Moses the Man: Scripture’s Tensions, God’s Wisdom, and the Humility of Leadership

Moses Was 120 Years Old — Give Him Some Wiggling Room

In the Torah portion of Va'etchanan, Moses retells the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel gathered on the shore of the Jordan River. This is approximately 38 to 40 years after God spoke those commandments with an audible voice booming from the top of Sinai, and after Moses received them carved with God's own hand on two tablets of stone.

The differences between the Exodus 20 version and the Deuteronomy 5 version are not dramatic — but they are real. The most visible difference starts with the Sabbath commandment. In Exodus 20, the word is "remember" the Sabbath day. In Deuteronomy 5, the word is "observe" the Sabbath day.

But there is a big difference between "remembering" the Sabbath day and "observing" the Sabbath day. You can remember it — and then go to work in your field or your garage.

Why am I bringing these differences? Because some Jewish rabbis, with great demagogy and dishonest intentions, confuse Christians by telling them that the New Testament's Gospels have so many contradictions and incongruities that they can't be trusted. Well, the so-called Old Testament has much greater and even more serious synoptic problems than the New Testament does. Here you have the holiest revelation that was recited and carved with God's own hand on two tablets of stone — heard by all of Israel with an audible voice — and Moses, who was present at Sinai and heard every word, transmitted it with minor but real differences.

And the problems go further: in one case between the books of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles, the same event is attributed to God in one account and to Satan in another. Jewish apologists who come to argue against Jewish disciples of Yeshua ought to be very careful, because on the basis of such texts one could draw a parallel formula that says God (Jehovah) is equal to Satan — which would be a preposterous and dangerous conclusion.

I personally, having become old, know how easy it is to forget things and misquote sometimes because of memory issues. Several years ago I was having some memory issues with names of people, and I had a dear friend who was the head of the Geriatric Department of UCLA test me to see if I was having the beginning of old age dementia. After a long test, Dr. Jim's diagnosis was that I don't have any old age dementia — I just have too much loaded on this top computer that it takes a short time to bring it from the hard drive in the clouds to the front screen. But we must not forget that Moses was 120 years old, not in his 70s, and we ought to give him a little more wiggling room. He got it mostly right and covered the ground of every detail.

Three Reasons God Was Actually Being Kind

Was God being cruel to Moses in saying no — or wise and kind? I believe the answer is the latter, and here are three reasons.

First, every leader needs to know when it is time to step down and allow the young leaders to take responsibility without interference. God had instructed Moses to pass the baton to Joshua the son of Nun. Allowing Moses to cross the Jordan with the children of Israel would have been a sign to the people that Moses was not really comfortable and fully trusting in the new leadership of Joshua and Caleb — men who had already proven their faithfulness and faith. Leaders must step down. Moses knew this and Joshua accepted the challenge.

Second, Moses had sinned. When the people needed water in Numbers 20, God told Moses to speak to the rock. Moses struck it instead — twice. The mistake was not the physical act of striking the rock with his staff. The mistake was returning in his old age to being the old Moses who lost his temper and killed the Egyptian in Exodus 2. That consequential act had already sent Moses to 40 years as a shepherd of Jethro's flocks in the wilderness of Sinai — the school of hard knocks. And on that occasion Moses also took credit for the water:

— a much more serious issue, because the credit belonged to God alone.

Third, allowing Moses to cross the Jordan with the children of Israel would have been a sign to the people that Moses was not comfortable and fully trusting in the new leadership. These men — Joshua, Caleb — had proven their faithfulness. The passing of the baton had to be clean.

Not Puffed Up Like a 100-Pound Turkey

Just imagine what would happen to a pastor or a rabbi who was 40 days and nights in the presence of God Almighty on top of Mount Sinai. Just imagine a pastor who saved his congregation from a sure death at the hands of the enemy. The normal pastor would be puffed up like a 100-pound turkey and think that he deserves service and a bigger salary and a new fancy car and people's praise and even worship. I know pastors who have done very little for their people, but they are great motivational speakers who speak without a stutter, who have become millionaires and have greater demands for perks than Queen Victoria.

Not Moses. He understood his place in God's array of servants. Although raised for 40 years as the prince of Egypt, he remained humble — but with a little normal human bitterness when the Lord told him no. I don't hold that bitterness against him. On the contrary, I hold his sorrow and mild anger as one of the wonderful divine revelations that added to the greatness and humanity of this great man of God. He was not a perfect man. He was 100% human — with all his human greatness and all his human weakness. How wonderful that the Lord can use normal human beings and make them great leaders and humble servants of His people.

I am also happy that no one knows the grave of Moses. It was a grand and divine scheme of the Creator to keep the grave of Moses hidden and a secret. You can imagine what would happen if the children of Israel knew where Moses was buried. There would be shrines and monuments and places of worship and museums built in his honor. God did the wise thing and didn't destroy the humanity and humility of Moses — keeping it intact even after his death.