Moses : Sunday school Stories part 4
Moses, the LORD’s chosen liberator
Today we look at the most famous of Old Testament heroes—Moses. Moses has captured the attention of Hollywood many times. Of course many grew up with the Easter tradition of watching The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. In 1998, Dreamworks gave us an unsung gem of animation in The Prince of Egypt. Several themes within the story of Moses could explain why people are so entertained by the saga—even those who don’t believe a word of it. The underdog Moses, saved as a baby and exiled as an adult, leads his people out of bondage. The Israelites endure hundreds of years of slavery, and as many have lost hope, freedom finally comes.
But, I would argue there is one aspect of the story that is often overlooked, but nevertheless is the reason people of all faiths become fascinated by the tale. It has to do with storytelling in itself. C. S. Lewis viewed stories from myth and legend as remnants of the connection we have with God. Every heroic epic points to the True Epic of Christ. And, likewise, we know Moses’ heroic journey parallels in many ways the journey of Christ. In fact, theologians use the word ‘typology’. Moses is a type, or prototype, of Christ. We see this idea explained in Hebrews as the writer explains that what God did in the past through Moses, and others, were shadows and types of what was to come in Christ. Thus, Christ is the fulfillment of Moses.
So, whether as a Christian who understands Moses is a typology of Christ who was still to come, or as an unbeliever who simply knows in their heart of hearts that there is more to this story than just a simple story, each of us can look once again at this familiar story and marvel at the work of I AM and His servant, Moses.
We certainly do not have time for the whole epic, so I will simply pick up the story here and there in order to hit the highlights. We will begin in Exodus 3, where we see Moses being called by God.
I AM sends Moses : Exodus 3:1-15
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
As we look closer at Moses’ calling, we will see aspects of God’s character important for us as we remember, “The LORD is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
First,
The Lord sees our affliction.
A constant critique of Christianity, and a common question within Judaism, is ‘Why does God not intervene sooner?’ If God is so good, why does He allow suffering to continue? Genesis 15:13 records God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would reside in a land not their own for 400 years. Now, we cannot speak to every instance of affliction, but we can speak for certainty that the Israelite slavery occurred so that God could build the nation of Israel. The Lord was going to make a nation for Himself, and the glory of that nation would be the fact that He, the Lord, brought them freedom from the world power of Egypt.
What the world intends for evil against the people of God, the Lord uses to build them greater.
The Lord has not forgotten His people in Egypt. In fact, the very opposite is happening. He is going to use their bondage in Egypt as means to build a nation for Himself and to make all people know the greatness of the Lord. He is going to bring them into a land of “milk and honey”.
But, who is this God who calls Moses to be the Great Leader of the Hebrews? Moses asks that very question. What is His name?
The Lord answers from the bush, “I Am who I Am. Tell them I AM sent you.”
This Name is vocalized ‘Yahweh’, but honestly, scholarship isn’t quite sure how it is supposed to be pronounced. The Hebrews in Moses’ day, and after the Exile, would not speak the Name out loud. Whenever the Torah was read, and the Lord’s Name occurred, they would say “Adonai” instead, which means ‘the Most High’. The set of letters for Yahweh is called the Tetragrammaton seen here. The Name of God was considered so sacred that as the Hebrew language developed and changed over time, the scribes would continue to use the oldest script for the letters.
“YHWH”, the Name of God in Phoenician, Proto-Hebrew and Block Hebrew. Content created by Wikipedia user: Zappaz
In the modern day, we have inherited another Name, Jehovah. Where does this come from? It is an amalgamation of YHWH and Adonai. The consonants of YHWH are mixed with the vowels of the pronounced, “Adonai”. When placed together, we get Jehovah (or Yehovah, but the Latin Y/I is the same).
