Proclaimer Blog
Bonkers.
I was kindly sent an excerpt from Chuck Missler's book on Hidden Treasures in the Bible (you can read the excerpt here). The basic premise is that if you do a bit of mathematical jiggery pokery, hey presto! The camp arrangement when viewed from above (presumably from Moses Hot Air Balloon?) looks like a cross and the reason that Balaam was so terrified was that from his high vantage point he saw the sign to Jesus. It gets worse. David Ben Yakov's view is that this doesn't quite work as the numbers are not balanced, The cross would have a longer beam on one side than the other and how can a perfect God allow an imperfect sign. Never mind, he argues. Jesus was an asymmetrical man, with his heart to one side and therefore, the lopsided picture of the camp arrangement represents not a cross, but a man on a cross. Hey presto again!
It's all bonkers of course, and I hope you can see that. Heaven help your congregation if not. But it does beg the question of how we see Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures so here are a few random thoughts to bear in mind:
- Christ is always present in the triune Godhead. It is too easy to make a connection and say that the LORD (YHWH) is the Father. It's as though Jesus does not come into being until Matthew. We've got to be careful. There are places where the LORD clearly refers to the Father (Psalm 2, for instance). But otherwise, we need a broader view. Alec Motyer writes about this in the Baker Encylopaedia of the Bible, especially as it relates to the Incarnation: 'The incognito of Yahweh has finally been unveiled, not (as is often mistakenly thought) to expose him as God the Father, but as God the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit.'
- Christ is always anticipated in the Old Testament. This is the great value of a good Biblical theology. We understand where the Bible is heading and see how the patterns and flow build up to the great climax of the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and return of Christ.
- Christ is often seen explicitly in the text. I guess this is what Missler is trying to spot. But Christ is not hidden. We use Scripture to interpret Scripture and to see how he is seen. So, in Numbers (for it is that book to which Missler refers), we have the rock from which the Israelites drank (1 Cor 10), we have the bronze snake (John 3), we have the star coming out of Jacob (Matthew 2.2?).
Be afraid, be very afraid of finding Christ by maths, constellation studies, strange dating schemes or tea leaves (just slipped that last one in) or even helicopter like birds eye view pictures of the tabernacle encampment. And in the meantime Missler and his pal Ben Yakov just might become Cornhill illustrations….