The Prophet like Moses

...continued from The Son of David

The Keeper of the Promise

"YHVH your God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him you shall hearken; according to all that thou desiredst of YHVH thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of YHVH my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And YHVH said unto me, They have well said that which I have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deut 18:15-18)

That these words had no fulfilment at the close of the Torah is evidenced in the final verses of Deuteronomy:

"There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom YHVH knew face to face..." (Deut 34:10-11)

One chosen from among the brethren

"Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:45)

"Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you." (Acts 3:22)

The Ruler and Deliverer

"And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Why smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us..." (Exodus 2:14)

"This Moses, whom they refused, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' God has sent him as both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. This is that Moses, who said to the children of Israel,'The Lord our God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me." (Acts 7:37)

Stephen is stoned for claiming that Jesus was the promised 'prophet like Moses' and that the priests had killed him just as they had killed the prophets before him.

"Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers..."

The Right Hand of God

"Thy right hand, O YHVH, is glorious in power, Thy right hand, O YHVH, dasheth in pieces the enemy. "(Exodus 15:6)

" And he said, YHVH came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law for them." (Deut 33:2)

"...and YHVH brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm..." (Deut 26:8)

"YHVH saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Psalm 110:1)

"Oh sing unto YHVH a new song; For he hath done marvellous things: His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him." (Psalm 98:1)

"Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. (Acts 5:31)

"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7:55-56)

While the glory is given to YHVH, those 'angels' or human servants like Moses and Jesus who perform the will of YHVH are said to be the 'right hand' of YHVH - precisely as we would use the term 'right hand man' today.

"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old...Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying , Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them? that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses..." (Isaiah 63:12)

The Reflection of Glory*

"And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him." (Ex. 34:28-30)

"And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him." (Matt. 17:1-3)

The Mediator of the New Covenant

"...And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance..." (Heb. 9:15)

The Worker of Signs and Wonders

"And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which YHVH sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel." (Deut 34:10-12)

"This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years..." (Acts 7:36)

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know..." (Acts 2:22)

The Face of God

"There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom YHVH knew face to face..." (Deut 34:10-11)

"...For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us..." (Heb. 9:24)

The New Testament teaches that Jesus was:

• the promised prophet like Moses
• the prophet from among the brethren just like Moses
• the 'right-hand' man of God just like Moses
• the ruler and deliverer just like Moses
• the worker of signs and wonders just like Moses
• the mediator of the New Covenant just as Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant
• and the one whom YHVH knew 'face to face', just like Moses.

* "Apart from the many depictions of God where he is himself endued with power or glory, there are several passages in which one of his human representatives takes on the same divine attributes. Two examples may be cited. The first is Moses at Mount Sinai, who descends from the mountain quite literally glowing with the radiance of God..." Westminster Theological Journal  68 (2006): 51-69 , Biblical Studies, Illumination and Investiture, The Royal Significance of the Tree of Wisdom in Genesis 3. William N Wilder.