In Old Testament times, Christian baptisms were not done. Christ had not been born into the world. So, the Christian Sacraments were not instituted by Him then. Although Christian baptisms were not practiced, there is still much in the Old Testament that prefigures or foreshadows baptism.
In the very first chapter of the Bible, it says:
In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (Gen. 1:1,2, LXX)
Here, in these very first two verses of the Bible, we see a relationship between the Holy Spirit and water. Water is the preferred substance of the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of God moved over the water." (Gen. 1:2, LXX) Tertullian wrote:
Mindful of this declaration as of a conclusive prescript, we nevertheless proceed to treat the question, “How foolish and impossible it is to be formed anew by water. In what respect, pray, has this material substance merited an office of so high dignity” The authority, I suppose, of the liquid element has to be examined. This however, is found in abundance, and that from the very beginning. For water is one of those things which, before all the furnishing of the world, were quiescent with God in a yet unshapen state. “In the first beginning,” saith Scripture, “God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was invisible, and unorganized, and darkness was over the abyss; and the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters.” (Gen. 1:1,2) The first thing, O man, which you have to venerate, is the age of the, waters in that their substance is ancient; the second, their dignity, in that they were the seat of the Divine Spirit, more pleasing to Him, no doubt, than all the other then existing elements. (On Baptism, chapter 3, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 670, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Theodotus and St. Cyril of Jerusalem, likewise, affirmed the special preference that God has for water.
Now, regeneration is by water and spirit (St. John 3:5), as was all creation: “For the Spirit of God moved on the abyss.” (Gen. 1:2) And for this reason the Saviour was baptized, though not Himself needing to be so, in order that He might consecrate the whole water for those who were being regenerated. Thus it is not the body only, but the soul, that we cleanse. It is accordingly a sign of the sanctifying of our invisible part, and of the straining off from the new and spiritual creation of the unclean spirits that have got mixed up with the soul. (Excerpts of Theodotus, Excerpt 7, by Theodotus, flourished second century A.D., vol. 8, p. 44, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
But if any one wishes to know why the grace is given by water and not by a different element, let him take up the Divine Scriptures and he shall learn. For water is a grand thing, and the noblest of the four visible elements of the world. Heaven is the dwelling-place of Angels, but the Heavens are from the waters: the Earth is the place of men, but the Earth is from the waters: and before the whole six days’ formation of the things that were made, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water." (Gen. 1:2) (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture III, paragraph 5, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 15, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The dignity of water. Since the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit has always had a special affinity with water. This is a picture of McKenzie Falls in Australia.
In these first two verses of Sacred Scripture the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured.
Of the Spirit it is said: “The Spirit was borne upon the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) And well in the beginning of creation is there set forth the figure of baptism whereby the creature had to be purified. (Three Books on the Holy Spirit, Book II, Introduction, paragraph 1, by St. Ambrose of Milan, 340-397 A.D., vol. 10, p. 115, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The Spirit of God above moved, as a charioteer, over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), and produced from them the infant world, a type of the Christian child that is drawn from the laver of baptism. (Letter LXIX, by St. Jerome, 345-420 A.D., vol. 6, p. 145, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
Later in this same Book of Genesis, Baptism is prefigured again by the Flood in the days of Noah.
And the flood was upon the Earth forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the ark, and it was lifted on high from off the Earth. And the water prevailed and abounded exceedingly upon the Earth, and the ark was borne upon the water. And the water prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven. Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered all the high mountains. And there died all flesh that moved upon the Earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the Earth, and every man. And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land, died. And God blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the Earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. And the water was raised over the Earth an hundred and fifty days. (Gen. 7:17-24, LXX)
St. Peter drew an analogy between Baptism and the Flood in one of His Epistles:
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (I Pet. 3:20,21)
In Exodus, the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured again by the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptians.
And the angel of God that went before the camp of the children of Israel removed and went behind, and the pillar of the cloud also removed from before them and stood behind them. And it went between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and stood; and there was darkness and blackness; and the night passed, and they came not near to one another during the whole night. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Lord carried back the sea with a strong south wind all the night, and made the sea dry, and the water was divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the water of it was a wall on the right hand and a wall on the left. And the Egyptians pursued them and went in after them, and every horse of Pharao, and his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. And it came to pass in the morning watch that the Lord looked forth on the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled the camp of the Egyptians, and bound the axle-trees of their chariots, and caused them to go with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand over the sea, and let the water be turned back to its place, and let it cover the Egyptians coming both upon the chariots and the riders. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the water returned to its place toward day; and the Egyptians fled from the water, and the Lord shook off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the water returned and covered the chariots and the riders, and all the forces of Pharao, who entered after them into the sea: and there was not left of them even one. But the children of Israel went along dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them a wall on the right hand, and a wall on the left. So the Lord delivered Israel in that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead by the shore of the sea. (Exodus 14:19-30, LXX)
St. Paul wrote about the analogy of the Red Sea and Baptism in one of his epistles.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (I Cor. 10:1)
Another event that prefigured the Sacrament of Baptism was the cleansing of Naaman (Naiman) the Syrian from leprosy in the Jordan River.
