Oh my ... then Isaiah is just a book of metaphorical literature
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The figurative portrait of God's eternal economy presented in the Old Testament spans thirty-nine books, but it is only in four sections-in types, in history, in poetry, and in prophecy. The section of types is of five books, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The section of history is of twelve books, from Joshua to Esther. The section of poetry is of five books, from Job to Song of Songs. The section of prophecy is of seventeen books, from Isaiah to Malachi. There are five major prophets and twelve minor ones. Thus, the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament can be divided into three "fives" and two "twelves." There are five books of types, twelve of history, five of poetry, five of the major prophets, and twelve of the minor prophets. The twelve minor prophets are from Hosea to Malachi. We want to see the intrinsic significance of these four sections of the Old Testament.
A. In Types-Genesis to Deuteronomy
The types from Genesis to Deuteronomy unveil the Triune God embodied in Christ as the center and circumference of His eternal economy. They also unveil this Christ as the blessing and everything to the Triune God's chosen people.
B. In History-Joshua to Esther
The twelve books of history from Joshua to Esther unveil the Triune God's move in His chosen people to possess, inherit, and enjoy His promised all-inclusive Christ as the good land. They also unveil the failures of God's chosen people as a warning to His New Testament chosen people. God's chosen people in the Old Testament became altogether a failure in God's move. The record of this in the Bible is a warning to us, the church people today in the New Testament.
C. In Poetry-Job to Song of Songs
The poetry in the Old Testament is only of five books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. They unveil that the Triune God Himself, not ethics or morality, should be man's pursuit as his perfection. This one sentence covers the central, intrinsic revelation of Job. The Psalms unveil that this God was incarnated to be a man in the flesh to be His Anointed, who is His delight, who has been exalted by Him, and who should be received, treasured, and exalted by His chosen people. Ecclesiastes unveils that all things in the human life under the sun are vanity of vanities, and Song of Songs shows that Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God is the unique satisfaction to God's chosen people. Thus, we should pursue God as our perfection, and we should pursue after Christ as our satisfaction. God should be our perfection, and Christ can be our satisfaction.
D. In Prophecy-Isaiah to Malachi
The seventeen books of prophecy from Isaiah to Malachi unveil that the Triune God embodied in Christ will come to be the God-man (Isa. 7:14; 9:6) to accomplish redemption (ch. 53) for the fulfillment of God's eternal economy according to the preceding three categories of the books in the Old Testament. They also unveil that the accomplishment of the Triune God in Christ will consummate in the new heaven and new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1).
All the above points present us a vivid portrait of the all-inclusive Christ in and for God's eternal economy in the Old Testament. In types, we see that Christ is the centrality and universality of God's eternal economy and the divine blessing to all God's chosen people. In history, we see that the all-inclusive Christ is the God-promised good land that all God's chosen people should take, possess, inherit, and enjoy to the uttermost, even to the level of kingship. In poetry, we see that Christ is the unique perfection for God's chosen people to pursue after and the unique satisfaction for God's chosen people to obtain and enjoy. In prophecy, we see that the Triune God has become a God-man to accomplish His full redemption for the fulfillment of His eternal economy which will consummate in the new heaven and new earth.
