Day 56: Deuteronomy 16, 17 and 18

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

Moses’ life and ministry were coming to a close. He had led the people of Israel for forty years, confronting Pharaoh on behalf of his enslaved brothers and sisters, serving as the agent through which God gave the Law to his people, and interceding for the nation. Now his work was almost finished. He would soon transfer leadership to Joshua.

The people must have been wondering, Who will speak to God on our behalf? How will God communicate with us now that Moses is leaving us? God reassures Moses, and Moses reassures the people: 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 (18:15).

Although this role would be temporarily fulfilled by Joshua, Moses was not speaking about one specific person. Samuel Rolles Driver (1846-1914), Anglican Divine and Hebrew scholar, writes that Moses was referring to a permanent office rather than a particular individual [1]. As the need came up, God would raise up a prophet who would speak to the people on his behalf.

In the first century, the writer of Matthew went to great lengths to identify Jesus with Moses (Herod’s order to kill the baby boys, the Sermon on the Mount) and reveal that Moses-like prophet as none other than Jesus Christ himself.

Is there someone speaking into your life on God's behalf?

[1] S. R. Driver. Deuteronomy. “The International Critical Commentary.” (Edinburgh, T & T Clark, n.d.), 227.