The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament
By Edmund P. Clowney
P&R Publishing, Second edition, 2013, 220 pp.

I remember reading the Old Testament for the first time as a new believer thirty-seven years ago. It was quite challenging, especially such portions as Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. But in his sermons, our pastor at the time would occasionally point out “types” or foreshadowings of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Ah, that was VERY cool. I remember subsequently reading a couple of books specifically about Biblical Typology. The first thirty-nine books of the Bible are full of veiled references to the coming Messiah. I subsequently read the Old Testament with a new appreciation for the many symbols and foreshadowings of Jesus Christ contained within.
This book about OT types recently caught my eye and I gave it a read. Below, I’ve listed the chapter titles and the respective Old Testament characters examined, who, as Clowney demonstrates, foreshadowed Christ in some form or fashion. “The Unfolding Mystery” is a very good introduction to Typology.
Chapters
- The New Man (Adam)
- The Son of the Woman (Abel & Seth)
- The Son of Abraham (Isaac)
- The Heir of the Promise (Jacob & Joseph)
- The Lord and His Servant (Moses)
- The Rock of Moses
- The Lord’s Anointed (Joshua, Samson, Samuel, David)
- The Prince of Peace (Solomon)
- The Lord to Come (the Prophets)
Looks like a worthwhile read! Thank you, Tom.
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Thanks, David! Yup, I enjoyed it.
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I HIGHLY recommend Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher Wright. Email me your address and I will send it to you as a Christmas gift!!
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Mandy, thank you for your gracious offer! I’m going to send you my addy via email.
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Fantastic!!!
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Wow will have to read this review in a bit! Just finished homeschooling and had a really good lesson on Genesis and an extended discussion of the days of Noah being like the days of the end times. I think the girls really listened; now they are writing their notes of what they learned
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Glad the homeschooling lesson went well! This review of a book you know well just kinda skims the surface. Must not have had a lot of wind in my sails that day.
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👍👍
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Glad you read this and wrote a review! I enjoyed this book but don’t remember it well; it was literally hundreds of books ago
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Thanks! I enjoyed it. Yeah, a few books stick in my memory for whatever reason, but most are largely forgotten. I once asked a county librarian if she could give me a print out of all the books I ever borrowed for curiosity sake, but she said no. I imagine they probably have the ability to do that.
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Wow that would be so cool if they can do that! Do you use Goodreads to track books?
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I’ve seen the Goodreads app on my Kindle, but have avoided it. Your reference piqued my curiosity so I googled Goodreads. Interesting.
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it’s been helpful for me tracking what I read
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I’m curious now so I’ll probably check it out.
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(thumbs up)
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I love these studies
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Thanks, Joseph. Yeah, I really enjoy Typology studies.
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Sounds like a book I want to read . Thank you brother Tom.
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Thank you, Crissy! It’s a good intro to Typology for the layperson, i.e. not heavy on theological parlance.
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My type of book indeed .
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