Advent (day 5)
The hope of Old Testament saints was built upon the rock of God’s mighty deeds in history. The New Testament continues to speak of God as the source and object of hope. Consider the object of hope in these verses:
2 Corinthians 1: 8-10
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.
1 Peter 1:21
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 1:27
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Beyond the doctrinal understanding of God fulfilling His promises in Christ, the New Testament writers also transferred the images applied to God in the Old Testament. The Bible relies heavily on symbol and imagery to intensify the meaning of its doctrine. Since the Exodus event was so central to the hope of Old Testament saints, I’ll draw from those images and correlate them to the New Testament.
The people were slaves, in the bondage under the rule of Pharaoh ... We were “under sin”, enslaved to its desires (Romans 3:9, John 8:34-35).
God sent Moses to speak for Him and deliver his people ... God sent Jesus to speak his words and set us free (John 8: 35-38). “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
God parted the Red Sea ... when Jesus died the veil of the temple was torn in two.
God led them by a pillar of fire ... Jesus is the light of the world.
God fed them daily with manna ... Jesus is the Bread of Life.
God gave them water when Moses struck the rock ... water flowed from Jesus’ side when he was pierced. He is the Cornerstone and the Living water.
God made a covenant with them in the wilderness ... Jesus is the new covenant.
The pages of Scripture are flooded with this kind of symbolism and imagery. In my own life, Advent is deepening my sense of hope by forcing me to think about it and talk about it in a variety of ways. To know that Christ is our hope is good doctrine. But to explore the Christ of our hope in song and story and symbol is to work the truth of hope deep into the fabric of our being, where truth becomes meaningful and doctrine becomes life.
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 18:1-6
2 Corinthians 1: 8-10
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.
1 Peter 1:21
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 1:27
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Beyond the doctrinal understanding of God fulfilling His promises in Christ, the New Testament writers also transferred the images applied to God in the Old Testament. The Bible relies heavily on symbol and imagery to intensify the meaning of its doctrine. Since the Exodus event was so central to the hope of Old Testament saints, I’ll draw from those images and correlate them to the New Testament.
The people were slaves, in the bondage under the rule of Pharaoh ... We were “under sin”, enslaved to its desires (Romans 3:9, John 8:34-35).
God sent Moses to speak for Him and deliver his people ... God sent Jesus to speak his words and set us free (John 8: 35-38). “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
God parted the Red Sea ... when Jesus died the veil of the temple was torn in two.
God led them by a pillar of fire ... Jesus is the light of the world.
God fed them daily with manna ... Jesus is the Bread of Life.
God gave them water when Moses struck the rock ... water flowed from Jesus’ side when he was pierced. He is the Cornerstone and the Living water.
God made a covenant with them in the wilderness ... Jesus is the new covenant.
The pages of Scripture are flooded with this kind of symbolism and imagery. In my own life, Advent is deepening my sense of hope by forcing me to think about it and talk about it in a variety of ways. To know that Christ is our hope is good doctrine. But to explore the Christ of our hope in song and story and symbol is to work the truth of hope deep into the fabric of our being, where truth becomes meaningful and doctrine becomes life.
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 18:1-6
posted by Bob | 8:00 AM
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