The Doctrine of Moses

Written and compiled by Gary Kukis

These studies are designed for believers in Jesus Christ only. If you have exercised faith in Christ, then you are in the right place. If you have not, then you need to heed the words of our Lord, Who said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, but shall be have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world so that He should judge the world, but so that the world shall be saved through Him. The one believing [or, trusting] in Him is not judged, but the one not believing has already been judged, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son of God." (John 3:16–18). "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father except through [or, by means of] Me!" (John 14:6).

Every study of the Word of God ought to be preceded by a naming of your sins to God. This restores you to fellowship with God (1John 1:8–10). If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). If there are people around, you would name these sins silently. If there is no one around, then it does not matter if you name them silently or whether you speak aloud.

This was taken from Lessons #003, #021, #023, #033, #044 of the Exodus Study (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Topics
Dividing up Moses' Life	Moses: His Conversion and His Spiritual Growth	Moses and His Life as Typical of Jesus Christ
Moses' Current Spiritual Maturity Level	Moses in Hollywood	Contrasting Moses and Jesus
Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines

Preface:	This is just the beginning of this doctrine. I need to add in some other doctrines as well.

Moses' life; the big picture:

Moses' life conveniently divides up into three 40 year periods.
Dividing up Moses' Life
Time Period	What Happened	References
First 40 years	Moses lived in Egypt and was brought up in the Pharaoh's palace, for the first 40 years. It appears that he was raised to become a pharaoh.	Exodus 2:1–15a
For the first couple years, Moses lives in Goshen until he is weaned from his mother.
Interim Event: he kills an Egyptian taskmaster and flees for his life. Exodus 2:15
Second 40 years	He will then spend 40 years in Midian, a stranger in a strange land, having been guided by God to a well, where he met 7 daughters trying to water their father's flock. He married one of those daughters and had two sons.	Exodus 2:15b–4:19
Interim Event: God calls Moses to return to Egypt and to lead God's people out. Exodus 3:1–4:17
Third 40 years	Moses will lead the people of Israel into the desert wilderness between Egypt and Canaan, where they will live for 40 years. They do not take Canaan because of their negative volition.	Exodus 4:20 through Deut. 34:12
At this point in the Exodus narrative, the second of the first two 40 year periods of time is almost complete, and Moses will begin the third period of 40 years. During this 3rd period of 40 years, he will return to Egypt and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 2 has covered a lot of ground. We follow Moses, from his birth to the birth of his first son, a period of about 45–50 years (Exodus 2:1 to Exodus 3:1 is a period of about 80 years).

Moses: His Conversion and His Spiritual Growth: I don't know that we know when Moses became a believer in the Revealed God; nor do we know when or where he experienced spiritual growth.

It is possible that Moses left Egypt as an unbeliever. Although Joseph's bones were a witness to the Hebrew people and one of the things in their life which they associated with the Revealed God and the Land of Promise, Moses had not been brought up under that environment. Instead, he was brought up in the Pharaoh's palace, very likely cut off from his birth mother after the age two (or so), and would have had no reason to have believed in the Revealed God.

Actually, we do not know if there were many believers among the Egyptians (some will join the Hebrew people when they leave Egypt). Based upon what is coming in the future, there appear to be very few Egyptian believers at this time. Things were quite different 400 years previous; there were quite a few believers when Joseph was prime minister of Egypt (I base this upon their attitude towards Jacob). Many of the Egyptians of Moses' era were probably evangelized through the mighty works of God.

At the same time, it appears that almost all of the Hebrews at this time and at the time of the exodus believed in the Revealed God. Here is how we know this: when the Passover is instituted, the Hebrews had to splatter blood on their door sills to keep their firstborn safe from God—generally speaking, this is a ritual that you will participate in if you are a believer and you believe the words of God.

I have thought that it is very possible that Moses was influenced by a Hebrew teacher. Certainly he was exposed, when in the palace, to a variety of teachers and a variety of subjects. A Hebrew teacher would have been no different than any other teacher, despite being a slave. He would have had areas of expertise, and my guess is (this is conjecture), Moses may have had a Hebrew teacher and he may have spoken of the God of the Hebrews. Something had to have taken Moses out among to Hebrew people. Whether his knowledge of his relationship to them was all he had, or if he knew more, we don't know.

