MP #5 Revelation in the Time of Moses Part 2

INTRODUCTION Deuteronomy 18:15; Numbers 12; Exodus 24; Numbers 16;

Last time we talked about the importance of Moses as YHWH made the Messianic concept more understandable.

Through the person and work of Moses, we learn so much about Messiah.

Moses more than any other except David, personified and pictured Messiah.

He did so through his person and his work.

Moses is rightly a type of Christ.

We also noted how the event known as the Exodus also expanded our understanding of the Messianic hope.

If Moses is a type, then so too do the events surrounding his life picture the work and person of Messiah.

The Exodus more than any other single event gives understanding to the work of God in salvation.

YHWH had previously chosen them.

YHWH called them out of Egypt and unto Himself.

YHWH commanded them to follow Him, obey Him and worship Him.

It is a picture of His deliverance from sin and Satan.

This was not pointed out last time, but Pharaoh in many ways personified Satan.

Thus the symbolism is that of a person being delivered from the domain of darkness.

Tonight, we are going to explore the Messianic concept in Moses even farther.

Moses pictures each of the the Messianic offices.

Moses was a prophet.

Moses was like a king.

Moses was like a priest.

Moses is the only man who personified all three roles.

This was because we are in a time of transition.

The law has not been established, regulations had not been put in place prohibiting the cross over between the three offices.

This again demonstrates that Moses was unique in the unfolding of Messianic revelation.

MOSES THE PROPHET

In Moses we see three great truths concerning the prophet that foreshadowed the Messiah.

We must remember that to be a prophet was to be a spokesman for YHWH.

It was a serious calling with both privileges and responsibilities.

The primary privilege is that the prophet received direct revelation from the Lord Himself.

The primary responsibility was to speak to the people accurately only the word the prophet had received from YHWH.

Moses was such a man and in Deuteronomy 18:15, we see both a prophetic Messianic statement, but also a glimpse into how Moses personified the Messianic office.

First, Moses was a prophet chosen by God.

Deuteronomy 18:15 LSB

“Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him.

Like me connects Moses the prophet to the Prophet of the future.

The first reality we see is the sovereign election of Moses by YHWH.

Moses did not go in search of this office.

YHWH chose Moses when He called to him from the burning bush.

It was an act of YHWH’s sovereign providence.

To be sovereign is to be free to do whatsoever one desires.

As such, there can only be one who is truly sovereign, and that one is YHWH.

YHWH alone has the power, wisdom, and freedom to do anything He chooses.

To act in providence simply means to intervene in the affairs of men, directly their lives.

The two go together hand in hand.

Thus YHWH not only wanted Moses to do something, but He intervened in the life of Moses and brought it about.

Second, we see that YHWH raised Moses up.

What this means is that YHWH caused Moses to stand tall.

YHWH made Moses the leader he was, elevating Moses to the place of prophet.

YHWH chose Moses out of 650,000 men to be His spokesman and do His will.

It was a lofty calling.

When the Spirit of God inspires those words, “like me”, we are alerted to the importance of Messianic ties.

The prophet who is to come is a particular prophet, not just any prophet.

I shared in the opening lesson, this was long considered Messianic by the Jewish Rabbis.

So much so, that “the One” became synonymous with the Prophet.

When John the Baptist sent his disciples to question Jesus in Matt 11:3 they asked…..

Matthew 11:3 LSB

and said to Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?”

They were asking are you the One of Deuteronomy 18, are you THE Prophet.

So Messiah would also be a prophet especially raised up by God and for a particular task.

Last time we discussed the many similarities between the work of Messiah and Moses.

It should be noted, that as a spokesman for God, Moses stands alone in the OT.

No other prophet enjoyed the level of engagement with YHWH as Moses did.

It was a special relationship that foreshadowed that of the Father and the Son.

Messiah too would enjoy just such a relationship, but to an even higher degree.

Third, Moses was the non typical prophet in that he did not receive revelation the way other prophets did.

Typically the other prophets received their message from God through visions and dreams.

Numbers 12:6 LSB

and He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.

This was just how it was, prophets received the word of God through visions and dreams.

This was not ambiguous at all.

When they awoke, there was no doubt they had received a visit from YHWH and now had a message to proclaim.

But not so with Moses.

YHWH spoke to Moses mouth to mouth.

