Moses - A Big Deal

Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The LORD spoke to him from there. [Numbers 7.89] 

While I know most people already know this, it occurred to me today, as if I'd never understood it before, that Moses was subject to none of the requirements of a priest or even the High Priest to come into the Tabernacle to speak with God. He was not required to wear the sacred clothing and he was not required to perform all the priestly rituals. Moses, a man, was indeed a big deal.

First, it should be pointed out that this is all very, very deep. I will make some observations here, but the Bible should always have final authority over anything I (you) say or think...

It is no secret that Moses was a savior to Israel. Consider the following prophecy of Jesus the Messiah spoken by Moses himself:

Moses continued, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. [Deuteronomy 18.15]

"Like me"? Yep. Jesus, the Savior was like Moses, a savior. And, there was no discord between the two evidenced by Moses being present and conversing with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17.2-4). 

There are 45 instances of Moses' name recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament (NLT). Many of those instances are found in verbal debates between the religious leaders and Jesus. The religious leaders, who only knew Moses academically, even though they persisted to argue, were always proven wrong by Jesus Who knew Moses personally. 

Jesus was particularly open and clear about His relationship to and with Moses after His resurrection:

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. [Luke 24.47]

Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [Luke 24.44]

However, before Luke recorded the post-resurrection passages above about Jesus and Moses, John recorded the following words from Jesus:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39] 

The Scriptures held most dearly by the religious leaders Jesus was addressing in John 5.39 consisted of Moses' writings. And, as that conversation continued, Jesus made those scripture's connection to Moses undeniable:

“Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” [John 5.45-47]

As mentioned above, this is all very deep. It does however, guide us in our personal and corporate understanding about the law of Moses and the grace of Jesus if we will see it. It should be noted that the writer of Hebrews made the following statement:

Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. [Hebrews 3.5-6]

I fear modern "grace" people have so discounted the law of Moses that we only minimally understand the very grace we claim. Moses, and the law that came through him, cannot be disconnected from the salvation Jesus secured on the Cross. Jesus said it, “If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” 

Think about it - Why did Moses and Elijah meet with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration if the law and the prophets did not play a significant role in the salvation Jesus provided? That whole event was entirely unnecessary if Moses' and Elijah's contributions were not important! That said, God was gracious to establish the priority by telling the disciples present, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

The fact is, the fulfillment of grace in Jesus Christ cannot be experienced in all its fullness apart from the law of Moses. The beautiful thing about grace though is that this understanding of the law is a progressive revelation that follows grace, and not a requirement for grace. Thus, the more I see Jesus in the Old Testament, the more I see just how big a deal Moses was. Yep, a big deal indeed.

Father, I know my own understanding of Your Word is incomplete at its very best. For that reason, I want to continue to read Your Word so that I might learn more. Thank You for the progressive revelation You give as I do. I don't understand much - but I understand more than I did before! May Your Word have Its full work in me, progressively building upon the measure of faith You gave me! So be it.