leaders to pronounce a death sentence on Jesus, and spat upon and struck Jesus with their fists. Yet every day they served in the temple, overseeing animal sacrifices that included bulls. There, they had historically passed a basin of water for ceremonial washing that was

Bulls

Without the priests’ insistence, Pilate would likely have set Jesus free.

The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. (1 Kings 7:25 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/ 111/1KI.7.25)

A bull was sacriﬁced in order to consecrate every priest to begin his duties (Leviticus 8), and the high priest offered a bull for the people and for himself before entering the Most Holy Place in the temple every year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).

Through this association with bulls, David’s Psalm predicts the Chief Priests' actions against Jesus leading to the cross.

By the way, guess what price Jewish law required to be paid for a servant pierced and killed by a bull’s horns? Exactly 30 pieces of silver. (See Exodus 21:32).

Gentiles Saved

Psalm 22 — "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him..."

The Cross — In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:4-6 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/EPH.3.4-6)

David's Psalm predicts that the cross will unite all people as God's children. Christianity is widespread today among all races. We personally connect with prophetic fulﬁllment. This Psalm’s prediction and Paul’s hopeful words to the Ephesian church have been proven!

Eli Eli Lema Sabachthani

The revival preacher's shout reverberated off the wood ﬂoor and rattled the windows in the little country church, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!!!" He paused, then shouted again, "That means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!" He had been leading up all morning to this moment.

Then in a strained whisper he said, "At that very moment, my friends, God looked away from his son. He had to look away, because at that moment, Jesus took on our sins. And God cannot be in the presence of evil. This is proof, my friends, that Jesus bore our sins on the cross.”

“While Jesus hanged there bearing your sins, God…had…forsaken…him!"

In his next long pause, I heard a snifﬂe. His point had hit home and melted someone's heart.

I believe his last point may be misplaced.

Jesus saying "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani" at this moment has a deeper meaning and signiﬁcance: Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. He was proclaiming to the crowd and to all mankind that David's thousand year old prophecy was being fulﬁlled before their eyes. Yet, like some teachers today, many in the crowd did not notice.

The Cross —About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” (Matthew 27:46-47 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.27.46-47)

Any devout Jew in this crowd should have been familiar with Psalm 22, and in all likelihood, knew its lyrics by heart. Yet the scribes, Pharisees, priests, and teachers of the law among the people appear blind to Jesus' proclamation.

Or were they? Psalm 22's lyrics vividly describe a suffering Messiah, delivered from oppression by Jehovah to reign forever. It hints at the resurrection and predicts the cruciﬁxion's historical signiﬁcance.

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani" was a code phrase. With it Jesus firmly connected the cross to David's prophecy, proclaimed himself as "the afflicted one," confirmed his role as Messiah and Redeemer, and foreshadowed his ultimate victory over death through his resurrection. The Priests standing there who condemned Jesus to death for claiming to be the Messiah heard Jesus shout the words their hero David predicted the Messiah would say. They saw the pierced hands and feet David predicted the Messiah would have.

One well meaning minister after another has publicly made the statement that Jesus was in fact "forsaken by God” when he spoke these words. I must confess: years ago I repeated this interpretation as well. Considering the full meaning of this Psalm, I now know Jesus was afﬂicted, but not forsaken.

Reread Psalm 22. It exudes hope. "...He has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help...those who seek the LORD will praise him – may your hearts live for ever!…nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations...Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

Jesus is not rejected by God in the Psalm — he is delivered. His conﬁdence in his deliverance is even expressed by Jesus from the cross. His words to the thief prove this:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!” was a code phrase.

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.23.39-43)

Jesus was on his way to paradise — not forsaken by God. He knew he would be with God after death, would rise from the dead, and reign forever. Psalm 22 predicted no less. Yet he appeared forsaken. He allowed himself to suffer and was nailed to a Roman cross precisely so God could not only be in the presence of sinners, but so God could be a presence within sinners. Jesus was not forsaken, and he will not forsake us.

Crucifixion

Psalm 22 —"...They pierce my hands and my feet." Nothing in David's life story included any experience like crucifixion. David predicting Jesus' crucifixion 1,000 years before its fulfillment was nothing less than supernatural.

The Cross —Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. (John 18:31-32 NIV https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.18.31-32

What had Jesus said? During Jesus' short ministry, he hinted he would be cruci

And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:22-24 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.9.22-24)

Years after the crucifixion, the apostle Paul, in a synagogue sermon in Antioch, affirmed that the Old Testament scriptures predicted Jesus' crucifixion.

“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulﬁlled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down

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from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.” (Acts 13:26-31 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/ACT.13.26-31)

Much that the soldiers “carried out” about Jesus’ crucifixion “was written about him” in Psalm 22. But this may not have been obvious to the crowd. The Persians practiced crucifixion 500 years before Jesus. The Romans perfected their techniques a few hundred years before Jesus’ birth. Crucifixion first appeared in Jewish history only around two hundred years before Jesus was born when a Selucid King, Antiochus Epiphanies, crucified devout Jews who refused to follow the Greek culture and religion he was forcing upon them. Then there was another atrocity involving crucifixion about a hundred years before Jesus was crucified. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded Alexander Jannaeus, a Jewish King and Priest, ordered 800 Pharisees who opposed him crucified and “the throats of their children and wives to be cut before their eyes.” (Josephus, Antiquities 13:14:2)

But cruciﬁxion was unknown in David's time. Have you ever wondered why God allowed his son to suffer cruciﬁxion rather than a more humane death? To answer this question, we should ponder three other important xion reveal about God’s ect his character? What does it uncover about our soul's value?

Please stop reading and take a moment to thoughtfully reflect upon your own answers to these three questions. I believe you may have the core answers in your heart. When we understand how Jesus’ death to redeem us reflects our soul’s value, it’s natural to feel gratitude, amazement, sadness, and respect. Yet the good news here is that his death was not the end, but a beginning for him and for us. David’s Psalm ends by reflecting

Resurrection

My children named the abandoned white calf Snowﬂake. We made a small pen for her in the back yard, fed her a warm milk bottle twice a day for three months, and kept her warm and dry with fresh feed and hay. The children played with her like a giant puppy.

At weaning time, my cowboy neighbor offered to buy her for $300 to use her for roping practice. I asked my three children about his offer and told them they would receive part of the money if we sold her, since they all had raised her.

My son, Mitchell, had done the math and said, "Dad, that's a great price for a weaned calf."

My older daughter, Lauren, said, "Wow, I can buy a lot of books with that money!"

David’s Psalm ends by reflecting hope — a hope for resurrection.

I then looked at my youngest, Ashby, who said with tears flowing, between sniffles, "Please...don't sell…my...Snowflake."

I gave Snowﬂake to Ashby and told my neighbor, "No thank you."

Ashby trained her to lead, showed her at the fair, and kept her for a "mama cow." Snowﬂake is the only white cow in our registered black Angus herd. She will die of old age here, on our farm. I vowed she would never be sold.

Snowﬂake disappeared from the herd before this past Thanksgiving. It was calving season, and that wasn't good. Already we’d had one cow die while trying to calve. We looked for her for three days. Cindy and I searched the woods for hours. I got up early before work and called Snowﬂake, but she never came. I texted my adjoining neighbor and my brother, who had cattle across the creek from me, and no one had seen any sign of her.

On the fourth day, I got up my nerve to tell Ashby that Snowflake was gone. She took it better than I anticipated: "She's a good cow, Dad. She'll come back." I knew Snowflake was likely dead, somewhere far back in the woods where we couldn’t find her body. I began searching the sky for buzzards, so I could at least find her body and have some finality for my youngest child.

Two weeks later, Lauren invited 40 students from the Auburn Christian Student Center to camp out on our farm. At nine o’clock at night, I was driving a pickup truck, loaded with 24 mostly international students, into an unoccupied pasture to show them the creek, when my headlights caught a ﬂash of white.

I yelled, "Snowﬂake!" so loud, some of the students screamed.

I bolted from the truck to make sure it was her, and got a bonus. There, curled beside her, was a black heifer calf with a white tail. Snowﬂake had broken through a fence into the vacant pasture to have her baby privately, and had stayed hidden for weeks.

That moment's joy overwhelmed me, and my voice kept breaking as I tried to explain what was happening to the students, who could barely understand my southern English even when I wasn't emotional.

When one of them ﬁnally comprehended me, he spoke some Mandarin that ended with the English word, "Snowﬂake."

Applause and cheering erupted from the truck. They rejoiced with me, for I had found our lost Snowﬂake.

In my mind, she had gone from death to life and brought a new life to this world in the process.

Similarly, resurrection’s hope springs from cruciﬁxion's horror in Psalm 22.

Psalm 22 —"For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afﬂicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulﬁll my vows.” (Psalm 22:24-25)

Psalm 22 ended positively — with hope. So did Jesus’ story. For believers, the most hopeful event in human history follows the cruciﬁxion. This event was announced by an angel.

