A Great Model
We should study the lives of
Old Testament personalities like Moses
in order to be more faithful followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's Gene:
Here we have a statement about Moses
that is really quite incredible.
And obviously, I don't believe Moses
wrote this about himself, though he
penned the book of Deuteronomy.
God chose someone else to record this.
We don't know who it is but it's a true
statement coming from God Himself.
No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses...
And we might say from our perspective,
except one. Right?
...No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses...
From our perspective there was a greater prophet,
but that's the perspective of the New Testament.
And that prophet is Jesus Christ.
He was greater than all prophets
because He was the God-man.
Moses was just a man. And as a man:
...No prophet has arisen
again in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD
knew face to face. ...
He had a unique relationship with God.
...He was unparalleled for all the signs
and wonders the LORD sent him to do
against the land of Egypt--to Pharaoh,
to all his officials, [and] to all his land,
and for all the mighty acts of power
and terrifying deeds that Moses
performed in the sight of all Israel.
He was a great model.
And even though he failed God
and couldn't go into the promised land,
he was a great model.
And God has recorded that model for us
here in the book of Deuteronomy and
throughout the first five books.
And we have many references to Moses
in the New Testament because he was a
great prophet of God.
But we also have recordings regarding a
number of other individuals in the Old Testament.
We have recording regarding Joshua and his life.
But we also have a record of David,
who was a man after God's heart.
But when you read that story, it's not
very pretty--ultimately--because of his failures.
One of the great reasons you can believe
the Bible is God didn't whitewash David's sins.
He just laid it all out there for us to see.
And why do we have all of these things
recorded for us in the Old Testament?
Well Paul tells us. First Corinthians 10:11 to 13:
Now these things happened to them as examples,
and they were written as a
warning to us, [a warning to us],
on whom the ends of the ages have come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he stands
must be careful not to fall!
That's one of the great lessons
we can learn from Moses.
We can learn that from David.
We can learn that from Joshua.
We can learn that from the kings of Israel--
who certainly were not exemplary in their behavior.
We can learn from Elijah and Elisha.
From all the great prophets that are mentioned.
From Jeremiah, Ezekiel.
And one of the great lessons that comes,
is we should take heed.
If we think we stand, we may fall.
But then he gives us this reassurance:
...No temptation has overtaken you
except what is common to humanity. ...
Every temptation that these
Old Testament individuals faced, we face. We're human.
But here's the wonderful thing, Paul says:
...God is faithful and He will not allow you
to be tempted beyond what you are able,
but with the temptation He will also
provide a way of escape,
so that you are able to bear it.
A wonderful, glorious promise that we
have through Jesus Christ and the
presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We're to learn from Israel's mistake,
knowing we need not fail as they did.
Though we may--if we don't take heed to the fact--
that if we think we stand, we might fall.
It's a statement warning us against pride and arrogance.
We're to have a humble spirit.
But reassurance that we can be
strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
We can defeat Satan with God's strength--not our own.
And the Reflection and Response question simply is:
Why is it so easy to overlook the lessons
we can learn from history?
Think about that for a moment.
I think one of the answers is: we live in the present.
And our tendency is to forget the past.
We tend to forget even the mistakes we
made and why we made them.
That's our humanness. We have short memories.
But this is the beauty of the Word of God.
This is why God has given us the Word of God.
We have a trustworthy message.
With lessons from history--from the Old Testament,
from the New Testament--
God has given us Principles to Live By
that will help us to be the people that
God wants us to be. Regardless of what's
happening in this world.