Moses, A Type of Christ
The second verse of the third chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews records another testimony the Spirit of God gave concerning Moses. He was the meekest man on earth, and God also testified of him as being faithful in all His house. Moses, again, was a type of Christ in faithfulness. “Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God” (Heb 3:2-4).
Dearly beloved, we are to put on Christ so His beauty, meekness, and faithfulness will manifest in us. These traits will make us indomitable in the world. This is indescribable strength. This will release the capacity of Christ in our daily life. This will cause us to enter into His rest as we continue to walk in His ways. “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel” (Psa 103:7).
Moses was an example of meekness, faithfulness, courage, and strength. We see his courage and fearlessness exhibited in the courts of Pharaoh. He was not afraid of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us that by faith Moses, “when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (Heb 11:24-28).
Moses was an example of a leader who lived a life of sacrifice for his people. Though he had the opportunity to enjoy a life of royalty in the palace of Pharaoh as a prince, he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. He forsook Egypt and Pharaoh’s palace and chose to be faithful to God who had called him to be a deliverer.
“This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt” (Acts 7:37-39).
Moses, A Selfless Intercessor and Bold Messenger of God
Moses loved the people of God, and he would stop at nothing to protect and defend them. He was even willing to sacrifice his own eternal destiny to rescue them. He was again in that respect a type of Christ. The thirty-second chapter of the Book of Exodus presents an extraordinary intercessory prayer of Moses for the children of Israel after they sinned grievously against God and were on the verge of destruction:
“And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them” (Exo 32:31-34).
He was a selfless intercessor and a bold messenger of God sent to confront Pharaoh, the king of the nation that held His people in bondage. This was Moses, of the Hebrew slaves, who killed an Egyptian and ran away from Egypt, who had come back, and had the audacity to walk into the palace of Pharaoh and demand that the whole nation of slaves be released with immediate effect. Can you see how bold and confident in God this man Moses was?
God had called him from the backside of the Midian desert, where he kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. After much hesitation, Moses was convinced by God to return to Egypt and carry out the assignment of bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt. He returned to Egypt forty years later and appeared before a new Pharaoh, for the old one had died. However, the new Pharaoh must have known Moses, since they were probably brought up together in the palace before he became a fugitive, wanted by the king for murder.
The first thing we read in Exodus is this fugitive stepping into the palace without showing respect for His Majesty, making one bold demand after another, and laying down one dreadful plague after another. Hear how the Book of Exodus describes the first encounter:
“And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
“And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
“And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword” (Exo 5:1-3).
Moses stepped into the court of Pharaoh, not as a normal person, but as a god in the house of Pharaoh. This confidence came as a result of speaking to and hearing from God. He had been with God and spoken to Him. He was reluctant at first, but had listened to the voice of God, and knew that God was with him. For God later said unto him, “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet” (Exo 7:1).
He went before Pharaoh with the confidence of a messenger of the Almighty God and did not fear the anger of the king but insisted upon what God had commanded. He told Pharaoh: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness” (Exo 5:1).