Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 18:15
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;
15. A prophet from the midst [ of thee ] of thy brethren like unto me shall the LORD thy God raise up to thee ] Such is the emphatic order of the original, missed by EVV. A prophet not individual but collective 1 [143] , i.e. a succession of prophets, for the whole spirit of the passage is that God shall never fail to speak directly to His people is placed at the head of the sentence in forcible contrast to the diviners and necromancers just described, a speaker for God as Aaron was spokesman for Moses (J, Exo 4:16; Exo 7:1). Like the king (Deu 17:15) he must be an Israelite (Sam., from the midst of thy brethren); (LXX B etc. from thy, Act 3:22; Act 7:37, from your, brethren); diviners and necromancers were foreign (Isa 2:6, Nah 3:4, Isa 47:9; Isa 47:12). Like unto me, i.e. (as the next v. shows) in being the mediator of God; the phrase does not imply equality in rank with Moses; according to Deu 34:10, there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, cp. Num 12:6-8.
[143] Cp. the use of the sing, king in Deu 17:14 ff., and judge in Jdg 2:18. ‘ A Prophet is used by enallage for a number of prophets. Moses is here treating of the continual manner of the Church’s government. Not at all more correct is their opinion who apply it strictly to Christ alone, for it is well to bear in mind what I have said respecting God’s intention, viz. that no excuse should be left for the Jews, if they turned aside to familiar spirits or magicians, since God would never leave them without prophets and teachers. But if He had referred them to Christ alone, the objection would naturally arise that it was hard for them to have neither prophets nor revelations for two thousand years.’ (Calvin.)
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The ancient fathers of the Church and the generality of modern commentators have regarded our Lord as the prophet promised in these verses. It is evident from the New Testament alone that the Messianic was the accredited interpretation among the Jews at the beginning of the Christian era (compare the marginal references, and Joh 4:25); nor can our Lord Himself, when He declares that Moses wrote of Him Joh 5:45-47, be supposed to have any other words more directly in view than these, the only words in which Moses, speaking in his own person, gives any prediction of the kind. But the verses seem to have a further, no less evident if subsidiary, reference to a prophetical order which should stand from time to time, as Moses had done, between God and the people; which should make known Gods will to the latter; which should by its presence render it unnecessary either that God should address the people directly, as at Sinai (Deu 18:16; compare Deu 5:25 ff), or that the people themselves in lack of counsel should resort to the superstitions of the pagan.
In fact, in the words before us, Moses gives promise both of a prophetic order, and of the Messiah in particular as its chief; of a line of prophets culminating in one eminent individual. And in proportion as we see in our Lord the characteristics of the prophet most perfectly exhibited, so must we regard the promise of Moses as in Him most completely accomplished.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Deu 18:15
A Prophet . . . like unto me.
Christ the greatest of the prophets
I. The office of a prophet in ancient Israel. He was the voice of God to the nation.
1. Prophets are found from the earliest times in Israel (Gen 20:7; Psa 105:15). In the times of the Judges (Jdg 4:4; Jdg 4:6; Jdg 4:14; Jdg 6:7). Samuel the founder of a settled order of prophets (Act 3:24). Continued now in Christian ministry.
2. Note that God appoints prophets (or speakers), not the priests, as His representatives and specially commissioned messengers.
3. The awful responsibility of the speaker for God to say only what God has commanded.
4. The word of the prophet was to be tested by its fulfilment (verse 22).
II. The promise of the text permanently fulfilled in Christ. Applied by Christ and His apostles (Act 3:22; Act 5:37; Joh 5:46).
1. Christ and Moses alike in some points.
(1) Both founders of Gods kingdom.
(2) Both received Gods will from immediate and direct communion with God; not in visions, dreams, etc., like the other prophets.
2. Christ and Moses contrasted in other respects.
(1) Moses a sinful man; Christ absolutely holy.
(2) Moses gave the law which kills; Christ brought grace and truth, which take away sin.
(3) Moses founded an outward worldly theocracy, which could only be imperfect and temporary; Christ a spiritual kingdom of God, which overcomes sin and death, and is eternal.
(4) The relations of God to Moses were given among the terrors of Sinai, which men could not bear. Christ came veiling the splendours of God in His lowly humanity, and drawing men to Him.
III. Imperative duty to hearken to Christ (Mat 17:5). (Cunningham Geikie, D. D.)
The similarity between Moses and Christ
As Moses, in the early part of his, career, refused the Egyptian monarchy, because it could be gained by him only by disloyalty to God, so Jesus turned away from the kingdoms of the World and the glory of them, because they were offered on condition that He would fall down and worship Satan. As Moses became the emancipator of his people from their house of bondage, so Jesus lived and died that He might save His people from their sins; as Moses, penetrating to the soul of the symbolism of idolatry, introduced a new dispensation wherein symbolism was allied to spirituality of worship, so Jesus, seizing the spirituality of the Mosaic system, freed it from its national restrictions, and ushered in the day when neither at Jerusalem nor at Gerizim would men seek to localise the service of Jehovah, but the true worshipper would worship the Father anywhere, believing that the character of the worship is of infinitely higher importance than the place where it is offered; as Moses was preeminently a lawgiver, so Jesus speaks with authority, and has, in His Sermon on the Mount, laid down a code which not only expounds, but expands and glorifies, or, in one word, fulfils the precepts of the Decalogue; as Moses stood the mediator of a covenant between God and Israel, representing God to the people, and representing the people to God, interceding for them when they sinned, while at the same time he admitted and condemned their guilt, so Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, standing between God and man, and bridging, by His atonement and intercession, the gulf between the two. We cannot wonder, therefore, that, in the vision of the Apocalypse, they who have gotten the victory over the beast and his image are represented as singing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The prophet like unto Moses
I. The necessity for a Mediator.
1. There was a necessity for a mediator in the case of the Israelites, first, because of the unutterable glory of God, and their own inability to endure that glory, either with their eye, their ear, or their mind.
2. This sufficient reason is supported by another most weighty fact, namely, that God cannot commune with men because of their sin.
II. The person of the appointed Mediator. Dwell upon this fact, that our Lord Jesus was raised up from the midst of us, from among our brethren. In Him is fulfilled that glorious prophecy, I have exalted One chosen out of the people. He was not one who boasted His descent, or gloried in the so-called blue blood, or placed Himself among the Porphyrogeniti, who must not see the light except in marble halls. He was born in a common house of entertainment where all might come to Him, and He died with His arms extended as a pledge that He continued to receive all who came to Him. The main point, however, upon which I want to dwell is, that Jesus is like to Moses. There had been no better mediator found than Moses up to Moses day; the Lord God, therefore, determined to work upon that model with the great prophet of His race, and He has done so in sending forth the Lord Jesus.
1. I can only mention in what respects, as a Mediator, Jesus is like to Moses, and surely one is found in the fact that Moses beyond all that went before him was peculiarly the depositary of the mind of God.
2. Moses, to take another point, is the first of the prophets with whom God kept up continuous revelation. To other men He spake in dreams and visions, but to Moses by plain and perpetual testimony.
3. Moses is described as a prophet mighty in word and deed, and it is singular that there never was another prophet mighty in word and deed till Jesus came.
4. Moses, again, was the founder of a great system of religious law, and this was not the case with any other but the Lord Jesus.
5. Moses was faithful before God as a servant over all His house, and so was Jesus as a Son over His own house. He is the faithful and true Witness, the Prince of the kings of the earth.
6. Moses, too, was zealous for God and for His honour. Remember how the zeal of Gods house did cat him up. When he saw grievous sin among the people, he said, Who is on the Lords side? and there came to him the tribe of Levi, and he said, Go in and out, and slay ye everyone his men that were joined to Baal-peor. Herein he was the stern type of Jesus, who took the scourge of small cords, and drove out the buyers and sellers, and said, Take these things hence: it is written, My Fathers house shall be a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves; for the zeal of Gods house had eaten Him up.
7. Moses, by Divine grace, was very meek, and perhaps this is the chief parallel between him and Jesus. I have said, by Divine grace, for I suppose by nature he was strongly passionate. There are many indications that Moses was not meek, but very far from it, until the Spirit of Cod rested upon him. He slew the Egyptian hastily, and in after years he went out from the presence of Pharaoh in great anger. Once and again you find him very wroth: he took the tables of stone and dashed them in pieces in his indignation, for Moses anger waxed hot; and that unhappy action which, occasioned his being shut out of Canaan was caused by his being provoked in sprat so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips. Divine grace had so cooled and calmed him that in general he was the gentlest of men. But what shall I say of my Master? Let Him speak for Himself! Come unto Me, all ye, etc.
8. Our Lord was like to Moses in meekness, and then to sum up all–Moses was the mediator for God with the people, and so is our blessed Lord. Moses came in Gods name to set Israel free from Pharaohs bondage, and he did it: Jesus came to set us free from a worse bondage still, and He has achieved our freedom.
III. The authority of our great Mediator; and let this be the practical lesson–Hear ye Him. If sin had not maddened men they would listen to every word of God through such a Mediator as Jesus is. Alas! it is not so; and the saddest thing of all is that some hear of Him as if His story were a mere tale or an old Jewish ballad of eighteen hundred years ago. Yet, remember, God speaks by Jesus still, and every word of His that is left on record is as solemnly alive today as when it first leaped from His blessed lips. Note how my text puts it. It saith here, Whosoever shall not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. Today God graciously requires it of some of you, and asks why you have not listened to Christs voice. You have not accepted His salvation. Why is this? You know all about Jesus, and you say it is true, but you have never believed in Him: why is this? God requires it of you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Of Christs prophetical office
This passage foretells the Saviour; it is spoken of Christ. There are several names given to Christ as a Prophet: He is called the Counsellor in Christ alone the angel of the Covenant is completed; the Messenger of the covenant, a Lamp, the Morning Star. Jesus Christ is the great Prophet of His Church.
I. How doth Christ teach?
1. Externally, by His Word (Psa 119:105).
2. Christ teaches these sacred mysteries inwardly by the Spirit (Joh 16:13).
II. What are the lessons Christ teaches?
1. He teaches us to see into our own hearts. The heart of man is a great deep, which is not easily fathomed. But Christ, when He teacheth, removes the veil of ignorance, and lights a man into his own heart; and now he sees swarms of vain thoughts, he blusheth to see how sin mingles with his duties, his stars are mixed with clouds, he prays, as Austin, that God would deliver him from himself.
2. He shows us the vanity of the creature. A natural man sets up his happiness here, worships the golden image, but he that Christ hath anointed with His eye-salve hath a spirit of discerning, he looks upon the creature in its night dress, sees it to be empty and unsatisfying, not commensurate to a heaven-born soul.
