Father and Son in the Old Testament

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Throughout the bible God was showing us the relationship between the Father and the Son and how they work in salvation.

John 6:44-45 (NRSV)
44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

So the Father draws the peopl and teaches them, but it is Christ that finishes the job. The father would not start and finish by himself. This relationship is best seen in scriptures.

MOSES AND JOSHUA
These are a type of the Father and the Son. Moses means to draw out, and Joshua means saviour. Moses drew the people out of Egypt, taught them the Law and as they got to the boarders of Canaan, he handed them over to Joshua, the son who led the people into the promise. Moses as the type of the Father was never going to finish the Job, it had to be finished by the Son.

DAVID AND SOLOMON

David was the type of The Father and Solomon a type of the Son. David subdued all the enemies of Israel and when he was finished the kingdom was handed over to Solomon, and it was Solomon who would have a reign of peace.

2 Samuel 3:18 (NRSV) Now then bring it about; for the LORD has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies.”

But this is what David is told…

1 Chronicles 22:9 (WEB) Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

In The Same way David had the vision to build the temple, he pit together all that was needed, the plans, structure everything… yet the glory of building the temple would be handed to the Son.

1 Chronicles 22:5-8 (WEB)
5 David said, “Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David prepared abundantly before his death. 6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon his son, “As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. 8 But Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, ‘You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.

ELIJAH AND ELISHA

Elijah is a type of the Father, and Elisha is a type of The Son. Elijah prepared the ground did all the work, killed the prophets of Baal, stopped and brought back the rain. However in the very last thing, in the last minute he could not finish and it had to be handed over to Elisha, a type of the Son, and it was the Elisha who ushered people into restoration.

1 Kings 19:14-17 (WEB)
14 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place. 17 He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 

These Father Son relationships have interesting expositions on the Old and New Testament. Israel and Church.

ELIJAH AND ELISHA WITH THE TWO WIDOWS.In the time of a famine, Elijah was commanded to go ti a widow, where a miracle happened.

1 Kings 17:8-9, 12-13 (WEB)
8 Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” 12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son. 14 For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’”

PAY ATTENTION TO THAT
Elijah is a type of The Father, and the widow represents Israel. The jar of meal is represents the word and the jar of oil represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

1 Samuel 16:13 (ESV) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

When Elijah comes she has a little flour, which is a little word, and a little oil, which is a small measure of the Holy spirit. Yet when God gives this to Israel through Moses, that small word and measure of Spirit would not fail till the rains came. The rains symbolizing righteousness and salvation.

Isaiah 45:8 (ESV) Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it.

Well it seems Elisha also goes to minister to a widow. But Elisha speaks of the new testament, the time of the Son.

2 Kings 4:1-6 (ESV)
1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

When Christ comes, the widow and her child are about to go into slavery because of a debt that was left upon them. Now she is told to take her one Jar go out to her neighbours and get many vessels. In the same way Jesus says:

Matthew 28:19 (ESV) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The vessels borrowed from the neighbours represent people taken from the gentiles to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38-39 (ESV)
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 

So the Holy Spirit will remain flowing until the last vessel is full. You can draw many such parallels. The dead boy who comes to life, by Elijah and by Elisha etc. We can also look at the Miracles of Moses vs Joshua..

All speaking of Father and Son, old and new testament.

Author:

Charles Mawungwa is a born again christian who has a passion for the word and sharing bible teachings in a simple, palatable form. Much of what is shared here comes from personal illumination that has come by the grace of God through years of private study of the bible.

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