The Seed

From the Rock in the desert that quenched Israel’s thirst
To the manna God forty years kindly dispersed,
From the judgment for sin that God had to effuse
To the mercy and pardon He would not refuse,
From the hand of the Lord, giving strength to the weak,
Making paths in the sea, serving food from a beak,
To the prophecies made that would all be fulfilled,
Jesus Christ, although dimly, was doubtless revealed.
And the people of God knew that from sin they’d be freed
When by faith they took hold of the Gospel, the seed.

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The Oak

From the Cornerstone on which the foundation’s laid
For the church of Christ Jesus, by blood bought and paid,
From the judgment for sin on the cross satisfied
To the mercy and pardon unveiled when He died,
From the miracle birth out of young virgin’s womb
To the Lord’s resurrection and His empty tomb,
Ancient prophecies made all in Him were fulfilled;
Jesus Christ has been clearly and plainly revealed.
And the people of God are made free from sin’s yoke
When by faith they take hold of the Gospel, the oak.

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All Scripture, from beginning to end, has but one message: salvation by grace through faith. In the Old Testament, this message is revealed to us through the framework of God’s chosen people, Israel. God presents His purposes there in seed form. In the New Testament, the message is revealed through the framework of the church, and it is expounded upon and presented to us in fully-developed form.

In the coming weeks, we are going to look at the “I AM” statements of Jesus Christ, as seen in the gospel of John. But before we do that, I want to show you the first mention of “I AM,” in the Old Testament. That will be our focus next week. (If you want to get a head start, you can read Exodus 3:13-15.)

Today, there is no study, only two poems I wanted to share which I wrote a few years ago regarding the matter of Truth as presented both in seed and fully-developed form. One thing is sure, all saints, whether from Old Testament or New Testament, were redeemed the same way: by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The only difference is that the Old Testament saints trusted in the promise of the Messiah, whereas the New Testament saints trusted in His finished work.