3. The excellency of the things unseen. Christ gives the soul a sight of glory, a prospect of eternity.
III. How does Christs teaching differ from other teaching?
1. Christ teaches the heart. All that the dispensers of the Word can do is but to work knowledge, Christ works grace; they can but give you the light of the truth, Christ gives you the love of the truth; they can only teach you what to believe, Christ teacheth how to believe.
2. Christ gives us a taste of the Word. The light of knowledge is one thing, the savour another. Christ makes us taste a savouriness in the Word.
3. Christ, when He teaches, makes us obey.
4. Christ teaches easily. He can with the least touch of His Spirit convert; He can say, Let there be light; with a word He conveys grace.
5. Christ, when He teacheth, makes men willing to learn.
6. Christ, when He teacheth, doth not only illuminate, but animate. He doth so teach, as He doth quicken.
Use–
1. See here an argument of Christs Divinity: had He not been God He could never have known the mind of God, or revealed to us those secrets of heaven, those deep mysteries, which no man or angel could find out. Who but God can anoint the eyes of the blind, and give thee not only light but sight?
2. See what a cornucopia, or plenty of wisdom is in Christ, who is the great Doctor of His Church, and gives saving knowledge to all the elect. The body of the sun must needs be full of clarity and brightness, which enlightens the whole world: Christ is the great luminary, in whom are hid all treasures of knowledge.
3. See the misery of man in the state of nature.
4. See the happy condition of the children of God, they have Christ to be their Prophet: all thy children shall be taught of the Lord: God is made to us wisdom. Labour to have Christ for your Prophet; He teacheth savingly, He is an interpreter of a thousand, He can untie those knots which puzzle very angels. Till Christ teach, we never learn any lesson; till Christ is made to us wisdom, we shall never be wise to salvation.
IV. What shall we do to have Christ for our teacher?
1. See your need of Christs teaching. You cannot see your way without this Morning Star.
2. Go to Christ to teach you. And that we may be encouraged to go to our great Prophet–
(1) Jesus Christ is very willing to teach us. Why else did He enter into the calling of the ministry but to teach the mysteries of heaven?
(2). There are none so dull and ignorant but Christ can teach them. Everyone is not fit to make a philosophers scholar of–a Mercury is not made out of every block of wood; but there is none so dull but Christ can make a good scholar of. Even such as are ignorant, and of low parts, Christ teacheth them in such a manner, that they know more than the great sages and wise men of the world.
(3) Wait upon the means of grace which Christ hath appointed. Though Christ teacheth by His Spirit, yet He teacheth in the use of ordinances. Wait at the gates of wisdoms door.
(4) If you would have the teachings of Christ, walk according to that knowledge which you have already. Use your little knowledge well, and Christ will teach you more. (T. Watson.)
Our great Prophet
I. First, consider the prophetic office of Christ in His Church, for which He was preeminently qualified; and the first feature of His qualifications for that office which we shall mention is His Divine prescience. He sees the end from the beginning. Moreover, orthodox teaching pertains to the prophets office, and here also our blessed Lord hath the preeminence, for He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. The sum of His teaching when on earth, as well as by His Spirit to this day, is life in Himself alone.
II. Now proceed to the union and affinity described; like unto Moses, and of their brethren. This sets forth Moses eminently a type of Christ, and we will name a few particulars in which the type and antitype are alike, though the latter infinitely surpasses the former. Moses was a man of fame, he was proclaimed king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. Jesus was proclaimed King of Zion by God the Father, saying, I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion, and there He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet; but here the antitype infinitely exceeds the type, for Moses could only reign over the people, but Jesus reigns both over and in their hearts. Moses was famed as a warrior, and Amalek and Moab felt his prowess–Sihon and Og fell before him; hut Jesus, as the Captain of our salvation, has spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them, yea, He has vanquished death, hell, and the grave, and is still going forth upon His white horse (Gospel truth) from conquering to conquer. Moses was famed for meekness (Num 12:3). Jesus, our Prophet, was like unto Moses, meek and lowly, and His meekness never failed, even when He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself. The faithfulness of Moses is also recorded by the apostle to his honour, Moses, verily, was faithful in all His house as a servant. He was faithful to God for his people, and he was faithful to the people for God. So our glorious Prophet was like him, and far surpassed him, as a Son over His own house: His very name is Faithful and True, as the Holy Ghost tells us in the Apocalypse; and by His servant Isaiah He says, Faithfulness is the girdle of His reins.
III. Notice his being raised up supernaturally–The Lord thy God raised Him up. In fact, everything pertaining to Christianity must of necessity be supernatural; and all that religion which originates with fallen nature, and which fallen nature can comprehend, must be spurious. The question which our Lord put to the Jews respecting the ministry of John fixes the standard of real religion–Is it from heaven or of me? Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and, consequently, is supernatural–every act of faith, as well as the gift of it, is supernatural; yea, the very life of godliness in the soul is supernatural life.
IV. This brings us to show that our great Prophet is entitled to obedience, yea, that it is demanded, Unto Him ye shall hearken. Without this we cannot be reckoned among His sheep, for He says, My sheep hear My voice; when He speaks in His Word, by His ministers, or in the secret whispers of His love; they hearken to Him in these communications, whether they be for instruction, reproof, or comfort. As a Prophet He hath graciously said, I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. It is, therefore, our privilege, and must be our wisdom, to sit at His feet and hearken to His words. By hearkening to Him I understand the embracing of His embassy, as the sent of God the Father on the great errand of salvation; and this will include the receiving of every doctrine He preached–every privilege He bestows–and every precept He enjoins; all which requires great grace from Him. Again, in embracing His embassy, and so hearkening to this Prophet, there will be a settled reliance upon His person and work as the great subject of Old Testament prophecy; so that whoever reads the prophecies without an eye to Jesus, will find them but a dead letter without spirit or life. (J. Irons.)
The need of a Mediator between God and man felt and acknowledged
I. On this great occasion God was dealing with the children of Israel as the moral governor of men, the Lawgiver and Judge of His accountable creatures.
II. This grand publication of Gods holy law and sovereign will to the assembled Israelites, was accompanied with suitable attendant circumstances of awe and majesty.
III. The Israelites, by these symbols of awful power and holiness, were filled with solemn dread and made application to Moses, that immediate communications from God might no more be given; but that he would be their Mediator, receive the commands of God, and declare them to the people.
IV. Observe Gods approval of the application of the people and His compliance with it. (Essex Remembrancer.)
The resemblance between Moses and Christ
I. Consider Moses as a leader and lawgiver. You are to observe that both Moses and Christ proved their commission by miracles–a thing that cannot be affirmed of any among the prophets of Israel. They both came to an enslaved race; they both set loose the prisoners; and, when proof of their authority was demanded, they both wrought wonders beyond human power–wonders which equally showed their dominion over the elements, and over life and death. Though one used his might in destroying, and the other only in works of benevolence, yet there was much the same opposition raised against the one and the other–the magicians contending with Moses, and evil spirits contending with Christ. And the deliverances effected by the two were singularly alike, bearing evidently the one towards the other, the relation of type and antitype. Moses broke the yoke from the necks of the captive people; Christ the yoke from the necks of the whole human race. But when Moses made a passage for Israel out of Egypt, all danger was not escaped, nor all difficulties surmounted. The former tyrants pursued the free tribes, and sought to recover the ascendency they had lost; and though Christ hath redeemed us from the power of Satan, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers, who knows not that evil spirits, eager to regain their former dominion, pursue those that follow the Captain of Salvation, and strive, with ceaseless energy, to prevent their final escape? When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, he did indeed tell them of a rich and goodly land, which God appointed as their inheritance, but he did not at once put them in possession of it; on the contrary, he conducted them into a dreary wilderness, where they were exposed to continual trials, and harassed with various afflictions. Is it not thus, also, with regard to our redemption? By Christ we hear of a mighty Canaan, reserved for the followers of the Redeemer, but there is not an immediate entrance; a wide desert has to be traced, set with snares and peopled with enemies, and it is only through much tribulation that we can take possession of the heritage. It is not only as a leader, but equally as a lawgiver, that Moses bears a striking resemblance to Christ.
II. But we do not think that it was in his capacity as a leader and a lawgiver that Moses most eminently typified Christ. We go on to observe that Moses acted as a mediator between God and the Israelites; and if as mediator, then was he indeed like the Lord our Redeemer. The name of mediator is expressly given by St. Paul to Moses; for you will remember that, in writing to the Galatians, be says, The law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. The reference here is unquestionably to Moses; and, therefore, his claim to being reckoned a mediator rests upon evidence which admits of no dispute.
III. Observe, more minutely, the particulars of Moses life. With regard to the very infancy of the two whom we wish to set before you as type and antitype, you will remember that Moses was wonderfully preserved when in childhood–preserved from Pharaohs order; and thus was Christ preserved when Herod slew all the children in Bethlehem. Moses fled from his country to escape the wrath of the king, and then there came to him a message, Go, return into Egypt for all the men are dead which sought thy life. Christ fled in like manner, and then there came a message, in almost the same words, to Joseph, Return, for they are dead which sought the young childs life. Moses, as we before said, contended with the magicians, and forced them to acknowledge his power–Christ contended with evil spirits, and obtained from them a similar confession. Immediately before the emancipation of Israel, Moses instituted the Passover–immediately before redeeming mankind, Christ instituted the Lords Supper. When Moses had to appoint elders, he appointed seventy–when Christ chose His disciples, He also chose seventy. Into the land that was to be conquered Moses sent twelve men as spies–when the world was to be subdued, Christ sent twelve men as apostles. How did Moses overcome Amalek? By extending both his arms, and keeping them stretched out. How did Christ subdue all men? Only by suffering His hands to be nailed to the Cross. As a prophet, Moses had to deal with a barbarous generation, who were not to be won over to the obeying of God; and who, consequently, with the exception of two, all perished in the wilderness, in forty years. And was not Christ sent to an obdurate people? Moses had to endure ill-treatment from his own family–his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam rebelled against him; and we are told of Christ, Neither did His brethren believe on Him. Moses fed the people miraculously in the wilderness; Christ fed thousands miraculously in the desert. And, in making a covenant of blood between God and the people, did he not again represent the Redeemer, who, by His own blood, hath brought nigh those who were sometime afar off? It was not until Moses was dead that the people could enter the promised land; it was only by the death of Christ that the kingdom of heaven was opened to believers. It was, in one sense, for the iniquities of the people that Moses died. The Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; but I must die. We need not tell you that it was for the sins of the world that Christ poured out His soul unto death, in the fulness of His strength, when His eye was not dim nor His natural force abated. Did Moses go up in the sight of the people to the top of Mount Nebo, on purpose to die? and when Christ was yet in the flower of His age, unworn by any sickness, did He go up in the presence of the nation, to the summit of Calvary, on purpose to endure death? Before he went up to die, Moses comforted the disconsolate tribes with an assurance that God would raise them up another prophet; before He went up to die, Christ said to His desponding disciples, I will not leave you comfortless; I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter. And, to add but another point of correspondence, Moses was buried, but no one knew where his body lay; Christ was buried, and yet were not His remains in vain sought for by the Jews? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The prophetic office of Christ
1. The prophetic office of Christ is one of a peculiarly gracious and encouraging nature to sinners.
2. The prophetic office of Christ is one of infinite dignity, inasmuch as He transacted in it with God for our salvation, and was able to sustain that manifestation of the Divine glory and holiness which no mere man can behold and live.
