Many books are written about great men. Very few books are written by great men. The five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are of the latter category.
Moses’ personal story of multiple exiles set the tone for much of Moses’ five books, known together as the Pentateuch. Moses’ story in the book of Exodus begins with his unique birth and childhood. Moses was separated from his own mother and rescued by an Egyptian stepmother. He grew up enjoying the luxuries of Egyptian royalty and was privileged with the greatest of educations for his day. Later in life he would be used by God to oppose Egypt’s Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at that time. Moses would broker an unprecedented arrangement for the release of a nation of slaves and lead this vast collection of people out of Egypt. With God’s help he would part the Red Sea, feed thousands of people in the wilderness, collect the Law of God on Mount Sinai and ultimately lead a stiff-necked people to the border of the Promised Land. Moses’ Exodus saga is unrivaled in history and literature. Moses lived an unparalleled life and recorded an amazing history and legal code for a new nation.
As great as his potential was as a young man, even greater was Moses’ humiliation and servanthood. After a rash action and severe misjudgment of youthful arrogance and passion, Moses fled the opulence of Egypt and became a refugee. He became a lowly shepherd in a distant land. He served in this humble station for 40 years. When called by God from a burning bush to deliver his people, Moses argued that he was not capable of such an audacious assignment. Even though Moses excelled as a great leader of a nation, he referred to himself in his writings as simply a “servant of the Lord.” Moses and others repeated this humble servant designation 40 times in the rest of the Bible (Ex 4:10, 13; 14:31; Num 12:7-8; Deut 34:5; Jos 1:1-2; 7, 13, 15; 8:31; 33; 9:24; 11:12, 15; 12:6 ; 13:8; 14:7; 18:7; 22:2, 4-5; 1Ki 8:53, 56; 2Ki 18:12; 2Ki 21:8; 1Ch 6:49; 2Ch 1:3; 2Ch 24:6, 9; Neh 1:7-8; 9:14; 10:29; Ps 105:26; Dan 9:11; Mal 4:4; Heb 3:5; Rev 15:3). Numbers 12:3 states: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” This parenthetical statement, perhaps added by those who finished the Torah after Moses death, remembers the greatness of this man through his lifelong expression of humility and service.
The Five Books of Moses
The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) tell the story not only of Moses and but also of his people, the chosen people of God. These books, often called the Pentateuch or the Torah, outline the history and culture of a unique people. These five books are traditionally attributed to the authorship of Moses. These five books found first in most Bibles and are foundational to every biblical book that follows them in both Testaments. The Torah makes up about 26% of the Old Testament and about 20% of the entire Bible. These five books have been so highly esteemed that some Jewish sects such as the Sadducees believed that the Torah alone were the inspired and authoritative books of Holy Scripture. Jesus had a high view of the first five books of Moses. Often he referred to these five books as simply the Law (Mt 5-7) or that which Moses said (Mk 10:3). Jesus viewed Moses’ writings as more valuable and authoritative than the traditions of other religious leaders (Mark 7:8-13).
Moses’ first book (Genesis) chronicles the work of the one true God who created the world and its first human inhabitants. These human image bearers of God (Ge 1:26-27) failed God’s command and were exiled from God’s perfect garden. God promised his exiled pair that in the future he would overcome the evils of the world with an offspring that would crush the head of all evil (Ge 3:15). Genesis continues this story of God’s work to fulfill this redemptive promise by telling of the creation of a nation of chosen people through Abraham (Ge 12:1-3). The book ends with a long narrative about how God saves the offspring of Abraham through a son of Jacob by the name of Joseph (Ge 37-50). Joseph, like Moses, is exalted in Egypt and rescues his people with much divine intervention. God, with his people in Egypt, is where Genesis ends and Exodus begins. Much of Genesis is written as an argument against those who worship many Gods, like the Egyptians did. The One true God of Genesis created all things, even the things that others call gods. Over many generations, this God took the small and humble and exalted them many times even to a place of prominence in a land as great as Egypt. The book of Genesis ends with God’s chosen people thriving in a land that was not their final home.
Moses’ second book in the Pentateuch, Exodus, relates his own origin story.
