Exactly who was Moses?
Introduction. We read, "And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son..." (Ex. 2: 1, 2). The son of the Levite became one of the greatest men ever know in terms of world history. That man became known as Moses (Ex. 2: 10).
Moses as a baby. Moses was born during the terrible time of Hebrew slavery in Egypt (Ex. 1; 2). In order to save Moses from the King's decree to slaughter the male babies, Moses' mother placed him "in an ark of bulrushes in the flags by the river's brink" (Ex. 2: 3). The daughter of Pharaoh found Moses and "had compassion on him" and took him as her own (Ex. 2: 1-10).
Moses as the deliverer of the Hebrews. Moses was a shepherd when God called him for a special work. "Come now there, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people...out of Egypt," God told Moses (Ex. 3: 10). After the miraculous plagues, Moses led Israel to freedom across the Red Sea (Ex. 7-14). Moses then received the Ten Commandment Law that was to govern the Hebrews for about 1500 hundred years (Deut. 5: 1-3). While a great man, Moses himself sinned and was not allowed entrance into the Promised Land (Num. 20: 10-12, Deut. 32: 51, 34: 1-6, God requires man's obedience, cp. Heb. 5: 8, 9).
Moses was a type of Jesus. Moses prophesied that God would "raise up unto thee a prophet...like unto me; unto him ye shall harken" (Deut. 18: 15). We know this prophecy applied to Jesus because of Peter's application (Acts 3: 22, 23). Hence, Jesus is the antitype of the type, Moses.
As seen, Moses was a great man, but the antitype is always greater than the type. This is precisely the point being made in Hebrews 3: 1-6 in regards to those Christians who were leaving Christ to return to Moses' system that was only designed to bring the Jew to Christ for justification (Gal. 3: 11-29).
Moses as a baby. Moses was born during the terrible time of Hebrew slavery in Egypt (Ex. 1; 2). In order to save Moses from the King's decree to slaughter the male babies, Moses' mother placed him "in an ark of bulrushes in the flags by the river's brink" (Ex. 2: 3). The daughter of Pharaoh found Moses and "had compassion on him" and took him as her own (Ex. 2: 1-10).
Moses as the deliverer of the Hebrews. Moses was a shepherd when God called him for a special work. "Come now there, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people...out of Egypt," God told Moses (Ex. 3: 10). After the miraculous plagues, Moses led Israel to freedom across the Red Sea (Ex. 7-14). Moses then received the Ten Commandment Law that was to govern the Hebrews for about 1500 hundred years (Deut. 5: 1-3). While a great man, Moses himself sinned and was not allowed entrance into the Promised Land (Num. 20: 10-12, Deut. 32: 51, 34: 1-6, God requires man's obedience, cp. Heb. 5: 8, 9).
Moses was a type of Jesus. Moses prophesied that God would "raise up unto thee a prophet...like unto me; unto him ye shall harken" (Deut. 18: 15). We know this prophecy applied to Jesus because of Peter's application (Acts 3: 22, 23). Hence, Jesus is the antitype of the type, Moses.
As seen, Moses was a great man, but the antitype is always greater than the type. This is precisely the point being made in Hebrews 3: 1-6 in regards to those Christians who were leaving Christ to return to Moses' system that was only designed to bring the Jew to Christ for justification (Gal. 3: 11-29).