3. The text presents us with an interesting view of the security and blessedness of all who enjoy an interest in the benefits of Christs mediation. They shall not hear Gods voice nor see His face as the holy, and righteous, but deeply offended arbiter of the destinies of the moral universe, taking vengeance upon His enemies–they shall not have to encounter a conflict with His outraged holiness, and violated justice, and insulted power; but as He shall look upon them through the medium of a Saviours imputed righteousness and merits, so shall they, on the other hand, sea Him in the attractive and winning light of a Saviours compassion, benignity, and love. (J. Forbes, D. D.)
Moses the type of Christ
I. If we survey the general history of the Israelites, we shall find that it is a picture of mans history as the Gospel displays it to us, and that in it moses takes the place of Christ.
II. Christ reveals to us the will of God, as Moses did to the Israelites. He is our Prophet as well as our Redeemer. Favoured as he was, Moses saw not the true presence of God. Flesh and blood cannot see it. But Christ really saw, and ever saw, the face of God, for He was no creature of God, but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. Christ has brought from His Father for all of us the full and perfect way of life.
III. Moses was the great intercessor when the Israelites sinned. In this he shadows out the true Mediator between God and man, who is ever at the right hand of God making intercession for us. Moses was excluded from the Promised Land, dying in sight, not in enjoyment, of Canaan, while the people went in under Joshua. This was a figure of/the that was to come. Our Saviour Christ died that we might live; He consented to lose the light of Gods countenance that we might gain it. Moses suffered for his own sin; Christ was the spotless Lamb of God. His death is meritorious; it has really gained our pardon. (J. H. Newman, D. D.)
Moral and typical character of Moses
I. Consider Moses in his moral excellencies.
1. His vigorous faith in the declarations of God.
2. His cheerful obedience to the commands of God.
3. He was distinguished for a spirit of fervent devotion.
4. He was distinguished for enlarged and unwearied benevolence.
5. He was celebrated for astonishing meekness.
6. His religion was characterised by its constancy and perseverance.
II. Consider Moses as an illustrious type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The wonderful preservation of both in infancy.
2. The intellectual qualifications of both.
3. The voluntary poverty and reproach of both.
4. The offices which both sustained.
5. The signs and miracles which both wrought.
6. Both fasted forty days and forty nights.
There are many other traits of likeness between Moses and Jesus, but the above must suffice. In many things there was a great disparity between them.
(1) Moses was a frail man, he had his infirmities. Jesus was free from all sin, and guile was never found in His mouth.
(2) Moses was a servant; Jesus a son.
(3) Moses received power from God to do the works he did; Jesus possessed all power both in heaven and earth.
(4) The spirit of prophecy dwelt largely in Moses, but wholly in Christ.
(5) Moses was a leader, but Christ a Saviour.
(6) The rewards Moses principally offered were temporal; Christs spiritual and eternal.
(7) Moses established a perishing economy, one that waxed old, and is now abrogated. Christs kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and of His rule there shall be no end.
Application:
1. We may admire Moses; but Jesus demands our supreme love.
2. We may read the law of Moses, but believe and trust in the Gospel of Christ,
3. It is well to contemplate the moral excellencies and official engagements of Moses; but it is better to meditate upon the scene on the holy mount of transfiguration, where Moses and Elias both did homage to Jesus, and conversed of His decease, which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem, and where the voice from the excellent glory was heard, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him. (J. Burns, D. D.)
Moses a type of Christ
I. The peculiar circumstances connected with their birth.
II. Their voluntary abasement and humiliation.
III. Both were especially appointed to be the deliverers of the afflicted and the oppressed.
IV. Both of them delivered the laws and mind of God to the people.
V. Both of them were appointed leaders of the people.
VI. Both of them acted as mediators between God and the people.
VII. Both of their engagements were connected with the ministrations of angels.
VIII. Both were distinguished for high moral endowments.
IX. Both were eminent prophets of the Most High God.
X. Both obtained unspeakably valuable blessings for the people.
XI. Both lived and laboured for the well-being of others.
XII. Both were treated with ingratitude by those whose welfare they lived to promote. Application:
1. Moses was the head of that dispensation which was legal and ceremonial, and Which passed away. Jesus is the head of that economy which is spiritual, gracious, and abiding.
2. Let us rejoice that we are not come to Sinai, but Zion; not under the law, but under grace; not the followers of Moses, but the disciples of Christ.
3. If disobedience to Moses and his law was visited with Gods displeasure, how shall those escape who neglect Christs salvation, and obey not His Gospel? (J. Burns, D. D.)
The resemblance of Jesus to Moses
I. These words principally contain a prophecy of the Messiah. First, the word prophet is expressed in the singular number, and intimates plainly the raising up of a certain illustrious prophet at a fixed time, rather than a constant succession of prophets. Moses expressly adds, like unto me, that is, in the principal part of his character–one who should not only be a prophet, but also a legislator. But, from the time of Moses to the days of our Saviour, there was no prophet who had the same authority as Moses had, for the succeeding prophets were only interpreters of the Mosaic law, they only exhorted the people to obey the law of Moses; reproved the transgressors of it; and, by foretelling punishments to be inflicted upon them by God, awakened them to return to the obedience of this law. Jesus appeared in the world at that period when the Jewish nation had the highest expectation of the coming of their Messiah. There is no doubt but the ancient Jews acknowledged this text to be particularly applicable to the Messiah (Act 3:22; Act 7:37).
II. The description here given exactly corresponds to Jesus of Nazareth; and He resembled Moses in more respects than any other prophet ever did.
III. The Jewish nation have been, and still are, severely punished for their disobedience to this prophet.
IV. Concluding inferences.
1. We may see that Christianity is indeed near as old as the creation. The two dispensations resemble a building supported by two pillars, joined and cemented together, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone whom God has placed in Zion; so that if you remove either of the two, the whole must fall to the ground.
2. We may see that the infidelity of the Jewish nation is unreasonable and inexcusable.
3. We may see the folly and inevitable ruin of such as reject Jesus Christ, whose mission God has attested by so many proofs.
4. We may see the just foundation all true Christians have for zealously promoting the interests of the Gospel. (James Robertson, M. A.)
Moses a type of Christ
I. Christ is a prophet like unto Moses; and He is so in two respects: first, as to His teaching; and secondly, as to His predictions. The office of the prophet was two fold; he not only revealed, by the inspiration of God, the things which should be hereafter; but he also, by the same inspiration, declared unto the people the mind and will of God, as well as their duty towards Him: he was a preacher as well as a prophet. It was so in the case of Moses. He made known to the people of Israel the glorious character of the Most High–His holiness, His majesty, His mercy, His justice. But not only did Moses deliver to Israel heavenly doctrine, and gave them precepts for their guidance; but he foretold their future fortunes, yea, he foretold that they would disobey those very precepts. I know, he says, that after, my death ye will utterly corrupt, yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger with the work of your hands. But let us turn from Moses to Christ, a Prophet mighty in word and deed before God and all the people; that greater Prophet, whom Moses himself foretold, and of whom he was but a type. We find in our blessed Lord the same union of the two qualifications of the prophet. He is our great Teacher; and He also foretold things to come. Christ is our great Teacher; and who teacheth like Him? The teaching of Christ is so full, so important, and so adapted to promote our real welfare, that it demands our most intense and diligent study. Let us just glance at some of the truths which His teaching conveys to us. Moses revealed to the children of Israel only just so much of the character of God as God saw fit to make known to him; but our Divine Teacher comes from the very bosom of the Father; He is the Revealer of the Father to the sons of men; yea, He is Himself Immanuel, God with us. Moses gave to Israel precepts whereby they might live; but the blessings attached to them were but temporal: the great truths connected with the life to come were but obscurely revealed to them. But our great Teacher has brought life and immortality to light. He teaches us the necessity of a change of heart, if we would dwell forever in the realms of holiness and peace: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He has told us of the absolute necessity that our sins should be forgiven, if we would obtain everlasting life, and the way by which we are to obtain that forgiveness. And He does what Moses could never do: He sends His Holy Spirit to write His law upon our hearts. Moses gave to Israel the law of the Ten Commandments, as well as the ceremonial law; but our Teacher has made known to us the Gospel. The moral law was indeed glorious, its holiness was its glory: but it could not save: it could but convince of our sins, and condemn us for our disobedience. But Jesus has come to us with better tidings: He tells us how we may escape the condemnation of the law. He hath redeemed us from its curse, being made a curse for us. Christ our Prophet also foretells things to come. He foretold, as Moses did, the destruction of the city of the Jews, and of their magnificent temple; and, in the prospect of the inconceivable misery which they were about to suffer, His heart was filled with anguish.
II. Other points of resemblance between Moses and Christ are presented to us in the text. We are told, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet like unto me. Moses was commissioned by God as a prophet to Israel; and he came to them with all the authority of such high commission. His words were as though they had been spoken by God Himself; and it was at their peril that the Israelites refused to hear him. So also is Christ sent unto us by God. The same almighty Being who created the heavens and the earth, who formed the spirit of man within him, our Creator, Benefactor, and Preserver, has sent unto us Jesus, to be our great Teacher. What greater inducement can we have to hearken to His voice?
III. Moses was a prophet raised up in Israel from among themselves. God sent not an angel to be their instructor, but a man of like passions with themselves; one who could sympathise and bear with them, and one whom they might approach without fear. So also was Christ raised up to us from among our brethren; forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same.
IV. Again, Moses prophesied that the Lord would raise up this mighty Prophet unto Israel; and it is true that Jesus came to preach salvation first to the Jew. He said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But there is a spiritual Israel, the seed of Abraham by faith, even the company of all true believers; and unto them Christ was raised up to be a Prophet, the great Prophet of His Church. (M. T. Spencer, M. A.)