Moses’ birth included a miraculous rescue from political genocide. Through the compassion and bravery of a number of women, Moses was spared infanticide and was adopted by a princess of Egypt. Moses’ sister, Miriam, serendipitously suggested to the princess that a Hebrew nurse maid be found to nurse the newborn foundling. The princess, in defiance to her Pharaoh’s murderous decree, agreed and took the child as her own, naming him Moses saying, “I drew him out of the water” (Ex 2:10). The princess allowed his birth mother to nurture and feed him for a significant amount of his childhood.
After this introductory rescue story, Exodus details Moses’ own attempt at rescuing his own people (Ex 2:11-15). Moses’ attempt failed miserably and Moses fled possible death from an unsympathetic Pharaoh. Moses spent 40 years in exile in Midian until the one true God of his ancestors, called him to rescue his people from the misery of slavery in Egypt. The rest of Exodus describes the miraculous journey of Moses as he overcame the power of Pharaoh and led the people of God out of the oppression of Egypt. Exodus also detailed how God provided and protected his people through the servant leadership of Moses. Before entrance to the Promised Land, Moses led his people to Mount Sinai to deliver to them God’s Law (Ex 19-20). This Law included laws for living, the most important and most memorable, the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). Along with a moral and civil legal guidance this Law also included instructions for a tabernacle, a place for people to worship the one true God (Ex 25-31; 36-40).
The third book of Moses, Leviticus, outlined the specifics of this Tabernacle and provided guidance to the priests that would be administrate this portable worship edifice. The book’s name is connected with Levi, the priestly tribe who would occupy no land in Israel but would have God as their inheritance. Many students of the Torah suggest that the book of Leviticus stands in the center of the five books of the Torah to highlight the importance of the centrality of tabernacle life and worship, just as the Tabernacle stood in the center of the encampment of the tribes of Israel as they made their way to the Promised Land. The most frequently used words in Leviticus are “offering” and “offer.” The people of God were more than a nation with laws and history. They were a worshipping community that was led by priests (the second most widely used word in Leviticus) who led the people away from “uncleaness” and “sin” and into “holiness” (again frequently used words in Leviticus). These ideas saturated the worship of Israel and the book of Leviticus.
The fourth book of Moses, Numbers, detailed the departure and journey of God’s people from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land of Canaan. This journey was fraught with dangers, difficulties and drama. When Moses led the people to the edge of Canaan, the people rebelled against Moses’ leadership and God brought a judgment of wandering upon the faithless (Num 14). Moses spent the next 40 years “wandering in the wilderness” with a grumbling people who would not be allowed to enter into the Promised Land because of their rebellion against God. The children of this stubborn generation would be allowed into the land (Num 14:26-38) after the rebellious generation became deceased. Unfortunately, Moses became so exasperated with this wandering crowd that he reacted out of anger and frustration and struck a rock for water, when God told him to simply speak to the rock (Num 20). God’s disappointment with Moses was so sharp that God judged Moses and decreed that he, the rescuer of Israel, would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his own disobedience. The written record of Moses life included his failures. As a young man, Moses failed to control his passion and anger when he fatally struck the Egyptian who attacked a fellow Hebrew (Ex 2:11-15). For this failure, Moses was exiled to the wilderness. At the end of Moses’ story, the aged leader of Israel repeated a fault of his youth and reacted out of anger and struck the rock for water, when God had instructed him to only speak to the rock (Num 20). For this disobedient outburst, God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. As great as Moses was, he was a faulty human who early and late displayed weakness and foolish outbursts of anger. The great tragedy of Moses’ life was that he never got to enter land his people were promised.
Moses’ fifth and final book, Deuteronomy, prepared the new generation of wilderness wanderers for entry into the land their parents had forfeited. Deuteronomy actually means “second writing.” The book retells the Exodus story to this new generation and reminds them repeatedly to not commit the sins of their fathers while entering and living in the new land before them. Unlike his other four books, Moses wrote Deuteronomy in a first person voice. Moses recounted a second time how God led his people from Egypt to receive the Law at Mount Sinai and to inherit the Promised Land. Moses repeated the Ten Commandments and provided commentary on these ten foundational edicts. Moses would go on to remind this new generation to obey God’s law to avoid curses and to experience God’s blessings as they entered the Promised Land. He reminded the people that he himself would not be able to enter the land due to his own disobedience (Deut 31:1-8) and that Joshua would be their new leader in the new land.
