Moses In Two Parts

Post 246

In the previous section of topical work published into my first book titled: “The Uncommon Christian Walk”, beginning at post 227 On Tongues (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-tongues.html), I presented the concept that Moses was the Type of Christ, and the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt is a road map of our Christian faith as revealed by the apostle Paul;

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” I Corinthians 10:11

I suggested, but did not yet made clear, that this Old Testament roadmap is a second rut in the twin wagon tracks of our vehicle of faith to help us clearly find The Way Of The Lord which has long been overgrown and without that second rut to help identify the right way, we have run off of our New Testament Christian rut and are now following game trails and natural topography thinking it is the path to diligently follow. In this section I wish to develop that concept in depth, for reasons I will make clear at the end.

There is one very large obstacle in that OT rut (*1) of law, which causes many to stumble at trying to use that path as an assist to tracking (confirming) our own NT path of liberty; that obstacle is that Moses died without entering into the Promised Land. If he were actually representing the Christ as specifically as I claim, then this problem must be resolved.

Another large obstacle in that OT path is the fate of the first generation Exodus people who were baptized into the faith through the Red Sea then followed Moses as Christ through the wilderness, but at the last minute refused to cross the Jordan River and take the Promised Land due to fear. In my interpretation of these events; “Did that generation then end up in Hell?”

If the two paths are the united tracks of the same Wagon of Faith in Christ Jesus that I claim they are, we must clearly and acceptably resolve these questions:

* * *

Why did Moses as the Christ not make it into the Promised Land?

It seems unquestionable that my overlay of the faith onto this history is obviously flawed;

“Surely Christ is not kept from the kingdom!”

But let's explore this in detail:

“(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth)” Numbers 12:3.

That’s reasonably meek, wouldn’t you say?

And as only a slightly less important part of the narration to our topic, God said this of him when Aaron and Miriam challenged his unique divinely appointed leadership (Numbers 12).

In fact Moses was so meek that when God called him to return to Egypt and rescue his people, Moses asked for a spokesman to speak for him and God gave him Aaron as his Levi priest unto the people (Exodus 4:10-16). This “spokesman of the spokesman of God” is a fascinating study I would love to complete here with you but we must move on.

At the challenge of Aaron and Miriam, God affirmed without question that Moses was his only and specific spokesman who had no equal. All this overlays perfectly onto the Christ (Matthew 11:29, 21:5, I Corinthians 4:21, II Corinthians 10:1).

But as the Christ type, Moses angered God when he disobeyed and struck the rock as he was told to previously (Exodus 17:6), rather than speak to it this time as specifically instructed (Numbers 20:7-8);

“And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them (*2)” Numbers 20:11-12.

Now if you’re like me, you must quietly think that God seems a bit excessively harsh on Moses for this. But even more, this seems to break the otherwise obvious Christ overlay prophecy of dying once (Romans 6:10, John 18:14) for the people in the first time the rock was representationally struck.

Moses was kept from not only entering in himself, but because of this he was not allowed to bring that congregation into the land of promise; clearly there is something very significant here!

So stepping forward a layer (or in my analogy: “Jumping to the other parallel track”); Did Jesus the Christ bring his generation into the Kingdom of Heaven that John the Baptist declared was at hand (Matthew 3:1-2)? No, he died without accomplishing that job.  

Why did Jesus die before accomplishing that job?

If accurately representing the Christ, what did Moses say was the reason?

“And the LORD was angry with me for your sakes (1558), saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it” Deuteronomy 1:37-38.

Sakes 1558 galal; from 1556; a circumstance (as rolled around); only used adverbially, on account of:-- because of, for (sake).

Moses seems to be blaming the people for his own failure, but how does that help the sakes (Leviticus 26:45) of the people? Moses told us that God said it has something to do with Joshua. 

We tend to want to end the first thought at the period and begin the next sentence as an alternate plan, but this is not so. The reason why God was angry with Moses was for their sakes; God’s anger refused to let Moses lead them in and gave that job to Joshua. This is the benefit God was declaring.  

But how does that add benefit to their sakes?

We find the answer only after we first understand why Jesus died without accomplishing the job;

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” John 10:17-18. (Did God cause Moses to strike the rock after telling him to speak to it? A very deep question that aligns with the free-will/Divine sovereignty debate.)

“I am the good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” John 10:11.

Jesus’ death, without accomplishing the job of leading them in, was his own doing for the sake of the people that we now know was his atoning sacrifice for our salvation. But now let’s analyze how this transpired:

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying… My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46.

The LORD was literally angry with Jesus for the sake of the people because Jesus literally took our sins upon himself before God, as Moses sinned representationally in the wilderness because of the people’s iniquity (Numbers 20:2-5). The next verses hint at the cause of Moses’ sin;

“…Here now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: …” Numbers 20:10b-11a. (I believe the striking and the number twice is yet prophetic but not as the first striking leads us to think. I will not resolve this shocking mystery until the next section [book]).

