EP 27 Shadows of the Saviour (Part 1)

The Goodness of God in the Old Testament

Before the manger and the cross, Jesus was already there. In this episode, we explore the goodness of God throughout the Old Testament, moments where Jesus shows up, and powerful prophecies that pointed to his coming. With reflections on scripture and timeless truths, this episode sets the stage for the greatest story ever told.

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
The wooden cricket. What's good, everybody, There's
Lawrence and welcome back to theWooden Cricket Podcast.
Born and raised, Weston and Winnipeg.
That doesn't mean much to anybody.
It means a little bit of some tome because I have seen a couple

(00:25):
of things. And in those things that I've
seen in my lifetime, it has led me to Jesus.
And in me being led to Jesus makes me want to share the good
news of him with you. So I'm here to talk about Jesus,
the Bible, and the power of God's Word to transform our
lives today. I'm very excited because over
these next two episodes, diving into a powerful two-part series.

(00:46):
Today in Part 1, we're going to explore the goodness of God in
the Old Testament and look at the moments where Jesus shows up
long before the Manger. Tomorrow, Part 2 will follow up
without. Every one of those moments finds
its fulfillment in the life and work of Jesus in the New
Testament. We're going to open up our NLT

(01:07):
Bibles together and let's get into it.
We're going to start in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, and it says
and I will cause hostility between you and the woman and
between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head and youwill strike his heel.

(01:29):
This verse often called the proto evangelium.
I had to Google that. It's the first gospel.
It's God declaring His plan right after the fall.
There is a promise that one day a descendant of the woman would
crush the enemy. That's not just a comforting

(01:50):
thought, that is a battle plan. Jesus would enter this broken
world and take the strike to hisheel at the cross, but through
his death and resurrection, he would crush Satan's head under
his under foot. Think of that.
Even in the middle of the curse,God was already crafting our

(02:12):
salvation. It reminds us that no failure,
no fall, no mistake is beyond the scope of His redemption.
A little bit later on in Genesis22 versus 8 through 14, it says
God will provide a sheep for theburnt offering.
My son Abraham answered and theyboth walked on together.

(02:36):
Abraham named the place Yahweh Yura, which means the Lord will
provide in the moment. It is packed with prophetic
power. Isaac is carrying the wood up
Mount Moriah, just as Jesus would one day be carrying his
cross. Abraham raises a knife to
sacrifice his son, but God stopshim and instead provides a ram.

(03:02):
What Abraham didn't have to go through, God the Father did,
giving his only son with no Angel to intervene.
The location of Mount Moria is near where Jesus would be
crucified centuries later. And this isn't just a parallel,
it's a promise. Jesus is the better sacrifice.

(03:24):
When we can't see a way out, Godreminds us that he will provide.
The goodness of God is not shownin him avoiding the sacrifice,
but Him becoming it. We carry on to Exodus Chapter 12
versus 2123. Then Moses called all the elders

(03:47):
of Israel together and said to them, Go pick out a lamb, take a
bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood.
For the Lord will pass through the land, but when he sees the
blood, he will pass over your home.
The blood on the doorpost was more than a ritual, it was a
rescue. It didn't matter who was inside

(04:08):
the house, their goodness wasn'tthe point.
It was the blood that saved them.
Just as Jesus blood now comes over us.
He is our Passover lamb. It wasn't the strength of their
faith that saved them, it was the object of it.
When we trust in the blood of Jesus, death no longer has the

(04:32):
final word. God's goodness shines in a way.
He doesn't ask us to earn deliverance, He provides it
freely through the land. Isaiah 53 verses 3 to 7.
He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with

(04:52):
deepest grief. But he was pierced for our
rebellion, crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be
whole. He was led like a lamb to the
slaughter. Isaiah gives us one of the
clearest portraits of Jesus's suffering in the Old Testament.
Every bruise, every stripe, every wound, it wasn't random.

(05:15):
It was redemptive. That weight of the world's sin
pressed down on Jesus, and he didn't push it away.
He embraced it for you, for me. This wasn't just punishment,
this was purpose. God's goodness is seen in this
unimaginable exchange. Jesus takes our punishment and

(05:39):
we receive His peace. And as we walk through our own
grief and pain, we know that ourSavior is not distant.
He is acquainted with sorrow. He walks with us in our
suffering, because He suffered for us.
First we move along to Daniel chapter 3, verses 24 and 25.

(06:06):
But suddenly, and this is a really cool story by the way,
but suddenly Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement.
Look, I see four men unbound, walking around in the fire,
unharmed in the fourth. Looks like a God Sadrac mesac
and a dingo. Abednego stood firm and were

(06:29):
thrown into this fire. But the fire was in the end of
their story. Because in the middle of the
heat, Jesus shows up, didn't stand outside the furnace
shouting comforting words to them.
He stepped into it with them. That's the goodness of God.
His presence is not based on circumstances.

(06:49):
He is Emmanuel, God with us, especially in the fire.
Huh. Sometimes God doesn't prevent
the flames, but He always walks with us through them.
And when we come out on the other side, we don't even smell
like smoke. You know what I mean?
Just like those three men. It's not just survival.

(07:11):
That's deliverance. From Genesis to Daniel, we've
seen that Jesus was always there, in promise, in picture,
in power. He's not just a New Testament
figure, He's the thread that runs through the whole story.

(07:32):
In the Old Testament, as ancientas it is, is still alive because
it whispers his name on every page.
But the shadows aren't the end of the story, they're just the
beginning. Tomorrow, Part 2, we move into
the New Testament to see those shadows come to life in Jesus.
The prophecies will be fulfilled, the Lamb will be

(07:54):
revealed, and the goodness of God will shine in full.
So please join me again tomorrow.
We keep walking this journey of faith together.
If this is stirred your heart a little bit, if you thought this
was a positive message in any way, please like and share it.
Send it to somebody that might need this message today.
And please again join me again tomorrow, where I'm very excited

(08:14):
to to finalize this two-part series.
We will see you then everybody. Until then, it's Lawrence with
the winning Cricket podcast about police.