The Cross —The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was cruciﬁed. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:5-6 NIV https:// my.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.28.5-6)

God listened to Jesus’ cry for help and raised him from the dead. No other supernatural event in history has had greater impact in this life or the world to come. Jesus' resurrection crushed Satan, and promised eternal life to believers. Psalm 22’s ending foretold mankind’s resurrection when it said, “all who go down to the dust will kneel before him – those who cannot keep themselves alive.”

God raising Jesus from the dead was the hopeful message that the apostles and early Christians shared with the world. This powerful message not only changed mankind, but us. Trusting in its truthfulness also sets us free from spiritual bondage to sin and death. Psalm 22's ending foreshadowed the gospel — the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Notice how Paul relies on the cross and the resurrection's connections with Old cance.

that what God promised to the fathers, this he , as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of

Therefore he says also in another You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption

Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, by him everyone who believes is freed

from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: ‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. (Acts 13:32-43 ESV https:// www.bible.com/59/act.13.32-43.esv)

What a life changing message early preachers were able to share! Paul deﬁned this as “good news,” a message that was publicly proclaimed, but also personal for Jesus, himself. Jesus was raised up, allowing his followers to be justiﬁed and “set free from every sin.” Even the prophets told people this would be unbelievable.

I have often wondered how Jesus must have felt when learning and singing Psalm 22 as a child in the Nazareth synagogue. Imagine the human stress he must have experienced, coming to realize Psalm 22 predicted he would die through cruciﬁxion and suffer humiliation in the process. Then, he must have felt the hope that springs from the Psalm's ending words. "...future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

What had the Messiah “done” that was so hopeful, that would be celebrated and talked about for generations?

It must have been Jesus' resurrection. Had he not risen from the dead, Jesus would have taken his place among the other thousands of ﬁrst century Roman cruciﬁxion victims. Jesus' resurrection provided ultimate hope for mankind.

Similarly, as a young Jesus dwelled on Psalm 22's ending, he must have experienced reassurance that provided him superhuman resolve and calm during his suffering.

Jesus was thinking about Psalm 22 while hanging from the cross. It was his meditation. It described what he was experiencing in detail and gave him hope. This Psalm’s clarity connected the Messiah directly to the cross. Jesus physically experienced its torture images and spiritually fulﬁlled its hopeful concluding prophecy.

The prophets who followed David were inﬂuenced by his life and songs, including Psalm 22. The lives and times of two key prophets are fascinating. Elisha and Jonah's stories are among the most repeated and loved in all the Bible and are ﬁlled with sensational events. In the next chapters, we explore these prophets’ potent connections to the cross.

! 2021 by

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Wonders happened through Elisha. When we ask, “Where’s Jesus?” in his story, we discover key events had a connection to Jesus and his cross. Among them were Elisha’s adopted family, a resurrection, and a cleansing in the Jordan River.

As a prophet, Elisha’s faith is celebrated and referenced by Jesus himself and by New Testament writers. The writer of Hebrews praised prophets’ perseverance and faith. The faithful accomplishments listed included exploits by Elisha.

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions…

Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection.

And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:32-33,35,39-40

NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ HEB.11.32-33,35,39-40)

Notice that the writer indicated God had something better planned for us. God’s plan and purpose illustrated in Elisha’s life had connections to Jesus’ ministry. These similarities impact our faith by reminding us how the Bible tells one wonderful story, connecting human experience with the divine, providing a glimpse of greater events to come. The ﬁrst similarity, an adopted family, highlights our core need for friendship and human love — a core need demonstrated in both Elisha’s and Jesus’ ministries.

Elisha’s Adopted Family

Jen's father hurt her when he was drunk. Cap, a retired U.S. Marine, and his wife, Brenda, had a heart for their daughter Rita's teenage friends who were having difﬁcult times. When Rita told her parents about Jen's situation, Cap and Brenda invited Jen to stay over with Rita any night things "got rough." Beginning in the ninth grade, Jen was a frequent guest in Rita's family home.

In Spring 1976, Jen, then a high school junior, had to come over one night. About 2:00 in the morning, the phone rang, and Rita answered. It was Jen's aunt. Jen's drunk father just shot and killed Jen's mother.

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In shock, Rita hung up the phone, but managed to have the presence of mind to wake up her own mother and tell her what happened. Cap, Brenda, and Rita took Jen to her aunt's house that night to face the trauma. Jen’s aunt told her what had happened.

Jen melted. Together they shielded her, surrounded her with love, and helped Jen gather a few personal things from her home. Cap and his family then moved her into their home — permanently.

Jen became another daughter to Cap and Brenda. Through this good family's inﬂuence, her faith grew. Jen escaped, and never went back to her old life. Godfearing, though not perfect, she is now the mother of two wonderful adult children. Although she was never legally adopted, when Cap died a few years ago, Cap’s family named Jen as his child in his obituary. She has a wonderful "adopted" family. The Old Testament contains stories of friendships so close, so hospitable, so kind, and so loving, they form an “adopted” family. Elisha had an "adopted" family that reﬂected Jesus’ “adopted” family, connecting the two across centuries.

Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lamp stand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

One day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and rested. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?’ ”

And she answered, “I live among my own people.” (2 Kings 4:8-13 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/2KI.4.8-13)

This Shunammite woman showed hospitality to Elisha. She had faith Elisha was "a holy man of God." Her kindness was so extraordinary, Elisha wanted to return it. Note her response when asked what Elisha could do for her, "I have a home among my own people." She seemed to be saying a home was all she needed. This underscores our human need to have our own place, surrounded by people we love. Her response also highlights the gift she provided this traveling prophet — a home away from home.

Think of a moment in Jesus’ travels where he, like Elisha, had a home away from home, where he experienced friendship and love in an adopted family.

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She seemed to be saying a home was all she needed.

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations.

She came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.10.38-42)

We all need a place to refresh. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus provided a place for Jesus to be refreshed as he went about preaching and ministering. This was similar to the Shunammite woman and her husband’s hospitality for Elisha.

Let’s explore Elisha’s story further to ﬁnd more connections with Jesus. Elisha was bothered by the Shunammite woman’s response to his offer to give her something. She asked for nothing, but Elisha wouldn't let it go.

So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Truly she has no son and her husband is old.” He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

Then he said, “At this season next year you will embrace a son.”

And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.”

The woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. He said to his father, “My head, my head.”

And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her lap until noon, and then died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out. (2 Kings 4:14-21 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/ 100/2KI.4.14-21

Though the Shunammite woman hadn’t asked for him, her son was dead. The prophet’s

desire to bring her happiness didn’t turn out so well. This adopted family, like all families, was subject to life’s unpleasant events, illness, and death. Now, like then, friendship and love are needed most when these overwhelm us.

It was the same for Jesus. Fully God and fully human, he felt what we feel. Not only did Jesus experience friendship and love with his adopted family, he shared sorrow with them as well. Jesus learned Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus, was sick, but he died

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but

Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.

Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept

So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” (John 11:17,20-30,32-36

NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.11.17,20-30,32-36)

I can’t think of another scripture reﬂecting Jesus’ humanity more than this. Losing a family member to death is gut wrenching. Jesus felt it. He shared his emotions with grieving family members. He cried even though he knew he would soon raise Lazarus

This adopted family, like all families, was subject to life’s unpleasant events… friendship and love are needed most when these overwhelm us.

from death. “Jesus wept” was the ﬁrst scripture I learned to quote at age three. As an adult, this simple statement draws me close to Jesus. Two words packed with meaning provide assurance Jesus was like all of us. He cared deeply, and he was willing to show emotion. Like Elisha’s experience with his adopted Shunammite family, Mary and Martha shared pain and loss with Jesus.

Notice Martha’s faith in Jesus’ power. Not only did she believe Jesus could have healed Lazarus and prevented his death, she believed there would be a resurrection in the “last day” for Lazarus and all mankind. Yet this was not the “rising again” to which Jesus referred.

Jesus’ response gives me pleasant chills: “I am the resurrection and the life.” I can’t think of seven more hopeful words in all scripture. Comfort, assurance, and peace are densely packed within them. Their potency comes from the one who said them. Jesus continued, “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” Jesus can deliver. Resurrection’s force belongs to the Messiah.

Jesus, like Elisha, experienced love and death’s sorrow in his adopted family. Both Elisha and Jesus would then bring resurrection. Let’s learn more about resurrection as we compare the stories of Elisha and Jesus.

Family Resurrection

In rare moments, simply living can be euphoric. As a Christian attorney, I am sometimes asked to help resolve church disputes. Charged with emotion, passion, bitterness, and scandal, such cases are challenging and draining. Among my most difﬁcult was a 100 member rural Alabama congregation whose preacher had attempted to take control from the church trustees. As counsel for the trustees, I succeeded in petitioning the Circuit Court to order an election of new trustees. The judge wisely ruled the election would be conducted by the sheriff.

When I arrived on a Sunday morning for the election, there were multiple sheriff vehicles lining the church parking area. The election was conducted in a respectful, orderly fashion by the sheriff, and the slate of trustees I represented were duly elected.

