Part 4. From Moses to David

I PROCEED to the fourth period, which reaches from Moses to David. I would show how the work of redemption was carried on through this also.

1. The first thing that offers itself to be considered is the redemption of the church of God out of Egypt; the most remarkable of all the Old Testament redemptions of the church of God, and that which was the greatest pledge and forerunner of the redemption of Christ, of any; and is much more insisted on in scripture than any other of those redemptions. Indeed it was the greatest type of Christ's redemption of any providential event whatsoever. This redemption was by Jesus Christ, as is evident from this, that it was wrought by him that appeared to Moses in the bush; for that was the person that sent Moses to redeem that people. But that was Christ, as is evident, because he is called the angel of the Lord, Exodus 3:2-3. The bush represented the human nature of Christ, that is called the branch. This bush grew on mount Sinai or Horeb, which is a word that signifies a dry place, as the human nature of Christ was a root out of a dry ground. The bush burning with fire, represented the sufferings of Christ, in the fire of God's wrath. It burned, and was not consumed; so Christ, though he suffered extremely, yet perished not; but overcame at last, and rose from his sufferings. Because this great mystery of the incarnation and sufferings of Christ was here represented, therefore, Moses says, "I will turn aside, and behold this great sight." A great sight he might well call it, when there was represented God manifest in the flesh, and suffering a dreadful death, and rising from the dead.

This was he that redeemed the church out of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh; as Christ, by his death and sufferings, redeemed his people from Satan, the spiritual Pharaoh. He redeemed them from their service and cruel drudgery; as Christ redeems his people from the cruel slavery of sin and Satan. He redeemed them, as it is said, from the iron furnace; as Christ redeems his church from a furnace of fire and everlasting burnings. He redeemed them with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and great and terrible judgments on their enemies; as Christ with mighty power triumphs over principalities and powers, and executes terrible judgments on his church's enemies, bruising the serpent's head. He saved them, when others were destroyed, by the sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb; as God's church is saved from death by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, when the rest of the world is destroyed. God brought forth the people sorely against the will of the Egyptians, when they could not bear to let them go; so Christ rescues his people out of the hands of the devil, sorely against his will, when his proud heart cannot bear to be overcome.

In that redemption, Christ did not only redeem the people from the Egyptians, but he redeemed them from the devils, the gods of Egypt; for before, they had been in a state of servitude to the gods of Egypt, as well as to the men. And Christ, the seed of the woman, did now, in a very remarkable manner, fulfill the curse on the serpent, in bruising his head. Exodus 12:12. "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment." Hell was as much and more engaged in that affair, than Egypt was. The pride and cruelty of Satan, that old serpent, was more concerned in it than Pharaoh's. He did his utmost against the people, and to his utmost opposed their redemption. But it is said, that when God redeemed his people out of Egypt, he broke the heads of the dragons in the waters, and broke the head of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat for the people inhabiting the wilderness, Psalm 74:12-14. God forced their enemies to let them go, that they might serve him; as also Zacharias observes with respect to the church under the gospel, Luke 1:74-75.

The people of Israel went out with a high hand, and Christ went before them in a pillar of cloud and fire. There was a glorious triumph over earth and hell in that deliverance. And when Pharaoh and his hosts, and Satan by them pursued the people, Christ overthrew them in the Red Sea; the Lord triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he cast into the sea, and there they slept their last sleep, and never followed the children of Israel any more; as all Christ's enemies are overthrown in his blood, which by its abundant sufficiency, and the greatness of the sufferings with which it was shed, may well be represented by a sea. The Red Sea did represent Christ's blood, as is evident, because the apostle compares the children of Israel's passage through the Red Sea to baptism, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2. But we all know that the water of baptism represents Christ's blood.

Thus Christ, the angel of God's presence, in his love and his pity, redeemed his people, and carried them in the days of old as on eagles' wings, so that none of their proud and spiteful enemies, neither Egyptians nor devils, could touch them.

This was quite a new thing that God did towards this great work of redemption. God never had done anything like it before, Deuteronomy 4:32-34. This was a great advancement of the work of redemption, that had been begun and carried on from the fall of man; a great step taken in divine providence towards a preparation for Christ's coming into the world, and working out his great and eternal redemption: for this was the people of whom Christ was to come. Now we may see how that plant flourished that God had planted in Abraham. Though the family of which Christ was to come, had been in a degree separated from the rest of the world before, in the calling of Abraham; yet that separation that was then made, appeared not to be sufficient, without further separation. For though by that separation, they were kept as strangers and sojourners, kept from being united with other people in the same political societies; yet they remained mixed among them, by which means, as it had proved, they had been in danger of wholly losing the true religion, and of being overrun with the idolatry of their neighbors. God now, therefore, by this redemption, separated them as a nation from all other nations, to subsist by themselves in their own political and ecclesiastical state, without having any concern with the Heathen nations, that they might so be kept separate till Christ should come; and so that the church of Christ might be upheld and might keep the oracles of God, till that time; that in them might be kept up those types and prophecies of Christ, and those histories, and other divine previous instructions, that were necessary to prepare the way for Christ's coming.

2. As this people were separated to be God's peculiar people, so all other people upon the face of the whole earth were wholly rejected and given over to Heathenism. This, so far as the providence of God was concerned in it, belongs to the great affair of redemption that we are upon, and was one thing that God ordered in his providence to prepare the way for Christ's coming, and the great salvation he was to accomplish in the world; for it was only to prepare the way for the more glorious and signal victory and triumph of Christ's power and grace over the wicked and miserable world, and that Christ's salvation of the world of mankind might become the more sensible. This is the account the scripture itself gives us of the matter, Romans 11:30-32. The apostle there speaking to the Gentiles that had formerly been Heathens, says, "As ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." that is It was the will of God, that the whole world, Jews, and Gentiles, should be concluded in visible and professed unbelief, that so God's mercy and Christ's salvation towards them all might be visible and sensible. For the apostle is not speaking only of that unbelief that is natural to all God's professing people as well as others, but that which appears, and is visible; such as the Jews fell into, when they openly rejected Christ, and ceased to be a professing people. The apostle observes, how that first the Gentiles, even the Gentile nations, were included in a professed unbelief and open opposition to the true religion, before Christ came, to prepare the way for the calling of the Gentiles, which was soon after Christ came, that God's mercy might be the more visible to them; and that the Jews were rejected, and apostatized from the visible church, to prepare the way for the calling of the Jews, which shall be in the latter days: So that it may be seen of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, that they are visibly redeemed by Christ, from being visibly aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, without hope, and without God in the world.

We cannot certainly determine precisely at what time the apostasy of the Gentile nations from the true God, or there being concluded in visible unbelief, became universal. Their falling away was a gradual thing, as we observed before. It was general in Abraham's time, but not universal; for then we find Melchizedec, one of the kings of Canaan, was priest of the most high God. After this the true religion was kept up for a while among some of the rest of Abraham's posterity, besides the family of Jacob; and also in some of the posterity of Nahor, as we have instances in Job, and his three friends, and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job lived was a land possessed by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, of whom we read, Genesis 22:21. Bildad the Shuhite was of the offspring of Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Genesis 25:1-2: and Elihu the Buzite, was of Buz the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. So the true religion lasted among some other people, besides the Israelites, a while after Abraham. But it did not last long: and it is probable that the time of their total rejection, and giving up to idolatry, was about the time when God separated the children of Israel from Egypt to serve him; for they are often put in mind on that occasion that God had now separated them to be his peculiar people; or to be distinguished from all other people upon earth, to be his people alone; to be his portion, when others were rejected. This seems to hold forth thus much to us, that God now chose them in such a manner, that this visible choice of them was accompanied with a visible rejection of all other nations in the world; that God visibly came, and took up his residence with them, as forsaking all other nations.

And as the first calling of the Gentiles after Christ came, was accompanied with the rejection of the Jews; so the first calling of the Jews to be God's people, when they were called out of Egypt, was accompanied with a rejection of the Gentiles.

Thus all the Gentile nations, throughout the whole world, all nations, but only the Israelites, and those that embodied themselves with them were left and given up to idolatry; and so continued a great many ages, even from this time till Christ came, which was about fifteen hundred years. They were concluded so long a time in unbelief, that there might be a thorough proof of the necessity of a savior; that it might appear by so long a trial, past all contradiction, that mankind were utterly insufficient to deliver themselves from that gross darkness and misery, and subjection to the devil, that they had fallen under; that it might appear that all the wisdom of the philosophers, and the wisest men that the Heathen had among them, could not deliver them from their darkness, for the greater glory to Jesus Christ, who, when he came, enlightened and delivered them by his glorious gospel. Herein the wonderful wisdom of God appeared, in thus preparing the way for Christ's redemption. Thus the scripture teaches us, as in 1 Corinthians 1:21. "For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

Here I might consider as another work of God, whereby the general work of redemption was carried on, that wonderful deliverance which he wrought for the children of Israel at the Red Sea, when they were pursued by the hosts of the Egyptians, and were just ready to be swallowed up by them, there being, to human appearance, no possibility of an escape. But as this may be referred to their redemption out of Egypt, and considered as a part of that more general work, I shall not further enlarge upon it.

3. The next thing that I shall take notice of here, what was done towards the work of redemption, is God's giving the moral law in so awful a manner at Mount Sinai. This was another new thing that God did, a new step taken in this great affair. Deuteronomy 4:33. "Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?" And it was a great thing that God did towards this work, and that whether we consider it as delivered as a new exhibition of the covenant of works, or given as a rule of life.

The covenant of works was here exhibited to be as a schoolmaster to lead to Christ, not only for the use of that nation in the ages of the Old Testament, but for the use of God's church throughout all ages of the world; as an instrument that the great Redeemer makes use of to convince men of their sin and misery, and helpless state, and of God's awful and tremendous majesty and justice as a lawgiver, and so to make men sensible of the necessity of Christ as a savior. The work of redemption in its saving effect on men's souls, in all the progress of it to the end of it, is not carried on without the use of this law that was now delivered at Sinai.

