Models

[JoeMo]

I have been fascinated at the "models" given in the Old Testament of the story of salvation.  There are many - Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Isaac, Joseph, etc.  One of the more obvious models is that of Abraham and Isaac - a father willing to sacrifice his one and only son because he loved God so much. I came across an article by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn that made this model even more amazing:

Abraham (the father) brings his son on a donkey to the place of sacrifice (Mount Moriah).  The Father (God) brings His son to the place of sacrifice (Jerusalem) on a donkey.

The father places the wood for the sacrifice on his son's shoulder.  The Father puts the wood of the sacrifice (the cross) on His Son's shoulders.

The son carries the wood of the sacrifice up the mountain.  The Son carries the wood of the sacrifice up the mountain

The son obediently lays down on the wood of sacrifice and is bound to it.  The Son obediently lays down on the wood of sacrifice and is bound to it.

The father moves to carry out the sacrifice, and is stopped. Here is where the model breaks down. The sacrifice of the Son is not stopped.  Why?

Maybe the answer is love.  Abraham proved his love for God by showing his willingness to sacrifice his one and only son.  God showed His love for humanity by not only being willing to sacrifice His only Son, He DID sacrifice Him.  It was the only way He could save us from ourselves.  In spite of our rebellion and sinfulness, God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son so that we could be with Him forever.

Don'e EVER doubt how much God loves us!

 

[dgrimm60]

JOEMO

that is an interesting comparison 

dgrimm60

[JoeMo]

Another interesting model is the OT sacrificial system, when the priests would offer sacrifices to atone for people's sins.  This had been going on for a thousand of years.  I don't know if they could see that this pointed forward to an ultimate sacrificial Lamb - Jesus.  Nevertheless, when Jesus came along, they had no idea who He was.

Our traditions teach that many of the priests of Jesus' era were evil - motivated by power and position.  So much so that they offered Jesus up to be crucified.  They had no idea at the time, but they were carrying out the destiny God had planned for them from before the foundation of the earth.  For centuries they had been offering the blood of bulls and rams for the atonement of sin.  We know the blood of animals does not atone for sin.  The priests at the time of Jesus unwittingly offered up the perfect Sacrifice - the one that would indeed atone for all sin - when they gave Jesus over to be crucified.

Yes, the temple priests of Jesus' time were evil and corrupt men.  Yet, through God's sovereign will, they fulfilled their ultimate destiny when they gave up the Lamb of God to be the perfect sacrifice for mankind.

I would invite some of you to post "models" from the OT pointing forward to Jesus that that have inspired you. Remember - it's easy for us with our 20/20 hindsight to see that these models pointed towards Christ; and show some understanding that almost all of Israel in the OT had no clue of the mighty symbolism of the sacrificial system.  The faithful ones probably carries out God's commands without questioning why.  Is that a good example for us?

[B/W Photodude]

2 hours ago, JoeMo said:

Our traditions teach that many of the priests of Jesus' era were evil - motivated by power and position.  So much so that they offered Jesus up to be crucified.  They had no idea at the time, but they were carrying out the destiny God had planned for them from before the foundation of the earth.

Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. John 18:14

This is what I ponder at times. At the First Advent of Jesus, the people totally did not understand what was happening. I am convinced that the majority of the people of this world, including the church people, will not understand what is going on. I am not specifically thinking of the events, but the principles of what God is trying to do in His people.

[JoeMo]

In Sabbath School this morning, we were studying the Fall.  First a little background:

"

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

"23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." (gen. 2:22-24).

Ot appears that Adam accepted this woman as a part of him; and vowed to love and protect her. She was simply called "woman" (meaning from man) at this point.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, "(Gen. 3:6-7)

This is where "the fall" allegedly took place.

  Below is the conversation God had with Adam, Eve, and the serpent:

"Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Gen. 3:11-20)

Note: that the woman said the serpent deceived her and she ate.  The serpent deceived the woman into eating the fruit.  Adam made a choice - he CHOSE to eat the fruit by his own free will.  THAT is why the sin is put on ADAM.

BUT - Was Adam "cursed" in the above?  NO!  Was Eve "cursed"? NO!  The serpent is the only being cursed in this incident. The ground was also cursed; and Adam and the woman were thrown out of the garden.  This whole scene is God's trial of satan - not God's trial of Adam and the woman.

Why did Adam make the free-will choice to eat the fruit?  Why would he purposely allow himself to be separated from God? Why would he become "sin"?   Is it because he was evil? Tradition says yes.  But what if it's something else?  What if he took his vow to love and protect the woman so seriously that he would have rather died than lived without her?  Was he a model for someone else who would rather die than live without His bride?

Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world - even before man was created.  He vowed to His Father that He would rather die than live without His bride.  He separated Himself from His Father by becoming "sin" on our behalf.

Looking at the story, Eve was not cursed; rather - she was blessed!  God basically told her that from her would come the Messiah! Almost like the angel told Mary!  Is was only after this that the woman was called Eve - the mother of the living - the mother of the Messiah!

So ... according to this model, I can see how Adam was actually a model for Christ.  Christ was resurrected from the dead after He paid the penalty for our sins.  The Spirit of prophecy says Adam will be raised in the first resurrection.

So in a way, Adam's sacrifice for his bride  appears to be a model of Christ's sacrifice for His bride!  What do you think?

[B/W Photodude]

37 minutes ago, JoeMo said:

So ... according to this model, I can see how Adam was actually a model for Christ.  Christ was resurrected from the dead after He paid the penalty for our sins.  The Spirit of prophecy says Adam will be raised in the first resurrection.

