I gotta have my orange juice.

Moses flees to a mountain and is given food by a “bird” to sustain him for the 40 years of work ahead of him, where he would meet with God.

So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. (Exodus 2)

Elijah fled and was given food and water by angels for the forty days’ journey ahead of him, to meet God at the same mountain.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Yahweh, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of Yahweh came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19)

Earlier Elijah had been fed by ravens (1 Kings 17).

Jesus is sustained by angels on the Mount of Olives for the exodus (Luke 9:31) that he was about to accomplish.

Coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives, as he was accustomed, and his disciples also followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

When he rose up from prayer, and had come to his disciples, he found them sleeping from sorrow. Then he said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Luke 22)

Moses and Elijah are obviously types of Jesus in these episodes. As a result, I think we should read these passages as mutually interpreting one another. In particular, I do not think that we should over-psychologize the fear that Moses experienced or the supposed depression that Elijah experienced. Whatever Jesus experienced was a commendable, righteous, faith-ful emotion. Therefore I believe we ought to read Elijah’s words, “it is enough; take my life” as being another way of expressing Jesus’s words, “if it is your will, take this cup.”

Then [Abraham] said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” (Genesis 18:32)

And [Elijah] said, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Then Yahweh said to him: “. . . Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:14-18)

Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am Yahweh’ ”

So Ahab said, “By whom?”

And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’ ”

Then he said, “Who will set the battle in order?”

And he answered, “You.”

Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel—seven thousand. (1 Kings 20:13-15)

For the sake of seven thousand faithful—no, rather, by means of the faithfulness of seven thousand, and nothing else—God’s judgment is stayed.

For they are not all Israel who are of Israel. (Romans 9:6)

We saw that Jesus is the sense of the word.

And we know that the church is his body, totus Christus.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Cor 12:27)

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? (Acts 26:14)

Therefore the church is the sense of the word.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
​​Because He has anointed me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
​​To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)

Also Jeshua, . . . and the Levites, helped the people to understand the law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. (Nehemiah 8:7–8)

So he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written:

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16–21)

Jesus the living word is the sense of the word.

Mary’s song in Luke 1 obviously echoes that of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2.

Samuel and Jesus both ministered in a time of faithless priests, a time when the word of God was disregarded.

And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with Yahweh and men. (1 Sam 2:26)

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

During these times, and as a result of the work of Samuel-David-Solomon/Jesus, God abandoned his house, used his enemies to tear apart that house, then established a new house and subjugated those same enemies.

Notice that Joshua exhorts us to be strong and courageous, first of all in obedience.

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. (1:7)

Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day. (23:6-8)

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. (Heb. 12)

Given how we use the word bitterness today, it’s easy to assume this refers to our attitude toward fellow believers. But the Biblical use of this word is broader and has to do with poisonous teaching and conduct. Thus:

“I make this covenant and this oath . . . so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.” (Deut. 29)

Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. (Rev. 8)

[Moses] afterwards explained what he meant, that is, lest any one, felicitating himself in sin, and like the drunken who are wont to excite thirst, stimulating sinful desires, should bring on a contempt of God through the alluring of hope of impunity. The same is what the Apostle speaks of now; for he foretells what will take place, that is, if we suffer such a root to grow, it will corrupt and defile many. (Calvin)

[The apostle] enters a serious caveat against apostasy. Here you may observe . . . the consequences of apostasy: where persons fail of having the true grace of God, a root of bitterness will spring up, corruption will prevail and break forth. (Matthew Henry)

One such poisonous teaching is the teaching that it does not matter greatly whether or how we obey God’s law and serve him. It is true that we have no reason to boast in our belonging to God (Deut. 9), but it is false that obedience is a light matter (Deut. 28).

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. (Heb. 5:9)