It was given in an awful manner, with a terrible voice, exceeding loud and awful, so that all the people that were in the camp trembled; and Moses himself, though so intimate a friend of God, yet said, I exceedingly fear and quake; the voice being accompanied with thunders and lightnings, the mountain burning with fire to the midst of heaven, and the earth itself shaking and trembling; to make all sensible how great that authority, power, and justice was, that stood engaged to exact the fulfillment of this law, and to see it fully executed; and how strictly God would require the fulfillment: and how terrible his wrath would be against every breaker of it; that men being sensible of those things, might have a thorough trial of themselves, and might prove their own hearts, and know how impossible it is for them to have salvation by the works of the law, and might see the absolute necessity they stood in of a mediator.

If we regard this law now given at Mount Sinai, not as the covenant of works, but as a rule of life, so it is made use of by the Redeemer, from that time to the end of the world, as a directory to his people, to show them the way in which they must walk, as they would go to heaven: for a way of sincere and universal obedience to this law is the narrow way that leads to life.

4. The next thing that is observable in this period, is God's giving the typical law, in which I suppose to be included most or all those precepts that were given by Moses, that did not properly belong to the moral law; not only those laws that are commonly called ceremonial, in distinction from judicial laws, which are the laws prescribing the ceremonies and circumstances of the Jewish worship, and their ecclesiastical state; but also many, if not all those divine laws that were political, and for regulating the Jewish commonwealth, commonly called judicial laws; these were at best many of them typical. The giving this typical law was another great thing that God did in this period, tending to build up this glorious structure of redemption that God had been carrying on from the beginning of the world. There had been many typical events of providence before, that represented Christ and his redemption, and some typical ordinances, as particularly those two of sacrifices and circumcision: but now, instead of representing the great Redeemer in a few institutions, God gives forth a law full of nothing else but various and innumerable typical representations of good things to come, by which that nation were directed how, every year, month, and day, in their religious actions, and in their conduct of themselves, in all that appertained to their ecclesiastical and civil state, to show forth something of Christ; one observance showing one thing, exhibiting one doctrine, or one benefit; another, another: so that the whole nation by this law was, as it were, constituted in a typical state. Thus the gospel was abundantly held forth to that nation; so that there is scarce any doctrine of it, but is particularly taught and exhibited by some observance of this law; though it was in shadows, and under a veil, as Moses put a veil on his face when it shone.

To this typical law belong all the precepts that relate to building the tabernacle, that was set up in the wilderness, and all the form, circumstances, and utensils of it.

5. About this time was given to God's church the first written word of God that ever was enjoyed by God's people. This was another great thing done towards the affair of redemption, a new and glorious advancement of the building. Not far from this time, was the beginning of the great written rule, which God has given for the regulation of the faith, worship, and practice of his church in all ages henceforward to the end of the world; which rule grew, and was added to from that time, for many ages, till it was finished, and the canon of scripture completed by the apostle John. It is not very material, whether the first written word that ever was, was the ten commandments written on the tables of stone with the finger of God, or the book of Job; and whether the book of Job was written by Moses, as some suppose, or by Elihu, as others. If it was written by Elihu, it was written before that period that we are now upon; but yet could not be far from it, as appears by considering whose posterity the persons were that are spoken of in it, together with Job's great age, that was passed before this was written.

The written word of God is the main instrument Christ has made use of to carry on his work of redemption in all ages since it was given. There was a necessity now of the word of God's being committed to writing, for a steady rule of God's church. Before this, the church had the word of God by tradition, either by immediate tradition from eminent men that were inspired, that were then living, (for it was a common thing in those days, before there was a written word, for God to reveal himself immediately to eminent persons, as appears by the book of Job, and many other things that might be mentioned, in the book of Genesis), or else they had it by tradition from former generations, which might be had with tolerable certainty in ages proceeding this, by reason of the long lives of men. Noah might converse with Adam, and receive traditions from him; and Noah lived till about Abraham's time: and the sons of Jacob lived a considerable time to deliver the revelations made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to their posterity in Egypt. But the distance from the beginning of things was become so great, and the lives of men become so short, being brought down to the present standard about Moses's time, and God having now separated a nation to be a peculiar people, partly for that end to be the keepers of the oracles of God; God saw it to be a needful and convenient time now to commit his word to writing, to remain henceforward for a steady rule throughout all ages. Therefore, besides the book of Job, Christ wrote the ten commandments on tables of stone, with his own finger; and after this the whole law, as containing the substance of the five books of Moses, was by God's special command committed to writing, which was called the book of the law, and was laid in the tabernacle, to be kept there for the use of the church; as you may see, Deuteronomy 31:24, 25, 26.

6. God was pleased now wonderfully to represent the progress of his redeemed church through the world to their eternal inheritance, by the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness, from Egypt to Canaan. Here all the various steps of the redemption of the church by Christ were represented from the beginning to its consummation in glory. The state they are redeemed from is represented by Egypt, and their bondage there, which they lost. The purchase of their redemption was represented by the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, which was offered up that night that God slew all the firstborn of Egypt. The beginning of the application of the redemption of Christ's church in their conversion, was represented by Israel's going out of Egypt, and passing through the Red Sea in so extraordinary and miraculous a manner. The travel of the church through this evil world, and the various changes through which the church passes, in the different stages of it, was represented by the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness. The manner of their being conducted by Christ, was represented by the Israelites being led by the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. The manner of the church's being supported in their progress, and supplied from the beginning to the end of it, with spiritual food, and continual daily communications from God, was represented by God's supplying the children of Israel with bread, or manna from heaven, and water out of the rock. The dangers that the saints must meet with in their course through the world, were represented by the fiery flying serpents which the children of Israel met with in the wilderness. The conflicts the church has with her enemies, were represented by their battle with the Amalekites, and others they met with there. Innumerable other things might be mentioned, wherein the things they met with were lively images of things which the church and saints meet with in all ages of the world. That these things are typical of things that pertain to the Christian church, is manifest from 1 Corinthians 10:11. "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." Here the apostle is speaking of those very things which we have now mentioned, and he says expressly, that they happened unto them for types; so it is in the original.

7. Another thing here must not be omitted, which was a great and remarkable dispensation of Providence, respecting the whole world of mankind, which was finished in this period; and that was, the shortening the days of man's life, whereby it was brought down from being between nine hundred and a thousand years, to be but about seventy or eighty. The life of man began to be shortened immediately after the flood: it was brought down the first generation to 600 years, and the next to between four and 500 years; and so the life of man gradually grew shorter and shorter, till about the time of the great mortality that was in the congregation of Israel, after they had murmured at the report of the spies, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness, whereby all the men of war died; and then the life of man was reduced to its present standard, as Moses observes in that psalm that he wrote on occasion of that mortality: Psalm 90:10. "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow: for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

This great dispensation of God tended to promote the grand design of the redemption of Christ. Man's life being cut so very short in this world, tended to prepare the way for poor, mortal, short-lived men, the more joyfully to entertain the glad tidings of everlasting life in another world, that are brought to light by the gospel; and more readily to embrace a savior, that purchases and offers such a blessing. If men's lives were still commonly about nine hundred years, how much less would they have to move them to regard the proffers of a future life; how much greater temptation would they have to rest in the things of this world, they being of such long continuance, and to neglect any other life but this? This probably contributed greatly to the wickedness of the antediluvians. But now how much greater motives have men to seek redemption, and a better life than this, by the great Redeemer, since the life of man is not one twelfth part of what it used to be, and men now universally die at the age when men formerly used to be but as it were setting out in the world?

8. The same work was carried on in preserving that people, of whom Christ was to come, from totally perishing in the wilderness, by a constant miracle of forty years continuance. I observed before many times, how God preserved those of whom the Redeemer was to proceed in a very wonderful manner; as he preserved Noah and his family from the flood; and as he preserved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their families, from the wicked inhabitants of Canaan; and as he preserved Jacob and his family from perishing by the famine, by Joseph in Egypt. But this preservation of the children of Israel for so long a time in the wilderness, was on some accounts more remarkable than any of them; for it was by a continual miracle of so long duration. There was, as may be fairly computed, at first two millions of souls in that congregation, that could not subsist any better without meat and drink than other men. But if this had been withheld, they must all have perished, every man, woman, and child, in less than one month's time, so there would not have been one of them left. But yet this vast multitude subsisted for forty years together, in a dry barren wilderness, without sowing or reaping, or tilling any land, having their bread daily rained down to them out of heaven, and being furnished with water to satisfy them all, out of a rock; and the same clothes with which they came out of Egypt, lasting, without wearing out all that time. Never was any instance like this, of a nation being so upheld for so long a time together. Thus God upheld his church by a continual miracle, and kept alive that people in whom was the blessing, the promised seed, and great Redeemer of the world.

9. God was pleased, in this time of the children of Israel's being in the wilderness, to give a further revelation of Christ the Redeemer in the predictions of him, than had been before. Here are three prophecies given at this time that I would take notice of. The first is that of Balaam, Numbers 24:17, 18, 19. "I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies, and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city." This is a plainer prophecy of Christ, especially with regard to his kingly office, than any that had been before. But we have another, that God gave by Moses, that is plainer still, especially with regard to his prophetical office, in Deuteronomy 18:18 etc. "I will raise up a prophet from among their brethren, like thee, and will put my words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I command him," etc. This is a plainer prophecy of Christ than any that had been before, in this respect, that all the prophecies that had been before of Christ, were in figurative mystical language. The first prophecy was so, That the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, "That in their seed all the families of the earth should be blessed," were also mystical; which prophecy is not so particular, because the expression, thy seed, is general, and not plainly limited to any particular person. The prophecy of Jacob in blessing Judah, Genesis 49:8 is in mystical language; and so is that of Balaam, which speaks of Christ under the figurative expression of a star. But this is a plain prophecy, without being veiled in any mystical language at all.

