Christ in the Old Testament

Exodus 2:3

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Exodus 2:1-8 and 1 Peter 3:13-22

Ok here we go! For the last seventeen days, we set the stage for the book of Exodus. Consider the book of Genesis as the prologue to Exodus in God’s story. Genesis is the book of Creation showing us God as our creator who loves us and desires fellowship with us. Genesis also shows us that we are sinful and rebellious. Sin came into the world through our disobedience and separated us from God. But through Abraham and his descendants, God would draw us back to himself.

Look back at Genesis 15 for a moment. Remember when Abraham took his men and attacked the alliance of kings and rescued Lot and all the kings’ people? We were then introduced to Melchizedek, the priest and king who blessed Abraham. Right after that, God reminded Abraham that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. God also told him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” That’s the story of Exodus.

We begin in Exodus 1 where the Israelites have grown to a population of well over a million while living in Egypt. It’s been about 400 years since Joseph brought his family to Egypt and Joseph “meant nothing” to the current Pharaoh. The Israelites are slaves in a foreign land and being worked ruthlessly. God is about to punish Egypt and bring the Israelites out with great possessions.

God is going to accomplish this monumental task through one man, Moses. If you thought Joseph had a lot of parallels to Jesus, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Moses’s entire life points to Christ. Here are the parallels I see from Exodus 1 through Exodus 2:8:

• Moses is born during a foreign king’s rule (Luke 1:5)
• Moses was spared death as an infant (Matt 2:13)
• Moses was adopted (Matt 1:18-25)
• Moses grew up in Egypt (Matt 2:19-20)
• Moses parents had great faith in God (Heb 11:23, Luke 1:28)
• Moses was no ordinary child (Heb 11:23, Luke 1:32)

But my favorite part of this section is how Moses was saved – in a basket. This was no ordinary basket. This basket was God’s instrument of salvation. It might not seem like it at first, but let’s examine it more closely.

The word used for basket is tēbâ which is also translated as “chest” or “ark.” And yes it’s the exact same word used in Genesis 6:14 for Noah’s ark, “So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.” Look what else is in that verse. Noah’s ark was coated with “pitch inside and out” just like Moses’s basket was coated with tar and pitch. And if you recall several weeks ago when we looked at the account of the flood, the word for pitch is similar to the word for atonement which means to pardon or forgive.

Stick with me. The connection of all of this to Jesus is explained by Peter. In 1 Peter 3 it says, “God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also.” There we have it! The ark and the basket and Jesus are all pointing to the same thing – God saving us from our sin. We are saved in baptism by the resurrection of Jesus Christ just like the ark saved Noah and the basket saved Moses. Noah and Moses were saved from a physical death whereas we are saved from a spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

Well then we might as well find out from Peter what our response should be to this amazing grace. Earlier in verse 15, Peter tells us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” We live differently because we are Christians. We live on this side of God’s grace. People will ask us why we have so much hope. And one of our answers should be because God doesn’t fail to make good on His promises.

Today’s Prayer: Lord help me be bold in my faith so that those around me see the hope that I have in you. Help me give an answer to everyone that asks me about you.