Moses ... Yahweh’s Secretary of State

Reading:
Exodus Chapter 33

The name Moses means ‘One who is drawn out from the water.’ (Exodus 2: 10) Moses is one of the most notable characters in all history; a man of great ability, authority, meekness and faith. Moses was ‘Yahweh's friend!’

Numbers 12:: 3: “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)”

Moses was a type of Messiah, a Saviour from slavery, one who rescues Israel from bondage to obey the laws of Yahweh the Almighty God. We may even refer to Moses as being Yahweh’s Secretary of State.

1. Early Years

His Birth / Deliverance

Read Exodus 2:1-10

... Miraculous deliverance from death

Appearance / Healthy

Acts 7:	20: “In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair...”
Deuteronomy 34:	7: “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.”

2. His Nature

Acts 7:	23: “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24: And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: 25: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.”
Numbers 12:	3: “(Now the man Moses was very meek,* above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)”*

3. His Education / Performance

Moses was an extremely intelligent and able man. From the highest educational standards ancient Egypt could offer to the humble task of caring for sheep, his performance was in a class of its own.

Acts 7:	22: “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”
Exodus 3:	1: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”

4. His Relationship with Yahweh

Moses knew Yahweh as few men ever have. We must, therefore, evaluate Moses, not by popular Christian opinion, but by what the Bible says of him. To judge Moses in any other way is not only foolish but extremely dangerous! Did not Miriam face the anger of the Almighty when she spoke out against Moses? Beware lest you fall into the same trap of criticising this servant of the Most High God!

Numbers 12:

1: “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2: And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
3: (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4: And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5: And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6: And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7: My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8: With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Yahweh’s Friend

Exodus 33:	11: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
Verse:	17: “And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight,* and I know thee by name.”*

Yahweh’s Secretary

Exodus 24:

12: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13: And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14: And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15: And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16: And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17: And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18: And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”

5. His Mistakes

Moses was not perfect by any means. In his zeal for Yahweh he did a few wrong things.

Exodus 2:	12: “And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian... ”
Exodus 4:	24: “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.”

Moses had failed to circumcise his son, yielding probably to his wife's Zipporah's influence. But even she realized the cause of the problem and circumcised the boy, thereby allowing Moses to continue. Physical circumcision is no longer performed on Gentile males, (Acts 15) but the reality to which physical circumcision points (total spiritual commitment) is still absolutely essential before any believer (Jew or Gentile) can be used by God.

Numbers 20:

7: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8: Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9: And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10: And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11: And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12: And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”

6. Courage / Love

Even though Moses was, at that time, the meekest man alive, he was no coward. On Yahweh's instructions he returned to Egypt and undertook the most difficult task any leader was asked to perform; to stand up to Pharaoh and then to lead several million slaves across the barren wilderness to the Promised Land. He faced up admirably to each challenge.

He faced Pharaoh: He confronted the mightiest man on earth at that time.
He faced Israel: He stood against the whole nation of Israel on several occasions.
He faced Aaron/Miriam: He faced his older brother and sister.

He faced Yahweh:

Exodus 32:

30: “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31: And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32: Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33: And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”

7. His Writings / Influence / Song

Undoubtedly the greatest work Moses did was to write down all that the Almighty dictated to him. Other than the Ten Commandments (which Yahweh Himself wrote on tablets of stone) Moses wrote - at God’s dictation - all the other laws found in the first five books of the Bible. The name Moses ranks above most of the Bible prophets; simply because through him all the laws of the Almighty were given.

Moses was a Type of Christ

Consider these facts:

He was miraculous rescued as an infant - just as Jesus was.
He was willing to give up the throne of Egypt and to become a lowly man - just as Jesus did.
He fasted for 40 days and nights - just as Jesus did.
He was exceedingly meek - just as Jesus was.
He did mighty miracles - just as Jesus did.
He spoke face to face with God Almighty, just as Jesus did.
He was willing to die in order that Israel may live; just as Jesus did.

In all these things we can see that Moses was a forerunner of Yeshua. (Jesus) In my opinion his greatest achievement was his accurate rendering of the creation account, the history of Israel and above all his recording of the law of Yahweh. These laws are often called the ‘Law of Moses.’ In actual fact Moses never composed a single commandment. Every law, I repeat every law Moses ever penned, was a commandment of God! Yahweh was the Author, Moses the secretary.

8. Reacting to Moses

If people do not believe the writings of Moses, they will disbelieve the Bible's greatest truths, even were Jesus Christ to preach them. Acceptance of Yahweh's commandments is the litmus test of true faith. Any person, community or country which rejects the writings of Moses, will sooner or later find itself on the slippery slope to anarchy. Not because Moses is some kind of spiritual genius; but rather because he accurately recorded how the Most High wants the human race to live. To reject Moses is to reject Yahweh Himself! Bear this vital fact in mind.

Luke 16:

31: “And he (Jesus) said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

9. The Song of Moses

Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity the redeemed host will sing certain songs - songs spelling out the story of Israel's redemption. Do you know the title of these songs? They are called the Song of Moses and the Lamb.

Revelation 15:

3: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

The Song of Moses is found in Deuteronomy chapter 32.
Highlights are as follows:

verse 4: Yahweh's reliability and perfection
verses 7-14: A call to remember past blessings
verses 15-18: Israel's faithlessness and sin
verses 19-26: Yahweh's punishment of Israel
verses 27-42: Yahweh's tender regard for His people and His willingness to forgive. "I kill, and I make alive."
v43: A call to the entire universe to rejoice at Yahweh's mercy, His grace and His power in being able to overthrow Israel's enemies.

I will advise you to study the Song of Moses. It is a 'prophecy of salvation,' a ballad the redeemed host will sing throughout eternity.

Revelation 15:

3: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

AMEN!

In the Son’s Name — For the Father’s glory.

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