Christ in the Writings (Ketuviim)

In Paul describes the mystery of Christ, God’s plan to redeem His people who, choosing their own way and rejected the gracious hand of God, fell deeply into sin. As God worked through people and covenants, His mystery that was unknown to the people writing the Scriptures, bursts forth through the advent of Jesus.

Imagine the joy, the unimaginable joy that Paul, a Jewish Rabbi steeped in the Scriptures, would have experienced as God opened His eyes to all the references and types and shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. It should lead us to the same feeling Paul had in , “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

We finish our three-part series through the Old Testament, covering references to, types of, and direct references to Jesus Messiah. This mystery that Paul mentions in continues from the first section, the Torah, and the second section, the Prophets (Neviim), to the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings (Ketuviim).

The writings are comprised of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Daniel.

The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles present much of the same information as 1 and 2 Kings, if you can remember from last Sunday.

I. CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF EZRA

The message of repentance and return, of which is a constant theme in this book, echoes the same message given by John the Baptist and presented through the Gospels.

However, one verse in particular, 7:10, speaks deeply of the fervor and desire of Jesus. Ezra “set his heart to study the Law of the LORD.” While there are still several books to look into this evening, I want focus on a few aspects of this one verse while considering how Jesus reflected this desire.

First, Ezra “set his heart.” He made preparations, he directed his time, attention, and energies to study the Law of the LORD. We cannot reference them all, but look at the New Testament and see all of the times that Jesus said “It is written…” or “Have you not read?” or something like that. Jesus’ heart was set to study the Law of the LORD. Now, you may say, “Well, Jesus wrote the Bible!” Which is true. But consider the fact that Jesus became man and actually learned. mentions His growth.

Secondly, Ezra set his heart. The heart is the Bible’s way of focusing on the inner man. It is the entirety of his being. Jesus, it is no surprise, gave His entire being not alone to write the Scriptures through His people but also memorized it and studied it.

Third, Ezra desired to, through intense application of his entire being, to study the Law of the LORD, but not to fill his mind with facts but to do it. He wanted his life to be different because of his obedience to God’s Law. In , Jesus states that He always did what pleased the Father. That is, He did the Law of the LORD. He lived as God wanted.

Fourth and final, Ezra wanted to teach Israel how to study and do the Law. His desire was that Israel might know the true God and serve Him. Is this not what Jesus did? He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (, ESV) That is one verse that points us from the imperfect Ezra to the perfect Christ.

II. CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

The book of Nehemiah describes the work of the repairing of the protective walls around Jerusalem. It is a fascinating study of God-focused, prayer-filled leadership. However, in the grand scheme of Scripture, Christ is present. One way in which we see Christ hidden in the book of Nehemiah. Consider . After hearing the difficult news about the state of Jerusalem, Nehemiah immediately goes to prayer. It is from this foundation that Nehemiah, through the good hand of God, as he calls it, rebuilds the wall in an insane amount of time.

Nehemiah 1:4 NASB95

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Prayerful dependence upon God is a wonderful glimpse into the prayer life of Jesus Christ.

Just briefly, I want to share how Jesus valued prayer in the Gospels.

Jesus went to the mountain to be alone and pray- ;

Jesus found places of solitude to pray- ;

Jesus spent all night praying before significant decisions-

Jesus spent all night praying before His transfiguration-

Luke 9:28–30 NASB95

Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,

We could cite a few other passages of Scripture, but I think we find the prayerfulness of Christ shadowed in Nehemiah’s prayerful dependance upon our Lord.

III. CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER

One interesting fact about Esther is that the name of God never appears in this book. So, it may come as a surprise to see that Christ can be seen in the shadows of this book.

The story of Esther traces God’s sovereign protection of His people, Israel, through the steadfastness of Mordecai and Esther. However, in his passionate speech to encourage Esther to stave off Haman’s evil plot. During Mordecai’s speech he says, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:14)

In other words, Mordecai saw God’s sovereign hand guiding Esther to the queenship of Persia. He saw that God had worked things out to where Esther would be in the position to save the Jewish people. The timing was perfect.

