Faith Expressions

When we think about Moses, we tend to think of some things that appear to be etched on our minds. Here are 5 things that we associate with Moses.

TEN COMMANDMENTS

These are the commandments given, directly and personally, by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai according to Biblical account. It is told in the Bible that God wrote the commandments Himself on two stone tables. In our present day, images of the Ten Commandments printed in stone-like tablets abound. These commandments are essential parts of the teachings of Christianity and Judaism. Below are the Ten Commandments based on the KJV Bible.

• I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
• Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
• Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• Honour thy father and thy mother.
• Thou shalt not kill.
• Thou shalt not commit adultery.
• Thou shalt not steal.
• Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
• Thou… shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.
• Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house… nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

PSALM 90

Psalm 90 is a prayer in the Book of Psalms, and it is a prayer assigned to Moses. It is both a personal prayer and a prayer for the Israelite community. Psalm 90 is also called the Prayer of Moses, and it is translated in the KJV Bible in this manner:

• Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
• Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
• Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
• For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
• Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
• In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
• For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
• Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
• For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
• The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
• Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
• So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
• Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
• O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
• Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
• Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
• And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

LET MY PEOPLE GO

This was the famous line which Moses uttered before the pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Moses was given a great mission by God to liberate his fellow Hebrews from the bondage of slavery and lead them out of Egypt to the land of milk and honey which God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ancestors of the Hebrews.

Moses was a reluctant leader. He informed God that he was not someone whom people can believe in nor was he a good speaker. In fact, his reluctance made God angry with him. But God had chosen him, and in the end, Moses agreed to talk to the pharaoh. God instructed Moses to tell the pharaoh to free God’s people so that they can worship their ancestors’ God. So Moses went to the pharaoh, and told the pharaoh several times and in an “in your face” manner what his God instructed him: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.”

GREATEST COMMANDMENT

As Moses and the Israelites were about to enter the land promised to be given to them by God – the promise by God to their ancestors: Abraham , Isaac and Jacob – Moses reminded the people of their liberation and history and all the wonderful things God gave and showed them. Moses also reminded them that God will continue to bless them if they keep obeying the laws and commandments given to them by God. These laws and commandments were, in fact, the blessings of God, and among these laws and commandments was the greatest commandment.

So Moses told the Israelites this commandment: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Moses continued reminding them: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates.”

THE BURNING BUSH

Moses’s first encounter with God was at Mt. Horeb in Midian. God appeared to him as a burning bush: the bush was burning but it was not consumed by the fire. God called to him, “Moses, Moses,” and Moses responded, “Here I am.” It was an encounter that forever changed the life of Moses which, in turn, greatly and profoundly influenced the history of mankind.

It was during this encounter that God revealed to Moses who He was. He was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He was the God who made a covenant with their ancestors. He was God who was sufficient by Himself: “I AM who I AM.” He existed because of who He was. No one created Him. And because He was sufficient by Himself, He was the one who will liberate the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery, which did happen.

Bible Reference

KJV: Ten Commandments, Psalm 90, “Let my people go.”

NIVUK: Greatest Commandment, Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Back To: Faith Expressions Main Page

Back To: Old Testament Main Page