Although the first five books of the Bible are generally referred to as ‘the books of Moses’, it is at the beginning of the second of these books – Exodus – that Moses himself first appears in the pages of the Bible. His story dominates the next four books – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, but as the founding father of the Hebrew religion, and the receiver of the Law on Mount Sinai, his influence extends throughout the Old Testament, and there are frequent references to him. Indeed, when we turn to the New Covenant, Moses’ influence continues. We need to understand Moses, and the Law of the Old Covenant in order to fully comprehend the story of Jesus and his inauguration of the New Covenant. It is from the story of Moses that Jesus draws much of the symbolism that helps us to understand the meaning of sacrifice and redemption. It is the Law of Moses that Jesus refers to when he sets out his ‘new law’ in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 – 7). And Moses appears with the prophet Elijah when Jesus is Transfigured – the two characters who represent the Law and Prophets coming alongside Jesus to affirm him in his role as the fulfilment of the Old Covenant.
If Abraham is looked upon as the father of the Jewish nation, then Moses is the founder of the Jewish religion. These books – the Pentateuch (literally meaning the Five Books), draw us into the story of God’s work in the world.
Moses’ story is one that amply demonstrates the work of God in the world. Born in Egypt to a Hebrew mother and father, the infant Moses was immediately in danger of being put to death by the decree of Pharaoh, who insisted that all male Hebrew babies must die. Instead of being killed, however, Moses was hidden by his godly parents. At the age of three months, he was adopted - by God’s providence - by no less a person than the daughter of Pharaoh, and raised as her own son. The princess unwittingly hired Moses’ real mother to be the baby’s nurse, and it is at her knee that he learned about his true identity, as a member of the Hebrew nation.
As Moses grew into manhood, he was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt - trained as a Prince in the royal household of the greatest civilisation of the time. At the age of 40 however, Moses made the critical decision to forsake his adopted inheritance and ally himself with God’s enslaved people. In a fit of indignation, he killed a cruel taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew slave and was forced to flee for his life into the desert regions of the Sinai Peninsula (Midian).
Moses’ survival as a child can be attributed both to the faith of his parents and divine providence. Without his parents’ decision to defy the royal will, Moses would never have lived.
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (Hebrews 11:23)
God, through His providence, caused Moses to be brought up in the royal palace, and so gave him an education that perfectly prepared him for his later calling.
Moses was compelled to flee from Egypt for his life. He got himself a job working as a shepherd for Jethro and married his daughter. He seemed to be thoroughly content to live out his life in this totally obscure place, deep in the Sinai Peninsula, but God had other ideas. Whilst he was out in the desert, tending his father in law’s sheep, he had his famous encounter with God in the burning bush (Exodus 3). He became a very unwilling conscript into God’s service. After putting up every conceivable objection, he finally succumbed to God’s will.
Back in Egypt, he had the unenviable task of approaching Pharaoh to ask for freedom for his people. Unsurprisingly, Pharaoh resisted God’s word from Moses, leading to Moses calling down ten devastating plagues upon the land and its people. Finally, after God’s angel killed all the first born of Egypt in a single night, Pharaoh relented, and the Israelites were allowed to leave. Moses led the people through the Red Sea. Although the people grumbled continuously against their divinely appointed leader, God provided for their needs and led them by His own presence. Moses received the law from God on Mount Sinai, and led the nation for the next forty years, only dying when they had reached the borders of the Promised Land.
The greater part of these five books of Moses focus upon the Law – how it was first established and its implications for the Hebrew nation, but the foundation of the Law is given within the context of story; there are many graphic stories within the Pentateuch, concerning the deliverance of the people from Egypt and their experiences in the desert.
So what is the significance of Moses for Christians today?
The Bible itself characterizes Moses at the time of his death:
“Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12).
Some epitaph!
So why is Moses considered so great a figure in the Old Testament? The principal reason is that he is the instrument through which Israel experiences God’s salvation. The Exodus – the experience of the Jewish people being led from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land – is the defining moment of the Old Testament. It is through the Exodus experience that the Jewish people come to know who they are and to whom they belong. This is the story that gives them their identity.
Moses, of course, is God’s chosen man for the job, going head-to-head with Pharaoh and demanding that he let God’s people go. It is Moses who raises his arms for God to part the waters of the Red Sea so that the Jewish people could cross over from slavery to freedom. It is, Moses, to whom God gives the Ten Commandments to form his people into a nation.
It is no surprise then, that when Jesus comes on the scene centuries later, one of his biggest tasks is to persuade the people that he is greater than Moses. It is the Gospel of Matthew that highlights this more than any other Gospel, emphasizing that Jesus taught his new commandments of love in his Sermon on the Mount, echoing Moses’ receiving of the Law on Mount Sinai. For Christians, then, Moses is a crucial figure because Jesus fulfills the Law that Moses brought down from the mountain. It is no coincidence that, when Jesus’ is transfigured on the mountaintop, Moses and Elijah appear with him. Moses symbolizes the Law and Elijah symbolizes the prophets. The Transfiguration is telling us without a doubt that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
Moses – the man who couldn’t say no!
Moses is in a class of his own. He is responsible for the birth of Judaism, almost single-handed. He appears several centuries after the story of Joseph, by which time the Hebrews have become unwelcome guests in Egypt and are suffering under the yoke of slavery. Moses was called by God to deliver the nation, and he led them for forty years, until they stood at the threshold of the Promised Land. Initially, a very unwilling leader, he becomes the dominant figure of Jewish history.
There are many facets to Moses’ character and role:
Moses the liberator: he led the Jews out of Egypt. He brought them to freedom. ‘Let my people go,’ was his famous cry to Pharaoh. He is present throughout the ten plagues; the Passover; and the crossing the Red Sea. In the story of Moses we discover the meaning of redemption.
Moses the lawgiver: he brought the Ten Commandments down Mount Sinai. The law reshaped the Jewish nation and has become the foundation of civilised society. But not just ten commandments – the total number of laws in the Pentateuch is 613. They deal with every area of life: business, civil law, criminal, religious. Moses gives his nation the moral, ethical, social and religious framework in which to live and grow.
Moses the priest: the entire Jewish worship system – the Tabernacle, offerings and feast days all date from Moses. In his role as priest Moses is the one who can make intercession on behalf of the people before God.
Moses the prophet: as a prophet – the first in the long tradition of Hebrew prophets – Moses is the one who brings God’s Word to the people, and points them forward in the way that they should live.
Moses the leader: for forty years, Moses leads the people through the wilderness. He is there, not just as they leave Egypt, or in the giving of the Law. He is there to draw the people back after the disaster of the golden calf. He is the one who supplies water from the rock. He is there when spies come back from Canaan, and for forty years he patiently leads and guides the nation until they are standing on the edge of the Promised Land.
And finally….
Moses the man of God. Perhaps the biggest and best lesson that we can learn from Moses is that he had time to spend with God. In all that he did, he strove to be faithful to God and do what God asked of him. This is well expressed in Exodus 33:
Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people,” but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favour with me.” If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you. Remember that this nation is your people.’ The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’ Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ (Exodus 33:12-20)
Not only did Moses walk in the way of God, but he offers us a template for living godly and holy lives.
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