Hesed Volume 1
The goal of Hesed is to understand the true meaning of the Tanakh, or Old Testament, and in particular to see if it foreshadows Jesus.
Does the Tanakh foreshadow Jesus?
While arguing with the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; . . .” In this series of books we will examine the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, in order to see if Jesus’ claim has any merit.
In Hesed Volume One we will study the subject of sacrificial atonement in the the Torah to see if it foreshadows Jesus’ death on the cross. We will also study the lives of Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel and Cyrus. For, they each went through experiences that Jesus also wound up going through many centuries later. The question is, were these moments from their lives placed in the Tanakh intentionally or coincidentally?
Join author Mark Stouffer as he leads us on a quest to hear the message of the Tanakh, as opposed to what we want to hear. Hesed Volume One is for Jewish people who want to know the truth about Jesus. It is also for Christians who want to learn about the Hebrew Bible.
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Excerpt from Hesed: Does the Tanakh Foreshadow Jesus? © Copyright 2023 Mark Stouffer
1
The Jewish Laity
The Jewish people have typically been loyal to their leaders throughout history. The problem is that not all of their leaders were worthy to be followed. Some of them, like Moses, Joshua, and David, loved G-d. But some, like Jeroboam and Ahab, did not care for Him. Of course, the Jews are the singular people of G-d, and He is their ultimate leader. He has gone to great lengths to communicate to the Jews, and He wants to bless them. How well have the Jews done in listening to G-d and following Him?
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In the days of great suffering in Egypt, G-d sent Moses to deal with the wicked pharaoh and set the Jewish people free. The events that transpired in the conflict between G-d and Pharaoh are well known. As the conflict reached its climax, G-d prescribed the Passover to be observed at that time and every year thereafter so that the Jews would never forget what G-d did for them in their moment of need.
After issuing the directive for each family to sacrifice a one-year-old lamb and apply some of the blood around their doorframes, G-d said to Moses:
. . . For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements – I am the Lord. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt
Ex. 12:12-13
Why did the Jewish people need to sacrifice a lamb? Was it simply so that G-d could see the blood around their doorframes and know which houses to leave untouched? Of course not. G-d is omniscient, and He knows who His people are. In fact, in most of the prior plagues, G-d left the Jewish people unharmed as the plagues crashed down upon Egypt; and He did not need a sign to know which families to skip over.
Also, it says in verse 12 that the blood was a sign for the Jews. It was not a sign for G-d. But why did they need a sign? What were they supposed to learn from sacrificing lambs and applying the blood around their doorways? Returning to the first question, why did the Jewish people need to perform sacrifices to escape G-d’s judgement? After all, what did they do wrong? They were the victims in this event of slavery and oppression.
We will answer this question more in depth in Chapter 6. But for now, let’s just say that G-d had the Jews sacrifice the lambs in order to teach them something about Himself, evil, justice, and themselves. G-d was personally communicating a message to every Jewish family, and indeed to every Jew, at the first Passover. At other times, G-d spoke to Moses who then spoke to the people on His behalf. But this time, He was communicating directly to every Jewish person through the rituals they were to perform.
G-d called for each Jewish family to select their sheep four days before they were to sacrifice them. Lambs are innocent, cute, and endearing. That would have been four long days gazing upon the poor soul that was about to die for you. Apparently, G-d did not want this sacrifice to be simply a mechanical ritual that busy people pounded out without giving it any thought. He wanted each of them to have time to think about their sins and all the people that they had hurt. He wanted them to understand that they needed a substitute. For G-d does not just judge nations, He judges individuals as well.
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