A study of the life of Moses, the man of God, is both interesting and instructive. As we look at his unique and remarkable life, we will also see pictures and types of the Lord Jesus. At the time when Moses was born, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had ordered all the male children to be killed (Exo 1:16). So was the case when the Lord Jesus was born. Herod the king ordered the death of every child in Bethlehem, from two years old and under (Mat 2:16).
Jochebed, Moses’ mother, looked on her newborn son and saw that he was a goodly child (Exo 2:2). Some translations read that she saw that he was a beautiful child. When Stephen was repeating the story of Moses to the Jewish people, he said that when Moses was born he was “exceeding fair” (Act 7:20).1 The writer of the book of Hebrews says that Moses’ parents saw that he was “a proper child” (Heb 11:23).
What must have been on the mind and heart of Mary, the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus, when she brought forth her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger! The psalmist wrote of Him, “Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever” (Psa 45:2). Solomon wrote of Him that He is “the chiefest among ten thousand …. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely” (Sng 5:10,16).
We remember that Moses’ mother made him an ark of bulrushes and hid him by the brink of the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and drew him out of the water and called his name Moses, which means “drawing out” (Exo 2:3-10). I think of our blessed Lord Jesus who at the commencement of His earthly ministry was baptised in the river Jordan. He came up out of the water and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. Then a voice was heard from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat 3:13-17).
It is written of Moses that he was very meek, above all men that were upon the earth (Num 12:3). Matthew quoted from the prophecy of Zechariah (9:9) concerning the Lord Jesus, “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” (Mat 21:5). The Lord Jesus said of Himself, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mat 11:29). In his appeal to the believers at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2Co 10:1).
When Moses was grown, it came into his heart to visit his brethren (Act 7:23). Jacob sent his son Joseph out from the vale of Hebron to learn of the welfare of his brothers. When a man found him wandering in the field, Joseph replied, “I seek my brethren” (Gen 37:13-16). The Lord Jesus was also sent out. Paul wrote in the book of Galatians, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law” (Gal 4:4-5).
God called Moses from the burning bush. Moses had to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. When God informed Moses that he was going to send him to speak to the people of Israel, to tell them that God would deliver them from the bondage of Egypt, Moses enquired of God’s name. God responded, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exo 3:14), meaning He that is, and He that was, and He that is to come, the ever-present One. Moses learned something of the holiness of God and something of His eternal character and abiding presence. God requires holiness in the lives of His people today. Peter repeated the call to holiness (1Pe 1:16), citing the Old Testament Scriptures, “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44).
Joshua also had to loose his shoe in the presence of the captain of the hosts of the Lord. There he learned something of submission to God’s control (Jos 5:13-15). James 4:7 exhorts believers to submit themselves to God. How we need to learn dependence upon our God! Interestingly, John the Baptist said of the Lord Jesus, “There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose” (Mar 1:7).
The Lord told Moses that He was known to His people in the past by the name of God Almighty, but He was not known by His name Jehovah (Exo 6:3). The name “God Almighty” is translated from the Hebrew El Shaddai, which means “the all-sufficient One.” The name “Jehovah” means “He that is, and that was, and that is to come.” The name “Jehovah” is associated with God’s eternal power and might.
The Lord told Moses that He would bring His people out of bondage and into a good and large land flowing with milk and honey (6:8). Every redeemed child of God has been delivered from the bondage of sin and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Paul reminds us in the book of Colossians of what God has done through the reconciling, redeeming work of Christ on the cross through the shedding of His own most precious blood: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col 1:13).
Moses is referred to as a “man of God” a number of times in the Scriptures. Godliness is linked directly to obedience to the Word of God. What we read of Moses over and over is that he did what God commanded him to do. The Word of God encourages believers to pursue a life of godliness and holiness (1Ti 4:7; 6:11; 2Pe 3:11). The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luk 11:28).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