The acceptance of Christ as a Prophet
What strikes one perhaps most of all in looking at the old castles in England is the meagre openings that they have for light. How did the people inside of them contrive to live and read and write? With these apertures and passages out to the glorious day no bigger than the barrel of a gun, how did they manage their existence? What incomparable comforts men have today in the great windows that open back and front, and often on the sides, out into Gods ample and beautiful world! These old castles, with the stray beams struggling in upon broken down halls and dungeons, with the glorious floods of light forbidden to enter, are a picture of the men who shut out the Lord. The rejection of Christ is the refusal to let in the light, is the shrinking back into the dark castle, into the rude home of barbarism and privation. The acceptance of Christ is the acceptance of modem life in its highest meaning, giving a welcome to its ideas, its spirit of reform, its determination to conquer the world. It is a coming out of the dark prison of self-containment into an utter openness toward the infinite God. (George A. Gordon.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet] Instead of diviners, observers of times, c., God here promises to give them an infallible guide, who should tell them all things that make for their peace, so that his declarations should completely answer the end of all the knowledge that was pretended to be gained by the persons already specified.
Like unto me] Viz., a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and the head or chief of the people of God. This was the very person of whom Moses was the type, and who should accomplish all the great purposes of the Divine Being. Such a prophet as had never before appeared, and who should have no equal till the consummation of the world.
This prophet is the Lord Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, and who came to declare him to mankind. Every word spoken by him is a living infallible oracle from God himself and must be received and obeyed as such, on pain of the eternal displeasure of the Almighty. See De 18:19, and Ac 3:22-23; and see the conclusion of this chapter. See Clarke on De 18:22.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Will raise up, i.e. will produce and send into the world in due time.
A Prophet: those words may be understood secondarily concerning the succession of prophets which God would raise for the instruction of his church, both because this is alleged as an argument why they need not consult with diviners, &c., because they should have prophets at hand whensoever it was needful to advise them, and because this Prophet is opposed to the false prophet; and a general rule is hereupon given for the discovery of all succeeding prophets, whether they be true or false, Deu 18:20-22; but they are chiefly to be understood of Christ, as the following words show, which do not truly and fully agree to any other; particularly where he is said to be
like unto Moses, which is simply denied concerning all other prophets, Deu 34:10, and therefore it is not probable that it should be simply affirmed concerning all true prophets succeeding him. But Christ was truly, and in all commendable parts, like him, in being both a Prophet and a King, and a Priest and Mediator, as Moses was, in the excellency of his ministry and work, in the glory of his miracles, in his familiar and intimate converse with God, &c. And this place is expounded of Christ alone by God himself in the New Testament, Act 3:22; 7:37. See also Joh 1:45; 6:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15-19. The Lord thy God will raiseup unto thee a prophetThe insertion of this promise, inconnection with the preceding prohibition, might warrant theapplication (which some make of it) to that order of true prophetswhom God commissioned in unbroken succession to instruct, to direct,and warn His people; and in this view the purport of it is, “Thereis no need to consult with diviners and soothsayers, as I shallafford you the benefit of divinely appointed prophets, for judging ofwhose credentials a sure criterion is given” (De18:20-22). But the prophet here promised was pre-eminently theMessiah, for He alone was “like unto Moses” (see on De34:10) “in His mediatorial character; in the peculiarexcellence of His ministry; in the number, variety, and magnitude ofHis miracles; in His close and familiar communion with God; and inHis being the author of a new dispensation of religion.” Thisprediction was fulfilled fifteen hundred years afterwards and wasexpressly applied to Jesus Christ by Peter (Act 3:22;Act 3:23), and by Stephen (Ac7:37).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet,…. Not Joshua, as Aben Ezra, not Jeremiah, as Baal Haturim, nor David o, as others; nor a succession of prophets, as Jarchi; for a single person is only spoken of; and there is a dissimilitude between Moses and anyone of the prophets, and all of them in succession, De 34:10, but the Messiah, with whom the whole agrees; and upon this the expectation of a prophet among the Jews was raised, Joh 6:14 and is applied to him, and referred to as belonging to him in Ac 3:22, who was a prophet mighty in word and deed, and not only foretold future events, as his own sufferings and death, and resurrection from the dead, the destruction of Jerusalem, and other things; but taught and instructed men in the knowledge of divine things, spake as never man did, preached the Gospel fully and faithfully, so that as the law came by Moses, the doctrine of grace and truth came by him; and he was raised up of God, called, sent, commissioned and qualified by him for the office of a prophet, as well as was raised from the dead as a confirmation of his being that extraordinary person:
from the midst of thee; he was of Israel, according to the flesh, of the tribe of Judah, and of the house of David, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, preached only in Judea, and was raised from the dead in the midst of them, and of which they were witnesses:
of thy brethren; the Israelites, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, and to whom he was sent as a prophet, and among whom he only preached:
like unto me; the Targum of Jonathan adds,
“in the Holy Spirit;”
which he received without measure, and in respect of which was superior to Moses, or any of the prophets: he was like to Moses in the faithful discharge of his office, in his familiar converse with God, in the miracles which he wrought; as well as in his being a Mediator, and the Redeemer of his people, as Moses was a mediator between God and the people of Israel, and the deliverer of them out of Egypt; and it is a saying of the Jews p themselves,
“as was the first redeemer, so is the second:”
unto him ye shall hearken; externally attend on his ministry, internally receive his doctrine, embrace and profess it; do what is heard from him, hear him, and not another, always and in all things; see Mt 17:5.
o Herbanus in Disputat. cum Gregent. p. 13. col. 2. p Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Great Prophet; False Prophets. | B. C. 1451. |
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. 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Here is, I. The promise of the great prophet, with a command to receive him, and hearken to him. Now,
1. Some think it is the promise of a succession of prophets, that should for many ages be kept up in Israel. Besides the priests and Levites, their ordinary ministers, whose office it was to teach Jacob God’s law, they should have prophets, extraordinary ministers, to reprove them for their faults, remind them of their duty, and foretel things to come, judgments for warning and deliverances for their comfort. Having these prophets, (1.) They need not use divinations, nor consult with familiar spirits, for they might enquire of God’s prophets even concerning their private affairs, as Saul did when he was in quest of his father’s asses, 1 Sam. ix. 6. (2.) They could not miss the way of their duty through ignorance or mistake, nor differ in their opinions about it, having prophets among them, whom, in every difficult doubtful case, they might advise with and appeal to. These prophets were like unto Moses in some respects, though far inferior to him, Deut. xxxiv. 10.
2. Whether a succession of prophets be included in this promise or not, we are sure that it is primarily intended as a promise of Christ, and it is the clearest promise of him that is in all the law of Moses. It is expressly applied to our Lord Jesus as the Messiah promised (Act 3:22; Act 7:37), and the people had an eye to this promise when they said concerning him, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world (John vi. 14); and it was his Spirit that spoke in all the other prophets, 1 Pet. i. 11. Observe,
(1.) What it is that is here promised concerning Christ. What God promised Moses at Mount Sinai (which he relates, v. 18), he promised the people (v. 15) in God’s name. [1.] That there should come a prophet, great above all the prophets, by whom God would make known himself and his will to the children of men more fully and clearly than ever he had done before. He is the light of the world, as prophecy was of the Jewish church, John viii. 12. He is the Word, by whom God speaks to us, Joh 1:1; Heb 1:2. [2.] That God would raise him up from the midst of them. In his birth he should be one of that nation, should live among them and be sent to them. In his resurrection he should be raised up at Jerusalem, and thence his doctrine should go forth to all the world: thus God, having raised up his Son Christ Jesus, sent him to bless us. [3.] That he should be like unto Moses, only as much above him as the other prophets came short of him. Moses was such a prophet as was a law-giver to Israel and their deliverer out of Egypt, and so was Christ: he not only teaches, but rules and saves. Moses was the founder of a new dispensation by signs and wonders and mighty deeds, and so was Christ, by which he proved himself a teacher come from God. Was Moses faithful? So was Christ; Moses as a servant, but Christ as a Son. [4.] That God would put his words in his mouth, v. 18. What messages God had to send to the children of men he would send them by him, and give him full instructions what to say and do as a prophet. Hence our Saviour says, My doctrine is not mine originally, but his that sent me, John vii. 16. So that this great promise is performed; this Prophet has come, even Jesus; it is he that should come, and we are to look for no other.
(2.) The agreeableness of this designed dispensation to the people’s avowed choice and desire at Mount Sinai, Deu 18:16; Deu 18:17. There God had spoken to them in thunder and lightning, out of the midst of the fire and thick darkness. Every word made their ears tingle and their hearts tremble, so that the whole congregation was ready to die with fear. In this fright, they begged hard that God would not speak to them in this manner any more (they could not bear it, it would overwhelm and distract them), but that he would speak to them by men like themselves, by Moses now, and afterwards by other prophets like unto him. “Well,” says God, “it shall be so; they shall be spoken to by men, whose terrors shall not make them afraid;” and, to crown the favour beyond what they were able to ask or think, in the fulness of time the Word itself was made flesh, and they saw his glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, not, as at Mount Sinai, full of majesty and terror, but full of grace and truth, John i. 14. Thus, in answer to the request of those who were struck with amazement by the law, God promised the incarnation of his Son, though we may suppose it far from the thoughts of those that made that request.
(3.) A charge and command given to all people to hear and believe, hear and obey, this great prophet here promised: Unto him you shall hearken (v. 15); and whoever will not hearken to him shall be surely and severely reckoned with for his contempt (v. 19): I will require it of him. God himself applied this to our Lord Jesus in the voice that came out of the excellent glory, Matt. xvii. 5, Hear you him, that is, this is he concerning whom it was said by Moses of old, Unto him you shall hearken; and Moses and Elias then stood by and assented to it. The sentence here passed on those that hearken not to this prophet is repeated and ratified in the New Testament. He that believeth not the Son, the wrath of God abideth on him, John iii. 36. And how shall we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven? Heb. xii. 25. The Chaldee paraphrase here reads it, My Word shall require it of him, which can be no other than a divine person, Christ the eternal Word, to whom the Father has committed all judgement, and by whom he will at the last day judge the world. Whoever turns a deaf ear to Jesus Christ shall find that it is at his peril; the same that is the prophet is to be his judge, John xii. 48.