In any case, I think that it is very likely that this priest in Midian is a believer in Yehowah, as were his daughters.

Did Moses believe at this time, under their influence? Or did Moses believe in the God of the Hebrews in Egypt? We really don't know. However, it seems most like that Moses experienced spiritual growth while in Midian with this family. When Moses speaks to the Burning Bush, he is clearly a believer in the Revealed God (this is 40 years into the future from where we are now in this narrative). It seems reasonable that Moses experience some spiritual growth while he is with this family (otherwise, why else would God guide Moses to this particular place?).

Throughout the Bible, God tends to use prepared people. For anyone of importance in Scripture, there appears to have been a time of preparation, which preparation must involve the teaching of the existing Scriptures.

Reuel is another example of a believer in Jesus Christ with a public ministry which had practically no response. This priest had a congregation of eight—his seven daughters and Moses. Apparently, he had been unable to even evangelize the shepherds in his periphery. He had one convert outside of his family that we are aware of; a spiritual failure by anyone's standards today. Yet it was his witness to Moses and his teaching to Moses which gave Israel its greatest leader. "Who has despised the day of small things?" (Zech. 4:10) Moses' late conversion may have been one of the reasons that God spared him judgement for killing the Egyptian. Our sins from the past are wiped out once we become believers in Jesus Christ. This in no way made what Moses did right nor does it mean that we should set free prisoners who believe in Jesus Christ. Such men often have a ministry to others who are also in jail.

To be sure, we do not know many of the things which I have just written. They are speculation based upon logic. I do believe that this is a priest to the True God; and I also believe that he had an influence on Moses. Did Moses grow spiritually under his direction? Let me put that in a different way, which may help to answer this question: do you believe that Moses randomly ran into this family when running from Egypt?

Moses, like many men of the Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, Joshua, David, Solomon), is a type of Christ. This means that there are remarkable parallels between the person and history of Moses which look forward to the Person of Jesus Christ.
Moses and His Life as Typical of Jesus Christ
Moses	Jesus Christ
During the time that Moses was born, there was a ruler who was intent on killing all of the Jewish male children (because the Jewish people were multiplying too fast). Exodus 1:12–22	Similarly, during the time of the birth of our Lord, there was a ruler intent on killing all of the children of the Jews to prevent their King from being born. Exodus 2:16
Moses had two natures. He was born a Hebrew; however, he was adopted into the royal family of the ruling class of Egypt. Exodus 2:1–10	The Lord has two natures: one fully human and one of divine royalty. As believers, we have a common nature, but, upon exercising faith in Jesus Christ, we are adopted into the royal family of God. Philip. 2:6–8
Moses' Jewish background parallels the Lord's human nature; and his royal background as an Egypt parallels the Lord's divine nature.
Moses will take the side of the Jews against their Egyptian masters and act as their deliverer and savior. Exodus 5–12	Jesus will take the side of man before God, taking on Himself the sins of mankind, acting as man's Deliverer and Savior. 1Peter 2:24 Rom. 3:21–31
Moses acted as the mediator between God and man (the Exodus generation). Exodus 32:7–14	Jesus is the Mediator between God and man. 1Tim. 2:5 Heb. 8:6
Moses will stand before God to protect the people of Jacob.	Jesus stands before God to protect those who have believed in Him.
Moses so well understood the plan of God for the Jewish people that he spoke for God in the book of Deuteronomy.	Jesus understood the plan of God for the Jewish people and for all people; and the words which He spoke were the words of God. John 3:34 12:49
As we have seen in the book of Genesis, the study of typology is a marvelous field, and one of the many proofs of the divine nature of Scripture. Any person with a prominent place in Scripture nearly always is a type of Christ; and in very unusual ways. In the 3 examples given above, we have a parallel of events, the hypostatic union, and the purpose of Jesus Christ acting as our Savior. These parallels rarely involve trivial similarities (such as, they both wore sandals, they were both Cleveland Indian fans, etc.). Many times, the parallels are quite clever and not always immediately apparent.
The reason that we have the science of typology is, the Divine Author of Scripture is God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He includes information from the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, which is a shadow of things to come.
A more complete version of Moses as a type of Christ will be given part way through the book of Exodus.
Top of the Page	Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines

When Moses first stood before Pharaoh, he had to have enjoyed some spiritual growth. Is there evidence of this?
I have been claiming that Moses is at some level of spiritual maturity; but he will put up some opposition to God in this chapter. How to explain?
Moses' Current Spiritual Maturity Level
1.	It is logical that Moses has attained some level of spiritual maturity as a believer in the Revealed God. God would not have randomly plucked Moses out of the 2 million Hebrews who are available.

