(Continued-Chapter One-Foregleams of Messiah's Career in the Torah)

One of Moses' principal achievements was that of delivering the law to Israel. As declared by David in Psalm 19:7, that code is perfect, converting the soul. Messiah, likewise, may be expected to give a law. In my book, Messiah: His Nature and Person, I showed that Messiah is God in human form, who enters the world by Virgin Birth. In Isaiah 33 we have a glorious picture of Him when He reigns in splendor in the city of Jerusalem.

To the nation the prophet in shouts of ecstasy exclaimed,

"Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar. ... For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king; he will save us" (Isa. 33:17-22).

Another picture of Messiah as the lawgiver is presented in Isaiah 2:1-4. This prediction gives us a glimpse of Jerusalem as it will be when Messiah, the God of Jacob, will reign there in righteousness. The peoples of the earth will go up to Jerusalem from year to year to worship the Lord God of hosts and to be taught of Him. At that time the law will go forth from Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Moses was a mediator; thus Messiah will be. A mediator is one who is a go-between, one who brings about reconciliation between people who are at variance. This aspect of Messiah's ministry, set forth in Isaiah 53, is by virtue of His atoning sacrifice. The mediatorial function of King Messiah is stamped indelibly upon the entire fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.

Connected with His mediatorial service is that of His being a high priest who appears before God for the people. This phase of his work is seen in the wonderful prediction by Zechariah (6:12,13), which passage undoubtedly refers to King Messiah and was so understood by the ancient synagogue.

"Behold, the man whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah; even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."

Like Moses the type, King Messiah will be a great intercessor. This phase of His work is seen in the last statement of the servant passage, Isaiah 53:12. In this verse we see Him pouring out His soul unto death and yet being numbered with transgressors. At the time of His death He is busily engaged in making "intercession for the transgressors." If He under the most trying circumstances--the ordeal of a cruel death--engages in intercession in behalf of His enemies, we may be certain that intercession will characterize His entire life.

Moses was the one ordained of God to guide Israel out of Egyptian bondage to the land that flowed with milk and honey. Thus he stands out as a great national leader. With the same clearness King Messiah stands forth in the prophetic Word.

In giving an invitation to his brethren to accept God's pure sovereign grace, Isaiah called upon them to yield to God in order that He might make an everlasting covenant with them, "even the sure mercies of David." He continued his message with a prediction, saying, "Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples" (Isa. 55:4). The phrase, "the sure mercies of David," points backward to the covenant into which God entered with King David (II Sam. 7). A study of that passage shows that the Messiah is to be a descendant of David, to mount his throne in the latter days, and to reign as long as the sun, moon, and stars endure. Isaiah's statement read in the light of the original prophecy can refer to none other than King Messiah. He will be, according to this prediction, not only a leader and a commander of Israel but also of the nations of earth. This same aspect of King Messiah's work for humanity is seen in Isaiah 49:6.

We have seen in his blessing the people (Deut. 33) that Moses was a king. Messiah also is the King who shall sit upon the throne of David and reign so long as this earth endures. In Psalm 45:6,7 we catch a glimpse of Him upon the throne of glory. Zechariah, the post-exilic prophet, shouted to Jerusalem and the daughters of Zion to receive their King (Zech. 9:9). Many of the utterances of this prophet pertain to Messiah's being a King.

In our study of the portrait of Moses we saw that his life fell into three divisions: the period when he was at the court of Pharaoh; the period of training in the wilderness; and the period when he was engaged in his real life's work. This general outline, in a way, foreshadowed the redemptive career of King Messiah.

In my book, Messiah: His Nature and Person, I proved that one of the divine Personalities, according to prediction, would leave Glory and enter the world by Virgin Birth. Prior to His assuming human form and His advent, He is in the closest and the most intimate fellowship with the other divine Personalities of whom we learned in my book, The God of Israel. Being in the very heaven of heavens in association with the other divine Personalities, and being by nature God, He is at the court of heaven enjoying all possible bliss in blessed fellowship with the other two divine Personalities of the Holy Trinity.

But for man's good He temporarily gives up this blissfulness, not His essential nature (which thing is an impossibility), but certain manifestations of His divine effulgence, and enters the world by Virgin Birth only to be rejected, as foretold by the prophets, by His people. Moses' kinsmen did not realize his divine call and commission. They misunderstood his motives and plans; hence they rejected him. Immediately thereupon he disappeared from the scene and went into obscurity so far as they were concerned. Messiah's experiences are a duplication of this career.