So in a way, Adam's sacrifice for his bride  appears to be a model of Christ's sacrifice for His bride!  What do you think?

I would go cautiously there. It seems you are saying that Adam is the evil (fallen) version of Christ! Sounds disturbingly similar to Koresh's argument.

However, I agree that Adam was making a valiant effort for Eve. I think he knew what she had done and resolved to share in whatever would befall her for her misdeed. Ultimate chivalry!

[JoeMo]

3 hours ago, B/W Photodude said:

Sounds disturbingly similar to Koresh's argument.

I would never go that far.  One BIG difference between David Koresh and Adam - Adam truly repented of his sin; and tried to keep his clan on the straight and narrow.  To my knowledge, David Koresh never repented of his sins and led his clan to destruction.  Adam never claimed to be Christ.  I think Koresh did.

[JoeMo]

I believe that God is omniscient and transcendent of time.  Therefore, I believe that He knew the end from the beginning before He even created angels or humanity.  Therefore, I believe that God never reacts in surprise to human or angelic events - He is never impressed or disappointed in anything we do - He knew from the beginning that we would do it.  Therefore, He doesn't ever have to perform reactionary damage control.  Everything that happens is simply implementation of His eternal  sovereign plan; and scriptural history is full of models and prophecies of what He has in Mind to do.  No other being in the universe knows the future with as much certainty as God does; and no other being in the universe has the power to make sure it happens.

[JoeMo]

I stumbled on this looking into the Jewish rituals surrounding Passover and stumbled on this interesting model, presented by Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn.

During the Passover meal, a plate of unleavened bread - three pieces of matzah - is lifted up one piece on matzah on top of the other.  He didn't know why it was three pieces, but it was always three. A "trinity" so to speak. Then the middle matzah - the second piece of this "trinity" - is removed and broken in two.  The broken matzah - the second in this "trinity" - is then wrapped in a cloth and hidden away. Then a search is made for the missing matzah.  When it is found, the cloth is removed and the matzah is revealed and partaken of.  It is only then that the Passover meal can be completed.

Does the story sound familiar?  The second Person of the Trinity (no rabbit trails about my past posts on the Trinity, please) was broken, wrapped in a cloth, and hidden in a tomb.The women searched for Him; and Mary found Him uncovered from His hiding place and partook of His glory; an did the rest of the disciples.

A second model application is for present-day Jews.  When they did not accept Jesus at His first coming, He was "hidden" from them during the time of the gentiles.  To this day, religious Jews search for their Messiah, and can't find Him.  When they do - when Jesus reveals Himself to save His remnant chosen people, the Jews will have found their Messiah, and only then can their final deliverance - the real Passover - be completed.

 

[debbym]

On 2/16/2019 at 4:43 PM, JoeMo said:

 

Adam made a choice - he CHOSE to eat the fruit by his own free will.  THAT is why the sin is put on ADAM.

BUT - Was Adam "cursed" in the above?  NO!  Was Eve "cursed"? NO!  The serpent is the only being cursed in this incident. The ground was also cursed; and Adam and the woman were thrown out of the garden.  This whole scene is God's trial of satan - not God's trial of Adam and the woman.

Why did Adam make the free-will choice to eat the fruit?  Why would he purposely allow himself to be separated from God? Why would he become "sin"?   Is it because he was evil? Tradition says yes.  But what if it's something else?  What if he took his vow to love and protect the woman so seriously that he would have rather died than lived without her?  Was he a model for someone else who would rather die than live without His bride?

Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world - even before man was created.  He vowed to His Father that He would rather die than live without His bride.  He separated Himself from His Father by becoming "sin" on our behalf.

Looking at the story, Eve was not cursed; rather - she was blessed!  God basically told her that from her would come the Messiah! Almost like the angel told Mary!  Is was only after this that the woman was called Eve - the mother of the living - the mother of the Messiah!

So ... according to this model, I can see how Adam was actually a model for Christ.  Christ was resurrected from the dead after He paid the penalty for our sins.  The Spirit of prophecy says Adam will be raised in the first resurrection.

So in a way, Adam's sacrifice for his bride  appears to be a model of Christ's sacrifice for His bride!  What do you think?

I see Adams yielding to the temptation presented by Eve was not merely an expression of love but an expression of self.  His love to Eve superseded His love for God.  This is why it is described as the fall.  If he had fallen on God in his Grief instead of joining her, perhaps by the Holy Spirit she could have birthed her Savior, the sacrifice then be made for her sin, and Christ the Savior resurrected, then she die and be resurrected, and restored to Adam.

[JoeMo]

On 4/13/2019 at 9:04 PM, debbym said:

If he had fallen on God in his Grief instead of joining her, perhaps by the Holy Spirit she could have birthed her Savior, the sacrifice then be made for her sin, and Christ the Savior resurrected, then she die and be resurrected, and restored to Adam.

God knew Adam and Eve would fall before He ever created them.  Sure, Adam had a choice to make; but God knew what choice Adam would make before He even created Adam.  The plan of redemption was already in place and implemented before the fall.  Everything that has happened in history has happened in accordance with God's divine plan to eternally save humanity.

"All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world." (Rev. 13:8)

Also, although Adam and Eve suffered the consequences of their sin, I infer from scripture that they remained faithful to God throughout their lives.  And as I said before, it appears that satan was the one on trial at the fall, not Adam and Eve.