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Moses a type of Messiah
The Egyptian Exodus was a pattern for a greater Exodus with a better covenant.
The New Testament (Covenant) is God’s will for the Church Yeshua (Jesus) came to build. "I will build My church" Matt 16:15-18 (NKJV unless indicated)
Our goal is to pay close attention to the ‘ Red Letters’ of Scripture
(The words of Yeshua in many Bible versions)
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John 5:46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
There are many similarities between Moses and Messiah (Yeshua the Anointed One) I.e.
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
We will be covering some of these amazing similarities in this issue.
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Moses - The deliverer of Israel from the Egyptian bondage; which included a covenant
When YHVH (the LORD) prepared and called Moses it was to deliver Abraham’s descendants, Israel, from bondage in Egypt. Moses became the instrument of God’s deliverance of Israel; this first Exodus. At the burning bush the ‘I AM’ told Moses…
Exod 3:9 "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
YHVH’s message for Pharaoh
Exod 4:22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn."
YHVH’s deliverance was because of His covenant with Israel’s forefathers
Exod 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. 4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 'I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 'And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.' "
Moses has a real issue
Exod 6:9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.
A key element to the Exodus is what Moses was told on the Mountain of God - Mount Sinai
Exod 3:12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."
The Exodus Covenant at Mt Sinai with a glorious promise
Exod 19:1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
Exod 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
Israel accepts this covenant
Exod 19:7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
The ‘speaking from a cloud’
Exodus19:9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.
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Messiah (Yeshua / Jesus) - The deliverer of mankind from sin’s bondage with a better covenant
There was a need for a new, better covenant - Why?
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant…
Heb 7:19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
The Son of God came to destroy the power of death and set us free from bondage of sin and death
Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Yeshua made a new covenant - with better promises
Luke 22:20 … "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
The Promise of everlasting life
John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
The Promise of the Holy Spirit - to be our Helper
John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Messiah speaks to us
Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…
Give earnest heed to our Deliverer, Messiah
Heb 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
Yeshua, the Captain of our salvation
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Our Apostle and High Priest, Messiah Yeshua
Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus…
Our Great High Priest that we can boldly come to for mercy and grace
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
As Moses was confirmed by the voice of God (Ex 19:9) so was Messiah
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
Luke 9:34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"
2Pet 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Let us give heed to the RED LETTERS!
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
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5 Surprising Commonalities - between Moses and Jesus
By Kat Armstrong
1. A miraculous birth story
Moses’s birth signals the miraculous ways God set apart his life. Not even Pharaoh’s edict to kill all the firstborn Hebrew baby boys could keep Moses from fulfilling the calling on his life-to usher oppressed people into freedom. Between the midwife’s civil disobedience, Moses’s mother’s basket, his sister’s watchful eye, and the providence of Pharaoh’s daughter’s interest in the floating baby, it’s obvious that Moses was special.
The unique and supernatural circumstances surrounding Jesus’s birth included prophetic dreams, angelic encounters, and the virgin birth. And what they have in common is that both Jesus and Moses faced threats from the governing rulers during their infancy and survived. References: Exodus 1, Matthew 1, Luke 1
2. A deliverance ministry
The Exodus story was God’s greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament, and Moses was the leader of the movement. Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and guided them through the wilderness for forty years, during most of which he was a faith-filled leader empowered by God to perform miracles and overpower enemies.
Jesus also came to deliver his people, all who would trust in him, but from a much more powerful enemy: the tyranny of sin. Although the bondage of brokenness didn’t involve chains during Jesus’s earthly ministry, the symbolism is clear: Jesus is another deliverer who saves his people from an even greater enemy, who pays an eternal price for freedom, and who secures that freedom through his death on the cross. Christ, the Great Liberator, inaugurates God’s redemption from the slavery of sin. References: Exodus 19-20, Romans 8
3. Covenant mediation and lawgiving
Another connection between Jesus and Moses is their respective roles as arbiters of God’s laws. Moses mediated God’s Ten Commandments and the covenant at Mt. Sinai. Jesus fulfilled the laws of God. In Matthew’s Gospel, the literary elements in the Sermon on the Mount scene echo Moses’s experience receiving the law (Exod 19-20). Both Jesus and Moses were on top of mountains, and both men explained God’s laws. But only one could fulfill them. Moses took his role as covenant mediator seriously and often interceded for the rebellious people. But only Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant of grace. He is the only and ultimate intercessor. References: Exodus 19-20, Matthew 5-8, Hebrews 10
4. Shepherds
After marrying Zipporah, Moses became the shepherd of his father-in-law’s flocks. I find it interesting that before Moses led the Hebrews from the clutches of Pharaoh, Moses was tending sheep and keeping watch over his flock.
Although Christ was a craftsman for a living, he referred to himself as the Good Shepherd: the Shepherd Israel had been waiting for, the one who would walk the valley of the shadow of death on his way to the cross and resurrect from a metaphorical valley of dry bones to become an even better shepherd than Moses. References: Exodus 3, John 10
5. A cosmic water connection
Many times throughout Scripture, God has used water to accomplish his will. God sent the great flood in Genesis, parted the Red Sea for Moses, and helped Joshua cross the Jordan River. In the New Testament, God clarifies that he is like a body of water that wells up within believers when Christ speaks with the woman at the well.
Moses witnessed God part the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) and then the drowning of Pharaoh’s army. But Jesus is the Living Water. References: Genesis 7, Exodus 14, Joshua 3, John 4, Revelation 22
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Moses faithful in God’s house - Messiah over His own house
Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
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Next time:
We will look for more likenesses of these two deliverers.
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