There are several things contained in this prophecy of Christ. Here is his mediatorial office in general, verse 16. Here it is revealed how he should be a person to stand between them and God, that was so terrible a being, a being of such awful majesty, holiness, and justice, that they could not have come to him, and have intercourse with him immediately, without a mediator to stand between them; because, if they came to such a dreadful sin-revenging God immediately, they should die; God would prove a consuming fire to them. And then here is a particular revelation of Christ with respect to his prophetical office: "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee," etc. Further, it is revealed what kind of a prophet he should be, a prophet like Moses, who was the head and leader of all the people, and who, under God, had been their redeemer, to bring them out of the house of bondage, was as it were their shepherd by whom God led them through the Red Sea and wilderness, and was an intercessor for them with God, and was both a prophet and a king in the congregation; for Moses had the power of a king among them. It is said of him, Deuteronomy 33:5 he was king in Jeshurun, and he was the prophet by whom God as it were built up his church, and delivered his instructions of worship. Thus Christ was to be a prophet like unto Moses; so that this is both the plainest and fullest prophecy of Christ that ever had been from the beginning of the world to this time.

The next prophecy that I shall take notice of, respects only the calling of the Gentiles, which should be after Christ's coming, of which God gave a very plain prophecy by Moses in the wilderness, Deuteronomy 32:21. Here is a very plain prophecy of the rejection of the Jews and calling the Gentiles. They moved God to jealousy, by that which was not a god, by casting him off, and taking other gods, that were no gods, in his room. So God declares that he will move them to jealousy in the like manner, by casting them off, and taking other people, that had not been his people, in their room. The Apostle Paul takes notice of this prophecy, as foretelling the calling of the Gentiles, in Romans 10:19, 20 "But I say, Did not Israel know? "First, Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after me."

Thus you see how the light of the gospel, which first began to dawn and glimmer immediately after the fall, gradually increases the nearer we come to Christ's time.

10. Another thing by which God carried on his work in this time, was a remarkable pouring out of his spirit on the young generation in the wilderness. The generation that was grown up when they came out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, was a very froward and perverse generation. They were tainted with the idolatry and wickedness of Egypt, and were not weaned from it, as the Prophet Ezekiel takes notice, Ezekiel 20:6, 7, 8. Hence they made the golden calf in imitation of the idolatry of Egypt, that was wont to worship a bull or an ox; and therefore cattle are called the abomination of the Egyptians, that is their idol. This generation God was exceeding angry with, and swore in his wrath, that they should not enter into his rest. But the younger generation were not so; the generation that were under twenty years old when they came out of Egypt, and those that were born in the wilderness, the generation spoken of Numbers 14:31. "But your little ones, whom ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in; and they shall know the land that ye have despised." This was the generation with whom the covenant was renewed, as we have an account in Deuteronomy, and that entered into the land of Canaan. This generation God was pleased to make a generation to his praise, and they were eminent for piety; as appears by many things said in scripture about them; as, particularly, Jeremiah 2:2. "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase." Here the generation that went after God in the wilderness is spoken of with very high commendations, as eminent for holiness: Israel was holiness to the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase. Their love to God is spoken of as distinguished like the love of a bride at her espousals. The going after God in the wilderness that is here spoken of, is not the going of the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness of Sinai, but their following God through that dreadful wilderness, that the congregation long wandered in, after they went back from Kadesh-Barnea, which is spoken of, Deuteronomy 8:15. "Who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water." Though this generation had a much greater trial, than the generation of their fathers had before they came to Kadesh-Barnea, yet they never murmured against God in any wise, as their fathers had done: But their trials had a contrary effect upon them, to awaken them, convince, and humble them, and fit them for great mercy. They were awakened by those awful judgments of God that he inflicted on their fathers, whereby their carcasses fell in the wilderness. And God poured out his spirit with those awakening providences towards their fathers, and their own travel in the wilderness, and the word preached to them by Moses; hereby they were greatly awakened, and made to see the badness of their own hearts, and were humbled, and at length multitudes of them savingly converted; as Deuteronomy 8:2, 3. "And thou shalt remember the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee, and to know what was thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, etc. And, verse 15. "Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness—that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end." And therefore it is said, Hosea 13:5. "I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought." God allured them, and brought them into that wilderness, and spake comfortably to them, as it was foretold that he would do afterwards, Hosea 2:14.

Those terrible judgments that were executed in the congregation after their turning back from Kadesh Barnea, in the matter of Korah, and the matter of Peor, were chiefly on the old generation, whom God consumed in the wilderness. Those rebellions were chiefly among the elders of the congregation, who were of the older generation, that God had given up to their hearts lust; and they walked in their own counsels, and God was grieved with their manners forty years in the wilderness.

But that this younger congregation were eminent for piety, appears by all their history. The former generation were wicked, and were followed with curses; but this was holy, and wonderful blessings followed them. God did great things for them; he fought for them, and gave them the possession of Canaan. And it is God's manner, when he has very great mercies to bestow on a visible people, first to fit them for them, and then to bestow them on them. So it was here: They believed in God, and by him overcame Sihon and Og, and the giants of Canaan; and are commended for cleaving unto the Lord: Joshua 23:8. Joshua says unto them, "Cleave unto the Lord, as you have done unto this day" And so Israel did all the while that generation lived. But when Joshua and all that generation were dead, there arose another generation that knew not the Lord. This pious generation showed a laudable and fervent zeal for God on several occasions; on occasion of Achan's sin; but especially when they suspected the two tribes and a half had set up an altar in opposition to the altar of burnt offering. There never was any generation of Israel that so much good and so little evil is mentioned of, as this generation. It is further observable, that in the time of this generation was the second general circumcision, whereby the reproach of Israel was fully rolled away, and they became pure; and when afterwards they were polluted by Achan, they purged themselves again.

The men of the former generation being dead, and God having sanctified this younger generation to himself, he solemnly renewed his covenant with them, as we have a particular account in the twenty-ninth chapter of Deuteronomy. We find that such solemn renovations of the covenant commonly accompanied any remarkable pouring out of the Spirit, causing a general reformation: So we find it was in Hezekiah's and Josiah's times. It is questionable whether there ever was a time of so great a flourishing of religion in the Israelitish church, as in that generation; and as, in the Christian church, religion was in its most flourishing circumstances in the day of its espousals, or first setting up of that church, in the days of the apostles, so it seems to have been with the Jewish church in the days of its first establishment in Moses' and Joshua's times.

Thus God at this time did gloriously advance the work of redemption, both by his word and Spirit. By this pouring out of the Spirit of God, the work of redemption was promoted, not only as it was in itself a glorious instance of the carrying on of that redemption in the application of it, but as this was what God made use of as a means of the good and orderly establishment of the church of Israel at its first beginning, when it was first settled in the regular observance of God's ordinances in Canaan: Even as the pouring out of the Spirit, in the beginning of the Christian church, was a great means God made use of for the well-establishing the Christian church in the world in all succeeding ages.

11. The next thing I would observe, is God's bringing the people of Israel under the hand of Joshua, and settling them in that land where Christ was to be born, and which was the great type of the heavenly Canaan, which Christ has purchased. This was done by Joshua, who was of Joseph's posterity, and was an eminent type of Christ, and is therefore called the shepherd, the stone of Israel, in Jacob's blessing of Joseph, Genesis 49:24. Being such a type of Christ, he bore the name of Christ. Joshua and Jesus are the same name, only the one is Hebrew, the other is Greek: And therefore, in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek, Joshua is called Jesus, Acts 7:45. "Which also our fathers brought in with Jesus," that is Joshua; Hebrews 4:8. If Jesus had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day;" that is if Joshua had given them rest.

God wonderfully possessed his people of this land, conquering the former inhabitants of it, and the mighty giants, as Christ conquering the devil; first conquering the great kings of that part of the land that was on the eastern side of Jordan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan; and then dividing the river Jordan, as before he had done the Red sea; causing the walls of Jericho to fall down at the sound of the trumpets of the priests, that sound typifying the sound of the gospel by the preaching of gospel ministers, the walls of the accursed city Jericho signifying the walls of Satan's kingdom; and after this wonderfully destroying the mighty host of the Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun and moon to stand still, to help the people against their enemies, at the prayer of the typical Jesus; plainly holding this forth, that God would make the whole course of nature to be subservient to the affair of redemption; so that every thing should yield to the purposes of that work, and give place to the welfare of God's redeemed people.

Thus did Christ show his great love to his elect, that he would make the course of nature, in the frame of the world, that he had made, and that he governed, to give place to their happiness and prosperity; and showed that the sun and moon, and all things, visible and invisible, were theirs by his purchase. At the same time, Christ fought as the Captain of their host, and cast down great hailstones upon their enemies, by which more were slain than by the sword of the children of Israel. After this Christ gave the people a mighty victory over a yet greater army in the northern part of the land, that were gathered together at the waters of Merom, as the sand of the sea-shore, as it is said Joshua 11:4.

Thus God gave the people whence Christ was to proceed, the land where he was to be born, and live, and preach, and work miracles, and die, and rise again, whence he was to ascend into heaven, as the land which was a great type of heaven: Which is another thing whereby a great advance was made in the affair of redemption.

12. Another thing that God did towards carrying on this affair, was his actually setting up his stated worship among the people, as it had been before instituted in the wilderness. This worship was appointed at Mount Sinai, wholly in subserviency to this great affair of redemption. It was to make way for the coming of Christ; and the innumerable ceremonial observances of it were typical of him and his redemption. This worship was chiefly instituted at Mount Sinai; but it was gradually set up in practice. It was partly set up in the wilderness, where the tabernacle and its vessels were made; but there were many parts of their instituted worship that could not be observed in the wilderness, by reason of their unsettled itinerant state there: and then there were many precepts that respect the land of Canaan, and their cities and places of habitation there: which therefore could not be put in practice, till they came into that land. But now, when this was brought to pass, God set up his tabernacle in the midst of his people, as he had before promised them. Leviticus 26:11. "I will set up my tabernacle among you" The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, Joshua 18:1, and the priests and Levites had their offices appointed them, and the cities of refuge were appointed; and now the people were in a condition to observe their feasts of the first-fruits, and their feasts of ingathering and to bring all their tithes and appointed offerings to the Lord: and most parts of God's worship were set up, though there were some things that were not observed till afterwards.

13. The next thing I would take notice of, was God's wonderfully preserving that people, from this time forward, when all the males went up, three times in the year, to the place where God's ark was. The people of Israel were generally surrounded with enemies, that sought all opportunities to destroy them, and dispossess them of their land; and till David's time there were great numbers in the land of the remains of the Canaanites, and the other former inhabitants of the land, that were bitter enemies to the people of Israel: and these had from year to year, three times in the year, a fair opportunity of overrunning their country, and getting possession of their cities, when all the males were gone, and only the women, and those who were not able to go up, were left behind. Yet they were remarkably preserved throughout all generations at such seasons, agreeable to the promise that God had made Exodus 34:24. "Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." So wonderfully did God order affairs, and influence the hearts of their enemies, that though they were so full of enmity against Israel, and desired to dispossess them of their land, and had so fair an opportunity so often in their hands, that the whole country was left naked and empty of all that could resist them, and it would have been only for them to have gone and taken possession, and they could have had it without opposition, and they were so eager to take other opportunities against them; yet we never read, in all their history, of any of their enemies taking these opportunities against them: which could be no less than a continual miracle, that God, for the preservation of his church, kept up for so many generations even throughout the ages of the Old Testament. It was surely a wonderful dispensation of divine providence to maintain and promote God's great design of redemption.

14. God's preserving his church and the true religion from being wholly extinct in the frequent apostasies of the Israelites in the time of the judges. How prone was that people to forsake the true God, that had done such wonderful things for them, and to fall into idolatry; and how did the land, from time to time, seem to be almost overrun with idolatry! But yet God never suffered his true worship to be totally rooted out: his tabernacle stood, the ark was preserved, the book of the law was kept from being destroyed, God's priesthood was upheld, and God still had a church among the people; and time after time, when religion seemed to be almost gone, and it was come to the last extremity, then God granted a revival, and sent some angel or prophet, or raised up some eminent person, to be an instrument of their reformation.

15. God's preserving that nation from being destroyed, and delivering them from time to time, although they were so often subdued and brought under the dominion of their enemies. It is a wonder, not only that the true religion was not wholly rooted out, and so the church destroyed that way; but also that the very nation in which that church was, was not utterly destroyed; they were so often brought under the power of their enemies. One while they were subdued by Cushan-rishataim king of Mesopotamia, another while they were brought under the Moabites; and then they were sold into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan; and then they were under the dominion of the Midianites; and then were sorely distressed by the children of Ammon; and then by the Philistines. But yet God, in all these dangers, preserved them, and kept them from being wholly overthrown; and from time to time, when it was come to extremity, and God saw that they were upon the very brink of ruin, then God raised up a deliverer, agreeable to Deuteronomy 32:36. "For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants; when he sees their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left."

Those remarkable dispensations of Providence are very livelily and elegantly set forth by the Psalmist, Psalm 106:34, etc.

These deliverers that God raised up from time to time were all types of Christ, the great redeemer and deliverer of his church; and some of them very remarkably so; as, particularly, Barak, Jephthah, Gideon, and Samson, in very many particulars; and above all in the acts of Samson, as might be shown, were it not that this would take up too much time.

16. It is observable, that when Christ appeared to manage the affairs of his church in this period, he often appeared in the form of that nature that he took upon him in his incarnation. So he seems to have appeared to Moses from time to time, and particularly at that time when God spoke to him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, and he beheld the similitude of the Lord (Numbers 12:8), after he had besought him to show him his glory; which was the most remarkable vision that ever he had of Christ. There was a twofold discovery that Moses had of Christ: one was spiritual, made to his mind, by the word that was proclaimed, when he proclaimed his name, saying, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation," Exodus 34:6 etc. Another was external; which was that which Moses saw, when Christ passed by, and put him in a cleft of the rock, and covered him with his hand, so that Moses saw his back parts. What he saw was doubtless the back parts of a glorious human form, in which Christ appeared to him, and in all likelihood the form of his glorified human nature, in which he should afterwards appear. He saw not his face; for it is not to be supposed that any man could subsist under a sight of the glory of Christ's human nature as it now appears.

So it was a human form in which Christ appeared to the seventy elders, of which we have an account. Exodus 24:9-11: "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel." "And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet, as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness." "And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink." So Christ appeared afterwards to Joshua in the form of the human nature. Joshua 5:13-14: "And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him, with a sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" "And he said Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." And so he appeared to Gideon, Judges 6:11 etc., and so also to Manoah Judges 13:17-21. Here Christ appeared to Manoah in a representation both of his incarnation and death; of his incarnation, in that he appeared in a human form; and of his death and sufferings, represented by the sacrifice of a kid, and by his ascending up in the flame of the sacrifice; intimating that it was he that was the great sacrifice, that must be offered up to God for a sweet savor, in the fire of his wrath, as that kid was burned and ascended up in the flame. Christ thus appeared, time after time, in the form of that nature he was afterwards to take upon him; because he now appeared on the same design, and to carry on the same work, that he was to appear in that nature to work out and carry on.

17. Another thing I would mention, done in this period towards the work of redemption, is the beginning of a succession of prophets, and erecting a school of the prophets, in Samuel's time. There was something of this spirit of prophecy in Israel after Moses, before Samuel. Joshua and many of the Judges had a degree of it. Deborah was a prophetess; and some of the high priests were informed with this spirit; particularly Eli: and that space of time was not wholly without instances of those that were set appointed of God especially to this office, and so were called prophets. Such a one we read of, Judges 6:8: "The Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them," etc. Such a one it seems to have been that we read of, 1 Samuel 2:27: "and there came a man of God to Eli," etc.

But there was no such order of men upheld in Israel for any constancy, before Samuel; the want of it is taken notice of in 2 Samuel 3:1: "And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision." But in Samuel there was begun a succession of prophets, that was maintained continually from that time, at least with very little interruption, till this spirit of prophecy ceased, about Malachi's time: and therefore Samuel is spoken in the New Testament as the beginning of the succession of prophets. Acts 3:24: "And all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have foretold of these days." After Samuel was Nathan, and Gad and Iddo, and Heman, and Asaph, and others. And afterwards, in the latter end of Solomon's reign, we read of Ahijah; and in Jeroboam and Rehoboam's time we read of prophets; and so continually one prophet succeeded another, till the captivity. We read in the writings of those prophets that are inserted into the canon of the scriptures, of prophets as being a constant order of men upheld in the land in those days: and in the time of the captivity there were prophets still, as Ezekiel and Daniel; and after the captivity there were prophets, as Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi.

Because God intended a constant succession of prophets from Samuel's time, therefore in his time was begun a school of the prophets; that is, a school of young men, that were trained up under some great prophet, who was their master and teacher in the study of divine things, and the practice of holiness, to fit them for this office as God should call them to it. Those young men that belonged to these schools, were called the sons of the prophets; and oftentimes they are called prophets. These at first were under the tuition of Samuel. Thus we read of Samuel's being appointed over them, 1 Samuel 19:20: "And when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them." The company of prophets that we read of 1 Samuel 10:5 were the same. Afterwards we read of their being under Elijah. Elisha was one of his sons; but he desired to have a double portion of his spirit, as his successor, as his firstborn, as the eldest son was wont to have a double portion of the estate of his father; and therefore the sons of the prophets, when they perceived that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, submitted themselves to him, and owned him for their master, as they had done Elijah before him; as you may see, 2 Kings 2:15. "And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha." "And they bowed themselves to the ground before him."

After this Elisha was their master or teacher; he had the care and instruction of them; as you may see, 2 Kings 4:38. "And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets." In Elijah's and Elisha's time, there were several places where there resided companies of these sons of the prophets; as there was one at Bethel, and another at Jericho, and another at Gilgal, unless that at Gilgal and Jericho were the same: and possibly that which is called the college, where the prophetess Huldah resided, was another at Jerusalem; see 2 Kings 22:14. It is there said of Huldah the prophetess, that "she dwelt in Jerusalem, in the college." They had houses built, where they used to dwell together; and therefore those at Jericho being multiplied, and finding their house too little for them, desired leave of their master and teacher Elisha, that they might go and hew timber to build a bigger; as you may see, 2 Kings 6:1-2.

At some times there were numbers of these sons of the prophets in Israel; for when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, it is said, that Obadiah took a hundred of them, and hid them by fifty in a cave, 1 Kings 18:4.

These schools of the prophets being set up by Samuel, and afterwards kept up by such great prophets as Elijah and Elisha, must be of divine appointment; and accordingly we find, that those sons of the prophets were often favored with a degree of inspiration, while they continued under tuition in the schools of the prophets; and God commonly, when he called any prophet to the constant exercise of the prophetical office, and to some extraordinary service, took them out of these schools, -- though not universally. Hence the prophet Amos, speaking of his being called to the prophetical office, says, that he was one that had not been educated in the schools of the prophets, and was not one of the sons of the prophets. Amos 7:14-15. But Amos's taking notice of it as remarkable, that he should be called to be a prophet that had not been educated at the schools of the prophets, shows that it was God's ordinary manner to take his prophets out of these schools; for therein he did but bless his own institution.

Now this remarkable dispensation of Providence that we are upon, namely God's beginning a constant succession of prophets in Samuel's time, that was to last many ages; and to that end, establishing a school of the prophets under Samuel, thenceforward to be continued in Israel, was a step that God took in that great affair of redemption that we are upon. For the main business of this succession of prophets was, to foreshow Christ, and the glorious redemption that he was to accomplish, and so to prepare the way for his coming; as appears by that forementioned place, Acts 3:24 and by Acts 10:43. "To him give all the prophets witness." And by Acts 3:18: "But those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled."

As I observed before, the Old Testament time was like a time of night, wherein the church was not wholly without light, but had not the light of the sun directly, but as reflected from the stars. Now these prophets were the stars that reflected the light of the sun; and accordingly they spoke abundantly of Jesus Christ, as appears by what we have of their prophecies in writing. And they made it very much their business, when they studied in their schools or colleges, and elsewhere, to search out the work of redemption; agreeable to what the apostle Peter says of them, 1 Peter 1:10-11. "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." We are told, that the church of the Redeemer is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, the Redeemer himself being the chief cornerstone, Ephesians 2:20.

This was the first thing of the nature that ever was done in the world; and it was a great thing that God did towards further advancing this great building of redemption. There had been before occasional prophecies of Christ, as was shown; but now the time drawing nearer when the Redeemer should come, it pleased God to appoint a certain order of men, in constant succession, whose main business it should be, to foreshow Christ and his redemption, and as his forerunners to prepare the way for his coming; and God established schools, wherein multitudes were instructed and trained up to that end, Revelation 19:10. "I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

I now turn to the fourth period, which extends from Moses to David. I will show how the work of redemption was carried on through this period as well.

1. The first thing to consider is the redemption of the church of God out of Egypt — the most remarkable of all Old Testament redemptions of the church of God, and the greatest pledge and forerunner of the redemption of Christ. Scripture gives it more attention than any other such redemption. Indeed it was the greatest type of Christ's redemption of any providential event in history. This redemption was accomplished by Jesus Christ, as is clear from the fact that it was wrought by the One who appeared to Moses in the burning bush — for it was that person who sent Moses to deliver the people. That person was Christ, as is evident because He is called the angel of the Lord in Exodus 3:2-3. The bush represented the human nature of Christ, which is called the branch. The bush grew on Mount Sinai, also called Horeb — a word meaning a dry place — just as the human nature of Christ was "a root out of dry ground." The bush burning with fire represented the sufferings of Christ in the fire of God's wrath. It burned but was not consumed — just as Christ, though He suffered intensely, did not perish but overcame at last and rose from His sufferings. Because this great mystery of the incarnation and sufferings of Christ was being depicted here, Moses said, "I will turn aside now and see this marvelous sight." A marvelous sight indeed — for it showed God revealed in the flesh, suffering a dreadful death, and rising from the dead.

This was He who redeemed the church out of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh — just as Christ by His death and sufferings redeems His people from Satan, the spiritual Pharaoh. He freed them from their service and brutal labor, just as Christ frees His people from the cruel slavery of sin and Satan. He redeemed them, as Scripture says, from "the iron furnace," just as Christ redeems His church from a furnace of fire and eternal burning. He redeemed them with a strong hand and outstretched arm and by great and terrible judgments on their enemies — just as Christ with mighty power triumphs over rulers and authorities and executes terrible judgments on His church's enemies, crushing the serpent's head. He saved them — when others were destroyed — by the sprinkling of the blood of the Passover lamb, just as God's church is saved from death by the sprinkling of Christ's blood while the rest of the world is destroyed. God brought the people out over the strong objections of the Egyptians, who could not bear to let them go — just as Christ rescues His people from the hands of the devil over Satan's fierce resistance, when his proud heart cannot bear to be overcome.

In that redemption, Christ not only freed the people from the Egyptians but also from the demons — the gods of Egypt. Before this, the people had been in a state of servitude to Egypt's gods as much as to its people. Christ, the seed of the woman, now fulfilled the curse on the serpent in a remarkable way by crushing his head. Exodus 12:12 records, "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments." Hell was as much involved in that confrontation — and more so — as Egypt was. Satan's pride and cruelty had more to do with it than Pharaoh's. He did his utmost against the people and opposed their redemption with all his power. But Scripture says that when God redeemed His people out of Egypt, He crushed the heads of the sea monsters in the waters, shattered the heads of Leviathan, and gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness (Psalm 74:12-14). God forced their enemies to release them so they might serve Him, as Zechariah also observes with respect to the church under the Gospel in Luke 1:74-75.

The people of Israel went out with a high hand, and Christ went before them in a pillar of cloud and fire. There was a glorious triumph over both earth and hell in that deliverance. When Pharaoh and his armies — and through them, Satan — pursued the people, Christ destroyed them in the Red Sea. The Lord triumphed gloriously; horse and rider He hurled into the sea, where they sank to their final sleep and never pursued the children of Israel again. So all of Christ's enemies are overthrown in His blood — which, by its infinite sufficiency and the magnitude of the sufferings with which it was shed, is fittingly represented by a sea. The Red Sea did represent Christ's blood, as is clear because the apostle compares the children of Israel's passage through the Red Sea to baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) — and we all know that the water of baptism represents Christ's blood.

So Christ, the angel of God's presence, in His love and pity, redeemed His people and carried them in those ancient days as on eagles' wings, so that none of their proud and hostile enemies — neither Egyptians nor demons — could touch them.

This was an entirely new thing that God did toward the great work of redemption — God had never done anything like it before (Deuteronomy 4:32-34). It was a major advance in the work of redemption that had been unfolding since the fall of man — a great step in divine providence toward preparing the way for Christ's coming into the world and for the working out of His great and eternal redemption. For this was the people from whom Christ was to come. Here we can see how that plant flourished that God had planted in Abraham. Though the family from which Christ was to come had been separated from the rest of the world to some degree since the calling of Abraham, that separation had proved insufficient on its own. Though they had been kept as strangers and foreigners, prevented from merging into other nations politically, they had still lived intermingled with other peoples — and as events had shown, this had put them in danger of completely losing true religion and being overtaken by the idolatry of their neighbors. God now, through this redemption, separated them as a nation from all other nations, to exist as their own political and religious community, with no entanglement with pagan nations. In this way they could remain separate until Christ would come, and the church of Christ could be preserved and continue to hold the oracles of God until that time — maintaining the types and prophecies of Christ, the historical records, and the other divine instruction necessary to prepare the way for His coming.

2. Just as this people were separated to be God's own special people, all other peoples on the face of the earth were left entirely to paganism. As far as God's providence is concerned, this belongs to the great work of redemption we are discussing. It was one of the things God arranged in His providence to prepare the way for Christ's coming and for the great salvation He was to accomplish in the world. Its purpose was to prepare for the more glorious and remarkable victory and triumph of Christ's power and grace over a wicked and miserable world, and to make Christ's salvation of mankind all the more evident. This is the very explanation Scripture itself gives in Romans 11:30-32. Speaking to the Gentiles who had formerly been pagans, the apostle says, "For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all." That is, it was God's will that the whole world — both Jews and Gentiles — should be visibly and openly in unbelief, so that God's mercy and Christ's salvation toward them all would be clearly visible. The apostle is not speaking only of the unbelief that is natural to all people, but of the visible and open kind — such as the Jews exhibited when they openly rejected Christ and ceased to be a professing people. The apostle observes that first the Gentile nations were included in open rejection of the true religion before Christ came — to prepare the way for the calling of the Gentiles, which happened soon after Christ arrived, so that God's mercy to them would be all the more evident. Then the Jews were rejected and fell away from the visible church — to prepare the way for the calling of the Jews, which will take place in the latter days. So it will be seen of all nations — both Jews and Gentiles — that they are visibly redeemed by Christ from being visibly outsiders to the people of God, without hope, and without God in the world.

We cannot determine precisely when the Gentile nations' departure from the true God — their being shut up in visible unbelief — became universal. Their falling away was gradual, as noted before. It was widespread in Abraham's time, but not yet total — for we find that Melchizedek, one of the kings of Canaan, was a priest of the Most High God. After this, true religion was maintained for a time among some of Abraham's other descendants besides Jacob's family, and also among some of Nahor's descendants — as we see in the examples of Job, his three friends, and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job lived, was possessed by the descendants of Uz — or Huz — the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, mentioned in Genesis 22:21. Bildad the Shuhite was from the line of Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2), and Elihu the Buzite was from Buz, the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. So true religion survived among some people outside of Israel for a time after Abraham. But it did not last long. It is probable that their final rejection and surrender to idolatry occurred around the time God separated the children of Israel out of Egypt to serve Him — for the Israelites are often reminded at that point that God had now separated them to be His own special people, distinct from all other peoples on earth, His people alone, His portion while others were rejected. This seems to show us that God now chose them in such a way that His visible choice of them was accompanied by a visible rejection of all other nations — that God visibly came and took up His residence with them, as if forsaking all other peoples.

Just as the first calling of the Gentiles after Christ came was accompanied by the rejection of the Jews, so the first calling of the Jews to be God's people — when they were called out of Egypt — was accompanied by the rejection of the Gentiles.