II. Here is a caution against false prophets, 1. By way of threatening against the pretenders themselves, v. 20. Whoever sets up for a prophet, and produces either a commission from the true God, shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of high treason against the crown and dignity of the King of kings, and that traitor shall be put to death (v. 20), namely, by the judgment of the great sanhedrim, which, in process of time, sat at Jerusalem; and therefore our Saviour says that a prophet could not perish but at Jerusalem, and lays the blood of the prophets at Jerusalem’s door (Luk 13:33; Luk 13:34), whom therefore God himself would punish; yet there false prophets were supported. 2. By way of direction to the people, that they might not be imposed upon by pretenders, of which there were many, as appears, Jer 23:25; Eze 13:6; 1Ki 22:6. It is a very proper question which they are supposed to ask, v. 21. Since it is so great a duty to hearken to the true prophets, and yet there is so much danger of being misled by false prophets, how shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? By what marks may we discover a cheat? Note, It highly concerns us to have a right touchstone wherewith to try the word we hear, that we may know what that word is which the Lord has not spoken. Whatever is directly repugnant to sense, to the light and law of nature, and to the plain meaning of the written word, we may be sure is not that which the Lord has spoken; nor that which gives countenance and encouragement to sin, or has a manifest tendency to the destruction of piety or charity: far be it from God that he should contradict himself. The rule here given in answer to this enquiry was adapted chiefly to that state, v. 22. If there was any cause to suspect the sincerity of a prophet, let them observe that if he gave them any sign, or foretold something to come, and the event was not according to his prediction, they might be sure he was not sent of God. This does not refer so much to the foretelling of mercies and judgments (though as to these, and the difference between the predictions of mercies and judgments, there is a rule of discerning between truth and falsehood laid down by the prophet, Jer 28:8; Jer 28:9), but rather to the giving of signs on purpose to confirm their mission. Though the sign did come to pass, yet this would not serve to prove their mission if they called them to serve other gods; this point had been already settled, Deut. xiii. 1-3. But, if the sign did not come to pass, this would serve to disprove their mission. “When Moses cast his rod upon the ground (it is bishop Patrick’s explanation of this), and said it would become a serpent, if it had not accordingly been turned into a serpent, Moses had been a false prophet: if, when Elijah called for fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, none had come, he had been no better than the prophets of Baal.” Samuel’s mission was proved by this, that God let none of his words fall to the ground,1Sa 3:19; 1Sa 3:20. And by the miracles Christ wrought, especially by that great sign he gave of his resurrection the third day, which came to pass as he foretold, it appeared that he was a teacher come from God. Lastly, They are directed not to be afraid of a false prophet; that is, not to be afraid of the judgments such a one might denounce to amuse people and strike terror upon them; nor to be afraid of executing the law upon him when, upon a strict and impartial scrutiny, it appeared that he was a false prophet. This command not to fear a false prophet implies that a true prophet, who proved his commission by clear and undeniable proofs, was to be feared, and it was at their peril if they offered him any violence or put any slight upon him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 15-19:
The text is a Messianic prophecy, Joh 1:21; Joh 1:25; Joh 1:45; Act 3:22; Act 7:37. Israel looked for this Prophet, but did not identify Him with Messiah. The New Testament apostles proclaimed Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Israel at Horeb heard the voice of God speak from the midst of the fire, and they were terrified, Exo 20:19. They asked for a mediator to stand between them and God. This request was’ granted, and Moses was that mediator. Today Jesus is the fulfillment of that which Moses typified: the Mediator between God and man, 1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:6; Heb 9:15; Heb 12:24.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
15. The Lord thy God will raise up. This is added by anticipation, lest the Israelites should object that they were more hardly dealt with than the rest of the nations of the world; for it was always most justly considered an extraordinary blessing to hold communication with God; and indeed there can be nothing more to be desired. But an opinion had obtained currency, that men approached more closely to God by means of magical arts, by the oracles of Pythonic spirits, and by the study of augury. The people of Israel, then, would have complained of being badly treated, if they had been shut out from all prophecies and revelations. Moses meets this complaint or objection by announcing, that their access to God would be not less familiar than as if He should Himself openly come down from heaven; if only they kept the right way, and were contented with that rule which He deemed best for them. He, therefore, commands that, instead of all the imaginations of the Gentiles, the doctrine of the Prophets should alone have force among them. Thus He signifies that although God should not openly come down from heaven, yet that His will, as far as was expedient, should be surely and clearly made known to them, since He would faithfully teach them by His servants the Prophets. On this ground when, in Isaiah, He has mocked at the prophecies of false gods, He calls the Israelites His “witnesses,” (Isa 43:1,) as having made them the depositaries of His secrets and of the treasures of divine wisdom. We see, then, the way pointed out in which God would have His people inquire concerning the things necessary to salvation; and this is more plainly declared in Isa 8:19,
“
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony.”
Nor is there any doubt that Isaiah took this doctrine from the passage before us, when he first condemns the errors which men by their curiosity invent for themselves, and then enjoins the faithful simply to give attention to the Law, and to be content with this form of instruction, unless they desired to be miserably misled. Hence we conclude that the expression, “a Prophet,” is used by enallage for a number of Prophets. For it is altogether absurd, as some do, to restrict it to Joshua or Jeremiah; since Moses is here treating of the continual manner of the Church’s government, and is not speaking of what God would do within a short time. Not at all more correct is their opinion, who apply it strictly to Christ alone; for it is well to bear in mind what I have said respecting God’s intention, viz., that no excuse should be left for the Jews, if they turned aside to familiar spirits (Pythones) or magicians, since God would never leave them without Prophets and teachers. But if He had referred them to Christ alone, the objection would naturally arise that it was hard for them to have neither Prophets nor revelations for two thousand years. Nor is there any strength in those two arguments on which some insist, that the Prophet, of whom Moses bears witness, must be more excellent than him who proclaimed him; and that the eulogium that he should be “like unto” Moses could not be applied to the ancient Prophets, since it is said elsewhere that “there arose not a Prophet since like unto” him. (Deu 34:10.) For he does not at all detract from his own dignity, by recommending that whosoever might be sent by God should be hearkened to, whether they were his equals or his inferiors; and, as to the comparison, this particle translated like (sicut) does not always denote equality. Therefore it is true that there was no Prophet like Moses, that is to say, similar to him in every respect, or in whom so many gifts were displayed; yet it is no less true, that they were all like Moses; because God set over His Church a continual succession of teachers, to execute the same office as he did. This is referred to in the words, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John,” (Mat 11:13, and Luk 16:16,) where we see others united as colleagues with Moses in the government of the Church, until the coming of Christ. Yet Peter aptly and elegantly accommodates this testimony to Christ, (Act 3:22,) not to the exclusion of others of God’s servants, but in order to warn the Jews that in rejecting Christ they are at the same time refusing this inestimable benefit of God; for the gift of prophecy had so flourished among His ancient people, and teachers had so been constantly appointed to succeed each other, that nevertheless there should be some interruption before the coming of Christ. Hence, in that sad dispersion which followed the return from the Babylonish captivity, the faithful complain in Psa 74:9, “We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet.” On this account Malachi exhorts the people to remember the Law given in Horeb; and immediately after adds, “Behold I send you Elijah the prophet,” etc., (Mal 4:4😉 as much as to say, that the time was at hand in which a more perfect doctrine should be manifested, and a fuller light should shine. For the Apostle says truly, that
“
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,” ( Hebrew 1:1, 2;)
and, in fact, by the appearing of the doctrine of the Gospel, the course of the prophetic doctrine was completed; because God thus fully exhibited what was promised by the latter. And this was so generally understood that even the Samaritan woman said that Messias was coming, who would tell all things. (Joh 4:25.) To this, then, what I have lately quoted as to the transition from the Law and the Prophets to the Gospel refers; and hence it is made out, that this passage was most appropriately expounded by Peter as relating to Christ; for unless the Jews chose to accuse God of falsehood, it was incumbent upon them to look to Christ, at whose hand was promised both the confirmation of doctrine and the restoration of all things. They had been for a long time destitute of Prophets, of whom Moses had testified that they should never be wanting to them, and whom he had promised as the (295) lawful ministers for retaining the people in allegiance, so that they should not turn aside to superstitions; they had, therefore, either no religion, or else that greatest of Teachers was to be expected, who in his own person (unus) would present the perfection of the prophetic office. But we must remark the peculiar circumstances whereby God restrains the evil affections of the Jews. It was no common act of His indulgence, that He should take to himself Prophets from among that people, so that they should have no need to run about to a distance in search of revelations, and at the same time that they might be taught familiarly according to their capacity. But with regard to the comparison which Moses makes between himself and other prophets, its effect is to raise their teaching in men’s estimation. They had been long accustomed to this mode of instruction, viz., to hear God speaking to them by the mouth of a man; and the authority of Moses was so fully established, that they were firmly persuaded that they were under the divine government, and that all things necessary to salvation were revealed to them.
(295) Ordinaires. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Deu. 18:15-20. THE ONE MEDIATOR.
The connection between these verses and the preceding is well illustrated by Isaiahs question (Deu. 8:19): And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? Or, as the angels turned the phrase on Easter morning, Why seek ye Him that liveth among the dead?
(15) The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet.Namely, Him of whom St. Peter spoke in Act. 3:22-26. Unto you first God, having raised up His son Jesus, sent Him to bless you. It must not be forgotten that the prophetic office is still continued to our risen Lord. He still speaketh from heaven. But He descended first into the lower parts of the earth. He has the keys of hell and of death; and knows all their secrets. They who can draw near to Him have no need to look downward, to consult dead relatives, or seek knowledge from spirits whose character, even if they are accessible, is beyond our discernment. The Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Advocate on earth, and the Prophet, our Advocate that speaketh from heaven, are enough for all human need. What we cannot learn from them, or from the light they give us, it is better not to know.
(16) According to all that thou desiredst . . . in Horeb.It should never be forgotten that the Prophet like to Moses was promised on the day of the assembly. The Holy Spirit, who is Christ in us, was promised on the day of the delivery of the letter that killeth. (See also on Deu. 5:28.)
(18) He shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself (our Lord, in Joh. 14:10). He shall not speak of Himself. He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you (the Holy Spirit, Joh. 16:13-14).
(19) Whosoever will not hearken . . . I will require it of him.For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth. (Heb. 12:25.)
(20) That prophet shall die.Rashi illustrates this by the case of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28) who prophesied that Jeconiah, and all that went with him to Babylon, should return within two years. He was sentenced by Jeremiah to die that year; and he died accordingly, within two months.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE TRUE PROPHET, Deu 18:15-16.
