Commentary Notes Egypt wasn't the only nation to suffer plagues at the hand of the Lord.

Israel, too, merited such judgment on occasion. After complaining again about the difficult life in the wilderness (including the manna which God provided!), . . . the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:6-9) This note on page 180 of The Dake Annotated Reference Bible is typical of the insightful analysis Finis Dake brings to such passages: Ninefold Type of Christ (Num. 21:9) 1. The serpent itself was a symbol of sin; Christ was made sin for us that we might be made free from sin (2 Cor. 5:21). 2. The serpent was lifted up on a pole; Christ was lifted up on a cross (Jn. 3:14-15). 3. The sick of Israel received healing by looking on the brass serpent; others have received healing by looking to Christ (Mt. 8:17; Jn. 3:14-15; 1 Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53). 4. As the Israelites who looked on the serpent continued to live, so those who truly look to Christ will live eternally (Jn. 3:14-15). 5. God provided no other remedy for the Israelites at this time; so Christ is the only remedy for those who wish salvation (Jn. 3:14-16; Acts 3:16; 4:12; Rom. 10:9-10). 6. As the Israelites had to have faith in the brass serpent as the remedy for their sin and sickness, so men today must have faith in Christ (Jn. 3:14-16; Eph. 2:8-9). 7. As God's power was the invisible force in the remedy of the brass serpent, so it is with salvation through Christ (Mt. 1:21; Rom. 1:16; Col. 2:12-13). 8. As the serpent on the pole brought peace and reconcilation with God, so Christ did on the cross (Col. 1:20-21). 9. As confession of sin and prayer were necessary for Israel to receive the benefits of the remedy of the brass serpent, so they are necessary to obtain the benefits of Christ and the cross (Jn. 3:14-16; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Jn. 1:9). SECTION THREE. The TYPES of Christ in Jewish history. We will deal here with some of the glorious typology found in the Old Testament, but firstly let us be clear about typology. To say something is a "type" does not imply that we should adopt an allegorical approach to Scripture. We do not reject the historical reality of these records, we do not spiritualise the real persons and happenings away, this would be a liberal interpretation. Liberals would consider that Adam was not a real person, but that he was merely a symbolic representation of all men. The writers of the New Testament, and Jesus Christ Himself, spoke of the Old Testament characters as literal historical figures. Joseph, for example, may be a type of Christ in many ways, but Joseph was an actual person, he

figures. Joseph, for example, may be a type of Christ in many ways, but Joseph was an actual person, he is not an allegory. TYPES are shown to be so in Scripture. We cannot just invent them for ourselves, as some today are inclined to do. For an example, Galatians 4:24 refers to the story of Hagar and Sarah, and shows a type, which in the text reads "things are an allegory." This does not give us the right to have an allegorical approach to Scripture, it means that we can take an allegorical APPLICATION, not an allegorical INTERPRETATION. I hope the reader understands here. ANTITYPE has not the meaning of anti-God, or antichrist. It is the other side, so to speak, of the type. NOT "anti" anything, simply the theological term for the opening of the type. The type comes first, the antitype comes second. The shadow is seen, then the Scriptures open up the substance. TYPOLOGY MUST BE BALANCED. Typology can be taken to extremes, as any truth can be. Keeping the balance is important here. Some passages which are shown in the New Testament to be types in the Old Testament are: The first Adam is a contrasting type of the Second Adam (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Cor.15:21-22, 45-47). Eve is a type of the Church (Ephesians 5:29-33). Abraham and Isaac are a type of the Father who offered His only-begotten Son (Hebrews 11:17-19). The experiences of Joseph, which parallel those of Jesus Christ so closely that it could not be a mere coincidence, although not explicitly shown as a type in Scripture, are obviously so. The many and various sacrifices and feasts of Judaism which are obviously fulfilled in Jesus Christ, are types shown to be so in many, many Scriptures and doctrines throughout the Word. The primary emphasis should not be lost, however, on the actual events and their historical significance, which have their own place in the Divine scheme of the Redemption of mankind. We must always stress that these are real-life events and people, and a true historical record of man's primeval origin and Judaism's history. Because some, on the other hand, create types that do not exist, there is no reason for denying types where they do exist. Consider these Scriptures: