(
Living
in the Gap Between Promise and Reality: The Gospel According
to Abraham,
by Ian Duguid (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1999,
167 pages).
This book is the first in a new series called "The Gospel According to the Old Testament". In a quote contained on the book cover, D.A. Carson says that "one of the most urgent needs of the church is to grasp how the many parts of the Bible fit together to make one story-line that culminates in Jesus Christ…(and) this series of books goes a long way to meeting that need". Sinclair Ferguson was quoted as saying "at last a series on the Old Testament designed to provide reliable exposition, biblical theology, and a focus on Christ".
In
the Foreword (pages x-xi), series editors Tremper Longman III and J. Alan
Groves state the aims of the series as follows:
The Gospel According to the Old Testament Series is
committed to the proposition that the
Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is a unified revelation of God, and that its thematic unity is found in Christ. The individual books of the Old Testament
exhibit diverse genres, styles, and individual
theologies, but tying them all together is the
constant foreshadowing of, and pointing forward to,
Christ. Believing in the fundamentally
Christocentric nature of the Old Testament, as well as the
New Testament, we offer this series of studies in
the Old Testament with the following aims:
·
To lay out the pervasiveness of the revelation of Christ in the Old
Testament
·
To promote a Christ-centered reading of the Old Testament
·
To encourage Christ-centered preaching and teaching from the Old
Testament
They also state that they have decided in most cases to focus on Old Testament characters, rather than on books or themes.
In
his Introduction, the author takes us back to Jesus' post-resurrection Emmaus
road sermon, given to disciples who were distraught and perplexed over Jesus'
death on the cross, and who did not yet recognize their fellow traveler on the
road. To them, Jesus said:
O fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have
suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27 KJV).
So
Jesus said that the theme of suffering followed by glory is woven throughout
the scriptures, beginning with the Pentateuch and extending through the
prophets. Further he indicated that if they understood the Old Testament
rightly, they would not have been so shocked at his crucifixion.
Surely
in his sermon, especially that portion from the Pentateuch, Jesus talked about
Abraham, who we know is referred to throughout the Bible as the exemplar of faith.
In particular, his faith was demonstrated by the way he lived in the reality
gap, i.e., the gap between promise and reality.
But in this book, Duguid says he wants not only to show Abraham as the
man of faith, but also how he acted as "a forerunner and a shadow,
pointing forward to Christ …(as this) is, after all the central thrust of the
Emmaus road sermon" (page 4). Jesus
was interested in the writings of Moses and the prophets primarily because
"they spoke of him" (page 4).
Specifically, they spoke of his
sufferings and the glory that would follow. The whole Old
Testament is thereby declared to
be a thoroughly Christocentric book. This is true, not simply
because there are superficial parallels between
certain Old Testament events and events in the life of Jesus, but more
profoundly because the whole Old Testament was designed by God to provide a
context within which to understand the sufferings and glorification of Christ
(pages 4-5).
So,
the book's first chapter begins with Terah, Abram's father, setting out from Ur
of the Chaldees for Canaan. Terah took his family with him, including Abram and
his wife Sarai, who were childless (Gen 11). This was part of God's plan that
from the beginning was to "preserve for himself a godly line, through whom
the promise of a redemptive offspring of Eve (Gen 3:15) would ultimately be
granted" (page 10). Terah was a descendent of the line of Shem (the son of
Noah). In the genealogies of Gen 5 and 11, it is the tenth name that is of key
significance. Noah, through whom Adam's line was preserved at the flood, was
the tenth patriarch in the line from Adam, while Abram was the tenth patriarch
in the line of Shem. So this is a key that God was planning another deliverance
through Abram.
In
the next chapter of the book, Abram receives the first installment of the
promise, as God promises to make him into a nation, to make his name great, and
to bless all peoples through him (Gen 12:2-3).
But Duguid notes that this is not just about Abram, but points toward
Christ, as stated by Paul in Galatians 3:16:
Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many
many; but as of one, And to thy
seed, which is Christ (KJV).
So
Paul tells us that the promises made to Abram already have Christ in view. Abram "functions as a miniature picture,
a representation of Christ ahead of time" (page 25). Abram left his home
to go a faraway, backward land; Jesus left heaven to come to an insignificant
town on earth. Abram and Jesus both did so on the strength of God's promise.
Abram received a great name, but Christ received the name that is above every
name (Philip 2:9-10). God would curse those who curse Abram, and those who
cursed Christ would themselves be cursed. When God said he would give the land
to Abram's offspring, it was Christ who was ultimately to be the heir.
Further,
Jesus found that "following the way of promise took him through the
reality gap" (page 26), the gap between promise and fulfillment. The
exalted Son of God, who was to inherit all things, lived a life in humble
circumstances, without a place to lay his head, was reviled by those he came to
save, was judged by the Jewish court, and condemned to die an ignominious death
on the cross. Yet in the resurrection, "the reality gap was bridged once
and for all…(as) there the firstfruits of the glories that would follow
Christ's sufferings were revealed" (page 27).
