Numbers 12:7 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household."
Hebrews 3:2 "He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house."
Introduction:
When we talk about serving God, we refer to doing God's work with the goal of cultivating one's fellowship with God. Today's post will feature both Moses and Jesus and understand what it means to serve God.
Moses, a servant of God
In the Old Testament, one of the premier examples of serving God is found in the life of Moses. Moses is described as being faithful in all of God's house. Hebrews 3:5 states that Moses' testimony of faithfulness serves as an example to future believers: "Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later." So what was it that Moses did that made for such commendation of His service to God?
Moses is called "servant of the Lord" in Old Testament books like Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 2 Kings. In almost all of those instances, the title "servant of the Lord" is tied to what Moses wrote and commanded by God. Moses' reliance upon God's words made him a faithful servant. Exodus 24:4 for example states that "Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord."
Moses lived by God's Word and dedicated His life to God's Work. Moses aimed to center His life around God. In Exodus 33:17-18 Moses writes: "The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
As God's premier servant, Moses labored in God's work and lived by His word. We also know that Moses' walk with God was so close that God Himself testified about Moses being distinguished from other people. In Numbers 12:7-8 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?” Moses wrote and led by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we could say that as a servant of God, he was led by the Holy Spirit, he lived by God's Word and labored to do God's work.
Moses' service to God provides a picture of Jesus as the ultimate servant of God, which in turn provides a pattern for Christians today
Such details reveal the type of man and servant of God Moses was. Both testaments in the Bible tell the reader that Moses is a prime example of what it means to serve God. This testimony of faithfulness not only serves as an example for Christians, but more importantly points to the One Who would be the ultimate example: Jesus Himself. Hebrews 3:6 states: "but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end."
The way we best apply what Moses did is by seeing how his example points to Jesus as the Servant of God. To only stop at Moses would mean we are advocating moralism. Moses is indeed a fine example, but he is placed before us in the scripture because his service to God was rooted in Christ. Although Jesus, in regards to His humanity and earthly ministry was future with respect to Moses in history, the faith Moses had to serve God was directed towards Christ, who in His Deity is eternal. Hebrews 11:24-27 states - "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen."
Closing thoughts:
Today we looked at how Moses functioned as a servant of God. the way the New Testament handles Moses is by first highlighting his place in the Old Testament, followed by showing how he points us to Christ. Such examples point Christians to Jesus, the Ultimate pattern for service to God. When we consider Moses' record of service to God throughout the Old Testament, if we read his actions and attitudes in light of Jesus, we can then understand our attitudes and actions for serving God in light of Jesus.