Moses finished Deuteronomy with what is called Moses’ song (Deut 31:30-32:52). Moses sung a final heartfelt plea of devotion to the people that he would soon leave. In Deuteronomy 33, Moses pronounced his final blessings upon the nation that filled his heart his entire life. Deuteronomy 34 briefly describes his death. The final words of Moses’ fifth book succinctly describe the greatness of this leader and author:
“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Deut 34:10-12).
The Influence of Moses upon the Rest of Scripture
The scope of Moses’ influence, leadership, and authorship is unfathomable. Moses’ five books serve a number of purposes in the life of Israel. The Torah serves as a history and origin story for the nation that will amass in Egypt and ultimately exit it. The books of Genesis and Exodus serve as an apologetic theology of monotheism in the face of a world full of the worship of many gods. Much in these five books serves as proof for why certain beliefs and practices were established in Israel. This type of literature is known of as an Etiology or foundation of many of the practices and distinctive beliefs of this fledgling nation. For example, Genesis 2:24 states “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” The creation story of Adam and Eve sets the foundation for all marriage practices promoted in the rest of the Bible. The rest of the Old Testament is a collection of case studies of generations of people who rise and fall in relation to obedience and disobedience to the Law the Moses delivered. The blessings and warnings of Deuteronomy are fulfilled numerous times in the history of the people of Israel all the way through the book of Malachi. While Israel is keeping its annual feasts as instructed by Moses, she as a people, is looking for the promised prophet who will be like Moses (Deut 18:15-19) and deliver them into ultimate rest and peace.
When Jesus arrived he spoke often of Moses. Jesus equated the name Moses with the entirety of the Torah.
Jesus said, for instance, “What did Moses command you?” (Mk 10:3). This use of Moses’ name was a reference to the Law of God as found in the Torah. Jesus had a high view of the Torah and quoted it often. According to the UBS Greek New Testament, The Torah is directly referred to over 60 times and alluded to over 200 times in the Gospels. Jesus considered Moses’ writings to be authoritative Scripture (Mt. 5:18; Mk 1:44). Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees and teachers of the law was not that they appealed to the Law or Torah, but because they added the “traditions of men” (Mk 7:8-13) to the Law and made people’ lives miserable as a result. In all three synoptic Gospels, Jesus appeared on a mountain with Moses (and Elijah). On this mountain, Jesus spoke with Moses about Jesus’ coming suffering and death (Lk 9:30-31). Jesus was transfigured, displaying glorious brightness and was declared to be greater than Moses and all the prophets. The voice of God the Father declared that Jesus is his Son and he should be heard above all other voices. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was identified with a new Shema. Jesus was the One to be heard and revered, even above Moses and the Prophets (Mk 9:2-8).
Others in the New Testament appealed much to the life and writings of Moses. Stephen, in his martyrdom defense, spent a considerable amount of time describing how Israel rebelled against the ministry and teaching of Moses (Acts 7:17-44). Stephen suggested that the leaders of Jesus’ day were just like the people of Moses’ day — “a stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). The Torah is referred to directly in the book of Acts over 20 times and alluded to over 100 times.
The book of Hebrews will spend considerable time discussing the faith of Moses in a positive light (Heb 11:23-29). The book, focused on Jewish readers, also details how Jesus is superior to Moses (Heb 3:1-6) and the priesthood that the Mosaic Law instituted (Heb 4:14-5:10). Being superior is not a negation or dismissal of Moses. Rather Moses is seen as presenting an earthly pattern or shadow of what will be ultimately fulfilled in Jesus (Heb 7:1-8:13).
