The scriptures are replete with symbols and types that teach us of Christ and his Atonement. A brief review of the entries for "Jesus Christ, Types Of, In Anticipation" in the Topical Guide provide ready insight into the symbolic teachings of the scriptures about Christ. Among the references in this section we can find the following:
- The law of sacrifice, followed by righteous people from Adam to Moses, and strengthened by the Law of Moses, is a powerful symbol of the sacrifice of Christ's Atonement (2 Nephi 11:4). For example, the animal to be sacrificed had to be a male firstling (Genesis 4:4, Exodus 12:5). A firstling is the firstborn. Jesus was the firstborn of Heavenly Father's spirit children and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. The sacrificial victim had to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5), even as Christ was without sin.
- When the children of Israel were attacked by flying fiery serpents in the wilderness,Moses made a serpent of brass (Numbers 21:9) as a means to heal those who were bitten. They had only to look upon the brass serpent to have the effects of the poisonous bite immediately removed. Alma taught the Zoramites that the brass serpent was a symbol of Christ's ability to heal us from our sins and to give us eternal life (Alma 33:19).
- The Passover is a rich allegory for the Atonement of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the blood of the sacrificial lamb protected the Israelites in Egypt from the destroyer, so Christ's blood protects us from Satan's destroying power in our lives.
- The bread and wine or water of the sacrament are regular reminders that Christ is the Bread of Life and the Living Water and that he offered his body and blood in the Atonement for us (Matthew 26:26).
- Baptism symbolizes our burial with Christ and our coming forth into a newness of life through the Resurrection (Colosians 2:12).
Abraham and Isaac
Abraham's offering of his son Isaac is touching shadow of the drama that would be played out between the Father and his Only Begotten Son in the meridian of time (Genesis 22:1-14). The story begins with Abraham receiving the commandment from the Lord to " take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (verse 2). Isaac was Abraham's only begotten son by his wife Sarah. The Lord has asked Abraham to sacrifice that which he loved most. Not only was God testing Abraham's faithfulness, he was also testing Isaac. I believe he wanted someone who could understand the feelings that the Father would have when he sent his First Born and Only Begotten to be sacrificed.
A burnt offering is not a partial offering, but a complete sacrifice. There is nothing left of a burnt offering. It is completely consumed. Christ would give his all in the sacrifice of the Atonement. He would leave nothing undone.
Abraham is commanded to make his offering in a mountain, which represents the temple. Eventually Solomon would build the temple of Israel on this very mountain to which Abraham took his son.
We next read that Abraham "rose up early in the morning" to begin his trek with his son to the fateful Mount Moriah (verse 3). Abraham was eagerly obedient even in commandments he did not like. Though his heart surely was breaking with every step, he put God's will above his own.
The journey took three days (verse 4). That is surely a long time for Abraham to ponder on what he is about to do. It is also a long time for Isaac to meekly follow his father. Numbers are never used randomly in scripture. Why was the journey three days long? Three is the number of the Godhead. Three represents holiness. This was a holy journey of sanctification to draw Abraham and Isaac closer to God.
Abraham had asked two servants to accompany him and his son on their three-day journey. When the final destination was in sight, Abraham directed his servants to "abide... here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you" (verse 5). Jesus would ask his disciples to tarry near him and watch with him as he entered the Garden of Gethsemane to begin his eternal and infinite sacrifice for the sins of the world. However, like the servants of Abraham, they had to remain behind in the crucial moment of Christ's great sacrifice, when his blood fell as great drops upon the ground.
The account continues with Abraham taking "the wood of the burnt offering, and [laying] it upon Isaac his son" (verse 6). Isaac had to carry the wood of the sacrifice just as Christ would have to carry his wooden cross. But Isaac did not have to carry his burden alone, and neither did Christ. For just as Abraham and Isaac "went both of them together" (verse 6), the Father did not abandon his Son during the journey.
As father and son approached the place of the sacrifice, Isaac called out to his father, and Abraham instantly responded, "Here am I, my son" (verse 7). Such a tender moment for father and son! The boy cried out to his father for strength and support, and the father assured him of their relationship and reassured him of his presence and his availability.
