Miracles in the Wilderness Series - Lesson 3 - Spiritual Pictures

On the fifteenth day of the first month, the month of Nisan, the children of Israel departed the land of Egypt. They traveled from Rameses to Succoth where the Lord instituted three ordinances. The Lord God commanded Israel to remember and perform these throughout their generations:  The Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Consecration to the Lord of the Firstborn.

Together, these were Israel’s first sign (Ex. 4:1-8) fulfilled in the latter sign (Is. 7:14, Matthew 1:18:23, Luke 1:26-35, Luke 2:8-14, Luke 2:25-35), awaiting the Tribulation or time of Jacob's trouble when water will once again become blood (Revelation 11:1-6, 16:4). Although the Lord’s feasts are not our focus, we will touch on the spiritual aspect of the first two.

Since I Corinthians 2:14 tells us it takes the Holy Spirit to unlock the treasure of scripture and don our spiritual glasses, let’s take a little quiz. We’re looking for the spiritual equivalent or representation of the memorials Jehovah God instituted, because they are types, shadows, and/or pictures of things to come.

Without looking below, what comes to mind when I say Passover, leaven, Egypt, the wilderness journey, and the Promised Land.

GOD’S MEMORIALS	SPIRITUAL MEANING	SCRIPTURE FULFILLMENT
PASSOVER Because of LAMB’S BLOOD	Jesus Christ:  He is the Lamb of God and Gift of God for those who believe and receive cleansing by His precious blood.	John 1:29, I Cor. 5:7, John 1:12, Rom 6:23, I Pet. 1:18-20, I John 1:9
LEAVEN (yeast)	Sin and false doctrine or teaching symbolizing how just a little will spread and corrupt the church.	Matthew 16:11-12, I Corinthians 5:8, Galatians 5:9
EGYPT	A place of unbelief and slavery to sin, symbolizing our life without Christ	Acts 7:39, Jude 3-5, Revelation 11:8
THE WILDERNESS JOURNEY	Symbolizing our life in this world where we hear the Word of God and see His hand at work. It’s where we observe His creation, His eternal power and divine nature. This is where God the Father draws us to the Son.	Romans 1:18-20, Acts 17:27-28, Hebrews 3:16-19, Hebrews 11:13-15, John 6:44
THE PROMISED LAND	The place of belief, faith, life, and rest in our Lord Jesus Christ and ultimately, our eternal rest in heaven.	Hebrews 4:1-10 and Hebrews 11:8-10, 16

Now that we see some of the spiritual lessons taught in the Old Testament, next time we’ll observe pictures that aren’t quite as obvious. Stay tuned.