Paul will refer often to Moses and the Law he wrote. Famously, Galatians refers to Moses’ Law as a teacher or tutor who schools us in God’s righteousness and prepares us for the lesson that only grace can save us (Gal 3:24). Paul will say that Moses and lessons of the wandering people in the wilderness serve as “examples” to us (1 Co 10:1-14) to remind us to not grumble and sin like “our ancestors” did. Paul argues from lesser to greater as he compares the glory on the face of Moses after his encounter with God to the glory that believers in Jesus have through the Holy Spirit (2 Co 3:7-18). His argument states that if Moses’ glory was impressive, how much more is our glory in the freedom and transformation that comes from Jesus.
John’s writings are considered the last writings in the canon of the New Testament. Moses plays a big role in John’s writing as well. John makes it clear at the outset of his gospel that “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:17). The early disciples of Jesus will say “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth” (Jn 1:45). This is no doubt a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where Moses predicted that God would raise up a prophet like himself. In John’s final book, the Book of Revelation, John writes about the multitude of those who overcome the Beast and his evil regime. John states that these victorious ones will sing the celebratory song of “God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.” In some sense the song of Moses is joined with the praise of the Lamb of God, the prophet who is greater than Moses and who is the King of all nations and of whom all nations worship (Rev 15:2-4). Moses, the servant of God, and his song is mentioned in the final pages of the New Testament. This is surely a testament to the monumental influence of Moses and his writings in all of Scripture.
Lessons from the Life of Moses
Moses lived a long life. Deuteronomy states Moses lived 120 years (34:7). Many scholars of the Torah suggest that Moses lived these 120 years in three sets of forty (40) years each. Moses’ first forty years were spent in Egypt as a young man. Here his life was miraculously preserved as an infant. During these formative years he would learn the language and ways of Egyptian royalty by living in the palaces of Egypt with his adoptive mother, a princess of Egypt. During this time he must have also learned the history of his Hebrew heritage. Over time he became passionately wedded to Hebrew purposes and values. Before Moses became a great leader, he would experience the lessons of failed leadership. When he witnessed the mistreatment of a fellow Hebrew at the hands of an Egyptian, he took matters into his own hands and killed the oppressive Egyptian. Moses quickly learned that his Hebrew brothers were not impressed with his protective efforts (Ex 2:13-14). Before Moses’ season of greatness, he experienced great failure and great disappointment.
The second phase of Moses life began when he fled Egypt out of fear of Pharoah. Moses fled to Midian and became a lowly shepherd. He married a daughter of the Midianite Jethro. He served in this humble estate for forty (40) years. Leading sheep in the wilderness of Midian no doubt prepared Moses for the future task of leading flock of God’s people out of Egypt. Wandering in Midian as a shepherd for 40 years would serve him well as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness to the border of the Promised Land. Sheep are often stubborn and hard to lead. Moses surely strengthened his skills and character qualities such as patience, persistence and watchfulness while tending sheep in the wild. These skills would serve him well in the shepherding God’s chosen people over many years. Learning to be faithful in small matters is the proving ground for being successful in future matters of greatness.
The final forty (40) years of Moses life were spent applying all the lessons he had learned early on in Egypt and Midian. During this final phase of his life, Moses, would confront a world power multiple times and ultimately overpower him. Moses would also facilitate a mass migration of his people. He would codify, adjudicate and administrate a new legal system for a new nation. Moses would also construct, outfit and train his people in a new religious system of monotheistic worship in sharp contrast to nearby ancient polytheistic practices. Moses would provide through God’s provision food and water for thousands of his people on a daily basis. Moses would serve as the political and military leader for this new nation under his leadership. There were many enemies without (Ex 17:14, 16; Num 20:18; 21:1-3; 22:1-41; 24:20; 31:1-8; Deut 3:1-3) and many enemies within (Ex 32; Num 16) that required measured but decisive leadership from Moses.
Often during this phase of his life, Moses played the role of advocate and intercessor for his people. At times the Lord himself expressed exasperation at the stubbornness and sinfulness of the people of Israel. Moses appealed to God’s goodness and requested mercy on behalf of his own people. This speaks of the wisdom and compassion of Moses, even for a “stiff-necked” people. During stinging opposition led by his own brother and sister, Moses depended upon the defense of God: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Num 12:3 NIV). No doubt Moses was reflecting these humble and patient shepherding characteristics from God himself with these appeals for mercy and rescue.