The preacher's mother, a tall, muscular, middle-aged woman who was larger than I, then stood and led a dramatic walkout through the small church building's back double doors. She stormed by me, throwing the doors open wide. A dozen or so people who supported the preacher marched past me glaring. I stayed seated by myself on the back pew. I anticipated the newly elected trustees would have difﬁculty collecting church keys and other church property, like the 15-passenger church van the preacher's mother drove. The doors slammed behind them all.

The deputies then met brieﬂy with me and the new trustees. We all expressed our gratitude that no one got hurt. One deputy indicated he would continue to patrol the area that day. Then all the sheriff's vehicles left.

Jesus’ response gives me pleasant chills: “I am the resurrection and the Life.”

The trustees then asked me to stay for a church service. I took my seat on the back pew and tried to process the morning’s events as we prayed and sang, “Church, there’s a dark cloud rising, let’s go home….” Finally, my mind settled in to worship.

Suddenly the back doors burst open. In came the preacher's mother. She walked directly up to me on the back pew an arm's length away. Staring at me, she reached her right hand into her large purse….

I silently prayed, “God, be with my wife and children. Don't let her shoot anyone else. If I'm going to die now, Lord, it may as well be in church….”

Then she pulled the church van keys from her purse and handed them to me. She turned, walked out the back door, and I never saw her again.

I had gone from death to life. I silently thanked the Lord for sparing my life and continued singing. I felt euphoric. I sang so loud, a few children turned around backwards in their pews to stare at me. I've rarely felt more alive or worshipped with more gratitude.

Elisha’s Shunammite friend’s cycle of emotions dipped down and up like a roller coaster as well. Despair and gratitude brought her to her knees both for her child’s loss and for his restoration.

And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away.

But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”

He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay

Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”

When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the esh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. (2 Kings 4:27-37 ESV https:// www.bible.com/59/2ki.4.27-37.esv)

Few events bring us to our knees like this Shunammite’s experience. Every life story is punctuated with such moments — unexpected traumas and joyful life changing announcements. We all can identify with her. We all have experienced a loved one’s loss. Some have experienced a loved one’s unlikely recovery. Rarely do any of us go from such a low to such a high in such a short time. Yet, the Shunammite wouldn’t have experienced such joy without her faith that God could work through Elisha, and her effort to confront the prophet.

God’s power over death allowed Elisha to raise this dead child. This naturally followed for Elisha since his mentor Elijah had also raised a widow's son to life. Notice both Elijah and Elisha’s resurrection miracles involved sons. Elisha’s resurrection involved a son of promise whose birth was a miracle. God’s ultimate resurrection of Jesus also involved a son of promise whose birth was a miracle.

In Jesus’ own ministry he, like Elisha, raised the dead to life. Jesus widow’s son to life. The widow at Nain’s son was spontaneously raised by Jesus during the child’s funeral. (See Luke 7:11-17 NASB LUK.7.11-17) Additionally, Jesus raised a daughter of a synagogue ruler named Jairus back to life. (See Luke 8:49-56 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ LUK.8.49-56) But Jesus’ most notable resurrection was Lazarus.

Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone.

Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.

Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:39-44 NASB

Wait a second. Did Martha cause the Son of God to hesitate to bring her brother back from the dead because of concern there might be an embarrassing smell? Gotta smile about this mindset. Seems to me our minds can get so preoccupied with how we might be viewed by other humans that we are blind to what God is actually doing in our lives. Like Martha, we struggle to “see the glory of God.” That may be why a death can bring out the best and the worst in some people.

Lazarus’ resurrection stirred up emotions in the entire region — some good, and some sinister. On the positive side, many believed Jesus had to be the Messiah. Not only could he feed people miraculously, command nature, and heal the sick and disabled, Jesus could make a dead man live again! People began to ﬂock to Jesus in mass. Oddly this brought out the worst in some leaders.

The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.12.9-11)

As an attorney, after one’s death, I’ve seen folks become intoxicated with lust for power, money, and revenge. Some turn to theft, scheming, lying, bullying, and unfortunately even murder to satisfy their passions. Here, the Chief Priests who were supposed to lead the people to God were conspiring to draw people away from the Son of God by “undoing” Jesus’ great miracle — killing the man Jesus raised from death. Ironically, they feared resurrection because it threatened their earthly power instead of embracing resurrection’s own eternal spiritual power. Resurrection from death for all Christians provides hope, allowing the living to cope with another’s death — and with our own. In these stories, we gain subtle encouragement. If God resurrected the Shunammite’s son, then perhaps he will do so for my loved one —and for me. If Jesus did it for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, then why not my family? A more transformative thought centers upon Jesus himself. Because he overcame death, he established unsurpassed credibility. In Jesus’ story, he is not simply the recipient of God’s resurrection power — he is that power. As Jesus told Mary right before he raised Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Cleansing in Jordan

Kept promises have consequences. At the University of Alabama, each law school ﬁrst

semester course had only one exam. That one exam score determined the grade. After attending classes for three and a half months, I had no clue where I stood. Survival depended entirely on the exams. Stress led me to prayer.

“God, if you get me through this and I become a lawyer, I’ll ask everyone this question after they sign a last will and testament: ‘You’ve taken care of your earthly business; have you taken care of your heavenly business?’”

Even though I’m not exactly sure why this came to mind, I make sure to ask this question each time I handle a will signing ceremony. It’s awesome to watch God work in people’s responses.

Callie was diagnosed with cancer. I had handled another legal matter for her, and she asked me to help her with a will. I kept my promise and asked her this question.

I’ll never forget her response.

“Mitch, I have no clue where I’m going when I die. I went to church when I was a little girl, but I haven’t been back since. I believe in God, but I don’t know what to do.”

I got a Bible from my secretary’s desk, cleared my afternoon schedule, and Callie and I started reading out loud together. We began with the ﬁrst three chapters of John, stopping occasionally to ask and answer questions. We then read the last chapters of John about the cross and Jesus’ resurrection.

Callie said, “Mitch, I’ve heard this story, but I’ve never read it.”

Next, we started reading the book of Acts. When we got to the story of the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip, she interrupted me and asked, “Can you baptize me?”

“Callie, I’m a lawyer. Don’t you want a preacher to baptize you?”

“I don’t know any. I want you to do it.”

My secretary’s husband at that time was the campus minister at Dalraida Church of Christ, and she had access to its baptistry pool. The following day, Callie met us there with her daughter who came over from Atlanta. When they arrived, Callie had become so weak, her daughter was pushing her in a wheelchair.

When we opened the door leading to the baptistry located behind where the preacher stands, my heart sank. The only way to the pool was up stairs more than a story tall with no landing. Callie silently stared at the steps.

“Don’t worry Callie, I’ve got this. One of my friends in college, Kim Mensi, had cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair. I helped her get up and over tougher spots than this.”

“No.” Callie paused.

My heart sank lower. Now what? Maybe we could ﬁnd another church, a pool, a tub with a lift? I thought maybe she’s not going to go through with this.

“No,” she said. “I’m gonna do this for my Jesus.”

“Callie, I’m a lawyer. Don’t you want a preacher to baptize you?”

She stood, grabbed the stair rails and slowly pulled herself, step by painful step, to the top. There wasn’t a dry eye among my paralegals and assistants who came with us.

After I baptized Callie, she was weak as water. “You are not going back down by yourself. I’m going to take you down in that chair.” She did not argue with me.

Callie died three months later. Her daughter called and asked me to speak at her lled with raw emotion.

Her cleansing impacted many. Callie’s courage and humble submission to God’s message the ﬁrst time she read it was inspiring. She touched my life by her response to the cross. Her eager acceptance of God’s message for cleansing contrasted greatly with Naaman. This Gentile commander who came to Elisha for his leprosy cleansing had to overcome his own skepticism.

Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his , and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.

He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

This gentile commander who came to Elisha for his leprosy cleansing had to overcome his own skepticism.

So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your ﬂesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”

But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper’ Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?”

So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his ﬂesh was restored like the ﬂesh of a little child and he was clean.

When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.” (2 Kings 5:1-15 NASB https://my.bible.com/bible/100/2KI.5.1-15

Many connections can be made with this story and the cross. One often made is the similarity between Naaman dipping in the Jordan to be cleansed and Christian baptism. Naaman’s physical cleansing is a fair comparison to and perhaps even a foreshadowing of John the Baptist baptizing people in the Jordan for spiritual cleansing. We can note again, Jesus’ baptism and the Holy Spirit descending upon him like a dove also occurred in Jordan’s waters. Jesus’ commission for his followers to make disciples who believe, are baptized, and are saved reﬂected a spiritual cleansing similar to Naaman’s physical cleansing. Naaman’s immersion as a Gentile, I suppose, could foreshadow what happened after the church began and spread from Jerusalem. The Roman centurion Cornelius’ immersion into Jesus by the apostle Peter opened the door for Gentiles, not just Jews, to become Christians. The good news is for all.

Mitch

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However, there is an additional more obscure connection between Jesus and Naaman. Did you know Jesus directly references Naaman’s story in his early ministry? Unfortunately, it was almost prematurely fatal for Jesus.