So, what is in a name? The Name God gives Himself reminds us that He stands outside of Creation and is who He is. The Lord is not something that we can fully describe. Scripture is filled with illustrative names and attributes, but the proper name of YHWH reminds us that He is above all and Master of All. He is who He says He is, and we have no authority to make Him anything else.
What are His origins? Where does He reside? How do you describe Him? These are all questions that can only be answered with “I AM”.
I AM characterizes the absolute transcendence and power of the Lord.
Now, as we fast forward in our story, Moses is given signs to perform before Pharaoh, but the Lord tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen. Though Moses is going to speak great things, and the Lord is going to perform many miracles, Pharaoh will not listen. His heart will be hardened against the Israelites. During the course of these signs, there is a back and forth between Pharaoh and Moses which culminates with the final plague. For the sake of time, we will not read the five chapters which chronicle the plagues, but I do want to give them to you, because in looking at what God used to plague Egypt we discover a familiar lesson.
Water to Blood : Ex. 7:14-24
Frogs : Ex. 7:25-8:15
Lice or gnats : Ex. 8:16-19
Swarms (of flies) : Ex. 8:20-32
Pestilence on livestock : Ex. 9:1-7
Boils : Ex. 9:8-12
Thunderstorm of hail and fire : Ex. 9:13-35
Locusts : Ex. 10:1-20
Darkness for three days : Ex. 10:21-29
Death of firstborn : Ex. 11:1-12:36
As we look at this list, we see God’s power of Creation. But, even more directly against the Egyptians, the Lord is demonstrating His superiority over the Egyptian pantheon. Now, the Egyptian pantheon is enormous. However, the more important gods find themselves under attack by these plagues. The Nile was the bloodline for Egypt. Without the Nile, agriculture, trade, and fishing all come to a standstill. The various animals are either represented by a particular god, or there was supposed to be a god whom the Egyptians could call on to help protect them.
The Plagues demonstrate the Lord’s superiority over both earthly and spiritual forces.
The Plague and The Passover : Exodus 12:1-13
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
The last plague brings with it freedom for the Israelites. However, if the Israelites want to avoid the plague upon themselves, they must prepare ahead of time.
Each household is to prepare a lamb for slaughter. On the 14th day of the first month, they are to slaughter the lamb and put some of its blood on the posts and lintels of the home’s doorway. They are to eat the lamb roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Any remains of the dinner are to be burned by the next morning. They are also to eat with their belts fastened and bags packed, because by the next day, the Israelites will be on their way out of Egypt.
The blood on the doorway is a sign for the Lord. As the 10th plague comes upon Egypt, the Lord will see the blood on the posts and pass over that house.
Now, one may ask why all the theatrics? Since God has already proven Himself sovereign over earth and heaven, why do the Israelites need to perform such a ceremony? The answer is twofold.
First, the act of sacrifice and preparation is an act of faith on the part of the Israelites.
Salvation is always offered by God, but we must act in faith in order to receive it. Noah was told to build an ark and go inside in order to escape the Flood. The plague is going to cover all of Egypt, but the Israelites can be saved from it, if they act in faith.
Second, the blood that covers the doorposts is a type for the blood of Jesus that will come later.
As stated before, the story of Moses is a prophetic typology of the story of Christ. God is using the life of Moses and Israel in order to demonstrate what He will do when Jesus arrives. Death is coming for all of Egypt, but the Israelites can escape death, if they will act in faith.
Death is coming for all, but in Christ we can escape death.
Deliverance is freely available, because Jesus is the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed at the proper time. Whosoever will share in His blood, and be covered by it, just as the household in the days of Egypt, death will pass over them. It is a reality of Christ which was foretold and typified in the story of Moses.
Today, do not wait any longer to be covered by the blood of Jesus. Death is fast approaching, and we do not know the day or hour of its arrival. Take hold of life while there is still time.
Pray believing:
Jesus offers eternal life for those who believe, so pray for life to be given to you. Turn away from the false gods of this world, and turn away from your sin, and ask for forgiveness from God.