Moses was the Father of the nation Israel, and one of the greatest believers of all time. His story is certainly the most
unusual of all of the Old Testement heroes, as depicted in the serveral movies and televison specials over the
years.
And his service to God is not ended with his death, for he will return, with Elijah, during the Tribulation,
to declare the coming of Christ. The two of them, according to John's Book of Revelation, will be murdered in
the streets of Jerusalem, and that crime will be aired world wide on television.
No other person has ever been priviledged, as Moses was, to commune openly with God, speak directly to Him, and receive
instructions on a daily basis. During his tenure as the leader of the recalcitrant Jews of the exodus generation He
demonstrated, as God pointed out, that he was the humblest man on earth, a charactaristic which God favors above all
things.
At the time of his birth the pharaoh had heard of the "deliverer", the Jew who would come to liberate the Jewish slaves
from Egypt, and to quell the expectations of the Israelites, he had all male babies killed. Josabel, Moses' mother,
placed her infant in a basket and cast it adrift on the river, leaving his destiny to Jehovah, in order to save the
babies' life. Perhaps that same day, an Egyptian princess, Hatshetsup, discovered the infant and rescued him from the
Nile.
The ensuing tale of Moses' life is one of almost fairy tale proportions. Physically, he was a spectacular specimen; tall,
muscular, atheletic, graceful, handsome. He excelled in every undertaking, and in so doing, always left a scowl on the
face of his half brother, Tutmose, the illigitimate son of his adopted mother. The two boys grew up together, competing
for the attentions of a doting mother, a dowager queen. Moses never failed to win, at anything.
He also won the heart of a beautiful princess, Nephrateri, a contest that left Tutmose, his rival, seeting with envy.
As he matured Moses honed his natural abilities to become a master builder, triumphant general, musician and author. One can
feel a certain compassion for his hapless brother, though skilled in many endevors, who could never seem to best the
boy that had been fished from the great river.
The testemony to Moses' greatness lies in the fact that he threw aside this promise of glory, ruling the greatest nation on
earth at that time, to heed the call of Jehovah. His life was one of wandering and constant strife, for the Jews he liberated
stand as a monument to bull-headed stubborness, and Moses took the brunt of their recalcitrance for 40 long years.
Only three men in their generation, Moses, Caleb and Joshua, emerged as great men. The rest, including the ignoble brother of
Moses, Aaron, have faded into the dusty pages of history.
One of the most important principles that comes of Moses' life, for me, is the reality of doctrine in the soul, as over
against miracles and wonderous signs. Although God showed the exodus generation many astounding things, the only substantial
relationship with God was proven to be His Word in our souls. Peter, in generations yet future to Moses, also made a point
of this fact, for near the end of his life he marveled that he had seen the transfiguration, yet only God's Word in his
soul was the light that showed him the glory of God.
A second I have already alluded to, his humility.
The lives of every great man in the bible are there for us to learn from, benefit from, and Moses is the landmark of the
christian's requirement that he be humble. This virtue is the most critical attainment of the believer, in so far as his
relationship with God is concerned. Needless to say, humility is not easily come by, and even harder to sustain, for one
tendency that comes of learning about God is the presumption of superiority in all things spiritual. This can lead to a
subtle influence that eventually destroys our relationship with God, as the life of Moses bears evidence.
Before he was allowed to enter the land, Moses committed a great sin, compromising the Righteousness of God at the 2nd
Meribah, and he paid dearly for his gaffe. So did Aaron, his brother. God led them into the wilderness, shortly thereafter,
and commanded Aaron to disrobe, take off the priestly garments of the preisthood, and standing naked, God took his life.
Some time afterward, as they were preparing to eneter the promised land, Moses was called to a high place and was never
seen again.
The archangel Michael and Satan are said to have fought over the body of Moses, but Michael was triumphant. No man knows
where Moses died, nor what became of his body.