It’s odd how we get in our head how we think God should work. Naaman got angry and even “went off in a rage” when Elisha’s cleansing instructions didn’t meet Naaman’s expectations. Over a thousand years later, rage was the same feeling the Jews of Nazareth felt toward Jesus when he didn’t meet their expectations. Returning home shortly after he began his ministry, Jesus entered Nazareth’s synagogue and read God’s word. All went well, till he said something they didn’t want to hear and mentioned Elisha’s encounter with Naaman.

And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

And all the people in the synagogue were ﬁlled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way. (Luke 4:22-30 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/LUK.4.22-30)

Why did the crowd go nuts? Everyone seemed happy with Jesus, but when he indicated he wasn’t going to do miracles in Nazareth like he did in Capernaeum and mentioned Naaman’s story, the crowd got so enraged they tried to kill him. I’ve

Perhaps when God’s plan does not ﬁt with our human expectations, we get defensive and angry. Was there jealousy? “Jesus, you’re going to heal strangers in Capernaeum and not heal your family and neighbors in Nazareth!”

Was there indignation?

“Jesus, you grew up here; this is your home. If you won’t heal our Was

about? Naaman the Syrian? entile dogs than help us?!”

there a twinge of racism? “What’s Jesus talking

Perhaps when God’s plan does not fit with our human expectations, we get defensive and angry.

I think Luke recorded Jesus’ near-death story referencing Naaman, to illustrate an important core value of Jesus and highlight a human weakness. Here’s the core value: Mankind’s eternal spiritual life is more important than the physical. In Nazareth, Jesus was not going to be pressured into doing miracles without spiritual signiﬁcance, no matter who needed one. God has always been this way. Jesus referring to Naaman in his speech to the home crowd illustrated this truth. God did miracles to make a point — to teach a lesson — to show his power — to illustrate a spiritual truth — to accomplish his plan. That’s why Jesus cited Naaman’s story. There were many lepers who needed healing in Naaman’s time, but only Naaman was healed.

His cleansing in the Jordan illustrated mankind’s core need to trust and obey God’s instruction even when it didn’t make sense to people. Naaman’s miracle had a spiritual purpose. Naaman’s healing connected with immersion’s role in mankind’s spiritual redemption plan.

Here’s mankind’s weakness: Physical reality distracts us from spiritual reality. Naaman wanted healing, but at ﬁrst he was unwilling to accept that God’s power would work through immersion in a dirty river. Then by his servant’s encouraging words, Naaman came to spiritual faith, trusted, obeyed, and was healed. Notice his words after his cleansing. “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

The Jews in Nazareth were equally distracted by their memories of Jesus’ childhood there, his fame as a miracle worker in other Galilean towns, and the great need for physical healing in their community. They expected Jesus to do greater miracles in his hometown, but he told them he wouldn’t. Their reaction was visceral.

We all need to be careful to avoid this trap. You may know people who are so convinced God “allowed” them to be hurt in some way, they have rejected him completely. You may also know people so consumed by alleviating human suffering, obtaining justice, or saving the environment, they disengage with Jesus. We should be careful not to let service become an end unto itself, serving without remembering who and why we serve. Jesus himself guarded against this. Look at what he did after he spent an exhausting day healing the blind, ill, and demon possessed.

When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

His cleansing in Jordan illustrated mankind’s core need to trust and obey God’s instruction even when it didn’t make sense to people.

Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” (Mark 1:32-38 NASB https:// my.bible.com/bible/100/MRK.1.32-38)

Jesus came to preach the good news, not to end human suffering. Our core value should be the same. We should do good for others, but never forget to point them to the cross while helping them.

A similar viewpoint was shared by seven people who played critical roles helping Naaman to be cleansed:

1.The kidnapped Israelite servant girl cared about her master enough to tell his wife about Elisha’s healing power. She was an initiator.

2.Naaman’s wife encouraged her husband to seek healing from Elisha. She was an encourager.

3.The King of Aram cared about Naaman enough to encourage him to go to Israel, and he helped ensure Naaman would be cared for by his letter. He was a contributor and helper.

4.The King of Israel, though stressed by the political consequences of Naaman’s request, had enough faith to send Naaman to Elisha. He was a problem solver.

5.Elisha himself, through God’s Spirit, sensed the opportunity to show God’s power to kings and mankind and invited the King of Israel to send Naaman to him. He was a revealer.

6.Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, faithfully obeyed Elisha and delivered the s aving message without apology to Naaman. He was a messenger.

7.Naaman’s servant encouraged him to have faith in Elisha’s words and God’s power, even though dipping seven times in Jordan’s water made little sense to Naaman. He was a counselor.

These seven people each played an important role in bringing Naaman to a decision. Without any one individual, Naaman may not have been cleansed. All seven made a

difference. All seven contributed in some way. I wonder if that may be why Naaman was asked to dip seven times in the Jordan River.

Finally, Naaman humbled himself. He believed that what God had promised through Elisha’s words, God was able to do. He was immersed seven times. After the seventh time, his skin was cleansed, like a child’s. Naaman had a new life.

When it comes to spiritual cleansing through faith and baptism, there are similarities with Naaman’s story. Often there are many people who play a role in encouraging one’s faith. The book of Acts is ﬁlled with examples of people who played a role in encouraging people to make faith decisions. It’s still true today.

In Callie’s story, my paralegal who kept a Bible on her desk, my assistant Amelia, Callie’s daughter, and I all played an encouraging role in helping bring Callie to her decision to climb the stairs shown in this photo. Then, just as God’s power, grace, and mercy brought about physical cleansing for Naaman, God’s power, grace, and mercy brought about spiritual cleansing for Callie through the cross.

The ﬁnal prophet we study, Jonah, also had a story which connected with Jesus. Jonah's story's connections were strong, like Elisha's — so strong that Jesus himself said part of Jonah's story would be “the sign” that Jesus was the Son of God.

Henry

God’s power, grace, and mercy brought about spiritual cleansing for Callie through the cross.

! 2021 by Mitch

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Henry

You can't outrun God — or a cowboy in a Ram pickup. One rainy afternoon, my cousins Kerry and Feigh Brown were feeding cattle on rented land when they noticed a ﬂash of white trotting away from them in the distance. Naturally, like any good herdsmen would do, they engaged the Ram 2500's four-wheel drive and pursued the white dot. Hundreds of yards away, it responded to the Ram's roaring engine by speeding up and changing directions from open pasture toward some woods. Kerry gunned the engine, splashing and spinning mud, sliding and gaining speed. He cut off the intruder before it could reach the wood-line. The dot sprinted.

As my cousins neared, they realized the white dot was not a predator, but a man. When they got closer, they saw the man was naked. Not a stitch of clothing, not even wearing shoes; the only thing accompanying the mid-30-year-old were two small mixedbreed dogs.

Naked, wet, and afraid, he gave up running as Kerry and Feigh slid to a stop between him and the woods.

"Who are you?" Kerry demanded, trying to keep a straight face as the man tried to hide behind a small bush.

“I'm your landlord’s … nephew," he stammered nervously. "He gave me ... permission to ... come on the place," he panted.

Then Kerry asked him a question he never in a million years would have imagined asking.

"Why in the world are you running around naked with a couple of dogs in a cow pasture in the rain in broad daylight?"

The man paused, still catching his breath.

"I guess it's just something … I’ve always wanted to do."

Not knowing what to say in response, Kerry tossed him a wet burlap feed sack, and asked him to leave. The man attempted to gird himself with the burlap and walked awkwardly toward the fence bordering the county road.

“That’s about as good an explanation as any, I suppose,” said Kerry as he and Feigh watched the man and dogs disappear in the distance.

“Reality is stranger than This nephew was not the have to explain himself. The Old Testament prophet, Jonah, ran away from God, got caught, and had to explain himself to the men sailing Jonah's getaway boat. Compared to the landlord's nephew, though, Jonah’s experience had more serious consequences. It's not every day someone is swallowed by a Jesus offered Jonah's story to predict his future. Though short, Jonah's story is packed with signiﬁcant cross connections.

Chapter 10 Jonah

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It’s not every day someone gets swallowed by a fish…

Away

Jonah's story sounds like a fairy tale. For me and the other seven-year-olds in Mrs. Miriam's Wednesday night Bible class, it was hard not to get Jonah's story a little mixed up with Pinocchio and his father living inside a sleeping whale. Our flannelgraph whale was huge, easily large enough to swallow flannelgraph Jonah without having to chew. That was a necessity because we all were solidly under the impression, whether anyone said it or not, that Jonah lived for three days inside the fish. I still remember coloring a soggy Jonah sitting with bowed head on a log inside the fish. In college, I had the privilege of hearing Ira North preach a Jonah lesson where he rst, I thought his suggestion was scandalous. Then I mentally sidelined my childhood memories of Jonah’s story and gained insight from reading the actual scripture. Let's examine Jonah’s run from God assuming Jonah died, rather than living in the fish like Pinocchio. Get set for a transforming perspective as we ask, “Where’s Jesus?”

And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Get up! Go to the great city Nineveh and cry out against her, because their evil has come up ee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.

And Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and it was a great storm on the sea, and the merchant ship was in danger of breaking up. And the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they threw the contents that were in the merchant ship into the sea to lighten it for them. And meanwhile Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and fell asleep.

And the captain of the ship approached him and said to him, “Why are you sound asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will take notice of us and we won’t perish!”

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots so that we may know on whose account this disaster has come on us!” And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. So they said to him, “Please tell us whoever is responsible that this disaster has come upon us! What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And from which people are you?”

And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Then the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” because they knew that he was ﬂeeing from the presence of Yahweh (because he had told them). So they said to him, “What shall we do to you so that

Running

Let’s assume Jonah died in the fish rather than living inside it like Pinocchio.

the sea may quiet down for us?” because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.

And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea so that the sea may quiet down for you, because I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you all.”

But the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to the dry land, and they could not do so because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous against them.

So they cried out to Yahweh, and they said, “O Yahweh! Please do not let us perish because of this man’s life, and do not make us guilty of innocent blood, because you, O Yahweh, did what you wanted.”

And they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. So the men feared Yahweh greatly, and they offered a sacriﬁ Yahweh and made vows. (Jonah 1:1-16 LEB JON.1.1-16)

Running away from God didn’t end well for Jonah. The sailors and Jonah all feared the storm God had sent. It brought the risk of imminent death. The sailors cried out to their gods, but where was Jonah? His sleeping in this great storm may sound familiar to you. What other messenger from God was sleeping in a boat during a violent storm, was awakened by the crew, and later calmed the storm?

Running away from God didn’t end well for Jonah.

And as he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep. And they came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

And he said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8:23-26 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/MAT.8.23-26)

Being thrown into the sea meant death for Jonah. Despite this, that’s exactly what Jonah advised the sailors to do. He was willing to die to save the sailors' lives. Notice the sailors here were good men. They didn’t want Jonah to die. They tried to row back to shore, but the storm grew wilder. They prayed they would not be punished for taking an “innocent” man’s life and then threw Jonah into the sea. The storm calmed, and they offered a sacriﬁce.

Here is yet another salvation story: The sailors were saved by Jonah's self-sacrifice. One person substituted his death for the death of all on board. Jonah didn’t jump overboard himself. Instead, those who threw him over and caused his death were saved. Jonah allowed those who would benefit from his self-sacrifice to take his life.

Did you also notice how Jonah's sailors came to have faith in God? Before they woke him, they had been praying to their pagan gods, but after Jonah's sacriﬁce and the

storm growing calm, they were praying to Jonah's God. Comparing this to Jesus, two scriptures come to mind.

But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothes. (Luke 23:34 LEB https://my.bible.com/

Jonah’s Salvation Pattern

Covering - Mediterranean Sea's water Sin - Jonah disobeyed God and ran away. Guilt/Shame - Jonah explained his guilt to sailors. Judgment - Jonah to be drowned Innocent Life - Sailors said Jonah innocent, made sacrifice. Death - Jonah and the sacrificed animal died. Innocent Blood - Sacrificed animal, possibly Jonah Sacrifice - Jonah himself. Sailors’ sacrifice also. Safety/Salvation - Storm calmed and sailors saved.

This pattern, repeated in several other Old Testament salvation stories, culminated at the cross in Jesus' own self-sacriﬁcial salvation story.

Unlike Jonah, Jesus was ﬂawless. Yet you have to at least give Jonah credit for being so willing to give up his life. Why was Jonah so willing to be thrown overboard? Was it compassion for these men who were trying to save him? Or was it a personal realization and resignation that God's will was for him to die?

Think about the original task God gave Jonah. "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me." Ninevites were not Jews. They were a powerful enemy of Israel, responsible for killing and oppressing Jonah's people. God was asking Jonah to go into an enemy city and tell the people there that they were evil and must change. Jonah may have considered God's orders to be a death sentence. In any event, Jonah was willing to give up his life for the sailors and let God's judgment be upon him. So he was cast into the sea.

Buried at Sea

What happens next has been the subject of debate and controversy for centuries, but it has a clear and direct connection to the cross.

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And Yahweh provided a large ﬁsh to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the ﬁsh three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17 LEB https:// my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.1.17)

Was it a whale or a fish? Perhaps it was a Mediterranean whale shark. Can a man really survive inside a whale? Didn't a sperm whale swallow a man, and the man was rescued after the sailors caught the whale and cut it open? Well, can't God keep a man alive in a fish for three days if God wants to? Some people reason it's impossible for a man to be alive in a whale or a fish's belly for three days, so Jonah must be a "fish story."

Such “impossibility” has led some progressive religious theologians to teach Jonah's story as a myth — a fairy tale with a moral lesson. I know a family that left a progressive denomination over this debate. The father told me, "I could not keep sitting there and let my family hear people say Jonah's story was not true. There's nothing in this story to suggest it is only ﬁction."

I agree with the father. Apparently Jesus agreed as well. Here's what he said on the subject:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!” But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah! For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge ﬁsh three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here!

(Matthew 12:38-41

LEB https:// my.bible.com/bible/ 90/MAT.12.38-41)

Jonah’s story was a sign of God’s redemption story’s climax — Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The people wanted proof Jesus was the Messiah through him giving a sign. Jesus revealed the sign of Jonah had already been given, and Jesus would repeat it later when he was “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus’ words also help us resolve the Pinocchio living in the whale question. Jesus died and was three days in the tomb. He wasn't alive in the tomb. His body was dead while it was there. Jonah was dead in the belly of the ﬁsh for three days. But Jonah was praying while in the ﬁsh's stomach. Jonah's next chapter indicates he prayed. In fact, it descriptively records his beautiful prayer. Dead men don't pray, do they?

And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the said, “I called from my distress to Yahweh, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried for help— you heard my voice.

…I went down to the foundations of the mountains; the Underworld —its bars were around me forever. But you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God. When my life was ebbing away from me, I remembered Yahweh, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. Those who worship vain idols forsake their loyal love. But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacriﬁce to you; I will fulﬁll what I have vowed. Deliverance belongs to Yahweh!”

And Yahweh spoke to the ﬁsh, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land. (Jonah 2:1-2,6-10 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.2.1-2,6-10)

The Hebrew word translated "realm of the dead" is Sheol. It’s the place souls go after the body dies. Jonah also says his prayer "rose" to God and his "holy temple" when his life was "ebbing away." Jonah appears to be re-telling his thoughts and prayers to God as he was dying.

Jonah died, he was buried at sea, and he was raised to life again by God three days later when the ﬁsh vomited him up. Jesus knew he would die, be buried in the earth, and be raised to life again by God three days later.

Jonah's death, burial, and resurrection on the third day were the sign of the prophet Jonah. On at least two occasions, both in the book of Matthew, he discussed this

"sign." Luke also records Jesus' comparison of himself to Jonah. Jesus' endorsing Jonah's story is ﬁcant. It lends credibility to Jonah. If Jesus believed it really happened, that's good enough for me. But Jesus' teaching about Jonah also

cant event in the cross' story than Jesus' resurrection. It provides the happiest of all endings — the most hopeful moment in human existence — the most meaningful motivation to live devoted to God.

Death is not ﬁnal. That's good news!

For Jonah, this was good news not only for himself, but for the Ninevites. As Jonah vowed in his prayer, he would soon say to the Ninevites, "Salvation comes from the Lord.” Jonah's next interactions with God showed both the prevailing power of Jonah's message and the remaining ﬂaw of Jonah’s character.

Good News for All

Some consider regifting to be a sin. As newlyweds, Cindy and I were frugal, surviving on her $13,000 annual teacher salary in the early 1990s while I was in law school. My Texan cousin Sue gave us a large coffee maker for a wedding gift that we never opened because neither of us drank coffee.

Almost a year after our wedding, we got an invitation to Frank Mason and Charlotte Johnson’s wedding. Though they were great friends, we decided not to get them a new gift, but to regift the coffee maker to them instead. We both felt guilty immediately. Regifting was against our upbringing, but things were tight. So, I helped Cindy re-wrap the coffee maker.

Frank and Charlotte’s gift sat on the kitchen counter a few days without being mailed as we struggled with the morality of our decision. Each evening we discussed whether it was right or wrong to give our friends a wedding gift that cost us nothing. Guilt ﬁnally triumphed, and we decided to buy a gift and keep the coffee maker. Cindy said, “You know, I heard you can make tea in them. I’ll use it to make tea. Let’s not regift it; that seems wrong.”

I agreed.

She unwrapped the regift, and I put the coffee maker, still sealed in its original box, on the top pantry shelf. We sent Frank and Charlotte a nice gift instead, and we received a nice thank you note in return. Weeks after we got their note, Cindy said she was ready to try making tea.

I pulled the coffee maker box down from the shelf, grabbed the scissors, and carefully sliced the clear tape from the box edges. When I opened the coffee maker box, there was newspaper inside with a note on top from cousin Sue.

Jonah’s death, burial, and resurrection on the third day were the sign of the prophet Jonah.

