Holy Bible Online 
Moses is recognized as one of the most important biblical figures in the Old Testament. God used him as a liberator to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land. Moses served as a leader, legislator, and prophet who received the Ten Commandments from God. He was also the author of the first five books of the Bible. His story highlights God's goodness and power in a challenging journey of faith and miracles.
Moses was born in Egypt at a time when his people, the Israelites, were enslaved. Despite the Egyptian oppression, they continued to grow in number, alarming Pharaoh, who ordered the death of all Hebrew male babies.
It was in this context that Moses was born. His mother, Jochebed, hid her son for three months before placing him in a basket in the Nile River, under the watchful eye of his sister.
The Pharaoh's daughter discovered Moses in the river and decided to adopt him, giving him a name that means "drawn from the waters." Moses' sister cleverly suggested that the princess hire a wet nurse, allowing Jochebed to care for her son until he was returned to the Pharaoh's daughter as her adopted son.
Raised in the palace, Moses was aware of his Hebrew origins. As an adult, witnessing the brutality against his people, he intervened, killing an Egyptian and fleeing to Midian, where he became a shepherd and married Zipporah. Years later, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush (flaming bush), commissioning him to free the Israelites.
Moses confronted Pharaoh, who resisted until God sent the devastating Ten Plagues. After the final plague, Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave but soon regretted it and pursued them to the sea, where God performed a miracle, parting the Red Sea and allowing His people to cross safely.
Despite witnessing miracles, the Israelites frequently complained and disobeyed God. Moses, always interceding for them, received the Ten Commandments and other laws on Mount Sinai. However, the people's unfaithfulness prolonged their journey in the desert to 40 years, a time of many trials and great learning.
Moses led the people to the borders of the Promised Land but did not enter it. He passed away at the age of 120 in Moab. He later appeared during the transfiguration of Jesus. His life and legacy are detailed in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), highlighting a story of faith, leadership, and redemption.
Significant Events in the Life of Moses
Origin and Childhood: Born in Egypt during a time of persecution, he was the son of Amram and Jochebed from the tribe of Levi. He was adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised in the Egyptian palace.
Called by God: He was chosen by God and encountered Him when he saw a burning bush, where he received the call to liberate his people.
Ten Plagues of Egypt: God used Moses to manifest ten powerful signs against Egypt's rebellion. The ten plagues were: water turned to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils and sores, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn.
Exodus from Egypt: Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt after God sent the tenth plague upon the firstborns. This event marked the first Passover.
Miracles and Wonders: As God's representative, Moses performed many miracles, including parting the Red Sea, bringing water from a rock, and achieving victory in battle against the Amalekites.
Ten Commandments: He received from God the fundamental laws for the Israelites, including moral and worship guidelines, on Mount Sinai.
Leading through the Desert: For 40 years, he guided the Israelites through the desert in search of the Promised Land, facing various trials.
Priest, Prophet, and Lawgiver: Moses interceded with God for the Israelites, brought God's message to the people, and served as judge, governor, and representative of Israel before the Lord. As a historical figure, Moses pointed to the coming of Christ, the great Prophet who would teach all things.
Legacy: He left a mark of faith and obedience to God; his wisdom and reverence inspired generations. Moses transmitted divine laws as a prophet of the Lord. As an important leader in Israel, he became a memorable reference for Judeo-Christian traditions.
Bible Study on the Life and Work of Moses
Birth of Moses
At the end of the book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible), we read that Joseph, son of the patriarch Israel, brought his family to Egypt. In that place, he had great power and influence. By divine grace, Joseph had become governor of all Egypt. There, he managed to store enough food for the entire people to survive a great famine.
Many years passed, that entire generation died, and a new Pharaoh reigned over Egypt. This new king did not know the history of the Israelites, a people that was growing in number, nor what Joseph had done for the country. Therefore, he feared that they might turn against him, allying themselves with foreign nations and bringing ruin to Egypt.
To prevent the Hebrews from continuing to multiply, the king increased their oppression and labor demands. Moreover, he ordered that all newborn male children be killed.
Moses was saved at his birth, and his mother, Jochebed, managed to hide him for three months. After that, she placed him in a basket and left him by the banks of the Nile. Moses' sister, Miriam, watched from a distance to see what would happen. The boy was found by the servants of Pharaoh's daughter and was brought to her.
The princess wanted to adopt the beautiful boy. Miriam, Moses' sister, asked her if she would like her to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Pharaoh's daughter agreed, and Moses' own mother was called to take on this task until he grew up and was adopted by the royal family.