Isaac then pointed out the obvious, "We have wood and fire, but I don't see a lamb to sacrifice. How are you going to offering a burnt offering without a victim?" (see verse 7). This is the moment of truth for Isaac. He knew the law of sacrifice. He knew that the sacrificial object must be something of value that Abraham possessed. It must be a firstborn male. According to the law, Abraham could not just forage for a random lamb in the wilderness. Isaac must have had an idea of what Abraham intended, but now that the reality was at hand, he needed confirmation.
These must have been heart-wrenching words for Abraham to hear. He could not bring himself to answer directly. He still had faith. It was not Abraham's will, but the Father's. "God will provide himself a lamb," he told his son (verse 8). Nevertheless, he knew in his heart that God had indeed already provided himself with a sacrificial lamb. If no other alternative presented itself, Abraham was ready to offer his son. Abraham's prophecy was also true of Christ, for in the meridian of time the Father truly would provide the sacrificial lamb in the form of his own Son. For now, however, the father and son continued to go "both of them together" (verse 8). The father was still there for his son and would remain with him right up to the very end.
When the two arrived at the appointed place of sacrifice, Abraham prepared the altar and then "bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the wood upon the altar" (verse 9). Obviously Isaac submitted willingly to his father. Surely a teenager could have escaped from a hundred-year-old man if he didn't want to be tied up. Christ would willingly submit to the will of the Father and allow himself to be taken, bound, tried, scourged, burden with his cross, and then nailed to it by his executioners.
Here the experience of Abraham and Isaac diverge from the future experience of Heavenly Father and his Only Begotten Son. For an angel called upon Abraham even as he raised his hand to plunge the knife into his obedient son's flesh. Centuries later there would be no merciful angel, no ram in the thicket, to spare the life of Christ. In the case of Abraham and Isaac, God needed to know only that they were willing to complete the sacrifice. In the case of Christ, willingness was not enough. The sacrifice had to be fully executed. Jesus had to drain the last dregs of the bitter cup. There was no real point in Isaac's death. But Christ's death was the point.
Nabal, who is described as "churlish and evil in his doings" (1 Samuel 25:3) refused the request of David's representatives. "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?" (1 Samuel 25:10-11).
When David's men returned to their camp with the report of Nabal's disrespect towards them and David, the warrior side of David took over. In his wrath at the insult of Nabal, he ordered his men to take up their weapons and march upon Nabal's headquarters. David was determined to slay every man in Nabal's compound and take whatever he needed to sustain his army.
Enter Abigail, Nabal's wife. When she heard report of her husband's rudeness to David's men and his refusal to honor their request, and when she knew that David was coming to destroy her husband and his household, she determined to intercede on her husband's behalf. Without telling her husband what she was doing, she gathered up a large collection of food and provisions, and set out in a caravan to intercept David's army before they reached Nabal's camp.
Here is the crux of the story and the beautiful symbolism of the Atonement.
As father and son approached the place of the sacrifice, Isaac called out to his father, and Abraham instantly responded, "Here am I, my son" (verse 7). Such a tender moment for father and son! The boy cried out to his father for strength and support, and the father assured him of their relationship and reassured him of his presence and his availability.
Isaac then pointed out the obvious, "We have wood and fire, but I don't see a lamb to sacrifice. How are you going to offering a burnt offering without a victim?" (see verse 7). This is the moment of truth for Isaac. He knew the law of sacrifice. He knew that the sacrificial object must be something of value that Abraham possessed. It must be a firstborn male. According to the law, Abraham could not just forage for a random lamb in the wilderness. Isaac must have had an idea of what Abraham intended, but now that the reality was at hand, he needed confirmation.
