Throughout the Bible we esteem individuals referred to as heroes of faith., and, as we lift someone as hero, we tend to ignore their flaws and challenges while we elevate their successes. George Washington, Babe Ruth, Martin Luther King, and others are idealized in our culture as people like Abraham, Moses, or David would have been in Jewish culture. None of these people are perfect, though, and the inspiration should not be in a perception of perfection as much as it should be in the realization that these people are heroes despite their faults and shortcomings.

Abraham

In Genesis 12:1, God commands Abram to leave the land of his fathers to migrate to land God will show him. Abraham is cited as one of the examples of faith in Hebrews 11, and the children of Israel held their forefather in high esteem.

We see a chink in Abraham’s character in Genesis 12:12-13 when he asks Sarai to pose as his sister to spare their lives. In contrast, Genesis 15 records God promising Abraham a son, and Abraham trusts God enough to prepare to sacrifice that son in Genesis 22. How did Abraham grow from the point of lying to save his life to being willing to trust God with the life of his only son.

Like us, Abraham is working with a narrow timeline, and he lived in immediate dangers and consequences. He could see evidence where his life might be in danger. He could see evidence that bearing a child by Sarah would be improbable, both even laughing at the idea that they would have a child. He could see the end of the promise in sacrificing Isaac to God. The obstacles set before him are as real and tangible as those we face. However, when Abraham falls, he presses on. He grows in faith with each trial.

Moses

Moses is raised in a comfortable life, and we remember well his leadership of the people, the plagues against Egypt, his role in God’s plan to deliver Israel from Egypt. The Passover in Exodus 12 is initiated through Moses, setting up a sacrifice that would parallel that of Jesus. Moses frees Israel. He is the lawgiver, but he did not start out so strong.

In Exodus 3 and 4, when God appears to Moses on Mount Horeb, Moses makes excuse after excuse to avoid doing God’s will. He is not excited by the prospect of returning to Egypt, facing his brethren, and facing his former household. Even after accomplishing the Exodus, Moses would grow frustrated with the people over whom he shepherded. In Numbers 20:10, Moses defies God in anger when bringing water from a rock and neglects to honor God in the act. Despite the consequences of his action, Moses gets back to work and continues to guide and instruct Israel.

David

We’re familiar with the story of David and Goliath. He trusts God to protect him, not only from Goliath, but from a jealous King Saul as well. Saul continually tries to kill David, but David refuses to kill Saul even when given the opportunity. He is described as a man after God’s own heart.

Unfortunately, David meets Bathsheba – an encounter resulting in adultery, in lies, in subterfuge, and in murder. In contrasts, Psalm 51 illustrates a truly repentant heart, and this repentance is not the result of being caught. Rather, it is the result of someone who realizes he has sinned against his God. He repents, and he continues to press on for God.

Living Like Heroes

Why do we have the bad qualities of these individuals recorded along with the good? It is so we can see the humanity of these individuals and realize we are capable of the same achievements. Where are today’s heroes of faith? Some call modern day heroes “Saints,” and they are on the right track if incorrect in implementation. God’s saints are today’s heroes of faith, and that involves every person who has come to accept Christ in their lives. We are to be the role models and the leaders. We are to be the ones to spread God’s word and share His promises with others.

Each of us have our own unique challenges and obstacles, and, if we want to be the saints we should be, we have to want it bad. We have to willing to be different. What we do gives credibility to what we say. We have to be willing to be singled out. It’s not always going to be easy, and we may falter or stumble. However, like these examples we have studied, we need to be able to place our trust in God, get back up, brush ourselves off, and keep going. Wherever we are, whoever we are around, we should be role models that will make an impact on those around us. We often read of these past heroes of faith. Now it is time for us to be heroes ourselves.

By Steve Barr

Tags: examples, faith, david, moses, abraham

Update: Fixed some point groupings and scripture references as well as added a couple more parallels from Tim.

Colossians 2:16-17 records Paul referring to the customs of the old law as shadows of Christ, and Hebrews 8:4-5 refers to the levitical priesthood as a shadow of things to come. Likewise, Hebrews 10:1 calls the old law a shadow of good things to come. We’ve examined how the Sabbath days and years are shadows as are the implements of the temple. Even individuals serve as shadows of Christ, and, in Hebrews 3, Moses is one of these individuals.

