Christmas 2018 – Day 8

As part of my 25 for 25 (25 devotionals leading up to 25 December), here is Day # 8: what does “typified” mean? Typify means “to be characteristic or a representative example of.” Having looked at 1 & 2 Samuel yesterday, and thinking about how David can typify Jesus, I’d like to briefly look at the following books with characters who typify Jesus.

–Books of 1 & 2 Kings – Solomon seated on the throne (1 Kings 10:18) as Jesus was (Acts 2:30). For more go here

–Books of 1 & 2 Chronicles – Solomon’s Temple (1 Chronicles 28 – 2 Chronicles) as Jesus would bring down and raise up His “temple” (John 2:19).

–Book of Ezra – Ezra. “Jesus typified in Ezra as a man of the Word and prayer. He was passionate for the purity of God’s people, seeking to bring God’s Kingdom and to do God’s will on earth as in heaven” (see Ezra 1:1-2). For more go here.

–Book of Nehemiah – Nehemiah. Opposition to building walls (Nehemiah 2:19-20) as Jesus faced oppressors (Matthew 27:42). For more go here.

–Book of Esther – Mordecai. Mordecai was an ambassador for deliverance (Esther 8:10) and we are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). For more go here.

–Book of Job – Job. The righteous suffering, a mediator theme, and the problem of suffering not being fully resolved leaves us needing Jesus! For more check out this great article.

Keep in mind no human can perfectly typify the perfect Lion and Lamb of God, but it helps us understand that Jesus appears all the way through the Bible. Because I hate to leave a devotional without Scripture quoted, I want to blow your mind really quickly. I was meditating on the persecution of Job and persecution of Jesus mentioned above. We often think about the persecution of Jesus regarding His arrest, crucifixion and death, but have you ever considered the persecution because of His birth?! This was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15:

 “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.’”

Matthew confirms the fulfillment in Matthew 2:17-18:
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.’”

Jesus knew His life would be persecution at the beginning, middle and end of His life, and yet, He came anyway! Consider the typology from the books we’ve seen above but also mediate on the harsh world Jesus humbled Himself into this Christmas season. Oh, how He loves us!

Additional resource: http://jesusplusnothing.com/jesus66books.htm