Moses

Moses is the towering figure of the Old Testament — prophet, lawgiver, and deliverer. Through him God redeemed Israel from slavery, gave the Law, and formed a nation. Scripture says "there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" (Deuteronomy 34:10).

Birth and rescue

Born to Levite parents during Pharaoh's order to kill Hebrew baby boys, Moses was hidden three months, then placed in an ark of bulrushes on the Nile (Exodus 2:3). Pharaoh's daughter drew him out — naming him Moses — and he was raised in the Egyptian court while nursed by his own mother (Exodus 2:8–10). Hebrews honors the faith of his parents and his own later choice "to suffer affliction with the people of God" rather than enjoy "the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:24–25).

Exile in Midian

At forty, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and fled to Midian (Exodus 2:11–15). There he married Zipporah, daughter of the priest Jethro, and tended sheep for forty years — a long preparation in the wilderness he would later traverse.

The burning bush and the call

At the burning bush God revealed His name, "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14), and commissioned Moses to deliver Israel. Despite his protests of inadequacy, God sent him back to Egypt with his brother Aaron as spokesman (Exodus 4:14–16).

The plagues and the Exodus

Through ten plagues God broke Pharaoh's will, culminating in the Passover, when the blood of the lamb spared Israel's firstborn (Exodus 12). Israel marched out, and at the Red Sea Moses stretched out his hand and God parted the waters, drowning Pharaoh's army (Exodus 14).

Sinai and the Law

At Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments and the covenant law, meeting God so closely that his face shone (Exodus 34:29–30). He interceded for Israel after the golden calf, pleading, "yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me… out of thy book" (Exodus 32:32) — a foreshadowing of Christ's mediation.

Wilderness years and death

Moses led Israel through forty years of wandering, bearing their rebellion with remarkable meekness — "the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). Because he struck the rock in anger instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:11–12), he was not permitted to enter Canaan. He viewed the land from Mount Nebo and died there; God Himself buried him (Deuteronomy 34:5–6). Moses appears again with Elijah at the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:3).