So all the Gentile nations throughout the whole world — all nations except Israel and those who joined themselves to Israel — were left and given over to idolatry. They remained in this condition for many ages, from that time until Christ came — a period of about fifteen hundred years. They were held in unbelief for so long a time to provide thorough proof of the necessity of a Savior. The long trial would show, beyond all dispute, that mankind was completely unable to deliver itself from the terrible darkness, misery, and subjection to the devil into which it had fallen. It would demonstrate that all the wisdom of the philosophers and the wisest men the pagan world produced could not deliver them from their darkness — making the greater glory belong to Jesus Christ, who when He came, enlightened and delivered them through His glorious Gospel. In this the wonderful wisdom of God was displayed in preparing the way for Christ's redemption. This is what Scripture teaches in 1 Corinthians 1:21: "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

I could consider here as another work of God advancing the overall work of redemption that wonderful deliverance He worked for the children of Israel at the Red Sea, when they were pursued by the armies of Egypt and appeared on the verge of being destroyed — with no humanly conceivable way of escape. But since this may be seen as part of their redemption out of Egypt, and as belonging to that more general work, I will not elaborate further on it.

3. The next thing to note in this period in terms of what was done toward the work of redemption is God's giving the moral law in such an awe-inspiring manner at Mount Sinai. This was another new thing that God did — a new step taken in this great work. Deuteronomy 4:33 says, "Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?" It was a great thing that God did toward this work — whether we consider it as a fresh presentation of the covenant of works or as a rule of life.

The covenant of works was presented here as a teacher to lead people to Christ — not only for the use of Israel during the Old Testament period, but for the use of God's church throughout all ages. It serves as an instrument the great Redeemer uses to convince people of their sin and misery and helpless condition, and of God's awesome and fearsome majesty and justice as lawgiver — making people feel their desperate need of Christ as Savior. The work of redemption in its saving effect on human souls, throughout all its progress to the end, is not carried on without the use of this law given at Sinai.

It was given in an awe-inspiring manner — with a terrifyingly loud and fearful voice, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Even Moses, though a close friend of God, said, "I am full of fear and trembling." The voice was accompanied by thunder and lightning, the mountain blazing with fire up to the middle of the sky, and the earth itself shaking and trembling. All of this was to make clear how great was the authority, power, and justice that stood behind this law and demanded its fulfillment — how strictly God would require compliance, and how terrible His wrath would be against every person who broke it. These realities were meant to confront people thoroughly, to test their hearts and show them how impossible it is to obtain salvation by the works of the law, and to make them see their absolute need for a mediator.

If we regard this law given at Mount Sinai not as the covenant of works but as a rule of life, then the Redeemer has used it from that time to the end of the world as a guide for His people — showing them the way they must walk if they are to reach heaven. For a life of sincere and wholehearted obedience to this law is the narrow way that leads to life.

4. The next notable thing in this period is God's giving the ceremonial law — by which I mean most or all of the commands given through Moses that did not properly belong to the moral law. This includes not only what are commonly called ceremonial laws, as distinct from civil laws (the laws governing the ceremonies and details of Jewish worship and their religious community), but also many if not all the civil laws given for governing the Jewish nation. Many of these were typological in nature. The giving of this typological law was another great thing God did in this period to build up the glorious structure of redemption He had been constructing from the beginning of the world. There had been many typological acts of providence before this — representing Christ and His redemption — and some typological ordinances, especially circumcision and sacrifice. But now, instead of representing the great Redeemer through just a few institutions, God gave a law filled with nothing but varied and countless typological pictures of good things to come. Through this law the nation was directed how — year by year, month by month, and day by day, in their religious observances and in the conduct of their ecclesiastical and civil life — to portray something of Christ. One observance showed one thing, presenting one doctrine or one benefit; another showed another — so that the whole nation through this law was, as it were, constituted as a typological community. In this way the Gospel was abundantly displayed to that nation, so that there is scarcely a doctrine of it that is not specifically taught and portrayed by some observance of this law — though it was in shadows and under a veil, as Moses put a veil over his face when it shone.

To this typological law belong all the precepts relating to the construction of the tabernacle that was set up in the wilderness, along with all its form, details, and furnishings.

5. Around this time, God's church received the first written word of God that His people had ever possessed. This was another great step in the work of redemption — a new and glorious advance of the building. This was the beginning of the great written rule that God gave for governing the faith, worship, and practice of His church in all ages from that point to the end of the world. This rule grew and was added to over many ages until it was completed and the canon of Scripture was finished by the apostle John. Whether the very first written word was the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone by the finger of God, or the book of Job, is not essential to determine. Nor does it matter greatly whether Job was written by Moses, as some think, or by Elihu, as others believe. If it was written by Elihu, it was written before the period we are now examining — but only just before, as is apparent from considering the lineage of the people mentioned in it and the great age Job had already lived when it was written.

The written word of God is the chief instrument Christ has used to carry on His work of redemption in all ages since it was given. There was now a clear need for God's word to be put in writing as a fixed standard for His church. Before this, the church received the word of God through tradition — either directly from prominent individuals who were inspired and still living (for it was common in those early days, before there was a written word, for God to reveal Himself to prominent people directly, as appears in Job and in many passages of Genesis), or by tradition passed down from earlier generations. This oral transmission was reasonably reliable in earlier ages because people lived so long. Noah could converse with Adam and receive traditions directly from him. Noah lived until roughly Abraham's time. And the sons of Jacob lived long enough to pass on the revelations given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to their descendants in Egypt. But by this time, the distance from the beginning was so great, human lifespans had been reduced to their current length around Moses's time, and God had now set apart a nation as His own people — partly for the purpose of being keepers of His oracles. God therefore saw it necessary and fitting to commit His word to writing, to stand as a reliable standard for all ages to come. So in addition to the book of Job, Christ wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone with His own finger. After this, the entire law — containing the substance of the five books of Moses — was by God's special command committed to writing. It was called "the Book of the Law" and was placed in the tabernacle to be kept there for the use of the church, as Deuteronomy 31:24-26 shows.

6. God was pleased now to wonderfully represent the journey of His redeemed church through the world to their eternal inheritance through the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan. Every stage of the church's redemption by Christ — from beginning to its completion in glory — was portrayed there. The state from which they are redeemed was represented by Egypt and their bondage there. The purchase of their redemption was represented by the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, offered on the night God struck down all the firstborn of Egypt. The beginning of the application of Christ's redemption to the church — their conversion — was represented by Israel's departure from Egypt and their passing through the Red Sea in so extraordinary and miraculous a manner. The church's journey through this evil world, and the various changes she passes through in its different stages, was represented by the Israelites' travels through the wilderness. The manner of their being led by Christ was represented by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The manner in which the church is sustained and supplied from beginning to end with spiritual nourishment and daily communication from God was represented by God's providing the children of Israel with bread — manna from heaven — and water from the rock. The dangers the saints face on their journey through the world were represented by the poisonous snakes the children of Israel encountered in the wilderness. The conflicts of the church with her enemies were represented by their battles with the Amalekites and others they fought in the wilderness. Countless other parallels could be mentioned in which the events of that journey were vivid pictures of what the church and individual believers experience in every age. That these things are types of what pertains to the Christian church is made clear by 1 Corinthians 10:11: "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." The apostle is speaking of the very events we have just mentioned, and he expressly says they happened to them as types — that is the word in the original.

7. Another thing that must not be overlooked here is a remarkable act of providence affecting all of mankind, completed during this period — the shortening of human lifespan from nearly nine hundred to a thousand years down to about seventy or eighty. The shortening began immediately after the flood. The first generation after the flood lived to about 600 years; the next to between 400 and 500; and human life gradually grew shorter and shorter until around the time of the great plague that struck the congregation of Israel after they had complained at the report of the spies and their bodies fell in the wilderness — when all the men of war died. At that point human lifespan was reduced to its current standard, as Moses observes in the psalm he wrote on the occasion of that event, Psalm 90:10: "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away."

This great act of God served to advance the grand design of Christ's redemption. The brevity of human life in this world prepared the way for poor, mortal, short-lived men to more joyfully receive the good news of everlasting life in another world — brought to light through the Gospel — and to more readily embrace a Savior who purchases and offers such a blessing. If people still commonly lived to about nine hundred years, how much less would move them to pay attention to the offer of a future life. How much greater would be their temptation to be content with the things of this world — things which, lasting so long, would naturally crowd out any thought of another life. This probably contributed greatly to the wickedness of those who lived before the flood. But now, how much stronger are people's motives to seek redemption and a better life through the great Redeemer — since human life is not one twelfth of what it once was, and people now universally die at an age when men formerly were just beginning their lives.

8. The same work was carried on in God's preserving the people from whom Christ was to come from perishing in the wilderness — an uninterrupted miracle spanning forty years. I have noted many times how God wonderfully preserved those from whom the Redeemer would come: He preserved Noah and his family from the flood; He preserved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with their families from the wicked inhabitants of Canaan; He preserved Jacob and his family from perishing in the famine, through Joseph in Egypt. But this preservation of the children of Israel for so long in the wilderness was in some ways more remarkable than all of these — for it was a continuous miracle of such long duration. There were, by reasonable estimate, at first two million souls in that assembly, who had the same physical need for food and water as any other people. Had these been withheld, they would all have perished — every man, woman, and child — within less than a month, with not one survivor. Yet this vast multitude survived for forty years in a dry, barren wilderness, without planting or harvesting or farming any land. Bread was rained down to them from heaven daily, water was provided to satisfy them all from a rock, and the clothing they brought out of Egypt did not wear out throughout that entire time. There was never another example like this of an entire nation being sustained in this way for so long. So God upheld His church by a continuous miracle and kept alive the people in whom was the blessing — the promised seed, the great Redeemer of the world.

