The Patriarchs Live

Sometimes, the precious gems of redemptive promise in the Old Testament can only be seen in full glory through the lens of the New Testament. One way this works is that a figure or author of the New Testament quotes the Old Testament text, interpreting it for us, and revealing a deeper meaning that didn’t appear evident, previously. When it comes to resurrection, the New Testament is far more explicit, however, there are easily overlooked pointers to it than we may not notice. Did you know that when God appeared to Moses’ in the burning bush, that resurrection was part of his introduction? Consider Exodus 3:6:

“ And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

Now, there’s no verb expressed in this Hebrew sentence, and so we’re left to wonder what is meant. Was he the God of the patriarchs, who lived centuries before, or is he still their God? If the implied verb is in the present tense, that means that when God claimed from the burning bush to be the God of the Patriarchs, they were still alive and able to worship him. It’s kind of like when Jesus says in John 8:58, “When Abraham was, “I AM.” It’s a claim to possess life that cannot be extinguished in death. But perhaps we assume that God is saying something like, “I am the God that your fathers worshipped when they walked this earth.” You’re born. You worship. You die. Simple as that. But you know what they say about assumptions.

Jesus interprets Exodus 3:6 for us. And what he reveals by quoting it, is that when God spoke about being the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, he was talking in the present tense. His claim is that he remains the God of the Patriarchs. As Jesus says in Luke 20:37-38:

“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”

God doesn’t let even death interrupt his relationship with his people. Several months ago, we heard about what’s often referred to as Christ’s descent. What we learned is that prior to Christ’s atoning death, Old Covenant believers resided in the righteous compartment of Sheol, preserved for a future resurrection. In the interregnum between Christ’s burial and resurrection, Christ descended to the dead and led the righteous out of Sheol. We learn as well, that those who die in Christ under the New Covenant, are “absent from the body, present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). Among the encouraging things about this, is that it’s yet another pointer to the fundamental hope of the gospel, that though we die, yet by faith in Jesus, we shall live. But also, it should stoke in us a wonder at the Word of God—how a passage of Scripture helps us interpret another passage of Scripture written hundreds of years before. Friends, never stop mining for the precious gems of redemptive promise!