It read, “Mitch and Cindy, I hope you can get some use out of these old things. Love Sue.” The newspaper was wrapped around a half dozen used plastic candy dishes.

I dropped to my knees and thanked God we did not send this to Frank and Charlotte. My prayer ended with me getting tickled thinking about how puzzled our friends would have been, and how embarrassed we would have felt had we just taken our regift to the post ofﬁce. I ended my prayer by saying, “God, you have an amazing sense of humor. Thank you for working this one out for us.”

Humor often highlights human folly. So it was with Jonah. God’s sense of humor was revealed in Jonah’s story’s ending after he showed a bad attitude toward the Ninevites. God’s creative response to Jonah’s negativity was a living object lesson which stirred Jonah’s emotions, making a memorable impression — God’s good news is for all people, despite humanity’s prejudices. Here’s what happened:

After the ﬁsh spit Jonah onto the beach, God tells him again to go to Nineveh and preach. This time Jonah listened.

And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up! Go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the message that I am telling you.” So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an extraordinarily great city —a journey of three days across. And Jonah began to go into the city a journey of one day, and he cried out and said, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be demolished!” And the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least important.

…And God saw their deeds—that they turned from their evil ways—and God changed his mind about the evil that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:1-5,10 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.3.1-5,10)

Imagine Jonah telling the Ninevites his ﬁsh story and warning of God's judgment. His experience gave him extra credibility. Twice he had been commanded by God himself to give the Ninevites a message. The ﬁrst time he had run away, but the second time he obeyed — after dying and being raised from the dead. Perhaps people might be more likely to listen to someone God raised from the dead. Even more than that, though, Jonah’s resurrection created a more powerful message. In his story, he personally experienced God's judgment for disobedience. Jonah had “been there.” People who have “been there" can speak convincingly and passionately to others who share such experience.

Jonah's message not only warned of judgment, but also promoted self-sacriﬁce. Assuming he told his story to the Ninevites as he did in the book he later wrote, Jonah must have schooled the Ninevites about self-sacriﬁce. Jonah laid down his life for the sailors. In a sense, he also laid down his life a second time when he walked into

…God’s good news is for all people, despite humanity’s prejudices.

Nineveh as a Jew and accused the Jews’ Gentile enemy of being evil. That took fortitude and

Jonah's message likely proclaimed resurrection. Can't you imagine Jonah saying, "Okay, if you’re doubting my words about the 40day destruction coming upon you for your evil, let me share what just happened to me. I was dead for three days inside a ﬁsh. God brought me back to life and told me to come here and warn you."

Jonah's message contained hope for all mankind. The Ninevites were Gentiles. God's law and his favor had rested upon the Jews. Occasionally a Gentile, like Rahab or Ruth, would receive God's blessing, but for the most part, the Gentiles were treated as outsiders. Counter to this normal antiGentile sentiment, Jonah's salvation message was intended for Gentiles exclusively. The good news that "salvation comes from the Lord," had then become for all people. This “good news for all” theme is reﬂected in a key similarity between Jonah’s story and early church history recorded in the Book of Acts. Notice the name of the seaport town where Jonah began his journey which later brought the word of salvation to the Gentiles.

But Jonah set out to ﬂee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. (Jonah 1:3 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.1.3)

Now, let’s think about Cornelius, the ﬁrst Gentile who became a Christian, accepting God’s word of salvation from a Jewish preacher, the apostle Peter, hundreds of years after Jonah. Guess from what seaport city Peter began his journey, bearing a new message of Jesus’ salvation for the Gentiles?

And he stared at him and became terriﬁed and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” (Acts 10:4-6 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/ 90/ACT.10.4-6)

Like Cornelius in the New Testament, the Ninevites repented when Jonah preached. The Ninevite king himself put on sackcloth and ordered everyone to straighten up. Everyone turned from their evil ways, and God chose not to destroy Nineveh. The city was saved. Jonah was happy, right? Not so much.

And this was greatly displeasing to Jonah, and he became furious. And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said while I was in my

Jonah’s message likely contained the message of Resurrection.

homeland? Therefore I originally ﬂed to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love, and one who relents concerning calamity. And so then, Yahweh, please take my life from me, because for me death is better than life!” And Yahweh said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:1-4 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.4.1-4)

What? How could a guy — punished for running away from God, who cried out to God as he was dying, who was brought back to life by God, who declared the word of the Lord to evil people, whose preaching led those people to repent and turn to the Lord en masse — be brazen enough to be angry with God and even argue with him about showing mercy to the very people the guy helped save? Seems crazy. Jonah’s expressed emotions uncovered some arrogance, bitterness, and perhaps even racism here. It's as if, from the beginning, Jonah wanted the Ninevite people to be destroyed by God. Apparently he still wanted them dead.

The ﬁrst time I read this text as an adult, I was not only shocked, but I fully expected God to hammer Jonah in the next verses. Perhaps he would punish him in some unique way. I expected God to at least scold Jonah, or directly condemn his attitude.

Instead God responded with humor. He used an insect larva to effectively make a powerful lasting impression.

Instead, God responded with humor.

And Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city, and he made for himself a shelter there. And he sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would happen with the city. And Yahweh God appointed a plant, and he made it grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. And Jonah was very glad about the plant. So God appointed a worm at daybreak the next day, and it attacked the plant, and it withered. And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he grew faint.

And he asked that he could die and said, “My death is better than my life!”

So God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry enough to die!” But Yahweh said, “You are troubled about the plant, for which you did not labor nor cause it to grow. It grew up in a night and it perished in a night! And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know right from left, plus many animals?” (Jonah 4:5-11 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/JON.4.5-11)

God created a plant and a worm to show Jonah how ridiculous his attitude was. Jonah’s concern was so great for the dying plant and losing its shade, he wished he "were dead." He must have really been frustrated and uncomfortable. In this moment of Jonah's weakness and misery, when God had his undivided attention, the Creator offered wisdom.

He compared Jonah's passionate concern for the plant with God's own passionate concern for the souls of the Ninevites — much more effective than the tongue lashing I was expecting God to give Jonah. Jonah must have felt foolish. His cold disdain for the Ninevites must have melted.

But just in case Jonah didn’t get the point, God throws in the cow comment at the end. (The King James Version of the Bible translates the last two words in Jonah "much cattle.”) So loosely translated, God tells Jonah, "If you are so concerned about the dying plant, shouldn't I be concerned about the souls of 120,000 lost Ninevites? And if that's not enough to tug at your heartstrings, think about all those poor cows who would

Assuming Jonah wrote this book, he must have laughed at himself a little and been attering way. Whether or not he personally wrote the book, its existence ﬁnal point concerning salvation being for Gentiles, excluding none, provides an important preview for Christianity spreading to all mankind.

himself.…

But Gentiles being welcomed to the faith was not an easy transition. The Jewish believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for eating with Cornelius and his family because they were “uncircumcised” Gentiles. Even after Peter shared Cornelius’ whole conversion story including the miraculous outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit upon him, these Jewish believers still appeared to be surprised that the good

And when they heard these things, they became silent and praised God, saying, leading to life to the Gentiles also!” (Acts 11:18 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/ACT.11.18)

Apparently, some Jews in the ﬁrst century still shared Jonah’s negative attitude toward Gentiles. They appear surprised even though Jesus had already declared his salvation message would be for “all nations.” Let’s reconsider what Jesus said earlier about his disciples sharing his message. I like the way the King James version of Matthew quotes Jesus:

And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 LEB https:// my.bible.com/bible/90/MAT.28.18-20)

Assuming Jonah wrote this book, he must have laughed at

Jesus' message to proclaim to “all nations” involved baptism. We have already connected Jonah’s immersion experience with Paul’s later comparison of Christian baptism to a burial with Jesus (Romans 6:1-4). Jonah's burial was in water for three days, Jesus' burial was in a tomb for three days, and our baptism burial is in water in the name of three beings — God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jewish circumcision was only for male Jews. This baptism message connected to Jonah is for the entire world.

Peter later expresses this openness to the entire world in one of his church letters.

The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/2PE.3.9)

God wants everyone to change and have eternal life. Rich, poor, red, yellow, black, white, male, female, tall, short, well nourished, or slim, God’s Messiah (as planned) died on a cross and rose from the dead for all mankind to have eternal life. Jonah’s story reﬂects God’s care and concern for all human beings.

The Big Plan

Are you a planner? I am. My friend, Tom Cauthen, who illustrated this book, found a daily schedule I made my freshman year at Auburn. He loves to tell people that after my 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. “study Latin” time-slot, I had listed 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. “spontaneity.” Tom says, “Mitch is the only guy I know who schedules spontaneity.” Even now his story gets chuckles from my children and new acquaintances. I hope I’m not the only person who has ever done this. Making plans helps us all navigate life even when plans don’t turn out like expected. I’m conﬁdent God is a planner. Unlike us, his plans faithfully turn out. Jonah’s story provided a great example. We know God had a plan for Jonah by four things the scripture said he “provided.” (Other versions including the King James interpret this word to be “prepared.”) God planned the events in Jonah’s story; such were not random.

