A PROPHET LIKE MOSES (DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22)

A Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-22)

One interesting way I have been approaching the Bible recently is to find a theme and trace it throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. In that respect, a new book by Gary Schnittjer entitled Old Testament Use of Old Testament is of great help, especially the chapter on “Networks.” There, Schnittjer takes 21 key themes in the Bible (such as “Covenant,” “70 Years,” and “Temple Vessels”) and shows graphically how the biblical authors added on to each succeeding passage by alluding to, quoting from or, interpreting it. And finally, even combining the original text with other passages of Scripture to reach new conclusions. Tracing the history of such transmissions is sometimes quite complicated, and the direction of borrowing often not readily determined.

As one specific and relatively simple example, take the theme laid out in Deuteronomy 18:15-22 in which Moses talks about a coming prophet such as himself. But since the book of Deuteronomy is largely a retelling of events in Exodus, the path really begins with Exodus 20:19, in which the people of Israel are so afraid when they see the supernatural events accompanying the giving of the Ten Commandments that they say to Moses, “You speak to us and we will obey; but don't let God speak to us directly or we will die.”

When this story is recapped in Deuteronomy 5, we hear the upshot of the people's request. God tells Moses that the people are correct and that from that point on He will tell Moses what to relay to the people. Then Moses takes the story one step further by explaining to the people that after he leaves them, God will send another prophet (or prophets) in his place. Moses also gives the Israelites a way to determine if future prophets are actually from God.

At this point, it is important to determine what Moses meant by saying that “another prophet” would be sent to the people. Was he referring to one specific person or a series of messengers? Here opinion is sharply divided among commentators:

More than one prophet

“It is generally agreed that Moses' prophecy could well be fulfilled by a succession of prophets, and Deuteronomy 18:19-22 presumes such a situation.” (Marshall)

“The primary sense in which the coming prophets would resemble Moses would be in their function, which was to declare the word of God...The singular (a prophet) is a collective form indicating a succession of prophets.” (Craigie)

“The verb “raise up” in vv. 15 and 18 “is to be understood in a distributive sense (i.e. will raise up from time to time), and does not refer to a single future act.” (Mayes)

One prophet

Although “traditional Jewish exegesis thinks of a prophet arising in each generation...this is untrue historically.” (Harrison)

“The promise has both individual and corporate significance. By NT times, it was understood of a precursor of the Messiah or of the Messiah himself.” (Cousins) This opinion is confirmed by John 1:19-21 in that John the Baptist is questioned by the priests and Levites who ask him whether he is the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet. He denies all of these identifications.

There is even a slight variation on this second option, based mainly on a consideration of Hebrews 3, in which the author actually contrasts Jesus with Moses.

    E.L. Allen feels that Hebrews 3 was written to refute the strains of thinking among some Jewish Christian circles that Jesus was merely a new Moses.

    Thompson: “He would be like Moses in the sense that he was Yahweh's spokesman, but not in any sense of equality.”

    Kaiser concludes that Moses had in mind no simple prophet or a collective of prophets, but someone “unlike himself would complete the instruction and revelation of God.”

Back to our rabbit trail, which we left off at Deuteronomy 18. The end of this theme, as far as Deuteronomy is concerned comes in Deuteronomy 34:10 which states: “Never since that time has a prophet arisen in Israel to equal Moses.”

If we jump forward in time considerably, we next come to the book of Acts, where the theme resurfaces. Soon after the Day of Pentacost, Peter delivers a speech to the people in which he quotes from Deuteronomy 18:15-18 regarding Moses' warning to heed the words of God's prophets. Peter reminds his audience that many of these messengers of God over the years had prophesied the coming of the Messiah to bless all the people of the earth. In that way, Peter calls them to reconsider and accept Jesus.

Stephen also quotes the events in Deuteronomy 18:15-18, but is not quite as diplomatic as Peter had been since he accused the people of knowingly disobeying Moses and subsequent messengers (see Acts 7:35-43). His approach was met with predictable response from the people.

Getting back to the key verse Deuteronomy 18:15-18, remember that the people did not want God to speak directly to them or they would die. This sub-theme is expanded somewhat in Exodus 33:21-23 in which God allows Moses to see only His back so that he will not die by looking at His face.

The author of Samuel-Kings takes up this incident in Exodus when he alludes to it in I Kings 19:9-14, the story of God allowing the prophet Elijah (also hiding in a cave or cleft on Mt. Horeb) to experience His presence, but not face-to-face.

This theme now continues with Malachi 4:4 first reminding the people of Moses receiving the law on Mt. Horeb and then following it with a prediction in Malachi 4:5-6 of Elijah coming to call the people to repentance before the Judgment Day.

The Synoptic writers conclude the story in the parallel accounts found in Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; and Luke 9:28-36 of the Transfiguration in which both Moses and Elijah appear with Christ and there Jesus reveals to the apostles that the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 was the coming of John the Baptist with the power of Elijah.

Schnittjer stops the trail here since he is mainly concerned with tracing themes within the Old Testament only. But we can easily continue the story by resorting to other NT texts which explore different aspects of the coming prophet theme. I have already mentioned John 1:19-21 in which the religious authorities question the true identification of John the Baptist. In addition, the angel reveals the future role of John in Luke 1:13-17, and Jesus in Matthew 11:7-15 tells the crowd that John was the prophet Elijah who was predicted to come. Finally, Herod even fears that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the death although others felt that Jesus himself was the coming Elijah. (Mark 6:14-16)