This is one of the most profoundly interesting passages in the whole book. The different views that have been held as to the scope of its meaning place it among the vexed passages in the history of biblical interpretation. The theories held are mainly the following:
(1.) That the word translated prophet is to be regarded as referring to a particular person, who was to be specially prominent in the nation’s history. Some applied it to Joshua, who had been solemnly installed Moses’s successor; others thought David might be intended, or Jeremiah.
(2.) That the word was used collectively, of the entire body of Hebrew prophets. (3.) That the prophet is an ideal person, including the Messiah and all true prophets who appeared between Moses and him; that Moses does not speak of the prophets as a collective body, to which Christ belonged as one among many, but comprehends the plurality of the prophets in an ideal unity, knowing by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that the prophetical order would at some future time culminate in Christ. See Heng., Christ, vol. i, p. 124. (4.) That the passage relates directly and exclusively to the Messiah. (5.) That, while the passage contemplates a succession of prophets, so that Israel should never be left in any great exigency without a prophet, the Messiah is referred to primarily and distinctly. The last view is, we think, fully sustained by the passage under consideration, and by the context.
15. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me The clause may be rendered, A Prophet, as I am, Jehovah thy God will raise up for thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren. While the people are forbidden to employ the methods the heathen used to pry into the future, and to learn the will of their deities, Moses assures Israel that Jehovah will provide for them those who will be the medium of communication between him and them as he has been hitherto.
A Prophet The word translated prophet, first occurs in Gen 20:7, where Abimelech is warned in a dream to restore Sarah to Abraham: “For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live.” In Exo 7:1, Jehovah is represented as saying to Moses: “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” These passages suggest some of the prominent meanings of the word interpreter, messenger, mediator. Moses is expressly called by Paul, in Gal 3:19, , mediator.
From the midst of thee, of thy brethren There was to be no occasion for the people to consult foreign soothsayers and diviners. There was to be no need of their sending to distant nations, as Balak sent for the”diviner” Balaam. God would raise up from their own nation those who would make known his will. Deu 17:14, where the king is to be “from among thy brethren.”
Like unto me Moses had been commissioned to speak and to act for Jehovah. In Horeb he received his call at the burning bush, when God revealed his Covenant Name. None of his successors was so highly honoured, so fully endowed. Jehovah had said of him, (Num 12:6-8,) “If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth.” The circumstances under which Jehovah had promised to raise up a Prophet like unto Moses are referred to in the following verses. At the giving of the law, when “the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet,” they besought Moses to act as a mediator between God and themselves. They said, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Exo 20:18-19; see also Deu 5:22-27.
The promise is completely fulfilled in Christ. Moses, as a legislator, is the founder of a dispensation; so is Christ. Moses knew Jehovah face to face. Of Christ it is written, (Joh 1:18,) “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Of Moses it is said, “There arose not a prophet like unto Moses in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do.”
Deu 34:10-11. Christ said of himself that he had done the works which none other man did. Joh 15:24. The application of this passage to Christ in the New Testament is too definite to leave any room for doubt. Philip said to Nathanael: “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth.” Joh 1:45. Peter quotes this as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Act 3:22. Stephen saw its application. Act 7:37. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews seems to have this passage in mind when he writes: “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.” Heb 3:1-2. The woman of Samaria says to the Saviour: “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”
Joh 4:25. The Samaritans founded their expectations of a Messiah on the Pentateuch, for that constituted their Scriptures. The Messiah who was to tell them all things was evidently suggested by this prophecy of Moses.
Unto him ye shall hearken Compare these words with the words Moses himself heard on the mountain when Christ was transfigured: “This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.” Not hear Moses and the law, nor Elijah and the prophets, but Christ the Son. The “hear ye him” and the disappearance of the two heavenly attendants may be viewed as symbolically connected, and as signifying that God who had “spoken in times past to the fathers by the prophets, henceforth would speak by his Son.” See Alford on Mat 17:5.
16. In the day of the assembly Comp. Deu 9:10, and Exo 20:19. 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. Comp. Deu 5:23-26, and Exo 20:19. The thought of the verse is, Let not Jehovah speak any more directly to us; let us have a prophet to announce to us his commands; let this awful splendour of the manifestation of God cease: we cannot bear it; we shall die. It was the feeling that man has in the presence of the Infinite the consciousness of guilt in view of the holiness of God. So Isa 6:5, awestruck at the sublime, and to him terrible, manifestation of Jehovah, exclaims, “Woe to me, for I perish: for the King Jehovah of Hosts mine eyes have seen.” Compare what Job is represented as saying: “But now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6. So in the case of Manoah, who said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” Jdg 13:22.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Yahweh Will Raise Up Prophets For Them ( Deu 18:15-22 ).
Instead of turning to the occult which can only deceive them they should rather turn to the prophets who will be sent by Yahweh. These verses have been taken to forecast the coming of a great Prophet in the future, and that may certainly be included in the thought, but the general idea is that Yahweh will raise up a prophet, like Moses was when he was in his prophetic mode, whenever needed.
We notice that these prophets would be ‘raised’ not chosen. They were to be Yahweh’s special weapon. They would watch over Judge, king and priest on behalf of Yahweh. They would be the source of revelation from Yahweh. But we must not think of them as being in opposition to either kingship or priesthood. They were only in opposition to bad kingship and bad priesthood. They strove to cooperate with both.
The promise here appears to be more than simply that there would be prophets. Prophets were fairly common in the Ancient Near East, as supposed sources of divine knowledge, and Israel would later have prophets attached to the cult (1Sa 10:5; 1Sa 10:10-12; 1Sa 19:20) who could be enquired of and could not always respond (1Sa 28:6). These latter are not all condemned and some of the prophets mentioned in Scripture as true men of God probably came from among them. But they were not in general seen as having the powers and authority described here. The ones spoken of here were prophets ‘like to Moses’. Such did not exist during the time of Joshua (Deu 34:10).
Analysis using the words of Moses:
a Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like to me (Deu 18:15).
b To him you shall listen, in accordance with all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, nor let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.” And Yahweh said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken.” (Deu 18:16-17).
c “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like to you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.” (Deu 18:18).
c “And it shall come about, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deu 18:19).
b “But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die” (Deu 18:20).
a And if you say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?” When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, if the thing follow not, nor come about, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him (Deu 18:21-22).
Note that the parallels here are contrasts. In ‘a’ Yahweh will raise up true prophets like Moses, and in the parallel they will be known by whether their prophecies come about. In ‘b’ he is a special person chosen as the people’ mediator, to speak to the people the words of Yahweh, and they must listen to him, and in the parallel if he speaks presumptuously he will die. In ‘c’ God will put His words in his mouth and in the parallel God will require it of all those who do not listen to those words.
Deu 18:15-17
‘ Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like to me. To him you shall listen, in accordance with all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, nor let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And Yahweh said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken.” ’
Moses is probably indicating here that God will constantly raise up prophets for them, one after the other, to arise as needed. They would replace Moses as Yahweh’s mouthpiece. They would be prophets who would be in close touch with God like Moses was. That is the one to whom they must listen. Indeed they themselves had asked God for this. They had said that they did not themselves want to hear the voice of God directly, nor did they again wish to see His great fire. And Yahweh had agreed that they had spoken well. Compare Deu 5:23-28. So it had become necessary for Him to promise to raise up prophets, and raise up a prophet as was required He would.
These prophets were not to come from a dynastic line nor to be simply appointed by the cult. They were to be ‘raised up’. And it was ‘from the midst of your brethren’. They were to be homeborn not foreign. But they were to be raised up in order to bring the word of Yahweh to judge, king, priest and people alike.
“Raise up.” We note that these prophets were not to be ‘chosen’ they were to be ‘raised up’ when necessary. They were to be Yahweh’s unique instrument with special power from Him and answerable only to Him. Not all prophets were ‘raised up’ prophets. Many, even though some were genuine, were ‘professional’ prophets.
Deu 18:18
“ I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like to you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.”
This continues Yahweh’s words. Just as He had raised up Moses so would He raise up other prophets. As each was required so would He raise up a prophet from among them who was like Moses. He would put His words in their mouth, and that prophet would speak to them all that Yahweh commanded. For because Yahweh had raised him up, Yahweh would provide him with the truth that he must speak.
Deu 18:19
“ And it shall come about, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
And woe betide the one who will not listen to this prophet whom Yahweh raises up. Whatever he speaks in Yahweh’s name will be required of each man in that generation.
So we have here the promise of a stream of godly ‘raised up’ prophets. It is apparent that, while in many cases connected with them, this promise does not just refer to the general prophets mainly connected with the sanctuaries. Those appear to have been a regular feature of cultic life. This refers to some who will be specially ‘raised up’ as Moses had been.
That is why this passage also came to be understood as referring to one particular prophet, a prophet ‘like to Moses’, one supreme even in comparison with the raised up prophets. Thus in Jesus’ time such a prophet was awaited. Indeed Jesus Himself was asked, ‘Are you that prophet?’ (Joh 1:21; Joh 1:25; Joh 6:14). And there can be no doubt that Jesus was ‘that Prophet’ more than any other prophet. He was the new Moses, and yet a greater than Moses, for Moses wrote of Him (Joh 5:46). And because they refused to listen to Him it was not He Who would testify against them before His Father but it was Moses who would do it, even Moses in whom they trusted (Joh 5:45), for it was he who had pointed to Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Of the Coming Great Prophet
v. 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. v. 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, v. 17. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. v. 18. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth, v. 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.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Ver. 15. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet, &c. Plain as this prophecy is, it has been strangely perverted and misapplied: but it is conceived, that nothing will be wanting to the right understanding both of the prophecy and the completion, if we can shew, first, What prophet was here particularly intended. Secondly, That this prophet resembled Moses in more respects than any other person did. And, Thirdly, That the Israelites have been, and still are, severely punished for their infidelity and disobedience to this prophet.