Moses flees to Midian
When Moses was an adult, he went out to observe the work of his Hebrew brothers. Thus, he realized the difficulties and the hard work that the Hebrews were doing. Moses witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. In an attempt to do justice, Moses intervened on behalf of the Israelite.
He looked around to make sure there was no one nearby, killed the Egyptian, and hid his body. The next day, Moses went out again and began to separate a fight between two Hebrews, one of whom said, "Who made you leader and judge over us?" "Do you want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?"
Moses was afraid, suspecting that everyone already knew of his deed. In fact, the Pharaoh learned of this and sought to kill Moses. But he had already fled Egypt. He had taken refuge in a city called Midian.
God Calls Moses
After fleeing Egypt, Moses arrived in the city of Midian. There, he met the priest of the city, Reuel (Jethro), who gave his daughter Zipporah in marriage to Moses. They had a son and named him Gershom.
A long time passed after Moses fled Egypt, and in Midian, he became a shepherd. While tending his flock near Mount Sinai, God revealed Himself to Moses through a burning bush. At that moment, God called Moses to liberate His people in Egypt.
Moses resisted the call several times. The invitation to lead the exodus from Egypt felt too daunting for someone like him. But God demonstrated His power, stating that it would not be Moses' strength but the great God, "I Am Who I Am," who would free the people through mighty acts. Finally, Moses accepted to trust God and obey, also relying on the assistance of his brother Aaron.
The 10 Plagues of Egypt
Moses and Aaron went to Egypt. There, they spoke to Pharaoh, telling him that the God of their ancestors had sent them and that the people should be freed. Pharaoh refused to release his slaves, and he oppressed Israel even more harshly.
Many signs (extraordinary things) and plagues were performed through Moses to alert Pharaoh that he should submit to the will of the Creator God.
The plagues were as follows: the waters of the Nile turned to blood, a plague of frogs, a plague of lice, a plague of flies, the death of livestock, festering boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt.
Moses Frees the People
After the tenth plague, Pharaoh allowed the Hebrews to leave his land. This memorable day of liberation was to be remembered and celebrated. Thus, Moses conveyed the instructions for the first Passover. The people were to celebrate the transition from a life of slavery to a new and liberated life through God. After eating the Passover meal that night, the Israelites left Egypt with all their belongings.
After 430 years of living in Egypt, Israel left the time of slavery. They were to remember and celebrate this transition from generation to generation. However, despite all the evidence, the Egyptians did not give up. Pharaoh and his officials pursued the people of Israel.
As the army drew near, the people felt trapped: ahead was the Red Sea and behind them was Pharaoh and his army. They could never have imagined that their escape would be through the sea. But God instructed Moses to raise his staff over the Red Sea. The waters would part, allowing them to cross on dry land to the other side.
After the Hebrew people crossed the sea, God again instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over the waters, so that they would close behind him and deliver the Hebrew people from the Egyptian army, which was also trying to cross.
God's Miracles and the People's Complaints
After leaving Egypt, the Israelites faced many challenges as well as numerous miracles. In the desert of Shur, they encountered bitter waters. The people complained that they were going to die of thirst. But Moses prayed to God, and the waters became sweet and drinkable. Next, they found an oasis in Elim, with 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees, and they stayed there for a few days.
When they departed from there, they arrived at the desert of Sin. They complained against God and Moses because they struggled with food. But God rained down food from heaven, the manna - it was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. He also provided quail for the people to eat.
As they wandered, the people continually grumbled about various things. When they camped at Rephidim, they argued with Moses because they had no water. Moses cried out to God, and He instructed him to strike the rock at Mount Horeb with his staff so that water would gush forth for the people to drink.
Moses also acted as a judge among the people, mediating the disputes the Hebrews had with one another. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, wisely advised him to share this task with others. Thus, Moses chose capable men who feared God, were trustworthy, and were not greedy to help judge the people's needs.
The 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai
Two months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites arrived and camped in the desert of Sinai. God met with Moses on Mount Sinai and delivered His Law there. This Law provided instruction on how Israel should conduct itself as a people, promoting justice and demonstrating God's principles to the surrounding nations.
The Ten Commandments were given for the benefit of the people. They establish reverence for God, acknowledging His authority and guiding what is right and wrong.
While Moses was on the mountain receiving God's Laws, the people sought other gods. The Israelites created an idol in the form of a golden calf to worship. When Moses descended and saw the idol and the people celebrating, he became angry, broke the tablets of the Law, and destroyed the calf. After much time interceding for the people before God, Moses received new tablets of the Law.
Following this second period on the mountain, Moses returned with a radiant face, having been in the presence of God. The story up to this point can be found in the book of Exodus.
