The center of the Old Testament is the temple within the city. This temple within the city was built on that piece of land, and this piece of land with the temple and the city built upon it is the very center of the Old Testament Scriptures. It is also the very center of God’s mind. In God’s mind is this piece of land with its temple and city.
If we know the Scriptures and have light from God, we will realize that the center of God’s eternal plan, typically speaking, is the land with its temple and the city. The Old Testament, from the first chapter of Genesis, always takes the land as the center, always mentions something related to the land.
Let us look at the first chapter of Genesis. Perhaps you are so familiar with that chapter that you could even recite it. But one thing may be hidden from you. In the first chapter of Genesis there is something very important hidden beneath the surface. It is the land. Please consider. What is the purpose and aim of God’s creation according to the record of the first chapter of Genesis? It is nothing but the recovery of the land. God wanted to recover the land and do something upon it. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” What about the earth? There was chaos upon the earth. Waste and void and deep waters were upon it. It was buried under the deep. So God came in to work; God began to recover the earth. He divided the light from the darkness and the waters which were above from the waters which were beneath. Then He divided the water from the earth, and the earth came out from the waters on the third day. It was the third day when the Lord Jesus Christ came out of the depths of death. So, you see, this is a type. On the third day God brought the earth out of the waters of death. From this type you can realize what the earth is. The earth, or the land, is a type of Christ.
Then after the land came out of the waters, what happened? Oh, all kinds of life came into being—grass, herbs producing seed, and fruit trees yielding fruit. I think that now you see the picture. After the resurrection of Christ, after the Lord was brought out of death, He produced abundant life. Yes, He was full of the production of life. Then on this land which was full of life, man was created according to the image of God, having the likeness of God, and to this man was committed God’s authority. After the Lord came out of death, there was an abundance of life produced, and in the midst of this fullness of life a man was created who was the representative of God, with God’s image, God’s likeness, and God’s authority. All these things have transpired in Christ as a piece of land.
Now you know what is meant by the land. The land is but a figure of Christ as everything to us. Everything that God prepared for mankind is concentrated in the land. Man was created to live on the land to enjoy all the provision of God. All things related to man are concentrated in the land, which is a type of Christ. All things which God has prepared for us are concentrated in Christ.
Later you will see how God brought His people into the promised land and how His people remained there and enjoyed all its riches. The result was that the city and the temple came into being. The city and the temple are the result of the enjoyment of this land. What is the city and the temple? The city is the center of God’s authority, God’s kingdom, and the temple is the center of God’s house, God’s dwelling place. The kingdom of God and the house of God are the result of the enjoyment of the land. When the people of God enjoy this land to a certain extent, something comes into existence—the authority of God and the presence of God, or, in other words, the kingdom of God and the house of God. If we possess Christ as a piece of land and enjoy all His riches, after a certain extent something will issue forth—the church with God’s kingdom, the temple in the city.
Now you can apply all these things to the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures. In principle, everything recorded in the Old Testament is exactly the same as that in the New; there is no difference. God’s intention revealed in both the Old and New Testaments is that Christ should be the land to us. We have the ground to enjoy all the riches of Christ. God gave us this ground. After a certain amount of enjoyment of His riches, something will issue forth—the kingdom of God and the house of God, the church with God’s kingdom. This is the central thought of God’s eternal plan.
If you read the Scriptures carefully, you will see a very grim and serious activity being carried on. Satan, the enemy of God, has done his utmost and is still doing his utmost to frustrate the people of God from enjoying this piece of land. He will do whatever he can to spoil the enjoyment of Christ as the land. Read the Scriptures. Not long after God created the heavens and the earth with the intention of giving the earth to mankind as an enjoyment, Satan did something to frustrate Him. Because of Satan’s rebellion, God had to judge the universe, and due to that judgment the earth was buried beneath the waters of the deep. This hindered God’s plan for some time. Then God came in to work and do something, and as we have seen already, He recovered the land from the waters of the deep. Upon this recovered land, an abundance of life came into being. And then a life with the image of God and committed with the authority of God came forth. However, we know that it was not long after this before the enemy came in again. He deceived man and put God in a position where judgment upon the earth was again imperative. The recovered earth was once more put under the waters of the deep: the flood came and covered the whole earth, and typically speaking man was separated from the enjoyment of the land which is Christ. Remember the phrase in Ephesians, apart from Christ (2:12)? All those people who were under the judgment of the flood were a type of people separated from Christ. To be separated from the earth, figuratively speaking, is to be separated from Christ. But through the redemption of the ark, Noah and his family obtained the right to possess the land and enjoy all its riches. The ark brought them back to the enjoyment of the land. The flood separated people from the earth, but the ark brought people back to the earth. Once more man took possession of the land and enjoyed its riches. But again, it was not long before the enemy did something more to spoil the enjoyment of the earth. So, out of that race made rebellious by Satan, God called one man, Abraham, and told him that He would bring him to a certain land. Now you realize that God’s work is always to recover the land. The enemy’s work is always to frustrate, to spoil, to hinder, to do something to put the land in chaos. Now the Lord once more brought His chosen one to the land. But then, you remember well, it was not long before even this chosen one gradually drifted away from the land into Egypt. Yes, and the Lord brought him back once more to this piece of land. And then his sons, the people of Israel all left this land and went down into Egypt. Then, after a long period, the Lord once more brought all the people up from Egypt and back to this very piece of land. Again, after a period of time, the enemy moved again and sent the Chaldeans, the army from Babylon, to spoil the land and capture the people from it. And again, after seventy years, the Lord brought them back once more to this piece of land.
I tell you, this is the history of the Old Testament. How many times did the Lord recover this land? At least five or six times. The Lord created it, but the enemy spoiled it. The Lord came in to recover, but the enemy countered with something else. The Lord moved again to recover, but the enemy again reacted. Oh, here is the struggle! Do you see? Here is the battle!
I would ask you to consider the purpose of these battles recorded in the Old Testament. For what purpose were they fought? You must see that they were all focused upon the land. The enemy came to assault the land, to take over the land. Then God moved to fight for His people and recover the land. All the battles in the Old Testament were concerned with this piece of land.