Numbers 12:7–8 LSB

“Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Indeed clearly, and not in riddles, And he beholds the form of Yahweh. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

Some translations may read face to face which is a bit misleading.

Face to face implies that Moses could actually see YHWH.

But we know that is not true, else Moses would die.

Exodus 33:18–20 LSB

Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

Even Moses who probably spent more time with the Lord than any other man was not permitted to see Him, no could not see YHWH face to face.

To do so meant death.

Thus the Lord concealed His full glory.

Much like Messiah would do in the incarnation.

Phil 2:7 reminds us that Messiah Jesus….

Philippians 2:7 LSB

but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men.

He set aside His glory for one, so that He could interact with mankind.

YHWH spoke to Moses not through dreams and visions, but mouth to mouth.

The presence of the Lord was in the cloud and the voice of God rang loud and clear.

Moses knew he was in the presence of the Lord.

Moses knew he wasn’t having a dream or a vision, but that YHWH was speaking to him as one man speaks to another.

Just as at the burning bush, Moses was told who was speaking to Him.

From that moment on Moses knew the voice and presence of the Lord.

This was unique to Moses, and set Moses apart from all other prophets.

So we see in Moses a unique and strong picture of the Messianic ideal in the relationship Moses enjoy with YHWH.

This is why those words “like me” in Deuteronomy 18 are so important.

Messiah would function as a prophet of God, but not in the usual sense.

Messiah would not need visions and dreams in order to know the will of God.

He like Moses, had a special relationship with YHWH.

This is why Jesus said John 12:49

John 12:49 LSB

“For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.

Notice those words, the Father Himself.

That speaks of direct communication like that of Moses.

John 8:42 LSB

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of Myself, but He sent Me.

Here again is an important announcement, one that we see Moses foreshadowed as well.

Moses was sent to the Jewish nation, sent to Pharaoh, on a mission established by the Lord, one that included to a large degree speaking the word of the Lord into the world.

Jesus was again the “like me” of which Moses referred.

We see the same idea in John 14:31

John 14:31 LSB

but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

In action and in word, just as Moses always embraced the command of YWHW, Jesus did and said what He was commanded.

Bear in mind, Moses was not perfect, he sinned.

But he never refused a command, and in that he personified Messiah.

All of this to say, Moses was a source of Biblical revelation like no other until the arrival of Messiah.

Even the enemies of Christ recognized that nobody ever spoke with the authority of this man, Jesus.

But here is the main point, Moses spoke with covenantal authority.

The primary word that came to Moses focused on the covenant YHWH established with Israel.

The same is true of Messiah who’s primary intention was the establishment of the New Covenant.

Both Moses and Messiah shared covenantal revelation, and were mediators of a new covenant.

MOSES THE PRIEST

Moses’ messianic work was also revealed through his role and function as a priest.

Moses is the only man who crossed over and intermingled these three important offices.

It must be noted, that until all three offices were established, an intermingling in one person was necessary.

The spiritual health of the nation depended upon all three offices being executed properly.

Moses did not vacillate from the role of prophet and then of priest, the two overlapped.

As prophet, Moses announced the terms of the covenant.

As priest, he carried out the ratification the covenant.

In Exodus 24 we see the ratification of the covenant.

In verse 4, Moses built an altar.

In verse 5, Moses oversaw the sacrifices, that is a function of the priesthood.

And in verse 6, Moses took the blood, putting half of it in basins, and half of it he sprinkled on the altar.

In verse 7, Moses read the covenant, and the people agreed to it.

Then in verse 8, Moses took the blood in the basins and sloshed it on the people and the covenant was ratified.

In these acts, we see Moses the prophet also acting as Moses the priest.

Again this is a vivid illustration of Messianic ideal.

We have already shown how Jesus fulfilled the role of The Prophet.

But also Messiah fulfilled the role of the High Priest.

For centuries one High Priest after another had performed the acts of divine worship through sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:11–12 LSB

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy places once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

And Heb 10:11-12

Hebrews 10:11–12 LSB

And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,

What began with Moses was only a picture of what would end with Messiah.

It was never the Lord’s intention for the sacrificial system and the Levitical priesthood to endure forever, they were only a shadow of the good things to come.

Moses initiates the role that Messiah perfects.

