Moses: A Christ Like Deliverer

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Acts 3:22-23

For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

NKJV

When I think of Moses, I think of Charlton Heston standing on the rock with his staff held high in the air and the Red Sea parted.  If Hollywood did the movie today with modern special effects, I am sure it would blow us away.  However, the message of a man of God acting in obedience to God, having God perform a mighty miracle of deliverance for His people is clear even without high tech Hollywood special effects. 

Moses is a Christ like deliverer whose life mirrors, although imperfectly, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  In common, Moses and Jesus share,

1)     Deliverance at birth – Pharaoh’s edict that all Hebrew boys born be cast into the river (Exodus 1:22) means that Moses should never have been born.  Ironically after hiding Moses for three months, his mother did in essence cast him into the river but only after providing an ark of protection for him (Exodus2:1-3).  Jesus too, after His birth was threatened as Herod orders all children two years old or more, born in Bethlehem, murdered in an effort to murder Jesus (Matthew 2:16-18).  However, just as Moses was delivered, Jesus too was delivered because God ordered Joseph to take Mary and Joseph to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). 

2)      A ministry demonstrating the miraculous power of God – The plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7-12:30) Manna from Heaven (Exodus16:1-36), and water from a rock (Exodus 17:1-7) are all demonstrations of God’s power working through Moses.  Jesus ministry was also full of demonstrations of God’s power at work and are in essence their calling cards confirming they are called of God (Matthew11:1-6). 

3)      Rejection by those they were called to deliver – Jesus suffered the ultimate rejection through death by crucifixion, something prophecy foretold of in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.  Moses also suffered rejection as his authority was also questioned (Exodus 2:11-14, Numbers 16:41-17:1-13). 

Whereas Moses provides a beautiful picture of Messiah, Moses provides an imperfect picture and had his flaws.  Moses had an anger problem which we first saw when he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12).  Once Moses discovered that this murder was known (Exodus 2:14), he fled to Midian. 

Once again, Moses anger gets him into trouble, causing him to disobey God.  We find the event recorded in Numbers 20.  The Israelites are in the Wilderness of Zin and there is no water.  Previously when they needed water, God commanded Moses to strike a rock and water would come out (Exodus 17:6).  However this time God tells Moses to speak to the rock but Moses strikes the rock as before, perhaps out of anger or perhaps thinking, this is how God did it before so it should be the same now.  However, in the context of the text in Numbers 20, it is more likely, in my opinion, that Moses struck the rock out of frustration.  This time Moses disobedience and frustration prohibited him from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). 

Moses provides a picture of Messiah but it is an imperfect picture.  However, Jesus is The Messiah who came first to deliver people from their sins, and is coming again to establish His earthly Kingdom.  This will be a kingdom free from sin and suffering just as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man.  However, not everyone reading this can be a part of this Kingdom for in order to qualify, we must make a decision.

Romans 3:23 tells us that we all have sinned and fallen short of glory of God or God’s standard for us.  However, one man, Jesus of Nazareth came to earth and lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21).  This Jesus then did the unthinkable, he took all of our sins upon himself and took our death penalty for sin giving us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23).  However, like any gift, we must open the gift to enjoy it. 

If you would like to receive this gift of eternal life with Jesus in His earthly Kingdom, please take a moment and pray with me,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned and know that the penalty for my sin is death.  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John1:9).  I believe you died, were buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You have now opened the greatest gift anyone can receive.  This, however, does not mean you will be perfect from now on, just forgiven.  However, we must be grateful recipients of this great gift and strive to sin less in our lives.  This is why from this point forward you should begin studying the Bible, praying regularly to God for guidance, and find a church teaching the Bible where you can associate with other people who have accepted the gift of eternal life provided by Jesus. 

The next time you see the movie The Ten Commandments and see the scene with Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea, remember that one greater than Moses now lives in your heart and has provided the Word of God, the Bible, and other gift recipients to help you live a life that pleases God.