Typology

We see many examples of God weaving people and events throughout the Old Testament. These examples prefigure or foreshadow the coming of our Lord and Savior. The study of these types and how they point to Christ is called typology. Much has been written about the typology of Abraham, Moses, and Jonah. It’s easy to understand how these men point to Jesus in one way or the other.

But while reading the story of Elisha recently, I realized there were several foreshadowings of Jesus that we tend to overlook. Today we are going to look at these.

Before we get to the actual typology, I’d like to mention a couple of Elisha’s miracles that aren’t a direct foreshadowing of Christ, but that showed he at times displayed authority over nature. These examples include parting the Jordan, and making an ax head float. While these don’t directly foreshadow Christ, I have included them as an aside because Jesus also showed authority over nature in a similar manner. Jesus calmed the sea and walked on water.

Now we’ll look at more of Elisha’s miracles that directly point toward some of the miracles Jesus would perform on a greater scale.

Elisha’s Miracles

Multiplying Food

When a widow told Elisha that she was in debt and her creditor was going to take her sons as slaves, Elisha asked her, “What do you have in the house?” The widow told Elisha that she had nothing except a single jar of olive oil. Elisha told her to go out to the neighbors and borrow their empty vessels. She did as he asked, and Elisha miraculously multiplied the oil until she had enough to pay her debt. She also had enough for her and her sons to live on (See 2 Kings 4:1-7).

This is not the only time Elisha miraculously provided sustenance for others. When a man came to Elisha with his firstfruits offering, which included bread, some barley, and some grain, Elisha told the man to give it to all the men who were gathered there so they could eat.

The servant questioned Elisha because he didn’t have enough to feed the one hundred men who were present. Elisha reiterated the command, and not only was the food multiplied to feed the men, but there was food left over as well (2 Kings 4:42-44).

Two separate times Elisha multiplied sustenance for people, much like Christ also multiplied food twice to feed much larger gatherings. And there were leftovers in those cases as well.

Those are two typological examples that foreshadow what Jesus would later do on a grander scale, but there are more.

Miraculous Healing

There was a man named Naaman. He was a warrior, and he was highly respected by his master. But he was also a leper. When Elisha heard about him, he told Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan seven times and he would be clean. At first Naaman was upset because Elisha didn’t heal him instantly. Eventually Naaman did as Elisha told him, and he was made clean (2 Kings 5:1-14).

Jesus healed many people during His time on earth. There are several instances of Jesus healing lepers during His ministry, including ten at one time. This is another example of Elisha’s ministry foreshadowing Christ’s.

Raising the Dead

From here we move on to the story of the Shunammite woman who understood that Elisha was a holy man. She created a room for him in her house that he could use whenever he was in town.

When Elisha asked how he could repay her kindness, he was told by another that she was barren. Elisha promised her she would have a son within a year (2 Kings 4:8-17). Elisha’s prophecy came true. However, after the boy was grown he became sick and died. Elisha raised the woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4:34-35).

Jesus raised three people from the dead, including the widow’s son, Jairus’ daughter, and most famously Lazarus. And of course Jesus also rose from the dead.

The Thread

We have focused solely on Elisha today, but there are many more “types” in the Old Testament, and they all point to the fact that sending His Son, Jesus, was not God’s Plan B. It was planned from the beginning. There is a thread woven throughout the Old Testament. This thread points to the coming of the Son of Man, and to some of the signs and miracles he would perform.

Today we looked at the example of Elisha. Please come back next week because we are going to trace this thread through many of the major foreshadowings, all the way from the Fall to the Cross.

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