And Yahweh provided a large ﬁsh to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the ﬁsh three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/ JON.1.17)

And Yahweh God appointed a plant, and he made it grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. And Jonah was very glad about the plant. So God

appointed a worm at daybreak the next day, and it attacked the plant, and it withered. And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he grew faint. And he asked that he could die and

- Jesus, like Jonah, was found sleeping in a boat during a violent storm.

- Both took action to calm the storm.

- Both Jesus and Jonah gave up their lives, allowing Gentiles to cause their deaths so that people could be saved — physically saved by Jonah's self sacrifice, and spiritually saved by Jesus' self sacrifice.

- Jonah and Jesus follow a salvation pattern similar to the one we have been tracking together since we studied creation.

- They both were buried — Jonah in water, and Jesus in a tomb.

- Each burial lasted three days.

- They both were raised from death by God's power.

- Jonah brought a message of salvation to the gentile Ninevites. Jesus brought a salvation message to all mankind.

Jonah's third day resurrection is his "sign" which Jesus declared to be his own sign of authority.

Jonah’s story’s connections to Jesus' story help build our faith. Separated by hundreds of years, both events demonstrated God’s power. Their similarities conﬁrm God’s intent to connect human events with divine events to show his plan and purpose.

Yet we need to be careful. Jesus loves us all, but his Jonah reference came with a warning to the Pharisees and teachers of the law — a warning that has application to all the cross connections we have made. Jesus said some in his generation would not repent even though they would see Jesus live out the sign of Jonah.

There are still some now who do not believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. There are others who know this good news, but do not follow Jesus' teachings and his message of salvation. Jesus said the Ninevites will judge them. Not sure I want to be in that category. Jesus’ commentary on Jonah’s story reﬂected God also has a plan to judge mankind.

Jesus taught his apostles that prophets like Jonah were part of God’s big plan to bring forth a Messiah who would rise from the dead. Jesus opened the apostles’ minds to see this after his resurrection, immediately before he ascended back to heaven.

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they were still disbelieving because of joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat here?”

So they gave him a piece of broiled ﬁsh, and he took it and ate it in front of them. And he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulﬁlled.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending out what was promised by my Father upon you, but you stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:40-49 LEB https://my.bible.com/bible/90/LUK.24.40-49)

The apostles learned the prophet Jonah’s and the other prophets’ cross connections were written to be fulﬁlled by the Messiah, Jesus. (By the way, I think it’s great Jesus is telling them this while he is eating a ﬁsh.) His resurrection provided the proof and power to preach salvation, just as it had for Jonah. The apostles took to heart what Jesus said, and with the Holy Spirit’s help, began to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins beginning in Jerusalem and then to all nations.

Cross connections like Jonah’s were key to their success. Jesus connecting his death, burial, and resurrection to Jonah was essential to God’s big plan. The apostles learned from Jesus to connect with “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” It changed the world. We too can increase our own faith and build others’ faith through stories like Jonah’s shared in Old Testament scriptures.

Jonah was truly unique — his story was an important part of God’s larger story to redeem mankind through Jesus’ death on the cross. Jonah sticks with our memories and is entertaining for both young and old. It is rich with direct and indirect connections to Jesus. Together with the other stories we have studied, Jonah provides evidence of God’s plan for Jesus to be the Messiah. Jesus connected Jonah’s story to his own. Ultimately, his cross provided a moment in mankind's destiny for us all to make a connection.

I hope Jonah’s story helps you now feel more connected to Christ.

! 2021

178

by Mitch Henry

“I was a hot mess….” Hannah’s words got my attention. She was answering the marriage retreat question about what brought her and Travis together.

“We met online, and soon Travis loved my son more than he loved me… I was addicted to drugs,” Hannah continued. “Travis was my ticket out of my parent’s house.”

Then Travis added, “After dating six months, I asked her Dad if I could marry her, and he said no.”

“What did you say to him?” I asked.

“I told him, ‘I respect how you feel, but I am going to marry your daughter,’” Travis asserted with a conﬁdent grin.

“We got married a year later when I was 18. Travis was 22. We both struggled. Then God changed us. Travis quit his job as a restaurant manager so he would not have to work on Sundays, and now he’s a HVAC guy, and I’m a pharmacy tech. We’ve got three children ages 15, 10, and 6,” Hannah added.

“That must be a three-ring circus,” I said. They both laughed, looked at one another affectionately, and smiled. For the next hour, I soaked in how this couple lived cross connected lives — self-sacrificing for one another, their children, and their new friends in the church they recently helped start in Georgia. They have consistently touched lives in meaningful ways every day. For Hannah and Travis, the cross means self-sacrifice — consistent, joyful, self-sacrifice. Life hasn’t been perfect, but their faith story is transformative and inspiring. They said I could share it.

Daily cross connections elevate each believer's life story. Our story becomes part of Almighty God's story when we live connected to Jesus.

So how does a person get cross connected? Where’s Jesus…in you?

Cross Connections' most important point and Jesus' most important challenge is powerful:

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/luk.9.23.esv)

Not only is the cross the climax of God's salvation story, it should be every

Getting Cross Connected

The cross should be every believer’s daily meditation.

believer’s daily meditation. Jesus intended we all have our own personal cross connection — our own life story linked with his cross. Our faith and our baptism's our story with Jesus. Then daily, as our story unfolds, our connection is reﬂected in what we say, what we do, and how we live. My connection to Jesus' cross doesn’t just impact life — it is Peter’s words to the Pentecost crowd showed God’s purposeful plan for all of us:

“This Jesus, delivered up according to , you cruciﬁed and killed by the hands of loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” Acts 2:23-24 ESV https://www.bible.com/59/ )

Ten Connections — Jesus’ Cross & Resurrection Pattern

Covering - Jesus was buried in the earth after crucifixion. His blood covers our sin & shame.

Sin - Global violence, rebellion, and our own sin foul-ups are wrong and require us to pay a debt of punishment.

Guilt/Shame - Mankind feels guilt.

Judgment - Justice requires our sin debt to be paid.

Innocent Life - Jesus was perfectly innocent.

Death - Jesus was beaten and crucified instead of us.

Innocent Blood - Jesus' innocent blood was shed for us.

Sacrifice - Jesus' body substituted for our own.

Safety/Salvation - Jesus lifted up to save obedient believers, God gives mercy and healing through his self-Sacrifice.

Faith - Trust, Confess, & obey Jesus’ death, burial, & resurrection by repentance, baptism, & daily cross bearing

Summary:

Cross Connections rediscovers God’s plan by revealing connections between Jesus and Old Testament stories and scriptures. The writings of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets are ﬁlled with faith building connections, similarities with Jesus, and foreshadowing words and events connected to the cross. We have uncovered ten connection stories in this book.

Cross connections began in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve's sin. God's promise, sin's curse, and his provision of clothing from innocent animals foreshadowed the cross. Noah survived God's judgment against mankind, and a pattern of salvation continued to emerge. It became clearer in Isaac's sacriﬁce and Joseph's salvation story. Delivering Israel from Egyptian slavery reﬂected God's salvation pattern in baby Moses' survival, Passover, and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to freedom.

God's plan to save mankind through Jesus’ death on the cross is reflected in the sacrifices offered by priests in the book of Leviticus. Ceremonial cleansing under the Old Law previews spiritual cleansing in the New Covenant. Samson’s self-sacrificial death to defeat God’s enemies bears similarity to Jesus’ crucifixion. David’s song about the suffering Messiah who overcomes, served as a prelude to the cross. Apparently, it was Jesus' meditation immediately before he died.

The prophets’ writings and stories connect with Jesus. Elisha’s own humanity in his ministry was similar with Jesus’ humanity — both connected emotionally with an adopted family. They both raised dead loved ones to life again, and both brought cleansing. Jonah’s three day ﬁsh encounter and beach resurrection became the sign Jesus offered as proof he was the Messiah. Both were buried for three days then resurrected to bring a salvation message for all mankind. Jonah’s story reﬂects the pattern of Jesus’ cross and resurrection.

All these connections were not random, but planned, carried out, and recorded by God’s forethought and power. Their existence builds our faith — personally. Our faith is part of God’s plan and pattern — a plan and pattern we live out faithfully and conﬁdently each day while connected with Jesus.

So what have we gained from this study?

Our faith grows when we view God's holy scriptures as a connected story, filled with hints and previews of the cross' triumph. I’m part of this story. So are you. In the end, the cross has the final word. There, God fulfilled his love and balanced justice with mercy. He offered healing for eternity.

We uncovered how these old stories have hidden power. We tapped it by asking, “Where’s Jesus?” A “Ten Connections” salvation pattern emerged. This pattern repeated itself many times, then clearly manifested in the cross. Old Bible stories guided our quest to ﬁnd the Messiah.