Moses engages in priestly intercession on behalf of the nation, Messiah will do the same on behalf of the world.

Moses was not a perfect picture of Messiah.

For once He had completed the tasks of mediating the covenant and ordaining Aaron as High Priest, Moses ceased from the priestly role.

MOSES THE KING

Nowhere in scripture is Moses ever referred to as king.

But as YHWH’s chosen agent of leadership, Moses functioned in the capacity as king.

Moses was clearly YHWH’s man to lead the nation out of Egypt and to the Promised land, and in that regard functioned as the king.

YHWH’s hand upon Moses to this end is very clear in two specific instances.

In Numbers 12, Aaron and Miriam rebel against Moses’ authority.

In verse 8 YHWH reminds them, I speak mouth to mouth with Moses.

Then also in verse 8, YHWH said to them, Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?

Clearly the message was, Moses is my chosen man, to serve Me and to lead this people.

Then to drive home this message, Miriam was struck with Leprosy for 7 days.

Then in Numbers 16, Korah leads a rebellion against the authority of Moses.

Like Aaron and Miriam, Korah demanded that he and others were as fit to lead as Moses.

Well, that didn’t go so well for Korah either.

The Lord once again proved Moses was His man.

The earth opened up and swallowed Korah and 250 men with him.

So again, the testimony was and is, Moses is the Lord’s chosen one to lead the nation at this time.

Again, as there was no king, Moses carries out the duties of king.

As the Messianic agent Moses performed 4 royal or kingly tasks.

First Moses was the deliverer.

This was a major aspect of the kingly role, and was seen as Messianic by the Rabbis.

Kings were tasked with protecting their people.

Kings led the military efforts to keep the nation safe.

In the case of Moses, this was the deliverance of Israel from the grip of slavery in Egypt.

Moses was YHWH’s chosen agent of deliverance, and that is a royal role.

We don’t see your typical warfare but there was a real struggle that took place between Moses and Pharaoh.

Moses had to go in to Pharaoh and make his demands, and they were demands.

Moses had to contend with Pharaoh, we see that in every plague.

I don’t know of another passage that speaks with such force as this next one, Ex 7:1

Exodus 7:1 LSB

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I set you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

Moses had all the authority of YHWH at his disposal.

Moses had all the power of YHWH for his use.

Egypt’s king had to yield to Moses.

Egypt’s king could not stand against the full force of YHWH working in and through Moses.

Pharaoh would bow, and let them go, but with great reservation and anger.

In the end, Pharaoh mounted his chariot with every intention of waging war and subduing Moses and the nation.

So even though it lack certain military realities, it was a military action none the less.

As deliver of the nation Moses functioned as the king, a foreshadow of the Lord’s anointed.

Second, Moses functioned as a kingly judge.

Moses was sent to warn Pharaoh of divine judgement and the impending destruction.

Every plague brought down upon Egypt by Moses was a warning followed by a judgment.

Let God’s people go or else.

Sadly it took 10 plagues, the last of which swept away all the firstborn of Egypt.

YHWH delivers His people and He judges their oppressors.

The agent of judgment YHWH chose and used was Moses.

All of which was a fulfillment of prophecy from Genesis 15:13-14

Genesis 15:13–14 LSB

Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation to whom they are enslaved, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

YHWH knew in eternity past the story He would write as He formed His witness nation, Israel.

YHWH also knew the man whom He would choose to function in the role of King, and bring judgement upon Egypt.

It is noteworthy that God took one of their own, one from the midst of His people Israel to elevated to the role of kingship.

Likewise Messiah would come from the midst of YHWH’s people Israel.

In this way, Moses very clearly typifies Messiah who was fully man, born or a woman, lived among his own, and served among and in their behalf.

Moses’ incredible intimate personal relationship with YHWH also points to the miraculous interaction between Messiah Jesus and the Father.

Third, Moses functioned as shepherd.

Kings are often referred to as shepherds, and the people as the flock.

It is a pertinent metaphor or illustration.

This relationship helps us to understand the role of the king from YHWH’s perspective.

Moses fulfills the role of shepherding in many ways.

First, the shepherd leads the flock.

You do not drive sheep and goats, the shepherd goes before them and they follow.

Jesus Himself used this analogy in John 10.

He laid claim to the title of the Great Shepherd, or King, this was a Messianic claim.

