A Prophet Like Moses

Greater Than Moses

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Moses was one of the greatest people who ever lived. He led Israel out of Egypt, spoke with God face to face and gave God's law. Yet Moses himself said someone greater was coming.

The promise. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

Still waiting. At the end of Deuteronomy the Bible says, “Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:10). Israel kept waiting.

Face to face. God said, “I speak with him face to face, Even plainly” (Numbers 12:8). “The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11).

People wondered. After Jesus fed five thousand people, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14).

Peter knew. Peter quoted Moses' promise and said it was about Jesus (Acts 3:22): “Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.”

Moses wrote about Jesus. Jesus said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46).

More glory. “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” (Hebrews 3:3).

Servant and Son. “Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant… but Christ as a Son over His own house” (Hebrews 3:5-6).

Law and grace. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

On the mountain. When Jesus shone with glory, “Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him” (Matthew 17:3).

What they talked about. They “spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Decease means death. They talked about the cross. Even Moses knew the cross was at the center of God's plan.

What we learn. Moses was great, but Jesus is greater. Moses pointed ahead to Jesus, the Prophet we must listen to.

What to do. This week, read one story of Jesus each day. Ask, What is Jesus saying to me?

Deuteronomy closes by saying that no prophet like Moses had arisen (34:10), even though Moses had promised one (18:15). Jesus is that promised Prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19. The promise came when Israel begged not to hear God's voice directly at Sinai (18:16). God would speak through a Prophet from among them. The Prophet would stand between God and the people, as Moses had.

34:10-12. Two things set Moses apart: his closeness to God (“face to face”) and God's power at work through him (signs and wonders). The promised Prophet would have both. Jesus showed both closeness to the Father and mighty works.

Numbers 12:7-8. God sets Moses apart from other prophets: He speaks with him plainly, “not in dark sayings.” God spoke this way with no other Old Testament prophet.

Exodus 33:11. “As a man speaks to his friend.” Moses' relationship with God set the standard for prophetic closeness. Jesus goes further: He is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18).

John 6:14. The crowd said this right after Jesus fed them in the wilderness, much as God had fed Israel with manna. They thought a new Moses had come. They wanted to make Him king, but Jesus withdrew (John 6:15).

Acts 3:22-23. Peter cites Deuteronomy 18 in the temple, calling Israel to repent and listen to the risen Jesus. Stephen makes the same connection in Acts 7:37.

John 5:46. Jesus claims Moses as a witness to Himself, not a rival. To reject Jesus is to misunderstand Moses.

Hebrews 3:1-6. Hebrews honors Moses as a faithful servant and exalts Christ as the Son and builder of the house. Honoring Moses and worshiping Christ go together.

John 1:17. The contrast is not law versus nothing but law fulfilled by “grace and truth.” Grace and truth are the very qualities God proclaimed to Moses in Exodus 34:6.

The transfiguration. In Matthew 17:3 and Luke 9:30-31, Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, stand beside Jesus and speak about His exodus at Jerusalem. The whole Old Testament bears witness to the cross.

An exodus. The Greek word Luke uses for decease is exodos (say: EX-oh-doss). Jesus' death and resurrection are the greater exodus. As Moses led Israel out of slavery, Jesus leads His people out of sin and death.

Revelation 15:3. The redeemed sing “the song of Moses… and the song of the Lamb,” joining both rescues in one praise. The two exoduses become one story of salvation.

Application. To hear Jesus as the Prophet means listening to His words and obeying them. When you read the Bible, look for Jesus, because all of Scripture points to Him.

Death Is Not the End

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The book of Deuteronomy ends with a funeral. God's people cried for Moses for thirty days. Death is sad, but God gives us real hope when someone we love dies.

A sad day. “And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days” (Deuteronomy 34:8). It is right to be sad.

God cares. “Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). God notices and cares when His people die.

God is forever. Moses prayed, “Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2). People come and go, but God stays. He was Moses' God, and He is ours.

Number our days. Moses also prayed, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Life is a gift to use well.

Jesus is life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).

A place prepared. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

Coming back. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:3).

Hopeful sadness. Paul wrote that Christians do not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We are sad, but we have hope.

Victory. “O Death, where is your sting?… thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

No more fear. Jesus died to “release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15).

To die is gain. Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Being with Jesus is best of all.

No more tears. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death” (Revelation 21:4).

What to do. If someone you love has died, talk to a grown-up you trust and tell Jesus how you feel. He understands. He has felt sadness too.

Moses' death is told honestly, and God treats His servant with great honor. The New Testament adds the Christian hope of resurrection: death is real, but it is not the end.

Grief honored (34:8). Thirty days of mourning were set apart. Scripture never asks God's people to pretend they are not sad. Lament is a form of faith, not a lack of it.

Psalm 116:15. “Precious” means costly or weighty. The death of God's people matters to Him. God does not treat the death of His saints lightly.

Psalm 90. Titled a prayer of Moses, it sets human frailty against God's eternity and asks for wisdom to live well. It teaches us to see our short lives in the light of God's eternity.

2 Timothy 4:7-8. Paul faces death with confidence: “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” A crown of righteousness awaits. Paul's confidence rests on Christ, not on his own record.

John 11:25. Jesus spoke these words at Lazarus' tomb, where He Himself wept (John 11:35). Jesus grieves with us and conquers death. He weeps, and then He calls Lazarus out of the tomb.

John 14:2-3. The promise of a prepared place is personal: “that where I am, there you may be also.” Heaven's best gift is the presence of Jesus Himself.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. Christian grief is real but hopeful, because “Jesus died and rose again.” Grief and hope can live in the same heart.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57. Paul quotes Hosea to taunt death. Its sting is sin, and Christ has removed it. Death remains an enemy, but a defeated one.

Hebrews 2:14-15. The incarnation and cross break the devil's grip of fear. Jesus shared our flesh so that He could die our death.

Philippians 1:21. For the believer, death is not loss but gain, because it means being with Christ. Paul did not seek death, but he no longer feared it.

Revelation 21:4. The final picture removes death, sorrow and pain entirely. God Himself wipes away the tears.

When you are grieving. If someone you love has died, you do not have to hide your sadness or have all the answers. Talk to a parent or pastor, and tell Jesus how you feel. A quiet talk can help more than a long explanation.

Application. Because Jesus rose, Christians grieve with real hope. When a friend is sad, you can comfort them by listening, staying close and praying for them.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.