…No connection with Jesus matters more than your own.

personal cross connection. From Adam and Eve to the present, no connection with Jesus matters more than your own. Jesus’ physical connection to the cross attached our sins with his body there “so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.” To heal sin’s consequences, Jesus (as planned and predicted) endured the punishment which our wrongs deserved. When we connect to his cross, we die to sin, we live for righteousness, and we return to the Lord who is our soul’s shepherd. we are to Jesus’ story. He began his ministry being baptized, lived sinlessly, helped those around him daily, and offered himself on the cross ce — all while he taught people how to connect spiritually with God. His resurrection gives mankind hope. After it, he instructed all who follow him to share his message with others, baptize, and make disciples. Jesus led others to live connected to his body, the Church.

Do you connect?

Some reading now are already well into life’s race, closely following Jesus’ lead. For you, I hope Cross Connections has helped you rediscover connections, refreshed your spirit, enhanced your faith, and inspired you to ﬁnish strong — with your eyes dently ﬁxed upon Jesus’ cross.

For others, Cross Connections may have allowed you to discover life-changing insights. Cross Connections has helped you to more fully understand God’s plan to save mankind from death through resurrection. Some will be led to connect with Jesus through baptism’s immersion. When you do so, you are connecting with God’s plan and pattern of salvation foreshadowed from the dawn of creation — you are connecting with Jesus’ cruciﬁxion, burial, and resurrection.

For many, making daily cross connections will strengthen your faith.

I’m sure there are some readers who may have moved away from faith in adulthood — turned off by some event or person in your past, or you have simply drifted apart from Jesus or become distracted from being spiritually connected. For you in particular, I hope this book has helped you intelligently reconnect with your previous faith.

Finally, for some readers, this has been a new experience. You may now be considering connecting with Jesus for the first time. Many of you will believe in him, change your life, be baptized, and seek him faithfully each day. As you begin following Jesus’ example, be confident your decision fulfills God’s plan and purpose. You are part of God’s story. So live for him — faithfully. Live connected to Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Chapter 1 — Creation:

1. What do the Bible’s first three chapters reveal about God’s nature?

2. What do you learn about human nature in Adam and Eve’s temptation story?

3. In comparing Adam to Jesus, what are some things we can learn about God’s master plan to save mankind?

4. How do Adam and Eve’s curses from their encounter with Satan and God connect with your life?

Chapter 2 — Noah:

1. How do you see God’s purpose to allow Jesus to save mankind reflected in Noah using pitch to cover the ark?

2. What does Noah’s flood and the world’s immersion reveal about God’s temperament?

3. How does Noah’s Salvation story pattern connect with your own salvation story?

4. We long for peace. How do the dove and the raven reflect human nature in Noah’s story?

Chapter 3 — Abraham:

1. How does Abraham and sarah’s story connect with your life?

2. What does Isaac’s sacrifice story reveal about God’s character?

3. How do you see God’s plan to save mankind reflected in God’s covenant with Abraham?

4. What connections to human nature do you see in Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedek?

Chapter 4 — Joseph:

1. Does Joseph’s betrayal story connect with your life in today’s world? How?

2. What does Joseph’s exaltation to be second in command over all Egypt reveal about God’s Personality?

3. What connections are seen with God’s goal to save mankind and Joseph’s prison story?

4. What connections to human nature do you see in Joseph’s reconciliation story?

Chapter 5 — Moses:

1. How do you see God’s aim to save mankind reflected in Passover?

2. What does God associating deliverance with a lamb’s blood reveal about God’s values?

3. How do the Egyptians’ and the Israelites’ plague encounters connect with your life in today’s world?

4. What connections to human nature do you see in the story of the Israelites passing through the red sea?

Chapter 6 — Sacrifices:

1. Leviticus provides images which show up at the cross. How and why do these connections build faith?

2. Presenting Jesus at the temple may have been an emotional experience. What does Jesus’ firstborn redemption story reveal about human nature?

3. What connections to Jesus do you see in the scapegoat and day of atonement?

4. How does the bird sacrifice connect with your life and salvation story?

Chapter 7 — Samson:

1. What connections to human nature do you see in Delilah’s betrayal of Samson?

2. How does Samson’s extraordinary birth connect with your life in today’s world?

3. What does Samson’s Nazarite status reveal about God’s nature?

4. How do you see God’s objective to save mankind reflected in Samson’s self-sacrificial death?

Chapter 8 — Psalm 22:

1. Psalm 22’s images show up at the cross. How and why do these connections build faith?

2. What does David’s psalm reveal about God’s forethought?

3. Crucifixion for Jesus was brutal. Why do you think it became part of God’s idea to save mankind?

4. How does Psalm 22’s hopeful ending connect with your life?

Chapter 9 — Elisha:

1. What do Elisha’s and Jesus’ adopted family stories reveal about God’s values?

2. How do you see God’s objective to save mankind reflected in the story of Elisha raising the Shunammite woman’s son?

3. What connections to Jesus do you see in Elisha and Naaman’s Jordan River cleansing story?

4. How do resurrection and healing in Elisha’s story connect with your own story?

Chapter 10 — Jonah:

1. How does Jonah’s burial at sea story show God had Jesus in mind to bring salvation?

2. What does Jonah’s running away story reveal about God’s character?

3. How does Jonah’s interaction with Ninevites compare with Jesus’ attitude toward Gentiles?

4. How do the elements in Jonah’s pattern for salvation connect with your life and salvation story?

Notes:

After-word

Mike died. Forty-nine years old, my little brother died from aggressive cancer three weeks after diagnosis. He died before I ﬁnished this book’s last chapters. Resilience punctuated by grief were our family’s dominant emotions in 2020. Before I led our Thanksgiving prayer that year, Mike’s widow, Denise, asked me to read a poem Mike wrote back in 2003.

Mike’s words linger in my workaholic mind. Denise later said Mike penned this poem in between cooking 20 fried turkeys for catering clients away from home at his commercial kitchen that Thanksgiving morning. No parade watching with the children — just paternal guilt. Mike and I shared this tendency to immerse ourselves in work at the expense of family.

His untimely death and short life shook my soul, but strengthened my resolve. Losing him awoke me to question, “What really matters in this life?”

My answer: “The cross…This cross connection message must be shared with family, friends, and fellow strangers.” This good news is too powerful, the message too pressing, and time too precious not to share Jesus with those we love.

Help me

Your

This week of thanks I feel like I tanked. Instead of feeling the joy of thanksgiving, I have been consumed by the presence of living. Instead of being down on my knees, I have been thinking of only me. Open my eyes Lord to the loved ones around, Make my ears hear their precious sounds. I have so much to be thankful for, With one wife and children — four.

You

have blessed me greatly this year;

see

blessings — clear. Mike Henry

Jesus’ words below also linger:

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. (Matthew 13:22-23 NASB1995 https://www.bible.com/ bible/100/mat.13.22-23.nasb1995)

Jesus’ and my little redheaded brother Mike’s challenge: Stop choking on worries and wealth, and spend time sharing the cross’ message. (It’s much easier to write this than for me to do it.) Yet, Jesus consistently called people from their regular jobs to cross connection service. The Bible tells us that ﬁshermen, farmers, physicians, priests, tent makers, tax collectors, merchants, soldiers, shepherds, stewards, and even lawyers answered the call to share the cross. Many left life’s worries and wealth to do it.

As you consider your personal cross connection with Christ, perhaps you are asking the same question pressing upon my mind in this moment, “Why not me?”

My prayer for you and me is that the cross will provide us the boldness to step out in faith and share this life-changing, destiny-determining message of hope intentionally, truthfully, and openly with all who are prepared to listen. Your spiritual journey doing so is deeply personal because it impacts your eternal destiny when this life ends. After your death, will you experience resurrection?

The following website contains Bible studies and information to help you and others learn, grow, and share Cross Connections’ message:

https://www.crossconnectionsministry.com

There you can read this entire book posted in an electronic format for free and share the website with others. That’s right. For FREE!

You can also purchase hard copies and downloadable digital versions of this book to share with family and friends. The print and digital net sales proceeds will go to beneﬁt vulnerable children through Agape of Central Alabama. Agape is a Christian foster care and adoption agency that seeks to provide Christians with a way of carrying out the desire to mirror God’s heart for the vulnerable child. As a ministry of Jesus Christ, Agape’s mission is that vulnerable and orphaned children ﬁnd permanency in safe, nurturing families. You can learn more about Agape and how you can help at https://www.agapeforchildren.org

Until the next book, God bless you for all the good you will do and the happy hours we have spent together.

ESV Study Bible, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Bible Timeline by Rich Valkanet, Haley’s Bible Dictionary, and Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

*Selected dates are approximate and rounded based on traditional views from multiple sources including, but not limited to, Discovery Bible and biblos.com,

???? 2090 -1990 B.C. 16251405 B.C. 1075 B.C. 850797 B.C. 5 B.C.-1A.D.—30.-33 A.D. ————+——————————+———————————+——————————-—+—————————-———+———————————+—————- Creation..Noah ..Abraham..Joseph ..Moses ..Sacrifices..Samson…Psalm 22 …Elisha .…Jonah .…Jesus ————————-+———————————-+———————————+————————-———+—-———————-——-—-+——————————— ???? 18951805 B.C. 1545 B.C.70 A.D. 1025970 B.C. 785750 B.C.

Old Testament

Timeline*

New Testament