The 40 years wandering in the desert
As soon as Moses departed with the people from Mount Sinai towards Canaan, they complained about the manna. For although it was bread from heaven, they preferred meat, which they hadn't eaten for a long time. Due to all the murmuring, Israel wandered for 40 years in the desert. Amidst so many complaints from the Hebrew people, Moses felt extremely tired, to the point of giving up on life and asking for his own death.
I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me - if I have found favor in your eyes - and do not let me face my own ruin.
- Numbers 11:14-15
God heard Moses' despair in the face of his great responsibility. Therefore, God granted that seventy elders of the people of Israel would receive the Spirit that was upon Moses, so that the responsibility of Moses would be shared with them.
In the midst of this journey to the Promised Land, Moses married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1), and faced criticism from Aaron and Miriam, his siblings. Both actively participated in the entire story of Moses and were present at all the major moments, but they did not agree with his attitude at this point.
The biblical text cites this situation as the initial cause of disagreement, but God's words, when He confronted the two, reveal that they were rebelling against Moses' authority. God punished Miriam, leaving her leprous; and Moses, with compassion, asked God to heal and forgive his sister.
The 12 Spies in the Promised Land
To reclaim the Promised Land, the land of the Hebrews' ancestors, a plan for invasion was necessary. Part of the plan involved a census of the people, conducted and recorded at the beginning of the Book of Numbers; another part would be to send spies into the land to learn about the enemies they would face.
Thus, Moses and Aaron sent twelve spies. After the spies returned from their expedition, ten of them terrified the people, claiming they would certainly lose the battle because the enemies were too strong. The other two, Joshua and Caleb, gave a very different report: they trusted in God's power to guide them and were confident they could win.
However, the people listened to the ten spies with the negative report. Convinced, a portion of the people turned against Moses and Aaron, threatening to stone them.
God was prepared to annihilate the rebels, but Moses once again interceded for them.
The Disobedience of Moses
After the death of Miriam, Numbers 20 recounts that the people once again became thirsty. They went to Moses to complain, saying it would have been better for them to die earlier and that they saw no purpose in being brought out of Egypt and into the desert.
Moses and Aaron went to the Tent of Meeting to seek help from the Lord, who instructed them as follows:
Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.
- Numbers 20:8
God commanded them to speak to the rock, but Moses lost control and, in anger, struck the rock. Moses's act of disobedience revealed a lack of faith. In a way, it was also an affront to God's holiness, as Moses implied that it was his own strength providing the water, rather than recognizing it as a divine provision.
While it is true that Moses was angry with the rebellious population and responded accordingly, God decreed that Moses would not enter the Promised Land.
Some time later, after Aaron's death, the people complained again against God and Moses. Poisonous snakes were sent among them, leading them to repent and ask for help from Moses.
At that moment, God instructed Moses to make a Bronze Serpent so that everyone who was sick would be healed by looking at it. The story up to this point can be found in the Book of Numbers.
Succession and Farewell
Knowing that he could not enter the Promised Land, Moses asked God to choose a successor - someone capable of guiding the people and helping them in their quest for the divine promise.
Moses said to the Lord, “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.
- Numbers 27:15-17
Thus, Joshua, one of the spies who had remained faithful, was appointed as Moses's successor. The Book of Deuteronomy can be seen as Moses's farewell speech, in which he reviews all of God's Law with the people and encourages them to remain faithful to the divine promises.
The Death of Moses
The death of Moses is recounted in chapter 34 of Deuteronomy. Moses ascended Mount Nebo, from where he could view Canaan, the Promised Land. He died in Moab at the age of 120, still in full vigor, as the text states: "his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone" (Deuteronomy 34:7).
God buried him, and the Israelites mourned for him for thirty days, after which they began to follow the leadership of Joshua.
The Importance and Legacy of Moses
Moses is one of the greatest biblical figures, exemplifying leadership, faith, hope, perseverance, and patience. He was a servant who trusted in God's promises and lived according to the mission the Lord assigned him.
His entire life points to the coming of a perfect Deliverer who would rescue and free God's people from bondage. Jesus fully fulfilled the Law given through Moses and also completed the prophecy about the great Prophet who would come from God to teach all things.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.
- Deuteronomy 18:15
Another significant event was Moses's appearance during the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:3). Moses and Elijah were important figures from the past, representing the Law and the prophets, but the Father made it clear that Jesus was the one they should listen to: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:5b).
The great significance of Moses's life and ministry was to proclaim the Law and the principles of the Lord, serving as an (imperfect) shadow of Christ. As a leader, mediator, prophet, and deliverer, he pointed to the One who would be perfect: Jesus.
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