A Shadow of Things to Come

This past week has been unusual as far as weather is concerned. Not only have we seen much rain, but thunderstorms as well. Some areas around central Kentucky even saw tornadoes and other parts of the Midwest dealt with even more destructive weather as thunderstorms and tornadoes were more widespread. We are reminded that many folks fear the shadows of dark clouds for they know the storm is coming.

The casting of shadows many times leads to fear. The shadow of the hawk causes the hen to sound a warning to her brood to take cover. In ancient times, the shadow of the moon upon the earth during an eclipse was seen as a bad omen.

Shadows are not all bad however. Seeking the shadow of a tree can cause much relief on a hot, summer's day. In like token, the Old Testament was a shadow of "good things to come" (Hebrews 10:1.) The apostle Paul reminds us that "the things written in former days were written for our learning, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4.) The Old Testament contains examples (I Corinthians 10:6) for us so as not to repeat their mistakes.

A study of the Old Testament will yield many treats for serious students of the Bible. We learn about the nature of sin (Romans 7:7), and the holiness of God (I Peter 1:15-16.) We learn about how God punishes sin and the separation from God it causes. But we also learn about the coming Messiah that would take away sin. The law was intended to lead us to Christ and teach us of Him (Galatians 4:1-4) and was never intended to be in permanent force since Jesus came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-18.) Once fulfilled, it was to end but while it is not in force today there is much to be gained by a study of it. Don't be guilty of ignoring those holy scriptures that revealed the coming Messiah.

Seeing God's Face

Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau and with good reason. First, Jacob got Esau to sell his birthright over a stew (Genesis 25:27-34.) Then, Jacob, disguised as Esau, got the blessing from his father Isaac that should have been Esau's (Genesis 27:1-33.) All of this was in keeping with what God said as Rebecca was promised that the "older shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23.) It was God's will that the Messiah should come through the line of Jacob. Doubtless, that didn't make Esau feel any better.

After serving his future father-in-law, the time had come for Jacob to return to the land of Canaan and a meeting with Esau was inevitable. In Genesis 32, Jacob found out that Esau himself was on his way to meet him. The news greatly distressed Jacob and he began preparations for an attack by Esau (Genesis 32:1-23.) That night, while Jacob was alone, he wrestled with a man and prevailed. That man turned out to be an angel (Genesis 32:24-32.)

"Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:30) The whole incident of wrestling with the angel was to show Jacob that he would prevail against Esau and that he was in God's favor. If he prevailed against an angel he was sure to prevail in the present distress. Jacob did not mean to say that he beheld God in all his glory only that he recognized that he looked upon a divine being.

God told Moses, "no man shall see me and live" (Exodus 33:20) although He did show Moses his glory. Sinful man cannot look upon the holy God any more than he can look at the sun. But the time came when man saw God through His Son -- Jesus Christ (John 1:14.) Now we anxiously look forward to seeing him as He is (I John 3:2.)

Do you?