Moses was not perfect in the final years of his life. Moses did evidence a lifelong battle with anger during his wilderness leadership of Israel. When Moses came down from the Mountain of God with the newly minted tablets of God’s law, he was angry at the idolatry of his people and cast the tablets down on the ground, shattering them beyond repair. Moses would have to chisel out tablets of stone on his own to get a second copy of the Ten Commandments because of his previous angry outburst. At another instance, Moses lost his temper at the complaining crowds of Israel when God had instructed him to produce water for his people (Num 20:1-13). God told Moses to speak to a rock and God promised to bring water out of the rock for the people. This group complaining to Moses was the new generation of Israelites whose parents had been judged by God with 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Perhaps Moses had been worn out by 40 years of national crankiness or perhaps he was exasperated at repetition of mistakes he had seen in a previous generation Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses called the people “rebels” and in his own expression of anger he rebelled against God’s instruction and struck the rock, not once but twice. God did miraculously bring water out of the rock, but God was not pleased with Moses’ outburst. God pronounced that because of this disregard from Moses, God would judge Moses and would not let him enter into the Promised Land (Num 20:12). Even the greatest of leaders can lose self-control and reap the consequences of bad decisions.
The life of Moses as told in the Torah is full of Moses’ successes and failures. Moses, though heroic in many circumstances, shows his weaknesses and need of God. As great as Moses was, his weakness and frailty was ever constant and present. He was dependent upon God as we all are.
Lessons from the Writings of Moses
The writings of Moses have forever left their mark upon both the ancient and modern world. In the days of Jesus, Jewish writers had high praise for Moses. Philo of Alexandria, a first century Jewish philosopher made glowing praise of Moses: “though he was born of men, was nevertheless made like unto God, being enrolled in the category of divine beings by reason of the magnitude of the benefits which he bestowed upon the human race” (Life of Moses, Loeb Classical Library, Vol. VI, 3). First Century historian Josephus also spoke highly of Moses’ influence. “Moses went up to Mount Nebo, and there, after beholding the promised land, he died, leaving behind him a name renowned among all nations for his wisdom, piety, and leadership” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book IV, Loeb Classical Library, Vol. IV, 549).
Early Christian church fathers such as Justin Martyr (100-150 CE) and Augustine (426 CE) spoke highly of Moses and his influential writings as well. Justin said of Moses, “Moses is more ancient than all the Greek writers; and whatever both philosophers and poets have said concerning the immortality of the soul, or punishments after death, or contemplation of things heavenly, or doctrines of like nature, they have received such suggestions from the prophets as have enabled them to understand and interpret these things” (First Apology, chapter 46).
Throughout the ages, Moses has been recognized as a great prophet and leader. The Islamic Quran (650 CE) mentions Moses 130 times, making him the most cited by direct name of all prophets mentioned in its pages. The great Jewish Rabbi Maimonides (1190 CE) viewed Moses as unique among all prophets:
“The prophecy of Moses our Teacher is distinguished from that of all other prophets in four respects... The first distinction is that God spoke to him directly, without intermediary... The second is that prophecy came to him while he was awake... The third is that he could receive prophecy at any time... The fourth is that he could stand before God and speak with Him as one speaks to a friend” (Guide for the Perplexed, Part II, Shlomo Pines Translation, 371).
Medieval Christian theologians like Aquinas, Protestant Reformers like Luther and Calvin, Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Hume, American Founding Fathers like Franklin and Jefferson, Modern Era influencers like Nietzsche, Marx and Freud — all have had much to say about Moses, the leader of Israel. John Adams in 1776 expressed high praise for Moses and the greatness of the Torah:
“Moses, in his lawgiving, laid the foundations of a system of morality and justice that transcends the Jewish people and influences all nations. The moral principles in the Torah provide a framework for the governance of any people, and although the theocratic system was peculiar to the Israelites, the lessons are universal" (The Works of John Adams, Vol. 9, Little, Brown and Company, 508).
Key elements of Moses’ writings include the major lesson that God is One. Foundational to the Torah is the lesson that Israel as a people are to recognize that God is Singular (Deut 6:4). This oneness of God is in contrast to the gods of the nations that are many. In the Ten Commandments, this understanding is emphasized with the instruction that the people of Israel were “to have no other gods before Me” (Ex 20:3).