It was His descriptive words that grabbed my attention, the accuracy is incredible.

Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice and they follow.

To hear implies more than just an acknowledgment of sound.

It means they understand and respond.

What Jesus is saying is that like a shepherd of sheep, I go before My sheep, and I speak to them and they follow after me.

This leading was an essential part of shepherding and of the kingly role, hence the connection.

The intended goal of Moses’ shepherding work was the Promised Land where a life of rest, peace and prosperity could be lived out in close relation to YHWH.

In the meantime, as they would journey toward the Promised land, Moses demonstrated the shepherding aspect of his role as he led them to the water and the food YHWH supplied.

When the nation needed to worship, YHWH used Moses to provide the place and details of worship..

When attacked by their enemies, YHWH used Moses to function as the commander in chief.

It is really striking that Moses, more than any other leader/king of Israel, captured the Messianic Ideal.

He more than any other personified Messiah the king.

Most of the shepherds of Israel were wicked and self serving, not Moses.

Even though Moses was never anointed to be king, he modeled the ideal and set the standard for future kings.

Very few of the kings of Israel lived up to this standard.

In that sense, Moses is the forerunner and type of the Messiah King, Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd and true seed of the woman, Abraham, and Judah.

Fourth, Moses functioned as lawgiver.

One of the great duties and responsibilities entrusted to Moses was that of setting the law before the people.

It was Moses whom God chose to impress upon the nation their covenant relationship and all that was entailed in that covenant.

The Mosaic Covenant as it is called, was a bi-lateral covenant, and if then proposition.

Therefore is was the duty of Moses to teach the nation their responsibilities, duties, and way of life.

In the Christian world we call this sanctification.

As the lawgiver, Moses was mediator of the covenant.

Behind Moses, stood YHWH, the source of the covenant and the law.

YHWH is the sovereign source of authority and power to rule, direct, and guide His people.

Yet is was Moses who functioned as YHWH’s agent in the administration of it all.

It was through Moses that YHWH delivered the 10 Commandments as well as the rest of the law.

It was through Moses that YHWH laid out the divine prescription for the Tabernacle and worship.

It was through Moses that YHWH laid out the organizational structure of the nation.

Thus, YHWH spoke through Moses, just as YHWH spoke througH Jesus Messiah.

Moses is correctly referred to as the mediator of the divine covenant and the lawgiver as well.

THE MOSAIC LAW

We need to make a few observations about the law of Moses.

Yes the Mosaic Law define the way of life for Israel, but it was much more.

The Mosaic Law can be divided into two distinct sections, the Ceremonial law, and the moral law.

The Ceremonial Law governed the corporate worship and sacrificial system of the Tabernacle.

The Moral Law governed the manner in which the people were to live in harmony with one another.

But the greater purpose of the law is seen in Galatians 3:24

Galatians 3:24 LSB

Therefore the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

The law was always meant to drive a person to Messiah in search of grace, mercy and forgiveness.

In that sense, the Law has Messianic implications.

The law was always meant to show the people the perfect standard of God, man’s inability to measure up to the law, and repent.

The law always pointed the way to Messiah.

This is yet another way that Moses wrote of Messiah.

As mediator of the law, Moses was pointing to Messiah.

In addition, the law itself was a reflection of Messiah.

What we need to remember is that the law was not a product of reason.

Rather the law is a reflection of the very nature of God and Messiah.

Lying is wrong because in YHWH there is no deceit, no lying.

Murder is wrong because YHWH is just and righteous and could therefore never commit murder.

I could go on and on, the law reflects the very nature of God and Messiah.

CONCLUSION

Moses being the humble man that he was, never sought to be regarded as king.

Moses saw himself as a servant, a humble servant.

In that regard there is no clearer picture of Messiah that Moses.

For Jesus was also a humble servant, Phil 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 LSB

Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

But more than leading as king, Moses personified all three offices that Messiah would execute.

Again, in that way, he is one of the supreme types of Messiah.

The Messianic picture is taking shape.

Messiah will be born of a woman, a male, a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Judah.

He will defeat Satan, function as prophet, priest, and king, and will be a blessing to every nation.

This is the big picture of Messiah, to a small degree, you have the complete outline of the Messianic concept.

From this point on, each new revelation merely fills in the details that make this broad concept more clear.