Scripture reveals that God often chose to use physical realities as prophetic parallels. For instance:
In 2 Kings 13 King Jehoash of Israel was told by Elisha the prophet to take a hand full of arrows and strike the ground with them. The kings half hearted attempt resulted in a limited victory over his enemy Syria. Had he struck the arrows five or six times as opposed to just three it would have meant that his enemy Syria would have been completely destroyed.
When Moses came down from the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments from God he had a glory on him that resulted in his having to wear a veil over his face. Moses had to go up into the very glory of God in order to be given the commandments that marked the Covenant made between God and Israel. It was a glorious Covenant to Israel, the first one they had ever received as a nation from God. It began with glory.
But the Bible tells us clearly that it was a fading glory.
2 Corinthians 3:7 The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
God was saying something prophetic through the veil Moses wore. He was speaking prophetically through the natural. How can we know this?
The veil hid a glory that was fading. The Old Covenant written on stone tablets was a fading covenant the veil of Moses was meant to reveal it would not be an everlasting covenant.
God was prophetically speaking to the people of Israel that they should not look to this covenant as the one that will be with them forever but that when One greater than Moses comes a New Covenant made through Messiah would replace this Old one.
2 Corinthians 3:5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
Just as Jesus is superior to Moses, the Covenant Jesus set in motion is superior to and replaces the Old Covenant brought through Moses.
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
