THE LIVING WORD OF GOD
Christ in the Old Testament
A Look at What the Bible Says by
Gary Ray Branscome
The Gospel of John begins with the words, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All
things were created by him; and apart from him nothing was created that was
created… He was in the world, and the world was made by him, yet the world did
not know him... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth” (John 1:1-14).
Those words tell us that Christ is God! And, the
centuries that have passed since those words were written have witnessed some
wild speculation as to why John referred to Christ as the “Word”. However, to find an answer to that question
we need to look no further than the Old Testament.
In the first chapter of Jeremiah we
read, “The Word of the LORD came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you; and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you, and I
appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, O, Lord GOD! consider that I do not know how to speak: for I am a youth.
But the LORD [Jehovah] said to me, Do not say, I am a youth: for you will go to
everyone I send you to, and you will say whatever I command you” (Jeremiah
1:4-7).
Notice that when the “Word of the
Lord” came to Jeremiah he carried on a conversation with the “Word of the
Lord,” and we are told that “Jehovah” was the one talking to Jeremiah. Those
words tell us that the “Word of the Lord” is God, not just a message. The words
following those verses then continue that conversation with God.
In 1Kings 19:9-11 we read, “The word of the LORD
came to him [Elijah], and He said to him, What
are you doing here, Elijah? And he replied, I have been very jealous for the
LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword;
and I alone am left; and they are seeking to take away my life. And He
[The Word of God] said, Go out, and stand on the mountain.” Notice that the words your covenant, your
altars, and your prophets tell us that the Word of God was God, and
the words “And He,” tell us that the Word of God was a person, not just
a message.
What
follows is a list of Bible passages in which we are told that “the Word of the
LORD” spoke to someone.
2Sa
7:4 The word of
the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,
2Sa
24:11 The word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad,
David’s seer, saying,
1Ki
6:11 And the
word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
1Ki
16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu… saying,
1Ki
17:2 And the
word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
1Ki
17:8 And the
word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
1Ki
18:1 The word
of the LORD came to Elijah… saying.
1Ki
21:17 And the
word of the LORD came to Elijah… saying,
1Ki
21:28 The word of the LORD came to Elijah… saying,
2Ki
20:4 The word
of the LORD came to him [Isaiah], saying,
1Ch
22:8 The word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
2Ch 11:2 The word of the LORD came to Shemaiah… saying,
2Ch
12:7 The word
of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying,
Jer 1:4 So the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 1:11
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying
Jer 13:8 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 24:4 Then the word of
the LORD came to me again, saying,
Jer 32:
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 3:16 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 6:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 7:1 Moreover the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 11:14 Then the word
of the LORD again came to me, saying,
Eze 12:21 Then the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 13:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 14:2 And the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 15:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 16:1 The word of the
LORD again came to me, saying,
Eze 17:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 17:11 Then the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 20:45 The word of the
LORD then came to me, saying,
Eze 21:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 21:8 Again the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:17 And the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:23 Then the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 24:1 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 24:15 Also the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 24:20 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 26:1 The word of the LORD
came to me, saying,
Eze 28:11 Then the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 28:20 The word of the
LORD again came to me, saying,
Eze 29:1 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 29:17 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 30:20 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 31:1 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 32:1 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 32:17 The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 33:1 The word of the
LORD again came to me, saying,
Eze 33:23 Then the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 34:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 35:1 Then the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 36:16
The word of the LORD then came to me, saying,
Eze 38:1
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Zec 4:8 Moreover the word
of the LORD came to me, saying,
Zec 6:9 And the word of
the LORD came to me, saying,
Zec 7:8 And the word of
the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,
In Genesis 35:9-10 we are told that
when, “God appeared to Jacob… God said to him, Your name was Jacob: your name will not be Jacob any longer,
but your name will be Israel”. Yet in 1Kings 18:31 we are told that “The
word of the LORD” is the one who said to Jacob, “Your name will be
Israel,” using the, “Word of the LORD” as a synonym for “God”.
While I was working on this list a missionary friend
(Peter Van Der Decker) told me that he had noticed
something similar when translating Genesis 15:1-6. Although those verses begin
with a vision, Abram did carry on a conversation with “the Word of the LORD”. In verse 2 Abram calls the Word, “Lord God,”
in verse 4 the “Word of the Lord” comes to Abram without a vision, and in verse
5 the Word of the Lord takes Abram outside. Here is the passage.
Gen 15:1-6 “After these things the word of the
LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am your shield,
and your exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said,
Lord GOD, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram continued,
Behold, you have given me no offspring: and, one born in my house is my heir. 4
And, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This
man shall not be your heir; but he who shall come forth out of your own body
shall be your heir. 5 And he [The Word of the Lord] brought him
outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and
count the stars, if you are able to number them: and he said to him, So shall
your seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for
righteousness.”
Conclusion
There are many other passages in the
Old Testament that speak of Christ. In fact, Christ’s words, “Search the
scriptures; for in them you think that you have eternal life: and they are they
that testify of me,” tell us that Scripture was given to testify of Him
(John 5:39). And, much about His life including His virgin birth, deity, death
on the cross, and atonement for our sins is clearly taught in the Old
Testament. The passages listed above are a part of that divine testimony.