Moses and Elijah: The Law and the Prophets

Two Men Who Met God on a Mountain

☐

When Jesus shone on the mountain, two men from long ago stood beside Him. Peter, James and John knew their names from the Scriptures. Who were Moses and Elijah, and why were they there?

Moses the rescuer. God called Moses from a burning bush and said, “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:8). Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

Up the mountain of God. At Mount Sinai, “Moses went up to the mountain of God” (Exodus 24:13). There God gave him the law, including the Ten Commandments.

A friend of God. “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Moses loved to be near God, and he prayed for the people again and again.

A shining face. When Moses came down from the mountain, “the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29). The people were afraid to come near him. His face reflected God's glory, the way the moon reflects the light of the sun.

The end of his journey. Moses saw the Promised Land from the top of a mountain, but he did not go in. He died there, and the Lord Himself buried him (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).

Elijah the brave prophet. Many years later, most of Israel was worshiping a false god named Baal. Elijah stood up for the Lord. On Mount Carmel, God sent fire from heaven, and the people cried out that the Lord is God (1 Kings 18).

Tired and afraid. Afterward, the wicked queen Jezebel wanted to kill Elijah. He ran for his life, tired and discouraged, all the way to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19). Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai.

A gentle voice. On the mountain there was a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire, but the Lord was not in them. Then Elijah heard a still, small voice. God was there, speaking gently to His tired servant.

Carried to heaven. Elijah did not die the way other people do. God took him up to heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11).

Alive with God. Moses had died, and Elijah had been taken up, long before Jesus was born. Yet on the mountain both were alive, talking with Jesus. People who belong to God are alive with Him.

One more mountain. Both men had met God on a mountain long ago. Now, on another mountain, they met God the Son face to face.

What we learn. Moses and Elijah were great servants of God, but they were not perfect. Moses once disobeyed God, and Elijah became so discouraged he wanted to give up. They needed the Savior too, and that Savior is Jesus.

What to do. This week, read about Elijah and the still, small voice in 1 Kings 19 with a grown-up. Then spend a few quiet minutes talking with God and listening.

Moses and Elijah were towering figures in Israel's story: the lawgiver, and the prophet who called the nation back to God. Each met God on a mountain, and each had an unusual end to his life on earth.

Sinai (Exodus 24). “Moses went up to the mountain of God” (Exodus 24:13), and he stayed there forty days and forty nights while God gave him the law. That covenant shaped Israel's life.

Face to face. God said of Moses, “He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings” (Numbers 12:7-8). No other prophet in Israel knew God with that kind of closeness.

Reflected glory. After meeting God, Moses did not know “that the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29). His face reflected a glory that came from God. On the mountain with Jesus, the glory shone out from Jesus Himself.

Outside the land. Because Moses dishonored God at the waters of Meribah, God said he would see the land but not enter it (Deuteronomy 32:51). Moses died on Mount Nebo, and God buried him in a grave no one has found (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).

Carmel (1 Kings 18). In the days of King Ahab, Israel had turned to Baal. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Fire fell from heaven on the Lord's altar, and the people fell on their faces and confessed that the Lord is God.

Horeb (1 Kings 19). Soon after, Elijah fled from Queen Jezebel and traveled to Horeb, the same mountain where Moses had received the law. God met him there, not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in a still, small voice.

A whirlwind (2 Kings 2). Elijah never died. As he walked with Elisha, a chariot of fire appeared, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11).

Living, not dead. Their appearance shows that death had not ended their lives. Jesus taught that God is the God of the living, for all live to Him (Luke 20:38). Both had met God at Sinai, also called Horeb; now they meet Him again in His Son.

Faithful but flawed. Moses struck the rock in anger; Elijah, worn out, asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4). The Bible tells the truth about its heroes. Their faithfulness came from God's grace, not from their own perfection.

Why it matters. The greatest servants of the old covenant stood beside Jesus and talked with Him about His coming death. Even they needed the work He would finish at Jerusalem.

