The Temple and Types of Christ

I recently finished reading the book of Isaiah and something struck me.  The first verse of that chapter says, "Thus says the Lord, 'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.  Where then is a house you could build for me?  And where is a place that I may rest?"  Note that these words were spoken by God in the economy during which the Temple still played an integral role in worship, yet we see clearly, from this and other passages, that the Temple was not viewed as truly housing or containing God.  It was simply a place where He condescended to meet with man in order to, in addition to other reasons, adumbrate the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God.

The Temple is just one of the many types of Christ's person and work with which the Old Testament is absolutely replete.  The nation of Israel; the sacrificial system; the prophets, priests, and kings; and the yearly, monthly, and weekly Sabbaths all point to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  These all illustrate in one way or another the role that Christ would play in reconciling man to his Creator.  

This is not a groundbreaking theological discovery, I realize, but what struck me as absolutely amazing is how these Old Testament pictures, ceremonial laws and social structures that were so important to the religious and cultural life of Israel, have simply been put away because the reality has come.  They have been outdone.  They are obsolete.  To use a euchre term, they have been trumped!  What good is the shadow when the reality is present?  Why do we need sacrifices when the Lamb of God has come?  Why do we need holy days when Jesus has brought us true rest?  The only value the shadows now hold for the Christian is to teach our weak minds more about our Savior.

That the Temple, ceremonies, etc. have been put away should tell us just how wonderful our Savior is.  Many times we view the Old Testament as bad and the New Testament as pretty good, but that is not the viewpoint the New Testament authors would have us to hold.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  The splendor of the New Testament is amplified by the glory of the Old Testament.  If something is superior to something awful, that's not saying much, but when that which is inferior was excellent to begin with, the superior is seen as that much greater!  The Old Testament, by foreshadowing the Savior, allowed God to forebear with man's sin and maintain communion with him.  We often view it as harsh and "legalistic," putting it in a negative light, but that is not the proper perspective.  It was only weak because of mankind.  The glory of the Old Testament, though muted and insufficient, serves to display the superior glory of the New.  The temporary has become obsolete because the permanent has arrived.

While we must be careful not to look upon the Old Testament too harshly, we must also make sure we are not clinging to the shadows that it offers.  When we try to hold on to the pictures, we devalue the reality.  It's like missing a concert because you were taking videos the whole time!  When we want a lamb on an altar, we fail to appreciate the Lamb on the Cross!  When we want a ceremony, a day, or a sacrifice, we undermine the permanence of what Jesus Christ did!  We should look to the Old Testament with respect and wonder as it directs us to the awesome salvation accomplished by God in the New Testament, but we must never let the shadow overshadow the reality.  If the types had any value at all, how much more valuable is the Antitype!  The Temple was never really God's house, but it was glorious because of the role it played in God's plan.  What does that tell us about the glory of Christ?!