In the very first chapter of the Bible, it says:
In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (Gen. 1:1,2, LXX)
Here, in these very first two verses of the Bible, we see a relationship between the Holy Spirit and water. Water is the preferred substance of the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of God moved over the water." (Gen. 1:2, LXX) Tertullian wrote:
Mindful of this declaration as of a conclusive prescript, we nevertheless proceed to treat the question, “How foolish and impossible it is to be formed anew by water. In what respect, pray, has this material substance merited an office of so high dignity” The authority, I suppose, of the liquid element has to be examined. This however, is found in abundance, and that from the very beginning. For water is one of those things which, before all the furnishing of the world, were quiescent with God in a yet unshapen state. “In the first beginning,” saith Scripture, “God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was invisible, and unorganized, and darkness was over the abyss; and the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters.” (Gen. 1:1,2) The first thing, O man, which you have to venerate, is the age of the, waters in that their substance is ancient; the second, their dignity, in that they were the seat of the Divine Spirit, more pleasing to Him, no doubt, than all the other then existing elements. (On Baptism, chapter 3, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 670, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Theodotus and St. Cyril of Jerusalem, likewise, affirmed the special preference that God has for water.
Now, regeneration is by water and spirit (St. John 3:5), as was all creation: “For the Spirit of God moved on the abyss.” (Gen. 1:2) And for this reason the Saviour was baptized, though not Himself needing to be so, in order that He might consecrate the whole water for those who were being regenerated. Thus it is not the body only, but the soul, that we cleanse. It is accordingly a sign of the sanctifying of our invisible part, and of the straining off from the new and spiritual creation of the unclean spirits that have got mixed up with the soul. (Excerpts of Theodotus, Excerpt 7, by Theodotus, flourished second century A.D., vol. 8, p. 44, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
But if any one wishes to know why the grace is given by water and not by a different element, let him take up the Divine Scriptures and he shall learn. For water is a grand thing, and the noblest of the four visible elements of the world. Heaven is the dwelling-place of Angels, but the Heavens are from the waters: the Earth is the place of men, but the Earth is from the waters: and before the whole six days’ formation of the things that were made, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water." (Gen. 1:2) (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture III, paragraph 5, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 15, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The dignity of water. Since the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit has always had a special affinity with water. This is a picture of McKenzie Falls in Australia.
In these first two verses of Sacred Scripture the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured.
Of the Spirit it is said: “The Spirit was borne upon the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) And well in the beginning of creation is there set forth the figure of baptism whereby the creature had to be purified. (Three Books on the Holy Spirit, Book II, Introduction, paragraph 1, by St. Ambrose of Milan, 340-397 A.D., vol. 10, p. 115, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The Spirit of God above moved, as a charioteer, over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), and produced from them the infant world, a type of the Christian child that is drawn from the laver of baptism. (Letter LXIX, by St. Jerome, 345-420 A.D., vol. 6, p. 145, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
Later in this same Book of Genesis, Baptism is prefigured again by the Flood in the days of Noah.
And the flood was upon the Earth forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the ark, and it was lifted on high from off the Earth. And the water prevailed and abounded exceedingly upon the Earth, and the ark was borne upon the water. And the water prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven. Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered all the high mountains. And there died all flesh that moved upon the Earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the Earth, and every man. And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land, died. And God blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the Earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. And the water was raised over the Earth an hundred and fifty days. (Gen. 7:17-24, LXX)
St. Peter drew an analogy between Baptism and the Flood in one of His Epistles:
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (I Pet. 3:20,21)
In Exodus, the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured again by the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptians.
