Who is the "Prophet" likened unto Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)? From the Torah portion "Shoftim" (Judges)
15) The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
16); According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God , neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17) And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
So, we wonder who this could be talking about. Here, YHVH is talking directly to Moses. At that time, Moses was the mediator between the people and God. The people were fearful, what with all the thunder and lightning, the sound of the shofar, the voice of God himself. Can you blame them? Would we have been full of "fear and awe" back then? Probably so. God will again appear, yet in a more gentle way, in a "human" way.
Yes, the prophets of old spoke the words of YHVH. That was the way God spoke to his people (remember, there were no Bibles back then).
God would put his words into the hearts and minds of the Prophets, and they would speak them and write them down for those generations and for future generations. (our generation).
Yet here, God is saying "A Prophet" (singular). So, this has to be someone special, like no one else in the past. Indeed, there came a prophet who spoke the words of his Father, and he spoke those words to all around him. Yeshua/Jesus is the ONLY one who could fit this description. He was Jewish like his brethren. He was of the line of David through his mother, Miriyam, and also through his adoptive father
Yosef. Many accepted his words; others did NOT. And those that did NOT and those who WILL NOT will have the answer to God in the future, like it says: "I will require it of him."
God came in the flesh to planet Earth, to teach the Words of the Father, to heal the sick, and to raise the dead, and to die on the Cross of Calvary, taking upon himself the curse of sin and death. This is the greatest example of love. Even the rabbis of the Talmud acknowledge a prophet like this. In "Mishneh Torah" (part of the Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Bible) it reads the following;
(Mishneh Torah: Shoftim) If there arises a king of the House of David who meditates on the Torah, who studies and teaches Torah and observes the commandments like David, who implores Israel to walk in the ways of Torah and fights the wars of God (against HaSatan) , certainly we can consider this King the Messiah.
Yeshua came to establish peace between mankind and God. Yes, He is king, yet his rulership is in the NEXT coming. He will rule the Earth in the future, but now, he should rule in our hearts and lives through the Holy Spirit. Here are some parallelisms between Moses and Yeshua to consider: 1) Both were subject to and saved from edicts of death by rulers. (Pharaoh and King Herod) 2) Both acted as covenant mediators. (Moses, in the Old Covenant, and Yeshua in the New) 3) Both spoke with God "face to face" . We could also say that "both met each other in person" on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Acts 3:22-26 and 7:37 both describe Yeshua as this "prophet likened unto his brethren." What more can we say?
One more point to look at in Torah/Bible portion "Shoftim" is verse 20 of chapter 16; "Righteous, Rightousness thou shalt pursue"
This concerns lawyers, judges, and magistrates performing their duties. In today's corrupt society, many are "bought" and thus "twist judgment," and the guilty are set free, and the innocent are sent behind bars. Perhaps not in all cases, but sometimes, and in some countries, "you are guilty until proven innocent."
Why is the word "righteousness" mentioned twice? Whenever a word is mentioned twice in the Bible, there is a reason for it, perhaps for emphasis, or maybe a double meaning. Here is one idea: One must pursue "righteousness or justice" through "righteous or just means"
Does the end justify the means? Can the son of an olive grove owner charge a servant for accidentally slipping and falling, breaking an urn of olive oil? Legally, he can, but would it be "just?" would it be a righteous act? Would it show mercy? No, it would not, because the servant's whole family would suffer if the servant got his pay docked for this accident. If the owner's son pardoned the servant, THAT would be just and merciful and the "right" thing to do, so, "righteousness, righteousness thou wilt pursue. (having the legal right, yet showing mercy)
We could also say this: We have been saved by grace, so we now have a "right" or "righteous" relationship with the Father through Yeshua by faith. Now, as believers, we ought to live our lives in "righteousness" or "right living," obeying God's commandments, performing good deeds, and putting to work our spiritual gifts, putting works behind our faith. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). So, remember, "righteous works should follow righteous faith" (as evidence of the fact)
May you have a blessed and godly week.
