Originally Published in 1883
The historical books of the Old Testament present to us a regular series of types, each book having a set of its own, connected with a special line of truth, upon which in perfect order the separate gems are strung. To read them aright, therefore, we must see first what is the truth which characterizes each, and then each individual type will find its place.
For instance, in the book of Genesis, a series of seven lives is given exemplifying the life which God gives to man not the life which is now natural to him, but, in contrast with that, the life which we have as born of God, shown in its different stages and features from the first point where it begins with conviction of sin, in Adam, to the time when, in Joseph, it is master of the world. A series of seven lives gives its whole history.
In Exodus we have a fresh beginning, and a new line of things. It begins a little later than in Genesis; for we must first of all have life before we can be redeemed. It is His people whom God redeems out of bondage, redemption being this actual deliverance, which must be accomplished in order for any practical Christian life.
