By powerfully saving Israel from danger and their enemies, God points us his greatest work of salvation (Luke 24:27; see John 1:19-27). Israel was waiting, expecting a Messiah to save them. But what many of them missed was that he came to deliver us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). Many make a similar mistake today.

Looking across the landscape of churches in Nigeria, excluding the relatively new churches that have sprung up in the last decade or so, the vast majority of these churches, which are mostly denominational, have something of a common denominator. The common denominator is what I would refer to as an excessive fixation on the Old Testament, with wrong intent.

What I mean is this: the reason for this fixation on the Old Testament, and this is evident in the focus of the teachings in these denominations, is that it most appeals to the underlying cultural beliefs here especially around generational curses, enemies and spiritual warfare. And I think that the Old Testament appeals more because it speaks in a similar way to many African folklores that have been taught over many generations.

Consider a few examples. The Old Testament is crammed full of dramatic stories depicting God’s power, or his presence with the people of Israel; there’s the Mount Sinai, the burning bush, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, along with many other stories of God defeating his people’s enemies.

Of course, I believe and affirm that God performed all these wonderful acts. However, the question is: to what end did he do them? What do these miracles and signs tell us? What do they point to? These are important questions. Because if we don’t know what God’s ultimate intent was in writing the Old Testament, we’ll fail to see how it culminates in the person and work of Jesus Christ (John 5:39). So my simple purpose for this article, is to work through some examples of these glorious Old Testament events and show how they point us to salvation in Christ.

The Passover Lamb That Dies (Exodus)

In Exodus 12, we pick up the narrative of the Passover. The Lord God Almighty is about to exact judgment on the land of Egypt, his most intense judgment yet: the tenth plague. This plague will take away all the first borns in the land of Egypt, from cattle to king. As a way of escape for his people, the Lord commanded them through Moses to prepare a Passover lamb, eat it and then use its blood to cover the doorposts and lintel of the houses where they are. And God says, “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” (Exodus 12:13).

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