Parallels Between Moses and Jesus

The first six verses of Hebrews 3 draw parallels between Jesus and Moses. In this, there are some immediate facts that come to mind.

• Exodus 2:3-10 records Moses’ fate as a baby. He is preserved in infancy while other male children are condemned, and a parallel to this can be found in Matthew 2:13-15 when Herrod orders the murder of males two and under.
  
  
• Both are raised by a step-parent, so to speak. Moses is raised in Pharaoh's household in Exodus 2:10, and, in Luke 3:23, Jesus is described as the supposed son of Joseph. He is not the birth son of this man.
  
  
• We have little recorded of either childhood. With Jesus, we have his studies in the temple at twelve and then his adult ministry. Moses we see as a baby and then as an adult.
  
  
• Both Jesus and Moses are described as "apostles," or sent-out ones in Exodus 3:10-12 and Hebrews 3:1.
  
  
• Both denounce offered riches. Hebrews 11:24 records Moses’ faithful revocation of the privileges afforded one in his position for the sake of God. In II Corinthians 8:9, Paul speaks of Christ inflicting Himself with poverty for the sake of others.
  
  
• In Exodus 34:27-28, Moses fasts for 40 days and nights, and Jesus does likewise after His baptism in Matthew 4.
  
  
• Exodus 14:21 records Moses controlling sea and wind, and Jesus does this before the apostles in Matthew 8:26.
  
  
• Moses feeds the people with bread and meat as does Jesus (fish and loaves) in Matthew 6.
  
  
• Numbers 11:16 has Moses gathering 70 men to help his work, and Luke 10:1 records Jesus recruiting seventy men.
  
  
• Moses is a law-giver according to Exodus 35:1, and John 12:49-50 as well as Matthew 28:18-20 put Jesus in a position of authority as a law-giver.
  
  
• Both speak God’s word from a mount. Moses, Mt. Sinai; Jesus, the sermon on the mount.
  
  
• Moses establishes the tabernacle in Exodus 35-40, and Jesus serves the purpose of the tabernacle in John 1:14.
  
  
• Exodus 34:35 records Moses’ face shining from the presence of the Lord, and, in Matthew 17:2, Jesus’ face shines as the sun.
  
  
• Both establish memorials – the Passover and the Lord’s Supper, both involving blood of the lamb.
  
  
• Both are rejected by their own people, Moses by the freed Israelite slaves in Exodus 2:14, and many disciples forsook Jesus in John 6:66 as do people from His own hometown in John 7:12-13.
  
  
• Numbers 12:1-2 and Luke 7:5: Both are rejected by their own families.
  
  
• Both endure murmuring. Exodus 15:24 is but one example of the Israelites complaining against Moses, and Luke 15:2 (among other passages) shows the scribes and Pharisees murmuring about Jesus’ association with sinners.
  
  
• Both are humble: Numbers 12:3 and Matthew 11:29.
  
  
• Both are punished for their brethren. In Deuteronomy 1:37, 3:26, and 4:21, Moses tells the people God was angry at him for their sakes. Isaiah 53, I John 3:16, and Romans 5:6-8 explain Jesus’ sacrifice based on our sins.
  
  
• Mysterious circumstances surround the death of each. Deuteronomy 34:5-7 shows Moses being buried anonymously by God at a fit 129. Jesus death features an empty tomb and the confusion surrounding that fact.
  
  
• Both are deliverers from bondage. Moses, in Exodus 3:10, is to bring the people out of slavery, and John 8:32-36 speaks of Christ’s truth setting us free. Romans 6:5-6 describes our former life in sin as a bondage that Jesus breaks.
  

Conclusion

Parallels such as these are not coincidental or accidental. The Jewish culture surrounding Jesus would have seen many of these parallels in His life. Deuteronomy 18:15-18 records Moses saying that God will rise up another prophet like himself, and Acts 3:19-26 has Peter stating that Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise, pointing to the entirety of the prophetic canon as leading up to Christ.

Moses is the prototypical deliverer and law-giver, and Jesus fills that shadow. Today, we must give heed to everything Jesus says and recognize Him as our deliverer from the bondage of sin.

By Tim Smelser

Tags: parallels, jesus, moses