A friend and read 20 chapters of the Bible a day. In order to be held accountable to this goal, we shared daily observations from our readings. I chose to search for passages related to the cross (having recently listened to a message by C.J. Mahaney on guarding and entrusting the gospel in our lives). I retain this list in no way to recommend it as useful, but simply to preserve it for my own purposes. This list is not yet complete for several reasons. — Scott Moonen
Genesis 3:15 — “I will put enmity between you [serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed [Jesus]; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Genesis 4:3-5 — God has regard only for a blood offering.
Genesis 7 — God’s mercy in preserving Noah through the flood (a type of baptism; 1 Peter 3).
Genesis 12:3 — “In you [Abraham] all the families of the earth shall be blessed [through Jesus].”
Genesis 14:18-20 — “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heavan and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’”
Genesis 18:18 — “in him [Abraham] all the nations of the earth will be blessed [through Jesus]. . .”
Genesis 21-40 (2002.03.07)
Genesis 22:8 — provision of the sacrificial lamb might be a type of Christ?
Genesis 22:18 — all the nations will be blessed in Abraham.
Genesis 26:4 — all the nations will be blessed through Isaac.
Genesis 28:14 — all the nations will be blessed in Jacob.
Genesis 41 - Exodus 10 (2002.03.08)
Genesis 49:8-12 — Prophecies over Judah. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet. . .”
Exodus 4:31 — God’s redemption: “when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worhsipped.”
Exodus 6:6 — God’s redemption: “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”
Exodus 11-30 (2002.03.09)
Exodus 12 — the Passover
Blood of the lamb, v.13 — “when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Leaven as a sign of separation unto God, v.19 — “whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel.”
Exodus 15 — God’s redemption. v.2, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. . .” v. 13, “In Thy lovingkindness Thous hast led the people whom Thou hast redeemed; in Thy strength Thou hast guided them to Thy holy habitation.”
Exodus 20 — God’s commandments, His standard of holiness.
Exodus 21-23 — further elaboration of the law.
Exodus 29 — offering for sin for Aaron and his sons.
Exodus 29:45 — God promises to dwell among His people.
Exodus 30:11-16 — Israel had to ransom themselves to God.
Exodus 31 - Leviticus 10 (2002.03.10)
Exodus 34:6-7 — God describes Himself as gracious, merciful, and holy.
Exodus 34:19 — Firstborn offspring had to be redeemed.
Exodus 36-39 — The construction of the tabernacle; a picture of the holiness and worthiness and glory of God. The depiction of the tabernacle is then repeated when its construction is described.
Exodus 40 — The consecration of the tabernacle and the ministers unto God.
Leviticus 4-6:7 — Description of the sin and guilt offerings. Requirement of the shedding of blood for sin.
Leviticus 7:22-27 — Israel not permitted to eat fat or blood, since it is an offering to God. Interesting contrast with the communion, which we are instructed to take for remembrance’ sake.
Leviticus 11 - Numbers 3 (2002.03.11)
Lev 11:43-47 - God’s holiness
Lev 16 - day of atonement; requirements of making atonement. Blood sacrifices.
Lev 17 - sacrifices must be unto God and none other; sacrifices must be in blood: “life of the flesh is in the blood”
Lev 19:2 - standard of holiness: “holy as I am holy”
Lev 18-20 - more requirements of the law
Lev 20:22-27 - “be holy”. Also v.24 indicates God as author of salvation: “I have separated you”
Lev 22:18-33 - God demands sacrifices without defect (Jesus)
Lev 23:27-32 - humility towards God in sacrifice (our attitude towards Christ’s sacrifice)
Lev 26:40-46 - God covenants with Israel to show them His mercy
Numbers 4-23 (2002.03.12)
Num 5:5-10 - sin requires not only punishment, but restitution
Num 15:22-29 - all sin requires a sacrifice
Num 21:7-9 - the bronze serpant is a type of Christ
Numbers 24 - Deut 7 (2002.03.13)
Num 24:17-19 - Balaam’s prophecy is prophetic of Jesus
Num 28:1-8 - a continual offering to God was required, until the perfect offering was made in Jesus
Num 28:31 - sacrifices must be without defect (throughout this reading)
Deut 4:31 - God is true to His covenant of compassion and mercy.