9. During the time Israel was in the wilderness, God was pleased to give a fuller revelation of Christ the Redeemer through prophecy than had ever been given before. Three prophecies given at this time are worth noting. The first is Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 24:17-19: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, while Israel performs valiantly. One from Jacob shall have dominion, and will destroy the remnant from the city." This is a clearer prophecy of Christ — especially regarding His kingly office — than anything that had come before. But there is another that God gave through Moses, clearer still, especially regarding His prophetic office, in Deuteronomy 18:18: "I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him," etc. This is a clearer prophecy of Christ than any before it in this respect: all previous prophecies of Christ had been in figurative and symbolic language. The first prophecy — that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head — was such. The promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that "in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed" were also symbolic — and less specific, because the phrase "your seed" is general and not plainly limited to one particular person. Jacob's prophecy in blessing Judah (Genesis 49:8) is in symbolic language, as is Balaam's, which refers to Christ under the figurative expression of "a star." But this Mosaic prophecy is plain, with no symbolic veil at all.

This prophecy of Christ contains several important elements. It describes His mediatorial office in general, in verse 16 — revealing that He would be a person standing between the people and God, who is so awe-inspiring in His majesty, holiness, and justice that they could not approach Him directly or have fellowship with Him without a mediator standing between them. For if they came directly to a God of such terrible power against sin, they would die — God would be a consuming fire to them. It then gives a specific revelation of Christ with respect to His prophetic office: "I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you," etc. Further, it reveals what kind of prophet He would be — a prophet like Moses. Moses was the leader and head of all the people, who under God had been their deliverer from bondage, their shepherd through the Red Sea and the wilderness, their intercessor before God, and who held both a prophetic and kingly role among them. For Moses exercised the authority of a king over them. Deuteronomy 33:5 says he was king in Jeshurun, and he was the prophet through whom God built up His church and gave instructions for worship. So Christ was to be a prophet like Moses — making this the clearest and fullest prophecy of Christ given from the beginning of the world up to this time.

The next prophecy to note concerns only the calling of the Gentiles that would follow Christ's coming — a very plain prophecy that God gave through Moses in the wilderness, in Deuteronomy 32:21. Here is a clear prophecy of the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles. The people had provoked God to jealousy by turning from Him to what was no god — by casting Him off and taking other gods, which are no gods, in His place. So God declares He will provoke them to jealousy in the same way — by casting them off and taking another people, who had not been His people, in their place. The apostle Paul points to this prophecy as foretelling the calling of the Gentiles in Romans 10:19-20: "But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, 'I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you.' And Isaiah is very bold and says, 'I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.'"

So we see how the light of the Gospel — which first began to dawn and glimmer immediately after the fall — has been steadily growing brighter as we draw nearer to the time of Christ.

10. Another way God carried on His work during this period was through a remarkable outpouring of His Spirit on the younger generation in the wilderness. The generation that had grown up when they came out of Egypt — those twenty years old and older — was a very stubborn and rebellious generation. They had been shaped by the idolatry and wickedness of Egypt and were not weaned from it, as the prophet Ezekiel notes in Ezekiel 20:6-8. This is why they made the golden calf in imitation of Egypt's idol worship, which centered on the bull or ox — which is why cattle are called "the abomination of the Egyptians," that is, their idol. God was deeply angry with this generation and swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest. But the younger generation was different — those under twenty when they came out of Egypt, and those born in the wilderness, the generation spoken of in Numbers 14:31: "Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey — I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected." This was the generation with whom the covenant was renewed, as recorded in Deuteronomy, and who entered the land of Canaan. God was pleased to make this generation a people to His praise, and they were marked by exceptional godliness — as many Scripture passages show. In particular, Jeremiah 2:2 says, "I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of His harvest." The generation that followed God in the wilderness is here spoken of with the highest praise for holiness: Israel was holy to the Lord and the firstfruits of His harvest. Their love for God is described as being as intense as the love of a bride at her wedding. The following God in the wilderness spoken of here is not the going out of Egypt into the wilderness of Sinai, but their following God through that terrible wilderness after they turned back from Kadesh-barnea — described in Deuteronomy 8:15: "who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water." Though this generation faced far greater trials than their parents had faced before reaching Kadesh-barnea, they never once complained against God as their parents had done. Instead, their trials had the opposite effect — awakening them, convicting them, humbling them, and preparing them for great mercy. They were shaken by those terrible judgments God brought on their parents, whose bodies fell in the wilderness. God poured out His Spirit through those sobering acts of judgment against their parents, through their own journey in the wilderness, and through the word preached to them by Moses. Through this, many of them were deeply convicted, made to see the wickedness of their own hearts, were humbled, and eventually were savingly converted. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 says, "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you... " And verse 15 says, "who led you through the great and terrible wilderness... that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end." So Hosea 13:5 says, "I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of drought." God drew them in and brought them into that wilderness and spoke tenderly to them — as was later foretold in Hosea 2:14.

The terrible judgments that fell on the congregation after they turned back from Kadesh-barnea — in the matter of Korah, and in the matter of Peor — were chiefly aimed at the older generation, whom God was consuming in the wilderness. Those rebellions were led mainly by the elders of the congregation, who belonged to the older generation that God had given over to their own desires. They walked according to their own counsel, and God was grieved by their behavior for forty years in the wilderness.

That this younger generation was marked by exceptional godliness is evident throughout their history. The former generation had been wicked and was followed by curses; this generation was holy and was followed by wonderful blessings. God did great things for them — He fought for them and gave them possession of Canaan. It is God's custom, when He has great mercies to bestow on a visible people, to first prepare them for those mercies and then to give them. So it was here: they trusted in God and through Him defeated Sihon and Og and the giants of Canaan, and they are commended for holding fast to the Lord. Joshua 23:8 records Joshua saying to them, "But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day." And so Israel did throughout the lifetime of that generation. But when Joshua and all that generation had died, there arose another generation that did not know the Lord. This godly generation showed a commendable and fervent zeal for God on several occasions — in the matter of Achan's sin, and especially when they suspected that the two and a half tribes had set up an altar in opposition to the altar of burnt offering. There has never been a generation of Israel of whom so much good and so little evil is recorded. It is also worth noting that during this generation the second general circumcision took place, by which the reproach of Israel was completely removed and they were made clean. And when they were later defiled through Achan, they purified themselves again.

With the men of the former generation dead and God having set this younger generation apart for Himself, He solemnly renewed His covenant with them, as described in detail in Deuteronomy 29. Such solemn renewals of the covenant typically accompanied remarkable outpourings of the Spirit that produced widespread spiritual renewal — as we see in the times of Hezekiah and Josiah. It is questionable whether there was ever a time of such flourishing religion in the Israelite church as in that generation. Just as the Christian church was in its most vibrant state in the days of its founding — the apostolic era — so it appears the Jewish church was at its most vibrant in the days of its first establishment under Moses and Joshua.

So at this time God gloriously advanced the work of redemption, both through His word and His Spirit. This outpouring of the Spirit promoted the work of redemption not only as a glorious instance of that redemption being applied, but also as the means God used to establish the church of Israel well from its very beginning — when it was first settled in the proper observance of God's ordinances in Canaan. This parallels the outpouring of the Spirit at the beginning of the Christian church, which was a major means God used to establish the Christian church firmly for all succeeding ages.

11. The next thing to note is God's bringing the people of Israel under Joshua's leadership and settling them in the land where Christ was to be born — the great picture of the heavenly Canaan that Christ has purchased. This was accomplished by Joshua, who was from the line of Joseph and was a prominent type of Christ. This is why he is called "the shepherd, the stone of Israel" in Jacob's blessing of Joseph in Genesis 49:24. Being such a type of Christ, Joshua bore the name of Christ. Joshua and Jesus are the same name — one Hebrew, the other Greek. This is why, in the New Testament — which was originally written in Greek — Joshua is called Jesus. Acts 7:45 says, "which also our fathers brought in with Jesus" — meaning Joshua. Hebrews 4:8 says, "For if Jesus had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day" — meaning if Joshua had given them rest.

God wonderfully gave His people this land by conquering its former inhabitants and the mighty giants — as Christ would conquer the devil. He first defeated the great kings east of the Jordan — Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. Then He parted the Jordan River, as He had parted the Red Sea before. He caused the walls of Jericho to fall at the sound of the priests' trumpets — that sound typifying the sound of the Gospel through the preaching of ministers, and the walls of the accursed city Jericho representing the walls of Satan's kingdom. After this He miraculously destroyed the mighty army of the Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun and moon to stand still to help the people against their enemies at the prayer of Joshua — the type of Jesus. This clearly showed that God would make the entire course of nature serve the work of redemption, so that all things would yield to that work's purposes and give way to the welfare of God's redeemed people.

So Christ displayed His great love for His elect — that He would bend the very course of nature, in the world He had made and governed, to serve their happiness and safety. He showed that the sun and moon and all things, visible and invisible, were theirs by His purchase. At the same time, Christ fought as the Captain of their armies and hurled great hailstones on their enemies, by which more were killed than by the sword of the children of Israel. After this, Christ gave the people a mighty victory over an even larger army in the northern part of the land — one gathered at the waters of Merom, "as numerous as the sand on the seashore," as Joshua 11:4 says.

So God gave the people from whom Christ was to come the land where He would be born, live, preach, work miracles, die, rise again, and from which He would ascend into heaven — the land that was a great type of heaven. This was another significant advance in the work of redemption.

12. Another thing God did to advance this work was the actual establishment of His appointed worship among the people, as it had been instituted in the wilderness. This worship had been ordered at Mount Sinai entirely in service of the great work of redemption. It was designed to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, and its countless ceremonial observances were types of Him and His redemption. This worship was mainly instituted at Mount Sinai but was set up in practice gradually. It was partly established in the wilderness, where the tabernacle and its furnishings were made — but many parts of the appointed worship could not be observed in the wilderness due to their unsettled, traveling condition. And many commands specifically concerned the land of Canaan and their settled towns and homes, so they could not be carried out until the people arrived there. But now, when this had come to pass, God set up His tabernacle in the midst of His people, as He had promised in Leviticus 26:11: "I will also place My dwelling in your midst." The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), the priests and Levites received their appointed duties, the cities of refuge were designated, and the people were now able to observe their feasts of firstfruits and the feast of harvest and to bring all their tithes and appointed offerings to the Lord. Most elements of God's worship were now established, though some aspects were not put into practice until later.

