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HE SPEAKS THROUGH TYPES and EXAMPLES
The Israelite’s lives and stories were
given to us as examples, and as types:
“Now these things became our
examples... Now all these things happened to them as
examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians
10:6,11 NKJV) “who serve the copy and shadow of the
heavenly things...” (Hebrews 8:5 NKJV) “...Which
things are an allegory...” (Galatians 4:24 KJ)
The Israelite’s lived their
physical lives with the Lord intervening on their
behalf. They also lived their historical lives as a
spiritual parable of what the Lord is saying to us
today. The Bible says those who live by faith are the
children of Abraham and have been grafted into the vine
with Israel. So in the places where the Bible mentions
Israel, it applies to us as well.
Because we live in His kingdom
in spirit and truth, we are grafted3 into Israel’s vine
through the spirit. (Romans 9:8) When we walk out
Israel’s prophesies and Words, we walk them out in the
spirit, as parables, allegories, examples and types.
We walk them spiritually; natural Israel walks them
physically. Not only will the Old and New Testaments be
fulfilled physically to the last jot and tittle, but
they will also be fulfilled spiritually to the minute
detail. The following are examples of how God speaks
through spiritual types in the Old Testament:
Abraham + Sarah = Isaac, the
son of promise. Abraham + Hagar = Ishmael, the son of
bondage. Jumping the gun and forcing God’s promise,
will create an Ishmael you will have to live with for
the rest of your life, (including the generations after
you)!
The Israelites ASSUMED the
Lord’s will “...and asked not counsel at the mouth of
the Lord...” Thus they were deceived. Presumption
causes “grave” error.
Sometimes He backs us into a
corner with no place to go except forward... trusting
Him for a miracle.
He vowed with his mouth, “But
as for your household idols, a curse upon anyone who
took them. Let him die!” Jacob did not know it was his
beloved wife who took the idols. She later died in
childbirth. Our mouths can speak with creative force.4
This force is why vows were so detailed and explained in
the Old Testament. Jesus said we are not to make oaths
at all. (Matthew 5:33-37)
They lusted for meat. God gave
them just that, until they were sick of it.
An example of the fruit of compromise.
“Joseph...Until the time that
his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested
him.” (Psalm 105:19 NKJV) Why? Because God had given
him a future promise of leadership. He was a symbol of
“...‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over
many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matthew
25:21 NKJV)
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land
from before you, then it shall come about that those
whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in
your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall
trouble you in the land in which you live.”
The illustration of God
hardening a heart, ultimately for His purpose and our
benefit.
The affiliation with sin causes an inability to stand
against our spiritual enemies. “...You can not defeat
your enemies, until you deal with this sin...”
The Lord said, “Indeed the people are one...” An
example of the power of unity and the futility of man.
“Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit
returned with their offerings...all who were willing
hearted...” The Lord’s sheep don’t need fleecing to
give.
An example of how an evil
report will discourage others.
Pressing in to inherit the land
by removing all unbelief and thus enter His rest. “How
long will you put off entering to take possession of the
land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given
you?” (Joshua 18:3 NASB) A promise is left to us of
entering His rest when we trust Him.
The Old Testament is a gold
mine of types and allegorical symbols. They can be
found in plain sight, open and on the surface, or down
deep where one must plunge to find them. If you have
dug deep and found an allegory about some story, or even
a minute detail, He’s one step deeper and waits for you
to dig! The “smaller” you think, the more possibilities
there are in discovering something. Examples of
“small” can be an individual word or an underlying
theme.
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