One word that will be important in many of my posts is the word "typology". The study of "types". As St. Agustine once wrote, "The new testament is hidden in the old and the old testament is revealed in the new." We can look back through the old testament and find where God "set the table" for things to come that would be revealed by Christ in the new. Below are several prototypes of the Eucharist:
The Tree of Life in the Garden
Gen 2:9 “Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Then, they ate from the Tree of Knowledge and sin entered the world, and...
Gen 3:22-24 “Then the LORD God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever 23 therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Some of this looks familiar, John Chapter 6 verses 35, 51, and 54:
- “I am the bread of life...” and
- “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever” and
- “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life”
The fruit on the Tree of life was a prototype of the Eucharist. They were driven away because of mortal sin. They were driven away for their own protection.
The Sacrifice of Abel
What did Abel sacrifice in Genesis chapter 4? It was a firstling from his flock. It was either a flock of ducks, chickens, flamingos, or sparrows, or... sheep. More than likely it was a lamb. Yep, Abel sacrificed a lamb... "Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world."
The Bread and Wine of Melchizedek
Gen 14:20 “And Mel-chizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.” So, Melchizedek brought bread and wine... Then in Hebrews 5:8 “ Being designated by God a High priest according to the Order of Mel-chizedek”. Jesus is the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek brought bread and wine when he made a covenant with Abraham. Jesus brings his body and blood in the form of bread and wine.
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Genesis chapter 22
Verse 2: God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.
gets up early to cut the wood (will be a burnt offering)
Verse 3: On the third day
Verse 7: Isaac says “Here am I, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Then Abraham says “The Lord god will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
What happens next? Abraham goes to sacrifice his son, God says STOP!
A few things to notice. Isaac carries the wood. Enough wood to burn a human. Lots of wood. He carries it up a mountain before he is sacrificed. Isaac is a MAN, not a child.
Abraham was 99 when Isaac was born. There was no struggle. Isaac was willing to sacrifice himself.
The Exodus and the Passover
What was the passover? The final plague. The Angel of Death was going to come and kill the first born. All of them. Pharaoh’s first born, the maidservant’s first born, the first born of the cattle.
God gave the Israelites instructions so that the Angel of death would “pass over” their home.
What were the rules?
- Sacrifice an unblemished lamb with no broken legs.
- Dip a hysop branch in the blood and spread it on the door posts.
- Eat the flesh of the lamb... YES. You had to eat the lamb. The end. No lamb eaten, first born=dead.
- Keep this as a memorial day, you shall observe it as an ordinance forever... FOREVER.
- Then for 7 days eat unleavened bread.
This is the biggest and best prototype in my humble opinion. There is more here than I have time to type. First of all, the lamb had to be unblemished, that is, without sin. Jesus is the unblemished lamb. Moreover, in the book of Revelation, he is called "Lamb of God" more than anything else. I wondered about the "unbroken legs". Why was such a big deal made about this in the old testament? Well, what happened when they wanted to make sure the men on the crosses were dead? They would break their legs, which they did to the thieves, but they didn't break Jesus' legs. He is the lamb with unbroken legs. When Jesus said "I thirst" signifying the 4th cup of the passover meal he started the night before (maybe I'll do an entire blog post on this later), they dipped a hysop branch in wine and held it to his mouth, and then he said, "It is finished." The passover was complete... Finally, the Hebrews needed to eat the lamb. They NEEDED to EAT the sacrificial lamb. It is the same today, we must eat the sacrificial lamb, which is the Eucharist.
The Sinai Covenant
Moses and the “young men” made sacrifices to the Lord: Exod 24:8 “And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
The Ancient Tabernacle: They were instructed to build a tabernacle. It was a tent... It would house:
- The Arc of the Covenant: Contained the spirit of God.
- The Bread of the Presence
- The Golden lamp stand.
This was clearly an image of the trinity. God the Father, the lamp stand was the spirit of fire, aka the holy spirit. The lamp stand had 7 candles. That leaves the bread of the presence for the Son. The bread of the presence was a sacrifice made to god. It was 12 loaves. Each week the priests replaced the bread and consumed the old bread in a holy place.
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