A Prophet Like Unto Moses

Synopsis

As Moses' life draws to its close, he makes one of the most striking predictions in the Pentateuch: 'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.' This promise looked beyond any single successor to a Prophet uniquely like Moses — one who would speak with God face to face, mediate a covenant, and deliver God's people from bondage — fulfilled completely only in Christ, whom Peter and Stephen both explicitly identify as this promised Prophet in the New Testament. Moses himself, for all his greatness, died outside the promised land because of one act of unbelief at Meribah, buried by God Himself in an unmarked grave, so that no cult of personality could form around even so great a leader. The text pointedly notes, 'there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face' — until, that is, One greater than Moses came, who did not merely see God's glory but was Himself 'the express image of His person.' Moses' entire life and ministry, magnificent as it was, was designed to typify and then yield to the ministry of the true Prophet, Priest, and King it foreshadowed.