MESSIAH A PROPHET LIKE UNTO MOSES.
By Frey
MOSES was preserved in infancy from the wrath of king Pharaoh, so was Christ from the wrath of Herod; Moses fled from his country, Christ fled into Egypt; Moses returned by the advice of an angel, so did Christ; Moses refused to be an heir to a king, Christ refused to be made a king; Moses was learned in all wisdom, Christ grew in wisdom and in stature; Moses contended with magicians and conquered them, Christ contended with devils and overthrew them all; Moses was a law-giver, a prophet, a worker of miracles, and a king; Christ was all that in a superior degree (and priest after the order of Melchisedec); Moses brought darkness over all the land, Christ's death on the cross brought darkness over Judea, the darkness in Egypt was followed with the destruction of the first-born, Christ's darkness was followed by the destruction of the Jews by Titus Vespasian; Moses foretold the calamities of the Jews, Christ foretold the dreadful seige and ruin of Jerusalem; the spirit of Moses was put on the seventy elders, the Spirit of Christ was poured on the twelve apostles and the seventy disciples; Moses was victorious over kings and nations of the world, Christ has been victorious over kings and nations of the world by his glorious gospel; Moses conquered Amalek by holding up his hands, Christ conquers Satan and sinners by his intercession in heaven; Moses turned away the wrath of God from the provoking Israelites, Christ turns away the wrath of God from all the millions of his people by his death and by his prayers; Moses ratified a covenant between God and the Israelites by blood sprinkled on the people, Christ ratifies the covenant of grace by shedding his own blood [Acts xx, 28]; Moses instituted the passover, Christ instituted the Lord's supper; Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness to cure the stung Israelites, Christ was lifted up on the cross to cure our souls stung and poisoned with sin; the affection of Moses was repaid with ingratitude, we have all been ungrateful to Jesus Christ; Moses was ill-used by his own family, Christ's own near relations did not believe on him; Moses had a wicked and perverse people to deal with for forty years, Christ had a people of the most perverse and wicked dispositions; Moses was very meek above all men, Christ was infinitely meeker than Moses, and all the meekest men in the world; the people could not go into the land of Canaan till Moses was dead, and not a soul could ever be admitted to enter heaven but on the foundation of the death of Christ who hath opened the kingdom of heaven by his atoning blood, for all believers; Moses died on account of the people's rebellion, Christ died for the sins of his people; Moses went up to die on mount Nebo, Christ went up to die on mount Calvary; Moses died in the vigor of his age, Christ died in the flower and glory of his manhood; Moses was buried and no man saw his body, the unbelieving Jews did not deserve to see the body of Jesus Christ after his resurrection; Moses before his death promised another prophet, Christ before his death promised another comforter, even the eternal Spirit in all the glory of his mission and divine influence in the church to the end of the world. In all the variety of his offices Jesus Christ was like unto Moses. Each was Saviour, Prophet, Priest, King and Mediator. Moses was Saviour, to deliver his people from Egypt bondage. The Messiah is called Jesus, for he saves his people from the bondage of sin. Moses was called of God and encouraged by the angel that appeared to him in the fiery bush; so was Christ called and appointed by God, introduced into the world by a host of angels, and encouraged by a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Did Moses prove his mission by miracles? so did Jesus Christ. Were the miracles of Moses superior to those of the magicians? Christ's miracles far exceeded those of Moses. The deliverance which Moses wrought was wonderful and unparalleled in the history of nations. Their first-born preserved from the sword of the destroyer by the blood of a lamb, the whole nation brought out of bondage in a single night, enriched with the spoils of their enemies without shedding blood or paying a ransom, Pharaoh's host drowned in the Red Sea, their armies conducted through a howling wilderness unto the borders of the land of promise! But however great and wonderful the work and success of Moses, it was only of a temporal nature, a mere type of the far greater and better work of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, accomplished not by the mere outstretched arm of Jehovah's power, but by his perfect obedience and inconceivable suffering even unto death, the ignominious and painful death of the cross. Christ has delivered his people from the tyranny of Satan, from the sword of divine justice; has spoiled principalities and powers, enriches his people with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, guides them safely through the wilderness, feeds them with manna from heaven and gives them the water of life, and will ultimately bring them to the heavenly Canaan, the glory of all lands. Moses was a prophet, in many respects superior to all other prophets, but especially in his direct and immediate intercourse with God. Other prophets received divine communications through the medium of dreams and visions, but he received everything from the mouth of God. Num. xii, 6-8. The doctrines which Jesus Christ revealed, the precepts he taught, the miracles he wrought, and the life and example he exhibited, outshone Moses as the sun outshines all other luminaries, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him." John i, 17, 18. Moses often exercised the office of priest, although he did not belong to the house of Aaron. Jesus Christ is the high-priest of our profession, an high priest over the house of God, although of the tribe Judah. Not after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchisedec, he has entered once the most holy place by his own blood and ever liveth to make intercessions for us. Moses is called king of Jeshurun. Deut. xxxiii, 5. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of the kings of the earth. Moses acted for Israel, as mediator, when they fought with Amalek, when they received the law, and when they made a calf at Horeb. Jesus intercedes in Heaven while his people are engaged in spiritual warfare. Moses acted the part of mediator at Horeb, when the anger of the Lord was kindled upon the people, and he threatened to cut them off. Moses prayed, saying: Now if thou wilt, forgive their sin, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written. Ex. xxxii, 30-32. Our blessed Jesus not merely offered himself to die in the place of the guilty, but actually laid down his life—a ransom for our souls, and is set forth a propitiation through faith in his blood.106Moses acted as the mediator of a covenant, received the messages of God to his people, and brought back their answer to God, and ratified the covenant by blood sprinkled on the people. Ex. xix, 7-9. But Christ is the mediator of a better covenant, ratified by the shedding of his own blood. Acts xx, 28; Heb. vii, 22; viii, 6."—Frey.