Typology

Genesis is about Christ. Exodus is about Christ, and so forth. Read any other way, the books are interesting, but they will not be read in a manner that has been received by the Orthodox Christian Church.
Father Stephen Freeman, Glory to God For All Things

I have found that, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating aspects of the Orthodox understanding of Scripture is a thing called typology, which, as the name suggests, is the study of types. According to the Antiochian Archdiocese website, a type is,

a historical event that has a deeper meaning, pointing to our salvation in Christ. For example, the three days that Jonah spent in the belly of the fish is a type of the three days that Christ would spend in the tomb (Matt. 12:40). The serpent that Moses lifted up on the staff is a type of the lifting up of Christ on the Cross (John 3:14-16). The burning bush, aflame but not consumed, is a type of the Virgin Mary, who carried the incarnate God in her womb but was not consumed by His presence (Luke 1:26-38). Noah's ark, which saved Noah and his family from death in the flood, is a type of baptism, which brings the believer from death to life (1 Pet. 3:18-22).

I have been discovering that the Bible is far richer and more complex and enthralling than I ever imagined. The Old Testament is more than a collection of loosely related stories and poetry and historical accounts with a few important events thrown in for good measure: It is the very story of our salvation. Never had I imagined how many times and in how many ways the Old Testament foretold our salvation through Christ. The Orthodox liturgical texts bear witness over and over to these foretellings.

The following are a few examples of Old Testament types with their New Testament fullfillment (antitypes):

Scripture	Type	Antitype
Rom 5	Adam	Christ, the head of a new race
1Thes 4	Enoch	Christ's ascension and a pledge of ours
1Pet 3	Noah	Christ preaching and saving believers
Heb 7	Melchizedek	Christ the Great High Priest
Gen 22	Abraham	God the Father
Heb 11	Isaac	Christ (miraculous birth, sacrifice)
Ps 105	Joseph	Christ in suffering and exaltation
Ex 3	Moses	Christ delivering us from slavery
Josh 1	Joshua	Christ bringing us into rest
Jdg 16	Samson	Christ in strength, suffering and death
1Kgs 4	Solomon	Christ in wisdom and dominion
Matt 17	Elijah	John the Baptist, the forerunner
Matt 12	Jonah	Christ's death, burial and resurrection
Ezra 5	Zerubbabel	Christ leading out of captivity
Zec 3	Joshua (the High Priest)	Christ restoring purity of worship
Isaiah 49	The Jewish nation	Christ who is called Israel
Gal 6	The Jewish nation	The Church which is also called Israel
Rom 8	The firstborn	Christ: “the firstborn among many brethren.”
Heb 12	The firstborn	“the Church of the firstborn.”
Num 6	The Nazarite	Christ, separated unto God
1Pet 2	The Nazarite	the Church, a holy people
Deut 18	Prophets	Christ, who taught the will of God
1Cor 14	Prophets	the Church, with its gift of prophecy
Heb 5	Priests	Christ, our great High Priest
1Kgs 2.19-20	Queen Mother	Theotokos as Mother and Intercessor
Ex 12; Ps 105	Deliverance out of Egypt	baptism
Ex 14-15	The passage of the Red Sea	baptism
Josh 3-4	The passage of the Jordan	Christ’s baptism and death
Deut 11; Josh 5	Entrance into Canaan	Christ leading his people to the age to come
Gen 28	Jacob's ladder	Theotokos and Christ connecting heaven and earth
Ex 3	The burning bush	the Theotokos and the Church
John 6	Manna	Christ, the Bread of Life and the Eucharist
1Cor 10	The smitten rock	Christ, the Water of Life
Num 21	The brazen serpent	Christ lifted up on the Cross
Gen 17; Mk 16	Circumcision	a seal of admission to the Covenant (baptism)
Ex 38	The altar of burnt offering	atonement
2Ch 4	The molten sea and lavers	cleansing, baptism
Ex 30	The altar of incense	the prayer of the saints
Ex 25.31-40	The golden candlestick	Christ, the Light of the World
Ex 25.23-30	Showbread	the Eucharist
Ezk 43-44	The Gate of the Temple	The Theotokos, Ever-Virgin

Click here for more