The Death of Moses
When the saga of Moses comes to an end with the prophet's death, the narrative voice in Deuteronomy 34:9-11 states: "Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the LORD knew face to face." Were the prophets that came after Moses equal to his stature? In determining the answer to this question, by researching this topic I will discuss and look at the entirety of Moses' life as recorded in the Scripture. There are certainly many unique aspects of Moses' life that were not duplicated in the lives of any of the subsequent prophets.
For example, Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince. There is noting in the Bible to indicate that he knew of his Israelite heritage until adulthood. True, his own mother was recruited by the Egyptian princess to nurse him through infancy, but there is little to suggest that Moses would have retained any memory or inclination of his heritage from this period (Neufeld, 1993). Yet, despite his acculturation as an Egyptian, he was able to not only accept, but rejoice in his relationship to the
Israelite slaves of Egypt. This is certainly a unique characteristic of
Moses' life that was not duplicated.
Furthermore, no other prophet, save Moses, had the experience of meeting God "face to face" as Moses did on Mt. Sinai with the burning bush.
However, the Bible does clearly indicate that other prophets "spoke" to
God and received guidance in their own way. As this suggests, it is also possible to argue that there were prophets after Moses equal to him in their relationship to God. This stance is supported, somewhat, in the biblical verses that describe how Moses felt on this topic of shared responsibility for leading the people.
These verses describe how two men in the Hebrew camp, Eldad and Medad, felt that the spirit of God came upon them and they began to prophesize within the camp. A young man ran and told Moses what these two men were doing. Joshua, son of Nun and minister to Moses reacted quickly and implored Moses to forbid the men from doing this. However, Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them." After which,
Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp (Numbers 11:24-30).
As this suggests, Moses, certainly, had no qualms about supposing that
The Hebrew Scriptures Truth, scripture, and revelation are three concepts that the Bible is based on. Truth is defined as the way that things are or should be. It can relate to reality or wisdom. Truth can be communicated in a variety of ways. Literally, which is facts and figures and can be shown in math and science.
the redemption of the innocent. His heart and mind lay in the correct place by leaving the
Levi came running out to meet Adam, when he neared the house, and hugged him like he had been gone a year. While Adam was sleeping a man rode by on horse and told the Cooper family that he had seen the boy dead. Everyone was happy to see Adam but still not in an all out cheerful mood. Moses’ body was lying in a bed upstairs and Adam went and paid his respects.
caught, they were taken and placed in a camp, and it was the beginning of
In the glorious Eighteenth Dynasty, when Egypt became for the first time a world power, a young Pharaoh ascended the throne about 1375 B.C., who first called himself Amenhotep (IV) like his father, but later on changed his name to Akhenaten (1370-1358 B.C.). This king undertook to force upon his subjects a new religion, one contrary to their ancient traditions and to all their familiar habits. It was a strict monotheism, the first attempt of its kind in the history of the world, as far as we know; and religious intolerance, which was foreign to antiquity before this and for long after, was inevitably born with the belief in one god. But Amenhotep’s reign lasted only for seventeen years; very soon after his death in 1358 B.C. the new religion was swept away and the memory of the heretic king proscribed. From the ruins of his new capital, which he had built and dedicated to his god, and from the inscription in the rock tombs belonging to it, we derive the little knowledge we possess of him.1
Living each day with compassion, love, and understanding. It is a simple request.
The most prominent agent and unified elements of slave spirituals, however, was the “call-and-response” format, as it argued for the opportunity for the emancipation of both the individual and the collective “group” of slaves. In “Go Down, Moses,” the first and third lines of each stanza would have been sung by a leader, and a group would respond in unison with the phrase “let my people go.” This addition is crucial to the format of an African spiritual and a convention that can be specifically ascribed to the African-American slave tradition. The profound messages, hidden through storytelling and single word cues, made spirituals more conversational and moment-oriented than songs that were expressed through conventional sheet music. This is
The spies went during the time of the first grape harvest, and brought back a branch with "one cluster of grapes" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 23), together with some pomegranates and figs. They tell Moses that the land is rich, and the walls of the towns are unfortified. However, while Joshua and Caleb argue that the land is abundant and is "floweth with milk and honey" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 27), the other spies say that strong and evil men inhabit it, which causes the Israelites to want to return to Egypt. The Lord talks to Moses and says he will kill all of the Israelites. Moses pleads with God, saying that others would think badly of God for leading his people to the wilderness and abandoning them there. Herbert reveals this reference very early in the poem: "I did towards Canaan draw, but now I am/Brought back to the Red Sea, the sea of shame."
