What do you want those who know you best to remember about you when you’re gone? What will your spouse, children, grandchildren, and friends say about you? Will they remember you as a kind, encouraging person? Will they share stories about how you listened and helped them in a difficult time? Did they feel you genuinely cared about them?
How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be?
Last week’s blog was an intriguing look at how Moses spent his last hours. https://www.cosdavis.com/moses-final-hours/ will refresh your memory and prepare you to appreciate the great legacy Moses left us.
We resume the story in Deuteronomy 34:8-12. Moses has died, and ” So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. For all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”
Moses is considered, by many scholars, to be the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. However, in my opinion, this section of Scripture was an addition by a scribe to credit Moses with the great legacy he had left his people. Moses was a great man, but he could not write about his own death and things that happened after he died.
What do we know about Moses’ legacy from the Old Testament?
Moses was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.
Verse 10 elevates him to the top spot among all the Old Testament prophets. “No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” The prophetic period is usually dated around 1400-400 BC. During this time, God called people like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah, and Elijah to write and speak to Israel on His behalf. Many of these were outstanding people who spoke courageously to power and warned kings about a coming judgment from God. These prophets served as God’s messengers to Israel and Judah during critical times when the lives of the nations were hanging in the balance.
It is easy to think of Moses more as a lawgiver than as a prophet because of his association with the Ten Commandments and religious and civil laws of Israel. So, why was he considered to be a prophet, the “greatest,” according to Deuteronomy 34:10? An Old Testament prophet, such as Jeremiah, was chosen by God to be His mouthpiece to speak of a coming event, a warning, judgment, or promise to God’s people. The prophet was a messenger with a direct message from the Lord. How did Jeremiah get the message God wanted delivered? In the book of Jeremiah, we see such phrases as, “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord…” Jeremiah 11:1. The same is true of Elijah and other Old Testament prophets; somehow the word of the Lord “came” to them, but God and Moses spoke directly with each other. Moses is the only Old Testament prophet to converse directly with God about the message he was to bring to God’s people. His direct connection to the Lord was one thing that set him apart from the others. But there was something else.
“For all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, for all the mighty power and for all the terror which Moses performed in the sight of Israel.” Numbers 34:11-12.
God’s mighty power was demonstrated through Moses, convincing Pharaoh to free the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. When hail, frogs, locusts, and turning the Nile into blood did not convince the hard-hearted tyrant to release God’s people, God sent the death angel to kill all the firstborn, and Pharaoh relented.
So, one part of Moses’ legacy was his work as the greatest Old Testament prophet. Although he was reluctant to accept Yahweh’s commission to free His people, he yielded his life to the Lord and became one of the great heroes of the faith. He is listed among the notable heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, where it says, “…He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26.
Quite a legacy of faithfulness! And there is much more we’ll learn about Moses’ legacy to inspire and challenge us to fulfill God’s calling upon our lives. Do you realize that every day you are building your legacy? How do you want to be remembered by those who love you? Will you pass to others something that is of eternal, lasting value?