I realize it is only conjecture but doesn’t that sound more like the words and actions of an actor than a man uncontrollably angry? I believe that God choreographed this event for a reason, much as the sacrifice event of Abraham’s son. We know the reason but question the motive, but just who really killed Christ? Jesus himself takes the blame, but made it clear that he did nothing except directed by the father (John 5:30, 8:28-29).

I also see that this condition of Moses and Christ is revealed in the first Adam, who with knowledge chose to accept from the hand of his wife her sin of eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6-7). It was the woman to whom the serpent came and encouraged through beguiling reasoning to lust after and eat the fruit (genesis 3:1-5). I believe that in love for her, Adam with knowledge chose to join his wife in her condition rather than remain with God and become separate from her (*3). The scripture makes plain that Eve was beguiled not Adam (Genesis 3:12-13, II Corinthians 11:3), though Adam’s sin was very much still sin of accountable disobedience, as was Moses’, and in affect Jesus’ too, and the price had to be paid in all three cases. This is the meaning of the act of atonement (*4), though Jesus was the actual act that fulfilled the atonement while Adam and Moses were only Types that, while acting in representation, could not fulfill.

As the second Adam (I Corinthians 15:45), Jesus also literally departed from the Father (*5) to join humanity in our condition. Being sinless, Jesus, with knowledge, took upon himself our sin, which we give to him in confession (I John 1:9, Acts 19:18, Romans 10:9-10, etc.) much as Eve gave the fruit to Adam who took it from her with knowledge of what she had done and what it meant (Genesis 3:6,12). That confession includes not only our sin, but that we recognize that by our sin we caused Christ to die for those sins (I John 4:2, Luke 12:8, Matthew 10:32, etc.). And while Adam participated in Eve’s sin to join her, Jesus received our sin to join us.

The complexity of Moses’ burden of sin shows that this “choice” was not simply an uncontrollable act of the will or self-centered thoughts of weariness, but was a resulting passion due to the condition of the people. His sin was indeed because of frustrated (broken hearted) love for them! This is vaguely apparent in the verse describing his action.

Oh how I understand the implied sting it must be to emancipated modern womankind to think of such things in bearing such a burden of responsibility for what she has done to her husband Adam, but is this not EXACTLY the sting that we all, as mankind (Christ’s bride), must fully comprehend we have done to Jesus?! This very comprehension creates true becoming (attractive) humility (Philippians 2:8, Matthew 23:12, Acts 20:19a, I Peter 5:5, James 4:6).

Like the woman who pulls away from such a gender-defined guilt, humanity pulls away from the clear awareness that Jesus had no guilt in the burden that he bore for us. But the very heavy guilt that is ours before giving it to Christ to bear for us is what motivates our deep yearning for him (Genesis 3:16c) because such a price, he willingly paid, is the evidence of his deep love for us! (Romans 5:10a). Is that not what makes every young woman swoon; a strong man willing to suffer a pain that is rightfully hers, to love her that much in spite of her existing flaws that created the pain? (Romans 5:8). Is this not unconsciously why every young woman’s father seems to try to drive away her suitor, as a test of his depth of love for her that can endure through hard times? (Note: it’s not the woman herself driving him away, that is a whole other serious issue today that I will address in a post 249; “The Cinderella Syndrome”).

We know that Jesus did not complete his task of bringing his generation to completion by rescuing them from their enemies as prophesied (Luke 1:68-76, Numbers 10:9, Deuteronomy 20:4, 33:26-29, Isaiah 25:9-10, Isaiah 35:4, 37:33-35, Jeremiah 23:3-6, Ezekiel 34:22-24, Zephaniah 3:16-17, etc. etc.), and this is why the Jews still today so boldly claim that Jesus was not the Messiah. But they miss the fuller, deeper prophecy in Moses himself, that foretells this “failure” would happen first, for their sakes, because of their sin in breaking the law, as was represented by the needed addition of the brass serpent (Numbers 21:5-9) seemingly after the fact.

Beginning with Genesis 3:15, and most clearly with the Passover of Exodus 12, it is impossible to break out a single verse from Isaiah 53 showing the incredibly detailed prophecy of the suffering Christ, you must go and read it now! And there are many, many more such prophecies of Christ to suggest that Moses as the Type of Christ could not complete his mission before he died! (Hosea 13:9-11). In fact the scriptures seem to be excessive in declaring that Moses died before finishing the job, just to make sure we really get that fact when looking for the Messiah as the fulfillment of his Type (Deuteronomy 33:1, 34:5,7-8, Joshua 1:1-2, Romans 5:14 *6).

“And the LORD was angry with me (Moses) for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it” Deuteronomy 1:37-38.

* * *

So what does that make Joshua?

The short version is that it makes Joshua a type of Moses, the type of Christ:

Joshua: 3091 Yhowshuwa; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; the Jewish leader...

It is not even lightly masked that Joshua is the representational name Jesus:

Jesus 2424 Iesous; of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites.

Joshua was Moses’ protégé (Numbers 27:18-21) from a very early age (Numbers 11:28). He lived in the tabernacle (Exodus 33:11) and went up the mountain of God with Moses (Exodus 24:13-14, 32:15-17). He was Moses’ shadow in all things.