In
Gen 13, Abram demonstrated faith by allowing Lot to have first choice of the
land to settle. Materialistic Lot chose the land "near Sodom", which
was "like the land of Egypt" (verse 10). That turned out to be a very
bad choice. But Abram's faith was rewarded by a renewed promise as God told him
to look in all directions: "For all the land which thou seest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed forever"
(Gen 13:15), and further his offspring would be as numerous as the dust
of the earth.
Yet he never did receive the
full ownership of that property here on earth. Like Moses after him,
Abram looked to an inheritance
ultimately beyond this world…Abram's hope had to be in
something more substantial than
a nice piece of property…It was an eternal hope. He was looking
for a city with foundations,
which God himself would build (see Heb 11:10) (page 37).
Jesus
also made a choice, when the Devil tempted him with an offer of all the
kingdoms of the world if Jesus would just bow down and worship him. As Duguid
says: "Satan was offering Jesus the promised land without the cross"
(page 38). But unlike Lot, who chose to "take the money" (page 38),
Jesus chose the path of faith, obedience, and suffering before glory.
In
Gen 14, Abram functioned as a king (see "In the Days of Good King
Abram", page 41) as he gathered an army and pursued the allied armies of
the king of Shinar (Babylonia) and three other Mesopotamian kings, who had
kidnapped Abram's nephew Lot. In rescuing an undeserving Lot, Abram reminds us
of Christ. As Duguid says: "In all of this, do we not see a picture of
Jesus Christ? He did not sit idly by in heaven, waiting for us to deserve to be
redeemed" (page 45). Further, Duguid says of Abram, who was at this time a
wandering nomad:
In this chapter, however, the
veil is lifted for a moment, and we see Abram in his true colors,
acting as the king of the land
that is his by right, and that will be inherited by his offspring. This is Abram's mount of transfiguration, when his
glory is clearly--if briefly--revealed to those closest to
him (pages 41-42).
After
the victory, we see some very heavy Christology, as Melchizedek, king of Salem,
came as a priest to bless Abram. In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews
picks up on this idea, and spends considerable space showing how Melchizedek
prefigured Christ, especially in his priesthood. Hebrews gives us three points
of comparison between Melchizedek and Jesus (see pages 49-51), and in Hebrews
6:20 Jesus is declared to be a "high priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek".
As
we saw Abram as a king in Gen 14, we see him as a prophet in Gen 15 as he received
a direct message from God. Though still childless, Abram "received a
renewed promise of a son and of descendants like the stars" (page 55).
Asking for a sign, he received the covenant commitment of God (verses 18-21),
sealed by a strange ceremony (verses 9-17).
If we saw Abram the king in the
previous chapter and Abram the prophet earlier in this chapter,
here we see Abram the priest
getting all the necessary items ready for the covenant ceremony
(page 58).
So
in these chapters of Genesis, Duguid sees a picture of Christ in his three
offices of prophet, priest and king.
Moving
along, we see Abram's faith stumble in Gen 16.
Tiring of waiting for God to fulfill his promise, Abram heeds his wife's suggestion that in order to
obtain an heir, he impregnate her Egyptian servant, Hagar. He follows this
advice, and as a result Ishmael is born. But this child is the son of the
flesh, not the promise, and he will not be the one through whom God's promise
is fulfilled (see Gal 4:22-31).
Despite
Abram's failure, God in Gen 17 renewed his covenant with Abram and gave
circumcision (the cutting off of the flesh) as a covenant sign. In reaffirming
the covenant, God also changed Abram's name to Abraham.
As God in human flesh, Jesus fulfilled the picture of
Gen 15; as the seed of Abraham, he fulfilled the picture of Gen 17. He was cut
off for our sin, which enables our relationship with God, threatened by our
sin, to stand (page 81).
So
onward Duguid journeys chapter by chapter through Gen 25, demonstrating how the
gospel and Jesus Christ are revealed in the book of Genesis. The high point,
especially from the standpoint of Christology, is Gen 22. Isaac, the
long-promised son had been born to Abraham and Sarah. But now God put Abraham's
faith to the ultimate test, commanding him to take Isaac to the mountain and
sacrifice him. Then, just as he was Abraham was preparing to plunge the knife
into the chest of his beloved son, an angel of the Lord told him to stop, that
his faith had been shown to be real. And God provided a ram to take the place
of Isaac.
So
here is revealed the principle of substitutionary atonement. And by that
principle, Jesus was offered in our place, to take upon himself our deserved
punishment, and to die the death that should have been ours.
He could look up to heaven and
see the knife in the Father's hand poised above him, knowing that
for him there would be no last
minute reprieve. For him there would be no substitute, for he was
himself the Lamb of God (page
138).
This
book is a rich study, and is recommended as a means of gaining a deeper
appreciation of the book of Genesis, and of learning to see how Christ and the
gospel are revealed in it.
I
might also note that a second volume in this series is also available: Faith
in the Face of Apostasy: The Gospel According to Elijah and Elisha,
by Raymond Dillard.
Reviewed
by:
Ron
Maness
ronmaness@aol.com