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 whom 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 [7]. 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.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Has God prompted someone to
speak into your life? What are they saying?
No comments:
Post a Comment