Skip to main content

313. Foreshadowings

Daniel 6
Key Verse: At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called, to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Daniel 6:19-20

Throughout His ministry, Jesus seemed to be continually amazed at the slowness of His disciples to grasp who He truly was. He understood the resistance of the leadership because of the threat to their earthly power, but even there, the blindness of the learned, who knew the scripture better than anyone, remained a continual source of frustration.

Jesus was not only foretold by the prophets, but the history of Israel was full of example after example of godly men who set the stage for Christ's life on this earth. Yet, the people didn't recognize Him when He arrived.

I chose this story because it perhaps most closely parallels the crucifixion. You have the plot against a godly man, and an attempt to do all that man could do to silence him. The king seemed impotent, as did Pilate. The leaders twisted the law to their own advantage. Yet, in the end, Daniel appeared victorious through God while those who plotted against him were destroyed.

There are other stories, however that also serve to point the way to Christ. There is Abraham offering his only son Isaac. Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice as Jesus carried His cross. (Genesis 22)

There is Joseph, sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver, by his own half-brothers. He is continually rising in respect only to be put down by lies and intrigue, until finally he becomes ruler in Egypt. (Genesis 37-50)

There is Moses, who was hidden away, as a baby, but eventually brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. Jesus Himself had to be hidden in Egypt, as an infant, until those who sought His life were gone. (Exodus 1 & Matthew 2:13-23)

Jesus Himself referred more than once to the, "Sign of Jonah." (Matthew 12:38-41 & 16:4) Jonah, was resurrected, and went on to preach repentance to a rebellious people.

While other historical figures may not have been as completely parallel to the life of Christ, there are many others who remained faithful, through adversity, for God to be glorified. The writer of Hebrews refers to them as, "The great cloud of witnesses." (Heb. 12:1) "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:2) It all comes together in Jesus, His life, His death and what is to come. The prophets spoke, the witnesses set the example, all pointing to Jesus as the culmination of God's greatest work. Yet, because of that greatest work, the story continues through us as we add to the story through what Christ does in us. Are we a foreshadowing of Christ in our lives?

In the story from Daniel, King Darius asked Daniel if God had been able to save him. May those who are watching the way we live witness our confidence that God can do today what He did for Abraham, Moses, Daniel, and for all those who faithfully entrusted their lives to His care.


Hymn: Ancient of Days

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more