Revelation, in OT

The OT bears witness to God's revelation in the history of Israel and in the inspired testimony of the prophets and other writers of the period. This knowledge of God prepares the way for the full disclosure of God in Jesus Christ in the NT.

Revelation in Eden and before the flood

Genesis 1:3, Genesis 2:16–18 See also Genesis 1:29–30, Genesis 3:9–19, Genesis 4:6–7, Genesis 4:9–15, Genesis 6:13–22

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

The covenant framework of OT revelation after the flood

God's covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:8–11 This covenant covers all living creatures. See also Genesis 6:18, Genesis 9:12–17

Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth— every living thing that came out of the ark. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God's covenant with Abraham

Genesis 17:7 See also Genesis 15:9–21, Genesis 17:2, Genesis 17:4, Genesis 17:10–14, Genesis 22:16–18; Exodus 6:2–6; 1 Chronicles 16:14–18; Psalm 105:8–9

I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

God's covenant with Moses at Sinai

Exodus 34:27 See also Exodus 24:3–8, Exodus 34:10–14; Deuteronomy 5:2–4 Mount Sinai was also known as Mount Horeb; Jeremiah 11:2–5

The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

God's covenant with David

Psalm 89:3–4 See also 2 Samuel 7:8–16; Psalm 132:11–12

You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever and build up your throne for all generations.’” Selah

The promise of a new covenant

Jeremiah 31:31–34 See also Isaiah 42:6; Matthew 26:27–28 parallels Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 8:8–12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 10:15–18

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

The recipients of OT revelation

The people of Israel

“Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

On occasions God spoke to people outside the covenant community

Daniel 2:27–28 See also Genesis 41:25, Genesis 41:28–32; Daniel 4:1–37, Daniel 5:17–28

Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

Methods of OT revelation

Direct communication

Deuteronomy 18:18 See also Exodus 4:12; Numbers 12:8, Numbers 23:5; Isaiah 50:4, Isaiah 51:16; Jeremiah 1:9

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

Visions and dreams

Numbers 12:6 See also Genesis 15:1, Genesis 28:12, Genesis 37:5–7, Genesis 37:9, Genesis 46:2; Numbers 24:4; Deuteronomy 13:1; Judges 7:13–14; Job 33:14–15; Ezekiel 1:1, Ezekiel 1:26–28

He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

Visible manifestations (theophanies)

Genesis 18:1 See also Genesis 32:24–30; Exodus 3:1–6, Exodus 34:4–7; Numbers 11:25, Numbers 12:5, Numbers 14:10–12; Joshua 5:13–15

Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.

Scripture

Deuteronomy 31:9 See also Exodus 17:14; Numbers 33:2; Isaiah 30:8; Jeremiah 36:2, Jeremiah 51:60

So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.

The content of OT revelation

Revelation of God's will and purposes

Genesis 17:1–2 See also Genesis 12:1–3, Genesis 15:1–5; Exodus 19:5–6, Exodus 20:1–17 parallel Deuteronomy 5:6–21; Exodus 22:31; Leviticus 11:44–45, Leviticus 19:1–2, Leviticus 20:7–8

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”

Revelation of God's plan

Genesis 3:15 See also Isaiah 9:6–7, Isaiah 11:1–10, Isaiah 42:1; Micah 5:1–5; Zechariah 9:9–13

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Revelation of God's character and being

Exodus 3:11–15 Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11; Ezekiel 1:28; Numbers 14:17–19; Psalm 143:1; Deuteronomy 7:7–8; Lamentations 3:22; Psalm 72:2, Psalm 103:6; Isaiah 59:17; Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:5–6

But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.” Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

The incompleteness of OT revelation

Hebrews 11:39–40 The fulness of God's redemption could only become apparent with the fulness of his revelation in Jesus Christ. See also Hebrews 1:1–2; 1 Peter 1:10–12

These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.