2.	An axiom of the spiritual life is, God uses prepared men. It is a mistake to believe that God would choose unprepared people to do the heavy lifting in the Angelic Conflict.

3.	As we have discussed, Moses had to have already believed in the Revealed God and then developed some spiritual maturity.

4.	What seems likely is, he learned Bible doctrine (spiritual information) from his father-in-law, who was a priest.

5.	Although there is no specific verse stating, and Reuel taught Moses the Word of God; Moses, by the time he has gotten to this point, knows the background of his people, which means, he knows at least portions of the book of Genesis.

1)	I lean towards this as the most logical explanation, given that Reuel appears to be a legitimate priest and that he is kept on by Moses in the future as an important advisor. Moses would do this only if he respected the wisdom of his father-in-law.

2)	Respecting the wisdom of your father-in-law suggests, on the part of Moses, that he believed Reuel to have divine wisdom.

3)	Also, Moses running into this man in the first place was not some random event. I believe that this is right in line with the plan of God. Another spiritual axiom of life: there are no random events in the spiritual realm. If you want to know the Word of God, then God will lead you in that direction. If you truly want spiritual information, God will provide that for you (this is different from wanting information which backs up what you already believe).

4)	God always uses prepared men; so it is reasonable to assume that Moses was prepared for his mission during this time in Midian (Moses spent 40 years in Midian).

6.	We have also discussed the possibility that Moses learned under an ancient Hebrew scholar (s) when still in the Pharaoh's palace. This is also conjecture, but it is reasonable conjecture.

1)	Moses would have been well-educated as he was in line to become a pharaoh.

2)	Moses would have known about the peoples round about; and he may have had a Hebrew teacher for some of this.

3)	There is no reason to assume that Moses, born a Hebrew, was ignorant of that information; and people in the Hebrew community would have known this as well. So, if Moses had a Hebrew teacher, it is logical that they would have used their Scriptures at that time (the book of Genesis) to teach him.

7.	Even though Moses being taught by Reuel and/or by a Hebrew teacher is conjecture; it is very reasonable conjecture.

8.	The reason we know that Moses knows something about his familial history is, when God speaks of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6), Moses does not ask, "Now, who are those guys exactly?"

1)	Now, you may object, saying, everyone knows their ancestors.

2)	Do you know the names of your ancestors from the 1700 and 1800's? Moses knows his.

3)	And, let me point out the obvious: Moses was raised by an Egyptian family; not by a Hebrew family. So the knowledge which he clearly has did not come with the territory (that is, Moses does not know Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob simply because he is a Hebrew man).

9.	God speaks of giving the land of Canaan to the Hebrews; Moses does not say, "Now why would You do that, God? I think everyone would be fine just living here in Goshen, as long as Pharaoh sets us free." We know that, if Moses has an objection, then he is going to raise it. We have seen that in the previous chapter. But he never raises and objection to Israel settling in Canaan. Exodus 3:8, 17

10.	Also, Moses appears to have no objections to Israel getting out of Egypt to worship their God. He seems to take it for granted that they worship a very specific God; not one of the Egyptian gods. Exodus 3:18

11.	Moses has no questions about his ancestors or about Canaan; and when he talks to the elders of Jerusalem, they seem to understand these things as givens as well. Exodus 4:30–31

12.	Moses is clearly not shy about voicing objections, but none of them are about his ancestors or about the land of Canaan. Moses does not say, "Now, who is Jacob?" Nor does he say, "What is Your obsession with Canaan?"

13.	There will be one person who seems to have some opposition to all of this: Zippora, Moses' wife of 40 years. When she is required to circumcise her son, she is none too happy about it and she clearly expresses her displeasure. Exodus 4:24–26

14.	Now, you might think there is a bit of a contradiction. I am claiming that Moses has some spiritual chops; but, when God tells him what to do, Moses suddenly says, "I am not capable of doing those things. I am not a good speaker. You need to find somebody else, God."

15.	In real life, we have seen the athlete or celebrity who is converted to Christianity, and, a few days later, he is making pitches for Jesus. This is not God's plan. This is not a good plan. Recall that Jesus prepared His disciples for at least 3 years, and that was a crash course, teaching them day and night. When they began their ministries, they were well-prepared (but not without faults).

16.	Here is what is going on: Moses has the spiritual information; and he has believed most of it. But now God is putting him to the test; now it is time for Moses to walk over the hot coals, as it were, and he expresses some natural reticence. That is pretty normal, because Moses has not had to apply that level of doctrine before. There are times when you cannot move ahead spiritually until God throws something in your way that you must deal with by applying Bible doctrine. You have to apply the spiritual skills which God has given you. In other word, the doctrine is in your human spirit, God puts a situation in front of you that requires the application of that doctrine; and you move ahead spiritually when you do that. When you use them and see that they work, you develop further confidence in God and His plan.

17.	To sum up: Moses has a level of spiritual maturity; God is now going to require him to apply this doctrine at a level that Moses has not operated at before.

18.	Moses will continue to grow spiritually during his next 40 years. His teacher at that time will be God...and he recorded his lessons in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses will interpret and apply Bible doctrine for the next generation of Israel.
Essentially what I have done here is taken information about Moses which we clearly know and place him into a time and place, assuming that he knows this information and believes it. He behaves exactly as we would expect him to.
Top of the Page	Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines

Moses in Hollywood: On a related matter, there was a television series on the Old and New Testaments; and part of this series was about Moses leading the exodus of Hebrews out of Egypt. That sounded interesting to me; and the creators were passed off as a new voice for God in Hollywood.

I tuned in, and saw Moses. As we have studied, Moses talked to God. So, the actor playing Moses—not a particularly big guy—played Moses as a nutcase. He talked to God; so, the guy must have been nutty, right? That was the interpretation this actor gave to Moses. It was pathetic and I could not watch it. Moses talked to God, but he was not a nutcase. He was a man who was a genius in many areas; and he had been trained to be a leader in the finest schools that Egypt had to offer (private tutoring in the palace).

I tried to watch, but after 30 minutes or so, I could not watch it any more. How could someone get Moses any more wrong? He was not a goofy man from another planet who heard voices. He was called by God and given one of the most difficult assignments that any man could have. No way does a nutball from another planet lead Israel out of Egypt.

Although Moses is a type of Christ; there are times in the New Testament when he is presented in contrast to Jesus. Moses is often used to represent the Law, whereas Jesus is our salvation through grace.
The ESV; capitalized is used below.
Contrasting Moses and Jesus
Moses and the Law	Jesus and Salvation
Judgement; associated with the Law.	Grace, associated with redemption.
John 7:19a "Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law."	John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Moses turns the life-giving waters into blood, killing all the life in it. Exodus 7:20–21	Jesus turns water into wine, turning life into a grand celebration. John 2:1–11
Moses, who brings the Law to the people, brings with it judgement of the people.	Jesus brings relief to man from the judgment of the Law. We are judged by the Law and found wanting. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
There is no freedom in the Law. Acts 13:38–39 (Paul is speaking) "Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this Man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."	Freedom comes by means of Jesus Christ. John 8:36 (Jesus is speaking) "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Gal. 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (The yoke of slavery is subjection oneself to the Law.)
At best, the Law of Moses brings knowledge of sin. Rom. 3:19–20 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.	The righteousness of God comes not through the Law but through Jesus Christ. Rom. 3:21–22a But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Gal. 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Gal. 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." (Deut. 27:26)	Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— (Deut. 21:23)
Therefore, we are condemned by the Law, which is associated with Moses.	We are redeemed by the Lord.
To many believers in the first century, Moses represented the Law and Jesus our freedom from penalty of the Law.

It is the same God Who will give the Hebrew people the Law through Moses (future to us in this narrative); and Who will also take upon Himself the form of man and walk among us (John 1:14). Both Law and grace proceed from God; and we have been given the free will to determine which of those is central to our lives.

Topics	Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines

Addendum

The Abbreviated Doctrine of
Chapter Outline	Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines

Bibliography

Topics	Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines
Kukis Homepage	Doctrines