Wealth and God's Word

God who remains the same yesterday, today and forever has provided perfect continuity in His word.  There are hints, shadows, allusions and types that reveal spiritual truth to mankind so we might know Him and rejoice in His goodness and salvation.  Unless God revealed the truth to us by the Holy Spirit, we could never make these critical connections.  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."

This passage drips with divine purpose to connect God's miraculous works among the children of Israel to the work Jesus Christ does in the life of believers in the present.  God has done countless things in the past we are unaware of or forget about, and Paul reminded Christians how God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Their passage through the Red Sea spoke of being baptised in obedience and identification with God who was faithful to save and deliver them.  They ate manna provided from heaven and drank the water that flowed from the rock--that pointed to Jesus Christ the Rock of Salvation who alone gives the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to all who trust in Him.

John came with a baptism of repentance from sin in the Jordan River, and the children of Israel cross the Jordan when the previous generation died in the wilderness for their unbelief and refusal to enter into the land God promised to give them.  Led by the presence of God and without getting wet they went from the wilderness side of the Jordan to the land flowing with milk and honey, their inheritance God graciously provided for them.  One thing believers often did as a first order of business under the new covenant of the Gospel was to be baptised in identification and obedience to Christ who saves us from sin, death and Satan.  Our baptism is one that identifies with Christ's death and resurrection and coming out of the water is a symbol of the glorious life and future we enter into by faith in Jesus today.

How rich is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and what glorious truths are uncovered in God's word as we consider His faithful dealings with His people!  Knowledge of what God has done even in ancient history enriches our appreciation of God's goodness and character and strengthens our faith to trust God in all seasons of life.  We can follow Christ's leading today with confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit, for He is faithful and His mercy endures forever.  We are His inheritance, and He is ours.  What wealth is ours when we dig into God's word in faith!