The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

The Promise Personalized

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 3, The Promise Personalized . The overall focus of this third lesson is the personalization of the promise in the form of character types. The Old Testament witness to Christ and his Kingdom is rooted in discovering the numerous and remarkable “pictures” of the person and ministry of Christ that are presented in the lives of the saints. These pictures provide an amazing collage, or, to change the metaphor slightly, gallery of presentations which prefigure, foreshadow, highlight, and outline distinct dimensions of Messiah’s person as outlined in the NT. Again, the key effect and impact of these kinds of studies is the recognition and wonder of the unity of the Scriptures, the interconnection between the OT and the NT, and the continuity of the revelation presented in both as they point to the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. H. L. Wilmington in his helpful book Wilmington’s Book of Bible Lists lays out a good number of character types listed in the OT, of the which this lesson will highlight a few. Here is a representative list of some of the more significant linkages that you and your students may wish to explore:

1 Page 105 Lesson Introduction

1. Adam: his headship over a new creation, Gen. 1.28; Rom. 5.17–19; 1 Cor. 15.22, 45, 47; Heb. 2.7–9

2. Noah: his saving life, Gen. 6.13–14, 17–18; 1 Pet. 3.18–22

3. Abraham: his fatherhood, Gen. 22.7–8; Matt. 26.36, 42–43

4. Melchizedek: his priestly ministry, Gen. 14.18–20; Ps. 110.4; Heb. 5–8

5. Isaac: his death, Gen. 22.2, 8, 10; Matt. 26.36, 42–43

6. Joseph: most perfect type of Christ in the Old Testament

a. Hated without a cause, Gen. 37.4, 8; John 15.25

b. Ridiculed, Gen. 37.19; Luke 22.63

c. Plotted against, Gen. 37.20; John 11.53

d. Stripped of his robe, Gen. 37.23; John 19.23–24

e. Sold for silver, Gen. 37.28; Matt. 26.14–16