As Elisha received from Elijah his mantel, (passing from I Kings 19:19 to the second book; II Kings 2:9-15 not finding the body of Elijah after three days (II kings 2:15-18), so Joshua received from Moses his role passing from The Exodus narration to the Deuteronomy narration also not finding Moses’ body (Deuteronomy 34:6, Jude :9), though scripture makes sure we have no doubt that Moses was dead as dead can get (This is important to have documented in the perfect Type so long ago, because today the Muslims, and the Jews, claim that Jesus didn’t actually die. God’s perfect prototype of the man they both give great homage, shows that he did!). And of course Jesus' body was also NOT found, just as his Types predicted (Matthew 12:40, John 2:19-22).

So how can we overlay Jesus, the Only Christ, onto this duality of Moses and Joshua?

By understanding that Moses was a meek sactrifical lamb that was cut off before getting them in (Revelation 5:6-7, 13:8), but Joshua was a conquering lion (Revelation 5:5) that boldly got the job done by the power of God, after the long wilderness delay.
Moses was in two parts because Jesus comes as if in two parts, after the long wilderness delay.

And the lights come on! (*7)
(Numbers 23:23-24, Micah 5:8-9, Zephaniah 1:14-18, Revelation 1:13-18, 2:16, 5:5, 19:15-16).

Isn’t that amazing?!

* * * * * * *

*1 Rut as a path:

“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths (5410), where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” Jeremiah 6:16.

Paths 5410 nathiyb; …from an unused root meaning to tramp; a (beaten) track:-- path ([-way]), X travel (-ler), way.

“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths (5147) straight” Matthew 3:3.

Paths 5147 tribos; from tribo (to “rub”; akin to teiro, truo, and the base of 5131, 5134); a rut or worn track:-- path.

*2 A Clue:

“…Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore...” Numbers 20:12.

This is a very significant statement of cause that will help us discover the meaning of this second rock struck twice. Oh the many paths that need to be cleared for this coming highway! But we will have to delay this portion too for another time.

*3 Adam began sinless:

As an accurate type of Christ, Adam was indeed sinless until his own partaking of his wife’s sin, just as Jesus’ sin was in receiving the sin of his own bride (Romans 5:14) though Jesus did not partake of his own, which is partly why his sacrifice was able to cover our debt while Adam’s was not.

*4 Atonement:

3722 kaphar; a primitive root to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: -- appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).

*5 Jesus’ Separation From the Father:

Until Jesus came to earth he was literally the Word of God (John 1:1-3); When God thinks or feels, it is the Spirit, but when he speaks, it is “Jesus” himself that was spoken (John 1:3+ Genesis 1:3).

All that changed forever when Jesus departed from God as separate, to be made a man of a woman. This is the very importance of the virgin birth; and the natural human representational similitude, as an independent child is produced by half the male’s DNA and half the female’s DNA;

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” John 1:14.

Called the Son of God (Luke 1:30-32,34-35, 22:70), he also called himself the son of man(kind) (Luke 22:69). It’s a perspective thing.

We want so badly to suppose our sin had little consequences for him other than a few years walking on earth ending in a few days of intense suffering;

“No big deal for a God; He’s back in heaven and all is restored.”

But to consider that there was no turning back once he departed the father? WOW! The separation was a permanent event just as a child born of his father’s creative stuff is now an entity of his own for eternity. Just as Adam never returned to the same fellowship with the father that he once had; There is no going back; only forward. Jesus for eternity will now be the son of man interacting with the Father in this new way… because he obediently came to save us! The cost is utterly unfathomable, but he loves us that much!

The right response is NOT to think; “it’s because I’m worth it!” but because of his great love for such a wretch!

*6 Pre-Prophesied:

Now while Islam by prophecy is also looking for their 12^th imam “Christ” to return from occlusion and complete a similar, though self-fulfilling global conquest (http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/12th-imam.htm), the Hebrew scriptures pre-prophesied this Christ thousands of years before Mohammad, and long, long before the Qur’an or any other related Islamic script was written (Mohammad, the creator of the current form of Islam, was born in 570A.D.) and the Christian New Testament prophecies of the returning Christ were written within 100 years after Jesus, (still 400+ years before Mohammad), this does not even include the much older Old Testament prophesies that so perfectly describe this Christ, so just who is plagiarizing whom? The added confusion is that Islam has perverted the Abrahamic/Christian prophecy of the Christ and the result is a horrible hatred and murder driven faith among humanity in the name of God, albeit Allah.

*7 The Two-Part Moses:

 The Meek Moses was the self-sacrificing leader of a troubled people. By his redemptive consequence of staying with them on this side the Jordan, he was able to lead them in their troubles. Otherwise he would have crossed over with Caleb and left the rest of his people to fend for themselves.

The Warrior Moses; (Joshua), was whom after the wandering ended, led the “latter” Children across the river to conquer the specific boundaries of the Promised Land in the power of God, a job he commanded them to do.

The first Moses was not that guy, and making the switch was for the people's sakes as well: one sake of redemption and comfort, and another related sake of glory and completion.

*