13. The next thing to note was God's remarkable preservation of the people whenever all the males went up three times a year to the place where God's ark was. The people of Israel were generally surrounded by enemies who sought every opportunity to destroy them and take their land. Until David's time, there were still many within the land — the remaining Canaanites and other former inhabitants — who were fierce enemies of Israel. These people had, three times every year, a clear opportunity to overrun the country and seize its cities, while all the men were away and only the women and those unable to travel were left behind. Yet they were remarkably preserved at these times throughout all generations, in keeping with the promise God had made in Exodus 34:24: "No man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God." God so ordered events and so governed the hearts of their enemies that — though those enemies were so full of hatred toward Israel, so eager to drive them from the land, and had such an open opportunity in their hands year after year, with the whole country left undefended and unresisted, practically inviting them to come and take it — we never once read in the entire biblical history of any enemy ever taking these opportunities against them. This could only have been a continuous miracle by which God, for the preservation of His church, maintained His protection over many generations throughout the entire Old Testament era. It was surely a remarkable act of divine providence, maintaining and advancing God's great design of redemption.

14. God preserved His church and true religion from being entirely extinguished through the repeated apostasies of the Israelites during the period of the judges. How prone that people was to forsake the true God — who had done such wonders for them — and to fall into idolatry! Again and again the land seemed nearly overwhelmed by idolatry. Yet God never allowed His true worship to be completely destroyed. The tabernacle stood. The ark was preserved. The book of the law was kept from being destroyed. God's priesthood was maintained, and God still had a church among the people. Time after time, when true religion seemed nearly gone and had come to the last extremity, God granted a revival — sending an angel or prophet, or raising up some prominent person to serve as an instrument of reformation.

15. God preserved the nation from destruction and delivered them again and again, even though they were so often brought under the power of their enemies. It is remarkable not only that true religion was not completely rooted out and the church destroyed, but also that the very nation in which that church existed was not utterly wiped out. They were brought under enemy power so often. At one time they were subdued by Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; at another they came under the Moabites; then they were sold into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan; then they came under the Midianites; then they were severely oppressed by the Ammonites; and then by the Philistines. Yet in all these dangers God preserved them and kept them from being completely overthrown. Each time they came to the brink of ruin, God raised up a deliverer, in keeping with Deuteronomy 32:36: "For the Lord will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining, bond or free."

These remarkable acts of providence are vividly and powerfully described by the psalmist in Psalm 106:34 and following.

The deliverers God raised up from time to time were all types of Christ, the great Redeemer and Deliverer of His church. Some were especially striking types — in particular Barak, Jephthah, Gideon, and Samson, in many details. Above all, the acts of Samson provided a remarkably detailed picture of Christ, as could be shown if time permitted.

16. It is notable that when Christ appeared to manage the affairs of His church during this period, He often appeared in the form of the human nature He would take in His incarnation. He appears to have appeared to Moses repeatedly in this way — particularly at the time when God spoke with him face to face, as a man speaks to a friend, and Moses saw the form of the Lord (Numbers 12:8), after Moses had asked God to show him His glory. This was the most remarkable vision Moses ever had of Christ. Moses received a twofold revelation of Christ. One was spiritual — made to his mind through the proclamation of God's name, when He declared, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations" (Exodus 34:6 and following). The other was an outward vision — what Moses saw when Christ passed by, placed him in the cleft of the rock, and covered him with His hand, so that Moses saw His back. What Moses saw was undoubtedly the back of a glorious human form in which Christ appeared to him — in all likelihood the form of His glorified human nature as it would afterward appear. He did not see His face, for no one could survive a direct view of the glory of Christ's human nature as it now appears.

Christ also appeared in human form to the seventy elders, as recorded in Exodus 24:9-11: "Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank." Christ afterward appeared to Joshua in human form as well. Joshua 5:13-14 records, "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us or for our adversaries?' He said, 'No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.'" So He appeared to Gideon in Judges 6:11 and following, and to Manoah in Judges 13:17-21. In the appearance to Manoah, Christ presented a picture of both His incarnation and His death. His incarnation was represented by His appearing in human form; His death and sufferings were represented by the sacrifice of a young goat and by His ascending in the flame of the sacrifice — signifying that He was the great sacrifice to be offered to God as a pleasing aroma, in the fire of God's wrath, as that goat was consumed and rose in the flame. Christ appeared in this way — time after time in the form of the nature He would afterward take — because He was appearing for the same purpose and to carry on the same work that He would come in that nature to accomplish.

17. Another thing to note from this period in the work of redemption is the beginning of an established succession of prophets and the founding of a school of the prophets in Samuel's time. The spirit of prophecy was present in Israel after Moses and before Samuel. Joshua and many of the judges had some degree of it. Deborah was a prophetess, and some of the high priests were gifted with this spirit — particularly Eli. That period was not entirely without people specifically appointed by God to the office of prophet. We read of such a one in Judges 6:8: "The Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them," etc. Such a person appears to be the one mentioned in 1 Samuel 2:27: "A man of God came to Eli," etc.

But there was no established and continuous order of prophets in Israel before Samuel. This gap is noted in 1 Samuel 3:1: "Now the word of the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent." But with Samuel began a succession of prophets that continued uninterrupted — or nearly so — from that time until the spirit of prophecy ceased around the time of Malachi. This is why Samuel is spoken of in the New Testament as the beginning of this succession of prophets. Acts 3:24 says, "And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days." After Samuel came Nathan, Gad, Iddo, Heman, Asaph, and others. Then toward the end of Solomon's reign we read of Ahijah, and in the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam there were prophets, and so one prophet succeeded another continually until the captivity. The writings of those prophets included in the biblical canon show that prophets were a recognized and ongoing order of men in the land during those days. During the captivity there were still prophets — Ezekiel and Daniel. And after the captivity there were prophets as well — Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi.

Because God intended a continuous succession of prophets from Samuel's time onward, He established in Samuel's day a school of the prophets — a school for young men who were trained under a great prophet, who served as their master and teacher in the study of divine things and the practice of holiness, preparing them for the office as God would call them to it. These young men who belonged to these schools were called "the sons of the prophets," and they are sometimes simply called "prophets." At first these students were under Samuel's supervision. 1 Samuel 19:20 records, "And when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them." The company of prophets mentioned in 1 Samuel 10:5 was the same group. Later we read of them being under Elijah. Elisha was one of his students, but he asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit — as his successor, as a firstborn son typically received a double share of the father's estate. When the sons of the prophets saw that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, they submitted to him and acknowledged him as their master, as they had acknowledged Elijah before. 2 Kings 2:15 records, "Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him."

After this Elisha was their master and teacher, caring for them and instructing them. 2 Kings 4:38 records, "When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, 'Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.'" In Elijah's and Elisha's time, companies of these sons of the prophets were resident in several locations — one at Bethel, another at Jericho, another at Gilgal (unless the groups at Gilgal and Jericho were one). The place called "the college" where the prophetess Huldah lived may have been another such community at Jerusalem, as 2 Kings 22:14 says that Huldah the prophetess "lived in Jerusalem in the second district." They had houses where they lived together. When the group at Jericho had grown so large their house was too small, they asked their master and teacher Elisha for permission to go cut timber to build a larger one, as 2 Kings 6:1-2 describes.

At times there were considerable numbers of these sons of the prophets in Israel. When Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in groups of fifty in a cave (1 Kings 18:4).

These schools of the prophets, established by Samuel and later maintained by great prophets like Elijah and Elisha, were of divine appointment. Accordingly, the sons of the prophets were often given a degree of inspiration while they were students in these schools. And when God called someone to the ongoing exercise of the prophetical office and to some extraordinary task, He ordinarily took them from these schools — though not always. The prophet Amos, when speaking of his own call to the prophetical office, notes that he had not been educated in the schools of the prophets and was not one of the sons of the prophets (Amos 7:14-15). The very fact that Amos found it remarkable that someone without training in the schools of the prophets should be called as a prophet shows that God's ordinary practice was to call His prophets from these schools — for in doing so He was simply blessing His own institution.

So this remarkable act of providence — God's establishing a continuous succession of prophets beginning with Samuel's time, lasting for many ages, and for that purpose founding a school of the prophets under Samuel to be continued in Israel — was a step God took in the great work of redemption. For the chief purpose of this succession of prophets was to foretell Christ and the glorious redemption He was to accomplish, and so to prepare the way for His coming. This is clear from the previously mentioned Acts 3:24, and from Acts 10:43: "Of Him all the prophets bear witness." And Acts 3:18: "But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled."

As noted before, the Old Testament era was like the nighttime — the church was not completely without light, but it did not have the direct light of the sun. Instead it had light reflected from the stars. These prophets were the stars that reflected the light of the sun. And so they spoke abundantly of Jesus Christ, as their preserved writings make clear. It was very much their work — both in their schools and elsewhere — to study and seek to understand the work of redemption. This is what the apostle Peter says of them in 1 Peter 1:10-11: "As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." We are told that the church of the Redeemer is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with the Redeemer Himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

This was the first thing of this kind ever done in the world, and it was a major step God took in advancing this great work of redemption. There had been occasional prophecies of Christ before, as was shown. But now, as the time of the Redeemer's coming drew nearer, God was pleased to appoint a specific order of men in continuous succession — whose main task would be to foretell Christ and His redemption and to prepare the way for His coming as His forerunners. God established schools where large numbers were trained and prepared for this purpose. Revelation 19:10 says, "I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."