This shadows the perfect timing of Jesus’ advent in . But there is one more important shadow seen in this book, in it is the underlining battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan. Haman is a type of Satan seeking to destroy the very people through whom the Messiah would come. records the attacks of Satan through Herod upon the Christ-child.

IV. CHRIST IN THE POETICAL BOOKS

This section of Scripture, which in our English Bibles includes Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon is ripe with references to, prophecies of, and shadows pointing to the Messiah.

In the book of Job we see one of the greatest theological errors rebuked. In Job’s friends’ minds, if you are good you will be blessed. If you are bad, you will be cursed. Therefore, if you have lots of money and good health, then you are righteous. If, however, you are poor and destitute, then you are sinning.

During Job’s arguments with his friends, he continuously calls for a redeemer, one Who would stand on His behalf. undoubtedly refers to the Messiah.

The book of Psalms, the largest book of the Bible and the songbook of Israel and the church, has so many references to Christ it could fill an entire service by itself.

However, to save time we will look at just one Psalm, . Particularly verse one stands out to us, because this is what Jesus cries out while hanging on the cross. In and Jesus quotes this verse, crying out in agony during His crucifixion.

In verses 6-8 we see the reactions of people watching Christ suffer. Those accounts are seen in and .

In verse 16 the Psalmist talks about the piercing of his hand and feet. See ; ; for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

In verse 18 he speaks of the division of his garments, again referencing the Messiah in .

In the book of Proverbs there very nature of Christ as wisdom presented in the first chapter. As Solomon begins to present the wisdom contained in this book, we cannot help but notice that it is in Christ in which all the wisdom of the world is hidden (). Next, we see Jesus as personified through Wisdom. In passages such as 8:22-31, which when compared with , it is undeniable that it speaks of Jesus.

Next we consider the book of Ecclesiastes. It tends to be a depressing book, always focusing on the end of life. While the book gives an unflattering picture of the futility of life without God, it presents pictures of how believers should look to their Father for meaning. However, in the final chapter of the book, Solomon mentions something fascinating. He says in 12:11, “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.” In , Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd.

The final stop in the poetical books is the Song of Solomon. What appears to be a love story between a man and woman offers a glimpse into the intimacy between Christ and His bride, the Church. For one, the nation of Israel is described as being God’s bride. Consider ; ; ; and . All of those describe the intimate relationship between God and His bride. However, the New Testament does this on a grander level. Look at . Paul clearly states that the marriage relationship was created to display the intimacy between Christ and His Church, and this intimacy and love and desire is put on display at a human level in the book of Song of Solomon.

V. CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Our last book, and thus the conclusion of Christ in the Writings, is the book of Daniel. Daniel’s book has records of amazing deliverances: from fiery furnaces to a den of lions.

However, there are clear references to the work of the Messiah in this wonderful book. One is found in , at the conclusion of Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel sees this stone cut from a mountain by no human hand (virgin birth) which destroys the statue and sets up God’s kingdom that will never cease. We need only think of the book of Revelation to see how this pans out in the New Testament. That child who was to be born in will usher in this unending kingdom.

Daniel also sees Christ, much like John in , and records it in .

The final point we will look at is Daniel’s 70 weeks. I quote Kenneth Boa here, not only because he does an excellent job in writing it clearly, but also because it helps me think clearly, and I trust you as well.

Boa writes, “Based on what Nehemiah tells us (), the decree about which Daniel writes in verse 25 took place on March 4, 444 B.C. When each week is considered equivalent to seven years, the 69 weeks equate to 483 years. Using 360-day calendar, you could also calculate that to be 173,880 days. Beginning with March 4, 444 B.C., the 173,880-day period takes us to March 29, A.D. 33. No, that wasn’t the birth of Jesus, but it is thought to be the day when He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Go ahead and check it out if you want. From 444 B.C. to A.D. 33 is 476 years. And 476 years times 365.24219 days per years equals 173,855 days. When you add to that number 25 more days for the difference between March 4 and March 29, you arrive at—you guessed it—173,880 days. The prophecies are startling in their absolute perfection.” [Kenneth Boa, Jesus In the Bible: Seeing Jesus In Every Book of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2002), 50-51.]