I. Then, some have been of opinion, that Joshua was the person, from Sir 46:1 and Jos 1:17 or that Jeremiah is strongly alluded to in this prophecy; and Abarbanel, in the preface to his Commentary upon Jeremiah, reckons up fourteen particulars wherein they resemble each other; observing, that Jeremiah prophesied forty years, as did Moses. Others, more numerous, understand this of a succession of prophets; and they found their opinion upon the context: but all the favourers of these different sentiments generally agree, that the main end and ultimate scope of the prophecy was the Messiah. The passage in chap. Deu 34:10 plainly refers to this prediction, and entirely refutes the notion of Joshua’s being a prophet like Moses; because it expressly asserts, that there arose not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses. If that passage was added after Moses’s death, as it evidently was, and, as some imagine, by Joshua himself; then consequently the latter was not a prophet like unto Moses, in the general opinion. If the addition was made at some considerable distance of time after the death of Moses, as the words themselves imply; there arose not a prophet SINCE, &c. it will follow, that the Jewish church had no conception of a perpetual succession of prophets to be raised up like unto Moses; and, if the addition was made, as is commonly believed, by Ezra, after the Babylonish captivity, then it is evident, that neither Jeremiah, nor any of the ancient prophets, was esteemed like unto Moses. Besides, as Houbigant well observes, Joshua could not be meant, as he was then alive, whereas this prophet is spoken of in the future; I will raise. Nor was Joshua a lawgiver like unto Moses. The word is in the singular number, a prophet; and why then should we understand it of a succession of prophets, or depart from the literal construction, without any apparent necessity for it? and as the whole runs in the singular number, nobody, with the least knowledge of the Hebrew language, can imagine a succession of prophets to be meant. Other nations hearkened unto enchanters and diviners, ver. 14 but the Lord would not suffer them so to do: he had given them a better guide already, and would raise up unto them another prophet, superior to all the enchanters and diviners in the world, unto whom they should hearken. If we appeal to fact, we shall find that there never was any prophet, much less a succession of prophets, whom the Jews esteemed like unto Moses. The highest degree of inspiration is by them termed the Mosaical; and they enumerate four circumstances, in which he had the advantage of all other prophets. The claim of Jeremiah is given up by Abarbanel himself, who, in his preface to the lesser prophets, acknowledges him to be inferior to Isaiah, and in many things not to be compared to Ezekiel: but yet a prophet was to be raised up like unto Moses; and who ever resembled him in his characteristic superiority, but Jesus the Messiah? Abarbanel has a noble flight in his commentary on the lesser prophets, which limits the prophecy entirely to Christ. “He shall be exalted above Abraham, lifted up above Moses, and be higher than the angels;” and so he was, as we learn from his own words: before Abraham was, I am.
II. We are to shew how this prophet resembled Moses. Eusebius, and some modern writers, have marked out a variety of striking particulars wherein Moses and Christ resembled each other, and which are mentioned in the Reflections at the end of this chapter; but the similitude, which is the characteristic distinguishing Moses from all other prophets, must be founded in his legislative capacity; and in this quality none but Christ resembled him. It is in this sense that Eusebius explains the terms, like unto thee, when he says that they signify a second lawgiver like unto Moses; and the reason assigned in the text for sending this prophet evinces, not only that he was to be invested with this character, but that this was the great point of similitude between him and Moses. The people had requested that the divine laws might not be delivered to them in so terrible a manner: God approved their request, and promised to raise up to them a prophet like unto Moses: i.e. a lawgiver, who should deliver his commands to them in a familiar and gentle way. Now, none of the Jewish prophets were lawgivers, in all the intermediate space between Christ and Moses. I will put my words in his mouth, &c. plainly prove, says Houbigant, an extraordinary legislation, and one different from that of Moses; for, had it been ordinary, and similar to that of Moses, the people were not so much to have heard that prophet, as Moses himself. In consequence of this prophesy, there was a general expectation of some extraordinary prophet to arise, which prevailed particularly about the time of our Saviour. The Jews then, as well as since, applied this prophesy to the Messiah, the only prophet whom they will allow to be as great, or greater, than Moses. The five thousand fed by miracle in the wilderness confirm this truth. This is, of a truth, said they, that prophet which should come into the world; and St. Peter and St. Stephen directly apply this prophesy to Christ; Act 3:22-23; Act 7:37 which they may very well be justified in doing, as he fully answers all the marks and characters given of the prophet like unto Moses. He was raised up from among their brethren; he had immediate communication with the Deity, as Moses had; he performed signs and wonders, though far greater than those of Moses; and, as we have just observed, he was a lawgiver, as well as Moses. I will raise them up a prophet, saith God;and the people glorified God, saying, a great prophet is risen up amongst us. Luk 7:16. I will put my words in his mouth, saith God (or give my words, as it is in the Hebrew); and our Saviour says, I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. Joh 17:8. Ye shall speak unto them all that I shall command, says God: and our Saviour says, I have not spoken of myself, &c. Joh 12:49-50.; see also ver. 46. But for more on this head, we refer to the Reflections at the end of the chapter.
III. We are to shew, that the Israelites have been, and still are, punished for their disobedience to this prophet. There is, indeed, no want of many words to prove this: it is visible to all the world: the prophesy is clear and express: unto him ye shall hearken; ver. 19 and whosoever will not hearkenI will require it of him; i.e. according to the LXX, I will severely punish him for it; the antecedent being put for the consequent. Judges first inquired, then punished. This prophesy, as we have proved above, evidently relates to Jesus Christ. God himself, in a manner, applies it to him; for when he was transfigured, Mat 17:5 the voice said, hear ye him, alluding plainly to these words of Moses, unto him shall ye hearken, and so pointing him out for the prophet like unto Moses. It shall come to pass, says St. Peter, in quoting this prophesy, that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people: a terrible denunciation! which we know to have been fully executed upon the Jews; and for more concerning which, we refer, as before, to the Reflections. We are principally indebted for this note to Bishop Newton’s Dissert. 6: vol. 1: where the reader desirous to see more upon the subject will be satisfied; no less than by consulting Bishop Sherlock on the Use and Intent of Prophesy, Discourse 6: Bishop Chandler’s Defence, chap. 6: sect. 2 and Sykes’s Essay on the Christian Religion. We will just add, that there is no need to be very solicitous respecting the connection of these words. The sense of the discourse is finished and complete at the 14th verse. Moses there exhorts the Israelites to avoid the superstitions of their pagan neighbours, from a reflection on the care of God for them in every particular. Upon which occasion, recollecting the promise which God had made to the Hebrews, of a future and superlatively excellent prophet hereafter to arise and instruct them, he sets down that promise; and the affinity of the subject leads him to speak of the grand and principal rule whereby they might distinguish true prophets from false. This is all the connection which need be sought for at the end of this chapter; from an attention to which we see, that the arguments which pretend to prove from what follows this important prophesy, that not one prophet, but a succession of prophets, is meant, have no foundation at all. But those who would enter more fully into this inquiry, we refer to Dr. L. Twells’s Sermons, preached at Boyle’s Lecture, Serm. 10: and 11: We would only observe, that the testimony given by God to Moses, Numbers 12 is posterior more than a year to the promise of a prophet like unto himself.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Of all the striking prophecies in GOD’S word, directly and plainly pointing to the LORD JESUS, this seems to be among the highest. And so interesting is it, that we find it spoken of in quotations frequently. It is quoted by Peter, Act 3:22 . by Stephen: Act 7:37 . and by the people at large, after the miracle JESUS manifested, in multiplying the bread: Joh 6:14 . But while I beg the Reader not to lose sight of this, because it certainly is among the strongest if not the very clearest prophecy concerning the LORD JESUS, which is in the whole law of GOD: I do beg of him also, not to overlook two or three most striking distinctions of character, by which this prophecy pointed him out. As for example: he was to be raised up by GOD, not of himself, for no man taketh this honour unto himself but he that was called of GOD, as was Aaron. Heb 5:4-5 . He was to be raised up of his brethren. Dearest JESUS! though thou wast “GOD over all, blessed forever, ” yet didst thou condescend to take upon thee our nature, and to be made like unto thy brethren, that thou mightest be a merciful and faithful high priest, Heb 2:16-18 . And he was to be like Moses; that is, in the greatness and authority in which he came, only with this striking distinction which the apostle hath drawn; Moses was the servant, but JESUS the LORD himself. Heb 3:2-3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 18:15 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;
Ver. 15. Like unto me. ] Both in the participation of nature and of office: a true man, and a true Mediator. Similes they are, but not pares: Christ being “worthy of more glory than Moses,” and why, see Heb 3:3-6 ; Heb 7:22 ; Heb 9:15 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 18:15-22
15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. 20But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Deu 18:15-22 Deu 18:9-14 shows the improper way to seek God’s will for one’s life. Deu 18:15-22 describe the proper way to ascertain knowledge about God and His purposes.
Deu 18:15 a prophet like me This became a title for the Messiah (cf. Joh 1:21; Joh 1:25; Joh 1:45; Joh 5:46; Joh 6:14; Joh 7:40; Act 3:22; Act 7:37). Jesus acted like the new Moses:
1. gave the law of the new covenant (cf. Matthew 5-7)
2. fed the people as they expected (cf. John 6)
3. met God on a mountain (cf. Matthew 17)
4. interceded for the covenant people (cf. John 17)
For an excellent discussion of the function of prophecy in Israel see How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, pp. 184-189. This helpful discussion continues dealing with the interpretation of prophetic passages and books, pp. 189-204.
Deu 18:16 This reflects Israel’s encounter with YHWH at Mt. Sinai (cf. Exodus 19-20). Direct revelation from God is an awesome thing (cf. Exo 20:18-21)! The people wanted an intermediary!
This context is, in a sense, a multiple fulfillment prophecy. It obviously refers to the recurrent ministry of the prophet in Israel’s national life (cf. TEV). The king and priest were from one family, but the prophets were individually called by God to mediate His covenant to each new generation. However, it also points toward the special spokesman of YHWH (Hebrew SINGULAR, Deu 18:15; Deu 18:18 and the comment in Deu 34:10, i.e., the Suffering Servant, the Messiah). This is the one spoken of in Gen 3:15; Gen 49:10; 2Sa 7:12-13; 2Sa 7:16; Isa 7:14; Isa 9:1-7; Isa 11:1-5; Dan 7:13; Dan 9:25; Mic 5:2-5 a; Zec 9:9. Also notice Joh 1:45; Joh 5:46.
Deu 18:17 This same idiom, they have spoken well, is also found in Deu 5:28, but not in Exodus 19-20. So this is unrecorded revelation. We must remember that the Bible is only part of the word of God. By faith, believers assert that all that is necessary for life and doctrine has been included, but it is not exhaustive. In this sense, it is analogous to Jesus’ words (cf. Joh 20:30; Joh 21:25).
Deu 18:18 I will raise up a prophet The VERB (BDB 877, KB 1080, Hiphil IMPERFECT) is used often of YHWH’s purposeful, covenantal actions in history (e.g., Gen 6:18; Gen 9:9; Gen 9:11; Gen 9:17; Gen 17:7; Gen 17:19; Gen 17:21; Exo 6:4; Deu 18:15; Deu 18:18; Deu 28:9; Jdg 2:16; Jdg 2:18; Jdg 3:9; Jdg 3:15; 1Sa 2:35; 1Ki 9:5; 1Ki 11:14; 1Ki 11:23; 1Ki 14:14; 2Ch 7:18, etc.).