Deut 7:8-10 - God redeems His people; He is faithful towards them, but also righteous.
Also, struck by Deut 6, particularly the implications of the importance of deliberately training our children to know God and His word. Not merely by passive example, but by consistent and repeated instruction.
Deut 8-27 (2002.03.14)
Deut 17:1 — sacrifices must be without blemish
Deut 18:15-19 — Messianic prophecy: “God will raise up for you a prophet.”
Deut 21:22-23 — he who is hanged on a tree is cursed of God.
Also, struck throughout this reading that death was the required punishment for unbelief. I think if we lived in such an environment that I would have a much better picture of the gravity of my sin!
Deut 28 - Josh 13 (2002.03.15)
Deut 32:43 — God promises to “atone for His land and His people”.
Also, struck by the promises and the curses at the beginning of this reading. In particular, the great blessing of the promises, and the stark harshness of the curses. It certainly helps to remind me that I cannot let my faith be abstract and intellectual; as well as encourage me in the pursuit of God.
Josh 14 - Judges 9 (2002.03.16)
Josh 24:19 — “We “will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God.” We cannot serve Him apart from our redemption and sanctification.
Also, Joshua 21:45 struck me, but it doesn’t seem directly cross-related. It reads, “Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” Not only are we told of the promises themselves (e.g., Deut 28), but it is deliberately underscored that God was faithful to them. Very encouraging.
Judges 10 - 1 Samuel 4 (2002.03.17)
I Sam 2:25 - “if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him.” The impossibility of appearing before God on our own standing, or on that of anyone else apart from Jesus.
I Sam 2:25 - “if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him.” The impossibility of appearing before God on our own standing, or on that of anyone else apart from Jesus.
I Sam 2:35 - “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in my soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.” This refers to Samuel, but it struck me that it could refer to Jesus as well. Especially since I’m not sure that Samuel could be said to have had an “enduring house”. On the other hand, the priest will “walk before My anointed.” Would that be Jesus? If so, then Jesus can’t walk before Himself. But if so, then this passage does look forward to Jesus.
1 Samuel 5-24 (2002.03.18)
No observed cross references.
What generally stood out in the reading was God’s sovereignty, particularly with respect to David and Saul. God not only orchestrated things to put whom He wanted on the throne, but He repeatedly rescued David from Saul’s hand.
1 Samuel 25 - 2 Samuel 13 (2002.03.19)
2 Sam 7:16 — God promises David “your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
Also, David’s humility and faithfulness struck me: how he honored Saul by sparing his life, and even by killing those who had killed Saul and Saul’s offspring, and mourning their death.
2 Samuel 14 - 1 Kings 9 (2002.03.20)
2 Sam 14:14 (from Chris) — Here’s one for you: the woman who at Joab’s request goes in to deceptively pursuade David to bring his son Absolom back says “God devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast”.
2 Samuel 22 - God is portrayed as a righteous deliverer and savior.
1 Kings 10 - 2 Kings 7 (2002.03.21)
One thing that did stand out, though — and pretty strongly — was the view of idolatry. Idolatry wasn’t merely “something I shouldn’t have done”, as we often weakly characterize our sin, but it was a terrible turning from God that was deserving of the full brunt of God’s wrath. Having your name wiped out from the face of the earth is no laughing matter. This is helpful to me as I seek to develop a healthy view of the gravity of my sin.
2 Kings 8 - 1 Chronicles 2 (2002.03.22)
I’m finding cross-centered passages hard to notice lately. One thing that did very much stand out in today’s reading was God’s holiness: the single-minded devotion to Him and forsaking of idols that was required of Israel and Judah.
Also, idolatry continues to stand out in the reading. It’s pretty bad when someone says “so and so continued in the sin of ___”. Remembered for all posterity by your idolatrious ways. And then the great punishment that was meted out on both Israel and Judah, to be wiped out (especially in Israel’s case) and carried away into captivity.
