Some people claim that Christ came to do away with the Old Testament. They present the religion of the Hebrews as nothing but forms and ceremonies. But this is a mistake. Through all the ages after the Fall, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system. Since the sin of our first parents, the Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His work as mediator He may redeem lost humanity and confirm the authority of God’s law. All communication between heaven and fallen human beings has been through Christ. It was the Son of God who gave our first parents the promise of redemption. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. These holy men from long ago had fellowship with the Savior who was to come to our world in human flesh.
Christ was the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness, the Angel who went before them, veiled in the cloudy pillar. It was He who gave the law to Israel. (See Appendix, Note 6.) Amid the glory of Sinai Christ declared the Ten Commandments of His Father’s law. He gave the law to Moses, engraved on tablets of stone.
Christ spoke to His people through the prophets. The apostle Peter says that the prophets “prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow” (1 Peter 1:10, 11). It is the voice of Christ that speaks through the Old Testament. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).
While personally on earth, Jesus directed the minds of the people to the Old Testament. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). At that time the books of the Old Testament were the only part of the Bible in existence.
The ceremonial law was given by Christ. Even after it was no longer to be followed, the great apostle Paul pronounced this law glorious, worthy of its divine Originator. The cloud of incense ascending with the prayers of Israel represents His righteousness, the only thing that can make the sinner’s prayer acceptable to God. The bleeding victim on the altar testified of a Redeemer to come. So even through darkness and apostasy, faith was kept alive in human hearts until the coming of the promised Messiah.
Jesus was the Light of the world before He came in the form of humanity. The first gleam of light that pierced the gloom in which sin had wrapped the world came from Christ. From Him has come every ray of heaven’s brightness that has fallen on the inhabitants of the earth.
Since the Savior shed His blood and went back to heaven “to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24), light has been streaming from the cross of Calvary and from the heavenly sanctuary. The gospel of Christ gives meaning to the ceremonial law. As truths are revealed, we see more keenly the character and purposes of God. Every additional ray of light gives a clearer understanding of the plan of redemption. We find new beauty in God’s Word and study its pages with more and more interest.
God did not intend for Israel to build up a wall of separation between themselves and others. The heart of Infinite Love was reaching out toward everyone who lives on Earth, seeking to help them enjoy and benefit by His love and grace. He gave his blessing to the chosen people so that they might bless others.
Abraham did not shut himself away from the people around him. He maintained friendly relationships with the kings of the surrounding nations, and through him the God of heaven was revealed.
God manifested Himself to the people of Egypt through Joseph. Why did the Lord choose to promote Joseph to such a high position among the Egyptians? He wanted to put him in the palace of the king so that the heavenly light could extend far and near. Joseph was a representative of Christ. The Egyptians were to see in Joseph, the one who helped them, the love of their Creator and Redeemer. In Moses God also placed a light beside the throne of earth’s greatest kingdom so that all could learn of the true and living God.
In Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, a knowledge of the power of God spread far and wide. Centuries after the exodus, the priests of the Philistines reminded their people of the plagues of Egypt and warned them against resisting the God of Israel.
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