Application. When you feel tired or discouraged, God still speaks gently through His Word.

The Law and the Prophets Point to Jesus

☐

Moses and Elijah did not stay on the mountain. When the cloud lifted, the disciples “saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8). The whole Old Testament had been pointing to Him all along.

The Law and the Prophets. The Jews often called their Bible the Law and the Prophets. The Law meant the five books of Moses. The Prophets meant the books of men like Isaiah and Jeremiah, who spoke for God.

Not to destroy. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). To fulfill means to make it all come true.

Moses wrote about Jesus. Jesus said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46). Moses' books tell about the Savior God promised.

A Bible lesson on the road. After He rose from the dead, Jesus walked with two followers. “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Expounded means explained.

What the law shows. God's law is good, but it cannot make us good. “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). The law shows us that we need a Savior.

What the prophets promised. The prophets said the Savior would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and would suffer for our sins: “But He was wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5).

Servant and Son. “And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant… but Christ as a Son over His own house” (Hebrews 3:5-6). Moses served in God's family. Jesus is the Son who is over it.

The whole Bible in one rule. Jesus taught, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Jesus is the one who shows us what the whole Bible means.

Like pieces of a puzzle. Every promise in the Old Testament is like a puzzle piece. When you put the pieces together, you see Jesus.

Jesus only. Moses and Elijah were gone, but Jesus remained. Moses' law and Elijah's message were never meant to take His place. They were meant to lead people to Him.

What we learn. The Old Testament is not a different story from the New Testament. It is the first part of one story, and Jesus is at the center of it.

What to do. When you read the Old Testament, ask how it points to Jesus. This week, read Isaiah 53 with a grown-up and look for Jesus there.

When the cloud lifted, the disciples “saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8). The Law and the Prophets had done their work: they had pointed to Him. Now the Son stood alone.

Torah. The Hebrew word Torah (say: toh-RAH) is usually translated law, but it means instruction or teaching. It names the five books of Moses: God's teaching for His people, not just a list of rules.

The Law and the Prophets. In Jesus' day this phrase meant the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole (Matthew 7:12). Moses stands for the Law and Elijah for the Prophets. On the mountain, the whole Old Testament gathers around Jesus.

Fulfilled, not thrown away (Matthew 5:17). “I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Jesus fulfills the Law by obeying it perfectly, by becoming the sacrifice its offerings pictured, and by giving His people a new heart that loves God's ways.

He wrote about Me (John 5:46). Moses recorded God's promise of a Seed who would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15) and the Passover lamb whose blood protected Israel. Jesus said Moses “wrote about Me.”

Luke 24:27, 44. On the Emmaus road Jesus explained Himself “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets.” Later He told the disciples that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44).

Witnessed long before. Paul says the righteousness God gives through faith in Jesus was witnessed by the Law and the Prophets (Romans 3:21). Salvation by grace was not a new idea; the Old Testament pointed to it.

The law's purpose. “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). The law shows the problem; it cannot be the cure. Even Moses needed the death Jesus would accomplish.

Servant and Son (Hebrews 3:5-6). God had said Moses was faithful in all His house (Numbers 12:7). Hebrews repeats it and adds, “but Christ as a Son over His own house.” Moses was the most faithful servant; Jesus is the Son and heir.

The prophets' message. Elijah called Israel back to God, and later prophets foretold the Savior's birthplace (Micah 5:2), His suffering (Isaiah 53:5) and His everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14). Every thread leads to Jesus.

Why it matters. The Old Testament is not a separate religion that Jesus replaced. It is the first part of one story, and Jesus is its center. Reading it with Jesus in view makes it come alive.

Application. Choose one Old Testament event that the New Testament connects to Jesus, such as the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) or the bronze serpent (John 3:14), and trace the connection. Then thank God that He kept every promise in His Son.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.