Christian and Jewish scholars go crazy studying the biblical history concerning Moses. They feel cheated. They want to know more details about Moses’s life as Pharaoh’s daughter’s adopted son, or what he was doing for 40 years in the wilderness of Midian. They look for Moses in the dug-up archaeological records of ancient Egypt and cannot find him there. Yet what they can know about Moses recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, they do not like.
“The real Moses has been concealed from us,” writes Jonathan Kirsch in his bestselling book, Moses: a Life, “sometimes by subtle manipulation of the ancient text, sometimes by pointed silence, and sins of omission, and sometimes by unapologetic censorship or outright lies, first by priests and scribes who were the original authors and editors of the Bible, then by preachers and teachers who were the guardians of the sacred text, and finally by the artists and bards who interpreted the Bible in works of art and literature.”
Reading their own views into the Bible’s plain statements, scholars and theologians are dissatisfied by Moses. Blinded by prejudice, they think he is either too bloodthirsty, cowardly, timid, angry, authoritarian, righteous (or not righteous enough), warlike or vindictive. The fleshly, blood-and-bones Moses was not a larger than life, do-everything-perfect superhero with power horns sticking out of his head. He was a flawed human being just like you and me.
Yet the Bible’s Moses is the man God wants us to know. Moses lived a human life as real as yours and mine. He had to eat, sleep, bathe, groom and dress. He had close friends and discouraging enemies. He had strengths and weaknesses, ups and downs, moments of intense joy and hours of nagging frustration and deep sadness. His biblical history has much to teach us (1 Corinthians 10:11).
Moses, the Man
How would Moses want us to remember him—a prince of Egypt, the lawgiver, the mediator, God’s prophet or any other title of like status? None of those!
After Genesis, the major part of the Pentateuch contains Moses’s autobiographical sketches. In Exodus 32:1 and 23, Moses records the Israelites referring to him as “Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt.” Moses would want us to think of him in the same way the ancient Israelites did—as “Moses, the man.”
God certainly agrees with this view. He inspired Numbers 12:3 to be added to the book: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Even with all the drama, power and miracles that Moses was involved with in Egypt and the wilderness of Sin, we must never forget that he was “Moses, the man,” or “the man Moses.”
Actually it is this description of him that makes his life so inspiring. God worked with and used the man Moses powerfully. You and I will never be a Moses in this life, but God still plans to use each one of us in a big way in the very near future.
Do we need to worry about all the fuss over the scanty history of Moses’s life in Pharaoh’s palace or in Midian? Is it vital for us to know explicit biographical details about the first two thirds of Moses’s life? Not really. Let’s learn to study and appreciate what God tells us about him. It is a lot more information than scholars think and far more important than they understand.
Son of Slaves
Moses was born a slave. Since he was a male child, he faced execution upon discovery, unless hidden by his parents (Exodus 1:22). What a horrible way to begin human life. Yet Moses had a courageous and faithful father and mother who had the guts to defy Pharaoh’s cruel command (Hebrews 11:23; Exodus 2:2). All loving parents would set out to do the same for their son. Moses’s parents were even more motivated to protect him because they saw something special in this boy.
In Exodus 2, Moses records that his mother viewed him as a goodly child. This was more than just the natural emotion springing from a mother’s love. The Hebrew word tob, translated as goodly, has a wide variety of meanings. It often is used to mean beautiful or bountiful. It can also mean well favored. That is the best definition of tob in this verse. Let me explain why.
The deacon Stephen also states the infant Moses was exceeding fair in Acts 7:20. The Greek words used for this phrase are theos asteios. Theos is most often translated as God or the supreme divinity. But it can also be translated as exceeding. Asteois can mean beautiful, fair or proper. The Oxford King James Bible with marginal references shows that the better translation of Stephen’s choice of words is fair to God.
Putting the statements from Exodus and Acts together, we learn that Moses’s mother and father had the spiritual discernment to recognize that God had set apart their son for some special purpose. This baby was fair to God: Moses held God’s favor from birth. His survival was literally guaranteed by God—to further God’s purpose.
The Promise Drew Near
Moses tells us that his father and mother—Amram and Jochebed—were from the tribe of Levi. We know from the book of Malachi that the patriarch Levi greatly feared God and deeply loved His government and truth (Malachi 2:4-6). Wouldn’t it make sense that Moses’s parents held that same fear and respect for God? We know from Zadok’s life that strong spiritual characteristics run in families. It should not surprise us that Amram and Jochebed feared God more than some Egyptian despot. Understanding God had a plan for their son drove them to do everything physically possible to keep him alive—even if it meant suffering harsh punishment from a pagan king for hiding a son sentenced to execution.
Although the Bible does not say specifically, Moses’s parents likely knew the prophetic promise of deliverance from Egypt was coming soon. Remember, the promise given to Abraham by a covenant had a time element connected to it (Acts 7:17‑21; Genesis 15:13-18). Deliverance from slavery was to come to Abraham’s descendants 430 years after God promised Canaan to him.
Could Moses’s birth have been the sign that God was about to deliver His people? Certainly there was some kind of special revelation electrifying the Israelites, or at least a select group of them at that time. It is always God’s practice to let His servants know what He is about to do (Amos 3:7). How else could Moses have known he was the deliverer? (Acts 7:25). It is plausible that his parents even taught him that directly, or somehow informed him about it.
God’s time had come to deliver Israel out of Egypt (verse 17). Only a man of God’s choosing would be able to lead the way out. God personally oversaw the education and preparation of Moses to fulfill such an incredible commission. That could not be done in slavery.
