The Full Life Of Moses, From Birth To His Death
Posted: Monday, December 26, 2011
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
There are numerous prominent characters in the Holy Bible yet no one, other than Jesus Christ, had such an awesome assignment from God, than Moses. Jesus, of course, is the eternal leader of the book even though he does not show up until the New Testament period. His coming, however, is mentioned and prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
After God’s promise to Abraham that, from his seed would all the world be blessed (a direct reference to Jesus Christ), and the twelve tribes of Israel were being formed, they became subjects of the Egyptian Pharaoh and were slaves, abused and driven daily in hard labor. Yet, under the watch-care of God, they flourished and became very great in numbers. So great in fact that the then Pharaoh, feared they would rise up and conquer Egypt. So, he issued an edict that all the male babies born to the Israelite women, be killed. This set the stage for the coming of Moses.
Among the tribe of Levi was a man named Amram who took a woman for his wife, also from the Levite tribe whose name was Jochebed. They already had a son and a daughter before the edict issued by the Pharaoh. After the issue of the edict however, she gave birth to a son and not wanting to see him killed, she hid him until he was 3 months old.
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20 KJV)
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. (Exodus 2:1-4 KJV)
The sister mentioned was Miriam, she and Aaron the older brother, were the only siblings of Moses. Read here the providence of God as it manipulates the preservation of Moses life for the role God for him.
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. (Exodus 2:5-10)
So Moses was raised up in the household of the pharaoh and could have (would have) had all the wealth and privileges of a child of his. He also was educated and taught the ways and history of the Egyptian people.
But Moses had lived closely enough with his real mother to learn of his people and how they were being treated under the hand of the Egyptian ruler. We read the following passage from the book of Acts written by Luke, some 1600 years later.
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. (Acts 7:22 KJV)
One day, Moses was walking around amongst his brethren and seeing their ardent tasks when he saw an Egyptian hitting one of the captive men. Moses looked about and saw no others, and he slew the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Then the next day, he saw two of the Hebrew men fighting and he called out to them to stop and admonished them not to fight each other. When one said, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:14 KJV) Moses knew then that the incident was known and indeed the Pharaoh had heard of it and was set to slay Moses but he fled the country and went into a place called Midian.
A man named Jethro, a priest of that country invited Moses to dwell with him, which he did and the man gave him one of his daughters, Zipporah, for his wife. And she bare him a son, Gershom.
After he had lived in the household of Jethro for a number of years when one day God appeared to him as a fire burning in a bush. It did not consume the bush and Moses turned aside to it when God spoke to him and told him of the position he wanted him to take as leader of the Israelites to help them leave the land of Egypt. Although Moses complained that he was not an eloquent speaker and feared that he could not readily accomplish the job set for him. God told him to use his brother Aaron as his spokesperson an to go and do as he was told.
It was then through Moses he brought the plagues against Pharaoh until he let the Hebrews go free. And after he changed his mind and went with his troops to slay them or bring them back, all were drowned in the sea, which God had parted to allow the Hebrews through.
Moses, under the guidance and inspiration of God, led them to Mt. Sinai where God gave them the Law which they should obey in order to keep his blessings. At one point, some of the people rebelled against Moses and God caused the earth to open up and destroyed them. Moses conducted himself well while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. On one occasion, while wandering in the wilderness of Zin, water was scarce and the people became thirsty began to grumble and ridicule Moses. When Moses inquired of the Lord, he was directed to bring the elders before a designated large rock and he was instructed to speak to the rock and water would come forth it, plentiful for the people. Moses then gathered the elders before him at the rock and here is what told Moses to do and what Moses actually did:
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. (Numbers 20:8)
Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. (Numbers 20:11)
This incident is important for all readers to remember. Even though Moses had devoted more than the last 40 years in doing the Lord’s bidding to bring the children of Israel out of bondage and tolerating their abuse and mumblings, the fact that he struck the rock with his rod rather than speaking to it and giving God the glory for it, he was not allowed to enter in to the land of Canaan with the people. Aaron had died shortly before and now we have this statement from God to Moses.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. (Numbers 27:12-14)
And after he went to the top and saw the land of Canaan before him, he died there in the mount. He was 120 years old at the time of his death. The biblical record gives this explanation of him:
So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. (Deuteronomy 34:5-8)
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