December 5th

By the time Moses arrived on the scene to lead God’s people, the people had forgotten most of God’s promises. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob struggled to remember God’s story and struggled to understand God’s plan. They needed someone to speak to them on God’s behalf. To remind them of God’s story. To reveal to them God’s plan. They needed a leader. A messenger. A prophet.

God selected Moses to be that prophet. He relayed God’s truth and promises to His people. God spoke to Moses and Moses spoke to the people. Moses heard God’s words in private and then spoke His words in public. 

Most of Moses’ words to the people addressed their current needs and struggles. But in Deuteronomy 18, we read a prophecy about something that would not be fulfilled until Jesus came.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Through Moses, God announced to the people this promise of a coming prophet. That prophet would speak God words in such a powerful way that everyone who hears would be judged by them. For many generations, the Jewish leaders who studied the Scriptures remembered this promise. They looked for someone who might fulfill this promise. Someone they referred to as the Prophet.

Fast forward to the time of John the Baptist. When they heard him preach, the people asked him, “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No. (John 1:21)”

Then, after hearing Jesus’ teaching, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet. (John 7:40)”

These references to the Prophet are moments of remembrance. The people had read the Scriptures. They knew the words of Moses. They believed that when Moses spoke about a coming Prophet, he was referring to the One who would crush evil and be an everlasting ruler of God’s people. In a way, the coming Prophet would be like Moses…but better. 

The thing that made Moses so special was his ability to bridge the distance between God and His people. He was able to enter God’s presence and approach God’s holiness in a way that the people could not. Moses’ face even had a glow, or shine, that set him apart. When the people were with Moses, they were very close to the glory of God. 

When Jesus was born as a baby, the world would again have all that Moses was and more…much more.

Take a moment now to humbly and boldly approach God’s presence. Coming into God’s presence was not possible for thousands of years. It was not possible until God came near to us. Being in God’s presence is a gift. It is an invitation. Come near to Him now and simply bow. Bow in His presence and let Him speak.