I'm a GD teacher in our ward and I'm being forced (in a good way) to learn, understand and then teach the Old Testament in a way I haven't before.
There is a lot of symbolism in the Old Testament, most, if not all, of it pointing to Christ and his Atonement. My question is how aware of Christ's role as Savior and Redeemer and of his Atonement where the Children of Israel? It's great for us to pull out types and shadows that can help us today and help us receive a greater understanding of Christ and the Atonement but is it possible that we're pulling out lessons that the Children of Israel weren't even aware of at the time? And if so then are we to take from that that the old testament was written more for us than them? Wouldn't it be more important that the children of Israel understand why they're being asked to do the things they're being asked to do?
So I guess it boils down to how aware were the children of Israel as to why they were doing what they were doing and having the experiences they were having? Are there scriptural references to back that up?
Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks in advance for any replies.