Paradigm shifts has changed the focus of leadership from the individual to “a relational process.” I think this change was necessary to acknowledge the fact that leaders generally have a team of supporters who help them achieve their goals. It is good that no one person gets all the credit for the effort of an entire group of dedicated yet unrecognized people. I believe that people’s underappreciation of these “backstage workers” contributes to the reduction of their roles and status. The term “followers” is generally neutral, but it can also have a slightly negative connotation. Because of this, I support that people are beginning to call them “constituents” or “co-creators”
The Book of Exodus begins hundreds of years later once Joseph and his brothers have all died. This leaves a void in leadership over Israel and is eventually subdued to Moses. He is a Hebrew boy who starts off as a slave, and eventually encounters God through the burning bush where he is convinced to assume his role as leader of the Israelites. With the help of his brother Aaron, they face controversy with the Pharaoh of Egypt trying to rid their people and lead them to a land full of prosperity, which God has promised. It is through Moses leadership that they find freedom and religious conformity as a community. Although Moses is initially timid, he consequently develops the willpower of a traditional hero through attaining a personal relationship with God and his people through the breaking of the clay tablets along with using the power God has given him through his staff to intimidate the Pharaoh and shows his urgency and pride as leader of a great nation.
“And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” (Exodus 19:17-20, Macarthur, 1997) In the Sinai wilderness, there lies a holy, sacred mountain, Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa), “the mountain of Moses.” This sacred mountain, once made the Israelites tremble with fear at the site of thick smoke and the loud sound of trumpets at the descending of the Lord. The Lord spoke with Moses at the top of Mount Sinai while this thick smoke created by the hand of the Lord covered the mountain, prevailing the Israelites from gazing upon the holiness of the Lord and anyone who touched the base of the mountain would die. Apart from the graveness of what would happen to the Israelites if they were to disobey the Lord, Mount Sinai became this “sacred” place, a holy ground, where Moses (who was the son of a Hebrew slave, born in Egypt and called by the name of the Lord to deliver the Israelites out of exile to the promised land) was once in the presence of the Almighty, Jealous, Holy and All-Powerful Yahweh. Standing in the presence of the Lord, Moses received the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were two stone tablets, breathed to life by the spoken word of the Lord, a symbolic covenant to the Israelites from the Lord. From a biblical, theological perspective, Mo...
Even though Moses, was raised as an Egyptian, he knew that he was truly Hebrew. After seeing an Egyptian taskmaster cruelly beating a Hebrew, Moses became so furious that he murdered the Egyptian. Fearing that the Pharaoh would find out what he had done, Moses fled to the wilderness, “the eternal safe retreat of outcasts from ancient society and of those in revolt against authority.” Moses found himself in the Sinai Desert amongst other ...
2.The second coming of Christ. With His second coming we will be changed from being unholy into holy men, with unhindered access to God's presence.
see the himself and the world as they truly are. The pain and suffering endured
In today’s society people are constantly torn between the battle of listening to God or choosing to run away from following his rules by allowing themselves to be distracted by everyday life activities. In the story of Jonah, his mindset and actions throughout the story is a prime reflection of people within today’s society who are torn between God and their daily activities. Jonah’s personality and in the form that the story is told makes the story of Jonah intriguing. Jonah is extremely stubborn and unlike many of the prophets before him he is scared to take upon the responsibilities that come with becoming a prophet. The manner in which the story is told is intriguing because it is unlike any others that are found in the Bible.