YHWH is in control of history, as predictive prophecies like this one referring to Jesus (also notice Mic 5:2) clearly shows. The Bible is the only holy book that contains prophecy!
I will put My words in His mouth This refers to him speaking the message of YHWH! He will speak only what YHWH tells him (just what Jesus affirmed, cf. Joh 3:34; Joh 12:49; Joh 14:10; Joh 17:8).
Deu 18:19 We are responsible to act on God’s will once we know it. The real question is how do we know who truly speaks for God (cf. Deu 18:21)? Deu 18:20-22 are a partial answer. There are other criteria (cf. Deu 13:1-2; Deu 18:20-22; Matthew 7; 1Jn 4:1-6). This verse is quoted in Act 3:22-23!
Deu 18:20-22 God’s speaker will be known by (1) speaking in YHWH’s name, not the names of other gods (cf. Deu 18:20); (2) the accuracy of his statements (cf. Deu 18:22); and (3) Deu 13:1-2 must also be taken into account because God’s dealing with Israel was based on their spiritual response.
One wonders how contemporary hearers are to judge a prophet if their prediction is beyond their lifetime. Also, what about conditional prophecy that depends on the repentant faith response of the people of that day to which it is addressed (i.e., Jonah)?
The evaluation of those who claim to speak for God is not easy. Here are some criteria:
1. content of message
2. lifestyle of the messenger
3. correlation of the message with other Bible passages
False prophets, false teachers, are often very dynamic, educated, logical, and winsome people. In our day the marks of a false speaker might be:
1. an emphasis on money
2. a sexual license
3. a claim to exclusive access to God
(see A General Introduction to the Bible by Norman Geisler and William Nix, pp. 241-242)
HELPFUL BOOKS ON THE REALITY OF AN EVIL SPIRITUAL REALM
1. Christian Counseling and the Occult by Kurt Kouch
2. Demons in the World Today by Merrill F. Unger
3. Principalities and Powers by John Warwich Montgomery
4. Demons, Demons, Demons by John Newport
5. Biblical Demonology by Merrill F. Unger
6. Three Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
will raise up. Note the transition, and the Structure above.
hearken. Compare Mat 17:5. Act 3:22, Act 3:23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a Prophet: Deu 18:18, Deu 18:19, Joh 1:45, Act 3:22, Act 3:23, Act 7:37
like unto me: Deu 5:5, Deu 34:10, Luk 24:19, 1Ti 2:5, Heb 1:1, Heb 1:2, Heb 2:1-3, Heb 3:2-6
unto him: Mat 17:5, Luk 9:35, Luk 10:16, Joh 6:29, Heb 1:2, 1Jo 3:23
Reciprocal: Num 18:20 – General Job 36:12 – if Zec 3:1 – standing Mat 11:3 – Art Mat 21:11 – This Mar 9:7 – hear Luk 7:19 – Art Luk 24:27 – beginning Luk 24:44 – in the law Joh 1:21 – Art thou that Joh 4:25 – when Joh 5:39 – they which Joh 5:46 – for Joh 6:14 – This Joh 7:38 – He that Joh 7:39 – Of Joh 10:35 – unto Act 13:32 – how Act 26:6 – the promise Rom 3:21 – being Gal 3:19 – in Heb 3:5 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE GREAT PROPHET
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.
Deu 18:15
The history of Moses is valuable to Christians, not only as giving us a pattern of fidelity towards God, of great firmness and great meekness, but also as affording us a type or figure of our Saviour Christ. Let us consider in what respects Moses resembled Christ.
I. If we survey the general history of the Israelites, we shall find that it is a picture of mans history as the Gospel displays it to us, and that in it Moses takes the place of Christ.We are born in a spiritual Egypt, a land of strangers. Satan is a tyrant over us, and it seems useless to rebel. Christ is a second Moses, and greater than he, inasmuch as Christ leads from hell to heaven, as Moses led the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan.
II. Christ reveals to us the will of God, as Moses did to the Israelites.He is our Prophet as well as our Redeemer. Favoured as he was, Moses saw not the true presence of God. Flesh and blood cannot see it. But Christ really saw, and ever saw, the face of God, for He was no creature of God, but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. Christ has brought from His Father for all of us the full and perfect way of life.
III. Moses was the great intercessor when the Israelites sinned.In this he shadows out the true Mediator between God and man, who is ever at the right hand of God making intercession for us. Moses was excluded from the Promised Land, dying in sight, not in enjoyment, of Canaan, while the people went in under Joshua. This was a figure of Him that was to come. Our Saviour Christ died that we might live; He consented to lose the light of Gods countenance that we might gain it. Moses suffered for his own sin; Christ was the spotless Lamb of God. His death is meritorious; it has really gained our pardon.
Illustrations
(1) The characteristics of the prophet are set in strong contrast to those of the diviners and magicians, and lift the order high above all the filth and folly of these others. First, the prophet is raised up by God, the individual holder of the office has his call, and he does not prophesy out of his own heart. The man who takes this office on himself without such a call is ipso facto branded as a false prophet. Then he is from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,springing from the people, not a stranger, like so many of these wandering soothsayers, but with the national life throbbing in his veins, and himself participant of the thoughts and emotions of his brethren. Then he is to be like unto thee,not in all points, but in his receiving direct communications from God, and in his authority as Gods messenger. The crowning characteristic, I will put my words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him, invests his words with divine authority, calls for obedience to them as the words of God Himself, widens out his sphere far beyond that of merely foretelling, brings in the moral and religious element, which had no place in the oracles of the soothsayer, and opens up the prospect of a continuous progressive revelation throughout the ages (all that I shall command him). We mutilate the grand idea of the prophet in Israel if we think of his work as mainly prediction, and we mutilate it no less if we exclude prediction from it. We mutilate it still more fatally if we try to account for it on naturalistic principles, and fail to see in the prophet a man directly conscious of a divine call, or to hear in his words the solemn accents of the voice of God.
(2) Do we make enough of the prophet-side of our Saviours ministry, who is the Moses of His church? Do we listen enough to the words of His mouth? Are we careful enough to perform all that our Father commanded through Him? Do we consult Him enough? That He fulfils the conditions and answers the test of the true prophet is unmistakeable, because what He has said has followed and come to pass, and shall yet do so, till time shall be no more.
(3) What shall we say of this coming to you and to me, through the Word and Spirit, of this Prophet, who is no mere servant as even great Moses was, but is the Son of God Himself? What can we say but keep repeating, the words: Unto Him ye shall hearken? But to this man will I look, to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. Yes, that is the only listener that is at all worthy of so great a Messengerhe who trembleth at His words, whose whole heart listens in lowly, eager readiness to be and to do whatsoever He bids. It is this keen-set, awed spirit that we needthis holy sense of urgent necessity, a right royal I must dominating all the inner man: I must believe His words, and trust His every promise, simply because He is the speaker! I must obey each dear command of His: it is my very life! The Gospels read through in this spirit would be a veritable revelation to many of us.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Deu 18:15. Will raise up Will produce and send into the world in due time. A Prophet of thy brethren, like unto me These words are very remarkable, and deserve our very particular attention. Moses was now about to leave his people, and therefore informs them, for their comfort, that God would raise them up another prophet, who should speak unto them Gods words, and instruct them in his will. He has been understood by many eminent persons as foretelling hereby that God would raise up a succession of prophets in the Jewish Church for the instruction of his people. And, perhaps, this interpretation is not to be altogether rejected,
1st, Because this prediction is alleged here as a reason why they need not consult with diviners, as they should have prophets at hand to advise them whenever it was needful.
2d, Because the prophet here spoken of is opposed to the false prophets, and a general rule is hereupon given for the discovery of all succeeding prophets, whether true or false, Deu 18:20-22.
3d, Because, as is here threatened, whenever the people did not hearken to, and obey these prophets, God required it of them, punishing them repeatedly, and that in a signal manner, by the sword of their enemies, by famine, and by captivity, especially the captivity of the ten tribes under Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, and the captivity of Judah and Benjamin by Nebuchadnezzar, with the awful calamities preceding and following.
The prediction, however, must of necessity be primarily interpreted of the Messiah. 1st, Because the text speaks of one prophet only, in the singular number, and not of many. 2d, Because the Messiah alone can with propriety be said to have been a prophet like unto Moses, it being simply denied, and that repeatedly, that any other prophet did, or should arise, like unto him. See Deu 34:10; Num 12:6-8. God spoke to the other prophets in dreams and visions, or by the appearance of angels, but he conversed with Moses in a free and familiar way, mouth to mouth, and face to face, as it is expressed, as a man converses with his friend, Moses having his light in the divine will immediately from God, without the intervention of dreams, visions, or the appearance of angels. They only expounded and enforced the laws of God already given, none of them being, properly speaking, lawgivers, in the intermediate space between Moses and Christ. But Moses was properly a lawgiver, and that in a very extraordinary sense, delivering a law which was in general entirely new, and that with such authority and attestations from God, as had never been witnessed on earth before. Not many of these prophets wrought miracles, and those who did, can with no propriety be said to have resembled Moses in that respect. The first and the last of these instances of dissimilitude are particularly noticed in one of the passages above referred to. There arose not a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt; and in all that mighty hand and great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel. Add to all this that Moses was a mediator and a king as well as a prophet, in the former of which characters none of the ancient prophets resembled him, and none, except David, in the latter. But Christ was truly like him in all these greater, and in a variety of lesser respects. He was not only a prophet, but a priest and mediator, a king and lawgiver; and not only fully equalled, but infinitely surpassed Moses in the excellence of his ministry and work, the glory of his miracles, and in his familiar and intimate converse with God; being in the bosom of the Father, and the wisdom and word of God incarnate. 3d, The awful threatening denounced in this passage, (Deu 18:19,) was most signally fulfilled with respect to those of the Jews that did not hearken to this prophet: the Lord most terribly required it of them, and continues to require it. For wrath came upon them to the uttermost, (1Th 2:16,) by the Roman armies, in the siege and destruction of their cities, and especially of Jerusalem their capital city, and the utter ruin of their country; and the sad effects of that wrath they have felt for upward of seventeen hundred years, and continue to feel to this day. But, 4th, What perfectly places the matter beyond all doubt, this prophecy is expounded by God himself of Christ, and of Christ alone, in the New Testament. See Act 3:22; Act 7:37; Joh 1:45; Joh 5:45-46; Joh 6:14.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a {g} Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(g) Meaning, a continual succession of prophets, till Christ, the end of all prophets, comes.