God promised His Son to sinful man from the beginning.
After Adam and Eve sinned, He promised them that Christ would come.
Cain and Abel began to sacrifice. Fallen man knew that we ought to offer what we have to God. Abel sacrificed sheep, and Cain offered fruit of the ground. We are not told why God did not respect Cain’s sacrifice. But the Old Testament is about Christ, and a sheep is a more fitting sacrifice, in that it points to the Lamb of God who was sacrificed from the foundation of the world.
Cain was wroth, and murdered his brother. When God asked him what had happened, he responded, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9). This line is a pun, because Abel was a shepherd. It also possible that Cain is implying that God is guilty, because God was Abel’s keeper, but did not keep him safe. Adam and Eve blamed the Fall on God, “the woman you gave me,” “the snake you put in the garden.” Perhaps Cain followed their example of making excuses and blaming God.
In Isaac, we see clearly that God is using sacrifice to teach man about Christ. When God tests Abraham, He calls Isaac his “only son” (Gen. 22:2), even though Abraham has another son, Ishmael. This shows us two things. First, that the sacrifice is a similitude of God sacrificing His only Son, and second, that God does not consider sonship merely biological. We become children of Abraham by doing the works of Abraham, i.e, by trusting in God. Our DNA does not make us chosen.
Ishmael was born to Hagar, a servant of Abraham. Sarah told Abraham to “Cast out the bondswoman and her son” (Gen. 21:9-11). Paul wrote that Abraham’s two sons are an allegory for “the two covenants.” The covenant of Moses was given in Arabia, “from mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar” (Gal. 4:24). Isaac represents the New Covenant, established by Christ in Jerusalem.
Moses freed the children of Israel from Egypt, which is sin. But Moses was forbidden to take the children of Israel into the promised land, and he died outside of it. Joshua, the heir of Moses, led Israel into the promised land. This, too, is an allegory. The Law of Moses prepared the Jews for the promise, but cannot bring them to the fulness of the heavenly Jerusalem. Joshua brought Israel to Jerusalem. Joshua’s name is cognate with Jesus. This was to show that Jesus, not Moses, is meant to save Israel. The Old Covenant was always meant to be superceded by the New. Christ told the unbelieving Jews, “had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me” (John 5:46).
These types and shadows of the Old Testament show us that God is in charge of human history. This includes your own story. God has a plan for your life. Pray that He will show it to you.
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