“The exclusive claims of Israel’s God were not paralleled in the religions of the ancient world, but in the politics of the time. The great kings of the ancient empires demanded the exclusive loyalty of their subject peoples. It was high treason to enter into a relationship with another emperor. This was the focus of their treaty relationships with their vassals, and in a far higher sense it is such exclusive allegiance that is the emphasis of Yahweh’s kingship over his people. In his presence there can be no rival for their affection and service” (John L. Mackay, Exodus, Mentor Commentaries, 343).
The God that Moses writes about is a personal God who hears the cries of Israel (Ex 2:23-25; 22:23). Even though God is great and complete in his “oneness” He still desires to care for his people. God sees and hears his people in their struggles (Gen 3:7). He rescues them with his own “outstretched arm” (Ex 6:6; 15:16; Num 11:23; Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8; 33:20). Through Moses, God leads his people, feeds his people and brings them, even with all their shortcomings to the Promised Land. God meets with his people and dwells among them in his tabernacle. He does not reside on a high mountain or in a hidden temple. Instead the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob works to be in the midst of his people at his “tent of meeting” used for worship and sacrifice.
Moses’ Torah also teaches us that perfection is impossible and that atonement is essential. Moses exhibits failures in the Torah. Aaron the high priest has his shortcomings. The people complain frequently. The people want to go back to Egypt. Even the second generation of God’s people complained and “rebelled against God and his messenger Moses (Num 20:2-10). The only solution for all this obstinacy was sacrifice and atonement. Even though the people of God had the law of God, this was not enough to perfect the people. They needed forgiveness and atonement which could only come through repentance and substitutional sacrifice. “Moses teaches us faith by showing that righteousness does not come from the law but from trusting in God. The story of Moses is not about the law's power to justify but about God's promise to save” (Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Volume 6,Concordia Publishing House, 156).
Moses also is noted to have written just one Psalm. His masterpiece is Psalm 90. This Psalm reminds us of the shortness of life and the importance of remaining connected to God. Psalm 90 reads similarly to Moses’ times of intercession for the people of Israel after they had sinned and needed God’s mercy and forgiveness.
“There seems to be a strong correspondence between the threat to the Mosaic covenant at the golden calf episode in Exodus 32 and the threat to the Davidic covenant in Ps 89. After Israel sinned with the golden calf, the Lord threatened to destroy Israel and start over with Moses. Moses called on the Lord to ‘turn’ and ‘relent’ in Exodus 32:12. The intercession of Moses delivered Israel from God’s wrath and preserved the Mosaic covenant. Psalm 89 presents a threat to the Davidic covenant that results from the people’s covenant-breaking sin. In Ps 90 Moses once again intercedes, calling on the Lord to ‘turn’ and ‘relent’ in Ps 90:13. Here too the intercession of Moses delivers the people from the full effects of God’s wrath and sets the stage for God to keep the promises he made to David” ( James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary, 154).
Moses’ life, leadership, shortcoming and prayers show us the greatness of God and the frailty of humanity. The high standards of Torah Law challenge us to do better. But the history of complaining Israel and its fuming leader, Moses, remind us that we need more than our good behavior or a stern taskmaster. Moses’ grand life and grand opus remind us we need one greater than Moses (Deut 18) to rescue us. That Greater One is ultimately the Messiah, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, in her book Moses: a Human Life, summarizes the life of Moses and his final words at the end of Deuteronomy as follows:
“Thus a life is set in motion in which, through vision and conflict, Moses plays out the demands of his destiny. His humanity is revealed to him in the wilderness: a personal life that finds expression in the speeches of his final months. The man of God who had always spoken for Israel now speaks for his personal self in a way that stirs depths in those who hear him. When he reaches out to his people in the fraught language of relationship, he makes himself unforgettable. Veiled and unveiled, he remains lodged in the Jewish imagination, where, in his uncompleted humanity, he comes to represent the yet unattained but attainable messianic future” (Zornberg, 193).
Moses was a great man who wrote great books about a great God who is coming as one greater than Moses to rescue his people.