And the angel of God that went before the camp of the children of Israel removed and went behind, and the pillar of the cloud also removed from before them and stood behind them. And it went between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and stood; and there was darkness and blackness; and the night passed, and they came not near to one another during the whole night. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Lord carried back the sea with a strong south wind all the night, and made the sea dry, and the water was divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the water of it was a wall on the right hand and a wall on the left. And the Egyptians pursued them and went in after them, and every horse of Pharao, and his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. And it came to pass in the morning watch that the Lord looked forth on the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled the camp of the Egyptians, and bound the axle-trees of their chariots, and caused them to go with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand over the sea, and let the water be turned back to its place, and let it cover the Egyptians coming both upon the chariots and the riders. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the water returned to its place toward day; and the Egyptians fled from the water, and the Lord shook off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the water returned and covered the chariots and the riders, and all the forces of Pharao, who entered after them into the sea: and there was not left of them even one. But the children of Israel went along dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them a wall on the right hand, and a wall on the left. So the Lord delivered Israel in that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead by the shore of the sea. (Exodus 14:19-30, LXX)
St. Paul wrote about the analogy of the Red Sea and Baptism in one of his epistles.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (I Cor. 10:1)
Another event that prefigured the Sacrament of Baptism was the cleansing of Naaman (Naiman) the Syrian from leprosy in the Jordan River.
And the King of Syria said to Naiman, Go to, go, and I will send a letter to the King of Israel. And he went, and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the King of Israel, saying, Now then, as soon as this letter shall reach thee, behold, I have sent to thee my servant Naiman, and thou shalt recover him from his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the King of Israel read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to recover a man of his leprosy? Consider, however, I pray you, and see that this man seeks an occasion against me. And it came to pass, when Elisaie heard that the King of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the King of Israel, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy garments? Let Naiman, I pray thee, come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naiman came with horse and chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisaie. And Elisaie sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash seven times in Jordan, and thy flesh shall return to thee, and thou shalt be cleansed. And Naiman was angry, and departed, and said, Behold, I said, He will by all means come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of his God, and lay his hand upon the place, and recover the leper. Are not the Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not go and wash in them, and be cleansed? and he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and said to him, Suppose the prophet had spoken a great thing to thee, wouldest thou not perform it? Yet he has but said to thee, Wash, and be cleansed. So Naiman went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the word of Elisaie: and his flesh returned to him as the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed. (II Kings 5:5-14, LXX)
Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times and was made whole. When we are baptized, our fallen natures are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and we are enabled to live the kind of lives that God wants us to live.
St. Irenaeus saw this incident of Naaman dipping himself three times in the Jordan as prefiguring the Sacrament of Baptism.
“And dipped himself,” says [the Scripture], “seven times in Jordan.” (II Kings 5:14) It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: “Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. John 3:5) (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XXXIV, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 574, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
In His discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus Christ told him how to be born again.
Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (St. John 3:4-6)
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born of water and the Spirit in order to be born again. Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. To be "born of water and of the Spirit" means to be baptized in water. Everyone is born a fleshly birth of his or her mother, but only in the waters of baptism can one be assured of experiencing the spiritual rebirth which is brought about by the Holy Spirit. The baptismal water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for effecting the spiritual rebirth of people, just as it was His chosen substance in the beginning when He was creating the universe. The Holy Spirit is present in the waters of baptism and it is in those waters that he regenerates the fallen natures of those being baptized.
In a later blog I am going to talk about what happens in an Orthodox Christian baptism. For now, I just wanted to show that baptism was prefigured in the Old Testament and that water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for this Sacrament.
Steve
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times and was made whole. When we are baptized, our fallen natures are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and we are enabled to live the kind of lives that God wants us to live.
St. Irenaeus saw this incident of Naaman dipping himself three times in the Jordan as prefiguring the Sacrament of Baptism.
“And dipped himself,” says [the Scripture], “seven times in Jordan.” (II Kings 5:14) It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: “Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. John 3:5) (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XXXIV, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 574, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
In His discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus Christ told him how to be born again.
Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (St. John 3:4-6)
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born of water and the Spirit in order to be born again. Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. To be "born of water and of the Spirit" means to be baptized in water. Everyone is born a fleshly birth of his or her mother, but only in the waters of baptism can one be assured of experiencing the spiritual rebirth which is brought about by the Holy Spirit. The baptismal water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for effecting the spiritual rebirth of people, just as it was His chosen substance in the beginning when He was creating the universe. The Holy Spirit is present in the waters of baptism and it is in those waters that he regenerates the fallen natures of those being baptized.
In a later blog I am going to talk about what happens in an Orthodox Christian baptism. For now, I just wanted to show that baptism was prefigured in the Old Testament and that water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for this Sacrament.
Steve
Bibliography
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
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