The deliverance of Judah because of Hezekiah’s faithfulness stood out in rather sharp contrast. That was very encouraging!
Lastly, I was struck by a lot of sovereignty passages. Sickness, defeat, victory, healing, death, resurrection, kingship — all are represented as being ultimately in and from the hand of God.
1 Chronicles 3 - 22 (2002.03.24)
1 Chr 16:34-35 — God is a God of salvation, which is ultimately motivated to the glory of His name.
1 Chr 17:12, 14 — God promised to establish Solomon’s throne forever.
1 Chr 22:10 — Again, establish throne forever.
Also, 1 Chr 16:40-42 stood out: David assigning both a continual sacrifice to God and a continual praise to God. It made me wonder how we would evidence that in our lives. I think I can understand how I might grow towards continual praise, but I’m less sure how I would grow towards continual sacrifice.
1 Chr 23 - 2 Chr 13 (2002.03.25)
1 Chr 28:4 — Judah is a leader among his brothers.
2 Chr 14-33 (2002.03.26)
What did stand out in my mind, however, was God’s policy towards kings. As soon as kings repented, He generally blessed them. But as soon as they grew corrupt, He began to “deliver them into the hands of their enemies”. That speaks to me both of God’s mercy, but also of His high standard of holiness.
2 Chr 34:27 — Humility and brokenness are key to repentance.
Ezra 10 — Holiness is important (separation from unclean foreign spouses).
Nehemiah 1:10 — God is a compassionate Redeemer.
And Neh 6:16 stood out; it was clear to the Jews and the surrounding people that the building had been accomplished with the help of God.
Neh 9:17 — God is a God of forgiveness.
Neh 13:10-11 — The people were chastised for not providing for the Levites. A reminder of the importance of one of the mroe practical aspects of giving.
Esther 6:1 — God was sovereign over Ahasuerus’ sleep, causing him to have sleeplessness in order to rescue Mordecai. While I don’t often suffer from sleeplessness, this suggests I should put it to good use, for it might be from God!
Job 1:8 — God praises Job. Oh to please God to this extent!
Job 5-24 (2002.03.29)
Job 8:3 — God does not pervert justice.
Job 19:25-26 — I know my Redeemer lives.
Job 25 — God’s absolute holiness.
Job 37:19 — We have no pleading, no case before God.
Throughout Job I am offended by Job’s arrogance. But I know that in my own ways I am equally as arrogant, which is humbling.
See also my friend’s response on JobAsArrogant
Psalm 2 is a reference to Christ’s rule, though not to the cross.
Ps 3-22 (2002.03.31)
Ps 23-42 (2002.04.01)
Ps 31 — References to Jesus’ crucifixion: “into thy hand I commit my spirit” (v.5), “schemed against me” (v.13).
Ps 32 — God grants forgiveness, does not impute iniquity; example of confession and repentance.
Ps 38:17-22 — Example of confession, reliance on God for salvation.
Ps 43-62 (2002.04.02)
Ps 63-82 (2002.04.03)
Ps 69:20-21 — no comforters; gave me gall
Ps 69:26 — persecuted Him whom thou hast smitten
Ps 75:8 — wicked drink the dregs of God’s wrath (c.f., “cup pass from me”)
Ps 83-102 (2002.04.04)
Ps 85 — psalm of forgiveness and salvation
Ps 89:4,36 — establish David’s seed, build up throne
Ps 98:3 — a God of salvation
Ps 103-122 (2002.04.05)
Ps 103:3-4 — pardoner of sin, redeemer
Ps 103:8-14 — removes transgression
Ps 107:1-22 — perhaps physical salvation here serves as imagery of spiritual salvation
Ps 110 — God will raise up His son as king and priest forever
Ps 111 — God is a merciful and gracious redeemer.
Several notes here in KJV Bible
Ps 123-142 (2002.04.06)
Notes in KJV Bible
Ps 145:8-10 — God of mercy
Prov. 8:22-36 — wisdom is Christ; esp. v.35, “whoever finds me finds life”