These must have been heart-wrenching words for Abraham to hear. He could not bring himself to answer directly. He still had faith. It was not Abraham's will, but the Father's. "God will provide himself a lamb," he told his son (verse 8). Nevertheless, he knew in his heart that God had indeed already provided himself with a sacrificial lamb. If no other alternative presented itself, Abraham was ready to offer his son. Abraham's prophecy was also true of Christ, for in the meridian of time the Father truly would provide the sacrificial lamb in the form of his own Son. For now, however, the father and son continued to go "both of them together" (verse 8). The father was still there for his son and would remain with him right up to the very end.
When the two arrived at the appointed place of sacrifice, Abraham prepared the altar and then "bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the wood upon the altar" (verse 9). Obviously Isaac submitted willingly to his father. Surely a teenager could have escaped from a hundred-year-old man if he didn't want to be tied up. Christ would willingly submit to the will of the Father and allow himself to be taken, bound, tried, scourged, burden with his cross, and then nailed to it by his executioners.
Here the experience of Abraham and Isaac diverge from the future experience of Heavenly Father and his Only Begotten Son. For an angel called upon Abraham even as he raised his hand to plunge the knife into his obedient son's flesh. Centuries later there would be no merciful angel, no ram in the thicket, to spare the life of Christ. In the case of Abraham and Isaac, God needed to know only that they were willing to complete the sacrifice. In the case of Christ, willingness was not enough. The sacrifice had to be fully executed. Jesus had to drain the last dregs of the bitter cup. There was no real point in Isaac's death. But Christ's death was the point.
David and Abigail
A movingly portrayed allegory of Christ's role as our mediator and advocate with the Father is seen in the encounter of David and Abigail, as recounted in 1 Samuel 25. The story and its relationship to Christ's Atonement are beautifully told in the book The Peacegiver, by James L. Ferrell.
David had been anointed to become the king of Israel to replace the disobedient king Saul. The jealous Saul swore to destroy David, so David fled into the wilderness, where he remain with a faithful band of followers for many years.
While in the wilderness near Mount Carmel, David's little army encountered the shepherds of a rich man named Nabal. David and his men befriended the shepherds and protected them against marauding bands of robbers. When the grazing season was over, the shepherds returned with their flocks to Nabal's headquarters, and David and his men moved on.
Sometime later, when David's army was in need of provisions, David sent representatives to the home of the wealthy Nabal to ask for assistance. The representatives reminded Nabal that David had protected his flocks and shepherds and ensured that none were lost. It was time now for Nabal to return David's service.
When David's men returned to their camp with the report of Nabal's disrespect towards them and David, the warrior side of David took over. In his wrath at the insult of Nabal, he ordered his men to take up their weapons and march upon Nabal's headquarters. David was determined to slay every man in Nabal's compound and take whatever he needed to sustain his army.
Enter Abigail, Nabal's wife. When she heard report of her husband's rudeness to David's men and his refusal to honor their request, and when she knew that David was coming to destroy her husband and his household, she determined to intercede on her husband's behalf. Without telling her husband what she was doing, she gathered up a large collection of food and provisions, and set out in a caravan to intercept David's army before they reached Nabal's camp.
Here is the crux of the story and the beautiful symbolism of the Atonement.
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. (1 Samuel 15:23-24, 28)
Note Abigail's words: "upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be... forgive the trespass of thine handmaid". Abigail had done nothing wrong. She had not been rude to David's men. She had not withheld the requested provision from them. Yet she asked the wrathful David, "Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal" (1 Samuel 25:25). Nabal is a fool, she said, and does not understand the consequences of his actions. Rather, she pleaded for David to lay this sin to her charge. He asked that he consider her guilty instead of her husband. And then she asked for forgiveness and for mercy for herself.
David was fully aware that Abigail had done no wrong and bore no guilt for what her husband had done. But because she took Nabal's sin upon herself and then pleaded for mercy, his heart was softened and he freely forgave her. Thus Abigail was able to avert the destruction of her husband. She had satisfied justice and engendered mercy.
This is Jesus's role as our Savior. He took upon himself our sins. He who had committed no sins and was guilty of no offense took upon himself all of our sins and offenses. He now stands in our stead before the Father and pleads for forgiveness and mercy. How could the Father not grant the request of his Beloved Son, who pleads on our behalf?
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