15) The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
16); According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God , neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17) And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
So, we wonder who this could be talking about. Here, YHVH is talking directly to Moses. At that time, Moses was the mediator between the people and God. The people were fearful, what with all the thunder and lightning, the sound of the shofar, the voice of God himself. Can you blame them? Would we have been full of "fear and awe" back then? Probably so. God will again appear, yet in a more gentle way, in a "human" way.
Yes, the prophets of old spoke the words of YHVH. That was the way God spoke to his people (remember, there were no Bibles back then).
God would put his words into the hearts and minds of the Prophets, and they would speak them and write them down for those generations and for future generations. (our generation).
Yet here, God is saying "A Prophet" (singular). So, this has to be someone special, like no one else in the past. Indeed, there came a prophet who spoke the words of his Father, and he spoke those words to all around him. Yeshua/Jesus is the ONLY one who could fit this description. He was Jewish like his brethren. He was of the line of David through his mother, Miriyam, and also through his adoptive father
Yosef. Many accepted his words; others did NOT. And those that did NOT and those who WILL NOT will have the answer to God in the future, like it says: "I will require it of him."
God came in the flesh to planet Earth, to teach the Words of the Father, to heal the sick, and to raise the dead, and to die on the Cross of Calvary, taking upon himself the curse of sin and death. This is the greatest example of love. Even the rabbis of the Talmud acknowledge a prophet like this. In "Mishneh Torah" (part of the Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Bible) it reads the following;
(Mishneh Torah: Shoftim) If there arises a king of the House of David who meditates on the Torah, who studies and teaches Torah and observes the commandments like David, who implores Israel to walk in the ways of Torah and fights the wars of God (against HaSatan) , certainly we can consider this King the Messiah.
Yeshua came to establish peace between mankind and God. Yes, He is king, yet his rulership is in the NEXT coming. He will rule the Earth in the future, but now, he should rule in our hearts and lives through the Holy Spirit. Here are some parallelisms between Moses and Yeshua to consider: 1) Both were subject to and saved from edicts of death by rulers. (Pharaoh and King Herod) 2) Both acted as covenant mediators. (Moses, in the Old Covenant, and Yeshua in the New) 3) Both spoke with God "face to face" . We could also say that "both met each other in person" on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Acts 3:22-26 and 7:37 both describe Yeshua as this "prophet likened unto his brethren." What more can we say?
One more point to look at in Torah/Bible portion "Shoftim" is verse 20 of chapter 16; "Righteous, Rightousness thou shalt pursue"
This concerns lawyers, judges, and magistrates performing their duties. In today's corrupt society, many are "bought" and thus "twist judgment," and the guilty are set free, and the innocent are sent behind bars. Perhaps not in all cases, but sometimes, and in some countries, "you are guilty until proven innocent."
Why is the word "righteousness" mentioned twice? Whenever a word is mentioned twice in the Bible, there is a reason for it, perhaps for emphasis, or maybe a double meaning. Here is one idea: One must pursue "righteousness or justice" through "righteous or just means"
Does the end justify the means? Can the son of an olive grove owner charge a servant for accidentally slipping and falling, breaking an urn of olive oil? Legally, he can, but would it be "just?" would it be a righteous act? Would it show mercy? No, it would not, because the servant's whole family would suffer if the servant got his pay docked for this accident. If the owner's son pardoned the servant, THAT would be just and merciful and the "right" thing to do, so, "righteousness, righteousness thou wilt pursue. (having the legal right, yet showing mercy)
We could also say this: We have been saved by grace, so we now have a "right" or "righteous" relationship with the Father through Yeshua by faith. Now, as believers, we ought to live our lives in "righteousness" or "right living," obeying God's commandments, performing good deeds, and putting to work our spiritual gifts, putting works behind our faith. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). So, remember, "righteous works should follow righteous faith" (as evidence of the fact)
May you have a blessed and godly week.