Son of the Egyptian Princess
The Bible states clearly that Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses (Exodus 2:10; Acts 7:21). Amram and Jochebed’s son legally and formally became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. How it all happened is dramatically miraculous, but that is something for a future article. At this point I want to answer the question: How old was the Levite child when he went to live with the Egyptian princess? Please read Exodus 2:3-10 before going on. Even though it is a well-known story, refresh your memory.
Now notice the first part of verse 10. “And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.” Jochebed was given the opportunity to nurse her son until he was weaned. Moses could have been easily 3 to 5 years old before he was returned to his adopted Egyptian mother. Moses does not give us his specific age when he became the son of the princess, yet this verse shows he was clearly not still an infant. The Hebrew word translated child can also mean lad or young man.
“His age when removed to the palace is not stated; but he was old enough to be well instructed in the principles of the true religion; and those early impressions, deepened by the power of divine grace were never forgotten or effaced,” wrote Robert Jamieson. “He had remained long enough to be thoroughly imbued with the true national feeling of a Hebrew; and though he may have actively engaged in the varied scenes to which his royal station afterwards introduced him, he never ceased to cherish a spirit of sympathy with the race from which he had sprung.”
When Moses was returned to her, the Egyptian princess even gave him his name and loved him as her own son. This proved to be an incredible benefit to Moses. We can safely speculate that Moses lived a life of privilege, full of wealth, splendorous surroundings and opportunity. “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds,” said Stephen as he witnessed to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:22; English Standard Version). Pharaoh’s daughter saw to it that Moses was highly educated.
Living as Egyptian royalty, Moses had access to the best teachers. He was surely educated in math, science, engineering, architecture, arts and letters. Stephen said Moses was mighty in his words. He likely spoke more than one language. His story is a classic “rags to riches” tale. Spiritually, however, Moses’s history is full of miraculous intervention by and association with the Eternal God. In fact, the Eternal is the central character of the entire Moses story.
Moses the Shepherd
The man Moses remained in Egypt until he was 40 years old (Acts 7:23). He fled Egypt because he defended a weak and defenseless Israelite from being pummeled to death by an Egyptian taskmaster. Moses killed the taskmaster and buried him in the sand to cover up the matter (Exodus 2:12). The next day when he reprimanded two Hebrews for beating on each other, they chided him for killing the Egyptian. Moses realized his deed was known and feared that Pharaoh would slaughter him (verses 14-15). He sought a safe haven in Midian. He spent another 40 years of his life there. That is about all we know of Moses’s time in Egypt.
The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews tells us as much. “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” (Hebrews 11:24-25). Here is a dignified, simple statement of fact—no gossipy details included. We should be satisfied with this historical affidavit. Here is all we need to know about Moses’s life in Pharaoh’s palace. We should focus on the most important part of this verse: Moses repented of his worldly lifestyle in Egypt.
The details of Moses’s life in Midian are equally scanty. Here is the sum of it. When running from Egypt, Moses met a group of seven shepherdesses by a well. When some shepherds pushed the women around to get to the well first, Moses came to their rescue. The women, obviously impressed by the handsome Egyptian, told their father, Reuel (also known as Jethro), about his rescue of them. Their father chided them for not inviting him home for dinner. Moses came for dinner and decided to stay with them. He married the man’s oldest daughter and settled in to being a shepherd himself. He fathered a son whom he named Gershom, which literally means a stranger here (Exodus 2:15‑22). About eight verses cover 40 years.
Scholars conjecture all kinds of things that Moses may have been doing in Midian. Here is the wildest one I’ve read. Some speculate that he was learning magic arts from his father-in-law. This theory is based on verse 16: “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.” If you assume that Reuel was a pagan priest, you would think he taught Moses the magic arts. Yet kohen, the Hebrew word translated as priest, is better translated as prince. Moses’s father-in-law was more likely a ruling governor than a priest. His counsel to Moses about government in Exodus 18 bears this out.
Moses’s life as a shepherd for 40 years in Midian is best explained as additional preparation for his future job as leader of the nation of Israel. God’s leaders are shepherds first. Only a true shepherd could bring the 12 tribes into perfect unity. Many different Bible passages prove this. Peter called Jesus Christ “the chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). The resurrected Jesus is now building spiritual Israel. There is much we can learn from Moses the shepherd.
Teacher, Law-giver, Prophet
Moses is the first of God’s writing prophets. In the first five books of the Bible, he laid the foundation for true religion. The Pentateuch is the bedrock of Christianity. We need to know Moses and his writings well. True Christianity is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20).
Moses, taught directly by God, recorded for us the origins of the universe and man; the earliest history of human civilization otherwise unknowable; the genesis of Israel; and key history of the lives of Israel’s founding fathers. He provided a written copy of God’s law, the Ten Commandments, originally written in God’s own hand. In addition, Moses laid out the structure of spiritual government and doctrine for the Old and New Testament churches. He also handed down statutes and judgments for the civil government of the nation. The Ten Commandments, statutes and judgments are the skeletal structure for the governments of Western civilization.
Moses taught specially revealed spiritual knowledge about the nature of God and man that can only be found in Israel’s Holy Book. God is a Family, and all mankind has the potential to be born into the God Family (Genesis 1:26-28). Finally, he wrote down foundational prophecies of what is to take place in the nations of Israel in these latter days (study Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). He set the example for all the prophets to come after him (Deuteronomy 34:10).
Here is the most important reason we should want to know Moses: He is the Old Testament type of Jesus Christ. “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken,” prophesied Moses concerning Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15). This fact alone should give towering stature to Moses in our eyes and those of the world. But sadly, for many theologians and those who follow them, Jesus Christ is also just a myth.
Although Moses was just a man, he is still set far apart from you and me because of how powerfully God used the man.