God called Moses up on Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Moses spent forty spirit filled days with God. While he was away, the people began to get restless. They broke the covenant they made with God almost immediately when Moses was out of sight even though Moses and God had nurtured them and led them out of slavery in Egypt. Note the parallel between Jesus and Moses in this regard as given by Paul.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 NKJV 1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
Moses led the people into the Red Sea, and out of bondage of Egypt while Christ was the God above them that actually parted the Red Sea. The two, Moses and Jesus, worked together in the physical salvation of Israel. The people turned through idolatry, to the golden calf and the leaders of this rebellion were executed. We all are warned to learn this lesson.
1 Corinthians 10:7-8 NKJV 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;
Jesus was the God of Moses time who later became flesh. The God Moses dealt with became Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:6-8 NKJV 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
God the Son, who Moses talked with for many hours, became flesh and blood and our Savior. The two worked together before God the Son became flesh and blood. Wow! Israel rebelled again and refused to enter the promised land because of negative scouting reports. God asked how long will these people reject Me and not trust Me. God was again determined to wipe them out but, Moses prayer intervened. Moses became a physical savior for God's people.
Exodus 32:30 NKJV 30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
Moses saved Israel from demise at the golden calf and again later on the border of the promised land. God relented and saved them when Moses appealed to God's grace and how again it would effect God's reputation He decided that all adults would die in the desert in the next 40 years. They would not enter the promised land however their children and grandchildren would. Forty years is not such a long time to God.
Exodus 34:6-7 NKJV 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty,...
A lesson for all of us is even though God is gracious and longsuffering one should not presume too much on his graciousness. The adult Israelite's never entered the promise land because of their lack of faith which led to rebellion.
MOSES POSSESSED REAL MASCULINE HUMILITY
When God approached Moses with the task of rescuing His people from Egypt, Moses said who am I?
Exodus 3:11 NKJV 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
Moses was very humble and minimized all his leadership talents to God. He did not want the job. We have met several people who presented themselves as prophets of God. They wanted the job. Each had great mental and or other problems in their lives. Most of the great prophets like Jeremiah and Moses did not feel worthy of being God's spokespersons. Good leaders need humility. Humility is not weakness or lack of self confidence. It is recognizing our human limitations and not being full of ourselves. God needs humble people to work through so that the message from God is more important than the messenger. God chooses us we do not choose God.
Ephesians 1:4-5 NKJV 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Moses is humble enough to take advice from his father in law Jethro on time management. Our court system today is based on those principles that only the most difficult cases go to the higher level judges. Human carnal dictators like Mao in China refused to admit mistakes. Anyone bold enough to tell the chairman of his mistakes would die in a gulag. Thereby his agricultural mistakes cost millions of lives because he had no humility. Mao took no advice. Moses however could take advice and was meek and humble. Moses is not resentful of advice that tells him when he is wrong or could do it a much better way. Moses is primarily concerned with the people not self.
Numbers 12:3 NKJV 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
Moses was humble but not weak. Weakness is not true humility. A truly humble person is one who sees himself accurately especially in relations to God. Moses demonstrates his strength of leadership at the crisis over the golden calf. Aaron was unable to control the people but Moses stood strong for God. Humility and strength go together.
CHRIST SAID THE WRITINGS OF MOSES AND HIS TEACHING ARE IN SYNC
Jesus says to leaders that you spend all your time studying the Bible but cannot see the forest for the trees. The Bible is all about Me, the Messiah, and I am here and you reject Me. Then He surprises them with these words:
John 5:45-47 NKJV 45 "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you--Moses, in whom you trust. 46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
Jesus tells the leaders that they claim to believe in Moses but Christ says otherwise. The leaders do not understand Moses or God. All that Moses wrote was given to him by God. Rejecting Jesus was to reject Moses and vice versa. We may not understand fully yet how to apply Moses in our world since we are not a theocracy, but we must acknowledge the divinity and wisdom behind those words. Most do not realize that the Apostle Paul used a minor law written by Moses to guide a gentile church in the new covenant era.
1 Corinthians 9:4-9 NKJV 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, ...only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? ...8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about?
The principles behind the laws apply to us. Moses was very close to God. He talked with God face to face and thereby stands in a special position among prophets and we must respect his writings.
Deuteronomy 34:10 NKJV 10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
Moses also came down the mountain with a godly glow that set him apart as a servant God.
MOSES IS TO BE HONORED BUT JESUS IS THE GREATEST
Being in a way compared to the Son of God is quite an honor. However Jesus is the greatest. Moses helped build the house which was Israel and wrote out the law and set the foundation for Israel but Jesus Christ is the owner. In the end of it all, it is all about Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:1-5 NKJV 1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,
Much of the OT consists of quotations from the writings of Moses. We must respect those writings!
