Introduction
Few figures in Scripture loom as large as Moses. He is revered as the great lawgiver, prophet, deliverer, and servant of God. The Bible presents Moses not merely as a historical leader, but as a man chosen by God to mediate His covenant, to guide His people out of bondage, and to foreshadow the coming of Christ. The King James Version (KJV) of the Scriptures offers rich detail on his life, his character, and his role in God’s redemptive plan. This paper will examine Moses from three perspectives: his historical background, his theological significance, and his lasting legacy in both the Old and New Testaments.
I. The Birth and Early Life of Moses
Moses was born during a time of oppression in Egypt. Pharaoh, fearing the growing number of Hebrews, commanded that every male child be cast into the river (Exodus 1:22). Yet God preserved Moses through the faith of his parents. Scripture records:
“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” (Exodus 2:3).
Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the child, and by divine providence, Moses was raised in the courts of Egypt yet nursed by his own Hebrew mother (Exodus 2:7–10). This dual upbringing gave him both knowledge of Egyptian culture and a deep tie to his Hebrew heritage. Hebrews 11:24–25 later reflects on his faith:
“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.”
II. The Call of Moses
Moses fled Egypt after slaying an Egyptian taskmaster (Exodus 2:12–15) and dwelt in Midian for forty years. There, God appeared to him in the burning bush:
“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2).
God revealed His covenant name, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14), and commissioned Moses to confront Pharaoh and deliver Israel. Though reluctant and slow of speech, Moses was assured of God’s presence and power (Exodus 4:10–12).
This call illustrates the divine principle that God does not choose men for their strength but for His purpose. Moses’ inadequacy became the stage for God’s sufficiency.
III. Moses the Deliverer
The central event of Moses’ ministry was the Exodus. Through ten plagues (Exodus 7–12), God displayed His sovereignty over Egypt’s gods, and by the blood of the Passover lamb, Israel was redeemed from judgment (Exodus 12:21–30). The crossing of the Red Sea became the defining moment of deliverance:
“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night… And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground” (Exodus 14:21–22).
This deliverance became a paradigm for salvation throughout Scripture. As the Apostle Paul later wrote, Israel was “baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2).
IV. Moses the Lawgiver
At Sinai, Moses ascended into the presence of God and received the Law:
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them” (Exodus 24:12).
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17) became the moral foundation of Israel’s covenant relationship with God. Moses served as mediator, standing between the holy God and sinful Israel. When Israel sinned by making the golden calf, Moses interceded:
“Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:32).
This foreshadowed Christ, the greater Mediator, who would give His life for the forgiveness of sins.
V. The Faith and Failings of Moses
Moses was a man of faith, yet also of human weakness. He led the people with patience, often falling on his face before God when they murmured (Numbers 14:5). Yet at Meribah, when he smote the rock in anger instead of speaking to it, God said:
“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” (Numbers 20:12).
This act of disobedience cost Moses entrance into Canaan, though he saw the land from Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1–4). Even in his failing, Moses stands as an example of God’s holiness and the seriousness of obedience.
VI. The Legacy of Moses
Moses’ legacy extends beyond his lifetime. At his death, Scripture declares:
“And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10).
The New Testament affirms Moses as a type of Christ. John writes:
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Moses foreshadowed the Prophet whom God would raise up (Deuteronomy 18:15), fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22). On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses appeared with Elijah to speak with Christ, signifying the Law and the Prophets bearing witness to Him (Matthew 17:3).
Conclusion
Moses stands as one of the greatest figures in Scripture—deliverer, lawgiver, prophet, and servant of God. His life reveals both the majesty of God’s calling and the humility required of His servants. Though barred from the earthly Promised Land, Moses’ faith pointed forward to the true Redeemer who would bring His people into an eternal inheritance. His story is not merely history but a testimony of God’s power, holiness, and grace, preserved in the sacred words of the King James Bible for every generation.