Upon being rejected by his brethren as their judge and deliverer, Moses disappeared from the scene and awaited the time when they would be brought by cruel circumstances to the point that they would gladly welcome and receive him. Thus it is foretold of King Messiah--that He is to be rejected by His own people, to disappear from earthly scenes, and to await the time when Israel welcomes His return.

These facts are presupposed by the prophet Daniel in his vision (7:13,14). After the Almighty had taken His seat upon the throne and passed judgment upon the beast (the last world emperor, Dan. 7:9-12), Daniel saw one like unto a son of man being escorted by the angels of heaven into the very presence of the Ancient of Days and witnessed the conferring upon this One the authority of an everlasting, world-wide kingdom.

This One is like unto a son of man because He has, previous to this instance, assumed the form of man, having entered the world by Virgin Birth (Isa. 7:14). After His execution He has ascended to heaven and remained there in obscurity, so far as the world is concerned, awaiting the time for Israel to accept Him.

There are many passages in the Tenach which foretell the glorious reign of King Messiah upon the earth. A very plain and forceful one is found in Psalm 2. In the first three verses we see a wave of godlessness and atheism encircling the globe, which finally culminates in an international atheistic, anti-Messianic, politico-religious convention. According to the next three verses (4-6), the Lord God in heaven, observing the action of these lawless atheists, takes it very complacently, for He realizes that at the proper time He will hold them to a strict account. Their action in setting up their king is exactly contrary to the divine, eternal plan.

In verses 7-9 the psalmist, impersonating King Messiah, informs us what God, who calls the Messiah His Son, said to Him back in the counsels of eternity relative to His taking the authority of the government of the world and administering a reign of righteousness in Zion as the world capital. There are many other passages which foretell this glorious reign of King Messiah.

From various Messianic passages I have in this brief sketch shown that the principal traits of Moses, his offices, and his entire career, foreshadowed the outstanding characteristics, official positions, and the redemptive-career of King Messiah. This picture is one grand presentation of King Messiah, being made up of various elements drawn from different Messianic passages.

That this composite picture is not a makeshift but is a genuine product constituting one great prediction is shown by this illustration. Some of the large jigsaw puzzles are made up of several hundred pieces. Each piece has a specific position and will not fit any other. When one finds the proper place for a given piece, it fits perfectly and, when the puzzle is completely put together, the entire scene appears in its beauty. Each of these prophetic elements may in the terms of the illustration be called a piece of this great jigsaw puzzle found in the prophetic word. Moses and his career according to this prediction (Deut. 18:15-19) gave us a general idea of the appearance of the completed portrait. We have gone to the different Messianic predictions and have found the integral parts and have put them together in this section as was suggested by Moses' prophecy. With all the varying elements in their proper places, we see that King Messiah is perfect in both His humanity and His divine nature. He performs the functions of Prophet, Priest, and King. He comes to His own people but they, misunderstanding Him, reject Him. He retires to heaven in obscurity so far as they are concerned, where He awaits the time for them to accept Him. Then He returns.

Another picture of King Messiah and His career is presented by King David. That David did typify King Messiah is evident from the fact that by metonymy He is called David in such passages as Hosea 3:4,5; Ezekiel 34:24. Only upon the basis of this figure can Messiah be called David.

When we look at David's character we see that he was a man after God's own heart, a man who desired to do the will of God. It is true that he sinned and fell very low through the weakness of the flesh, but his desire was to do the will of God. By the prophets, David was held up as the ideal king. David's career doubtless typified that of King Messiah. After Samuel anointed David (I Sam. 16), Saul began to persecute him. Although he was the rightful king, he did not mount the throne for some time. He was the anointed of God, yet he was rejected by the nation. He would not force his claims. Finally, when the crisis came in the nation, the people began to see their mistake, to turn to him with all of their heart, and to accept him as their lawful sovereign.

This checkered history of King David doubtless typified the career of King Messiah. According to the expectation aroused by the knowledge which we have received concerning Moses and David, we naturally expect Him to be rejected by His people upon His arrival, to disappear from earthly scenes into obscurity so far as the people are concerned, and, in the supreme crisis of the nation, when she turns to Him and accepts Him as her King, to return and mount the throne of David. These early intimations which we have gathered from the Torah and the Prophets will be confirmed by the clear revelations found in Psalms 45 and 110.