God spoken through Moses

GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH A PROPHET LIKE MOSES

And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him (Deuteronomy 18:17-18).

Deuteronomy 18, which gave a test for prophets, also gave this remarkable promise about another future Prophet. He would come from "among their brothers." That is, He also would be an Israelite (also called Hebrew or Jew). Of greatest importance was that He would be like Moses—this is how He would stand out so that people could recognize Him.

GOD'S GLORY TOO GREAT FOR MAN

Why was it so important to have this special Prophet like Moses? The same passage explained:

”The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb… when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die” (Deuteronomy 18:15-16).

Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. God met the Israelites at this mountain, after they had left Egypt. He came down in terrible fire and smoke on the mountain. The whole mountain shook. Thunder boomed from mighty flashes of lightning. A trumpet call grew louder and louder, and then God Himself spoke!

His glory (described in Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 5) was too great for them. The people trembled with fear. The fire and the voice of God were so awesome that the people thought they were going to die immediately. So they all begged Moses,

”You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:19)

God replied,

”They are right in what they have spoken.” (Deuteronomy 18:17; also 5:28).

For the people had seen that God was far too great for them to deal with Him directly. He "lives in unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16).

ERV: God lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it.

They needed someone to represent them before God, someone to go between them and God. The first such go-between, or mediator, was Moses. He went to the people, taking to them God’s messages. But a mediator works to bring both sides together. So Moses also went to God. He took the needs of the people to God. In this way Moses did much good for his people. Yet God knew that people in the future also would need a mediator. So He promised in Deuteronomy 18 to send another Prophet from among the Israelites, a Prophet like Moses.

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WE NEED A MEDIATOR, NOT MEDIUMS

Deuteronomy 18 shows another important reason for a mediator. God knows that people need answers for solving life’s many problems. They need to make the best choices about how to live. God also knows that people often look for answers in the wrong places. For example, many turn to spirit mediums who claim to speak for the dead or for other spirits. Many also seek answers in witchcraft, spiritism, magic spells, omens, and other signs such as the stars. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14, God commanded His people not to use these methods (also Leviticus 19:31; 1 Chronicles 10:13; Isaiah 8:19; Acts 19:19; Revelation 21:8). Was He trying to keep them from finding spiritual answers? Actually, God was keeping them from these methods because they give false answers, which harm people (Isaiah 47:8-15; Jeremiah 27:9-10).

God’s love went even further. Rather than stopping the search for answers, God opened the way for all the answers that all people need. For immediately after speaking against mediums, God promised to send the Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18: 15-19). People do not need "mediums" because God gives His Mediator! God assured them,

I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Unlike messages from mediums, this message would be true. This message could be fully trusted and followed. For this message would be God’s own words. "Everything" from God would be faithfully passed along to the people by the Prophet like Moses.  🍓

NO PROPHET LIKE MOSES

Weren’t all prophets "like Moses"? No. Even at the time of Moses there were other prophets, such as Miriam and Aaron. Yet God made it plain that Moses was quite different from them. God spoke to Moses in a more open, direct and personal way. This is what God said:

If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses… With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord (Numbers 12:6-8).

Joshua came after Moses. Yet even in the passage which speaks of Joshua’s greatness, Deuteronomy ends with these words,

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do… and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror [fear] that Moses did in the sight of all Israel (Deuteronomy 34:10-12).

Clearly, the other prophets were not like Moses. God was more direct with Moses. God used him as His special agent and lawgiver. Because of His unique authority, all other Israelite prophets, from Joshua on, taught their people to follow "the Law of Moses." The coming Prophet would serve, like Moses, as God’s Mediator with special authority to give God’s commandments to the people. God would speak directly with the new Mediator. And here is another important point: From Deuteronomy 34, we learn that being truly "like Moses" had to include showing miracles of mighty power. 🌹