e>THE BOOKS of MOSES and MORE-
A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
By: Kenneth B. Alexander
TABLE of CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
Creation to Noah’s Flood
GENESIS-PART 2
Noah to Abraham
THE BOOK of LEVITICUS
The Book of Atonement, Worship and Sacrifice;
The Handbook of the Priests
The Second Law; Ready for the Promised Land
JEWS, CHRISTIANS and PASSOVER
JEWS, CHRISTIANS and TABERNACLES
MORE LINKS BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY and JUDAISM
THE FEAST of PENTECOST
OVERVIEW of OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES to CHRIST
HAS GOD’S PLAN for ISRAEL CHANGED?
The Spiritual Israel of the Kingdom of God
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and MORE
WHAT the OLD TESTAMENT MEANS to US TODAY
PREFACE
Thanks to John Robert Stevens, deceased; The Church of the Living Word, North Hills California; Pastors Gary and Marilyn Hargrave; Logos Bible Study System.
Author: Kenneth B. Alexander
Scripture references: The New American Standard, 95 ed. Unless Otherwise Noted
INTRODUCTION
The books of Moses are the first five books of the Jewish and Christian. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In the Hebrew Bible they are collectively known as the “Torah”. The Torah books have been collectively defined as books of “instruction or teaching”, which is the literal interpretation of “Torah”. However the Torah has been collectively referred to as “The Law” or “The Law of Moses”. In Greek, those first five books are known as the Pentateuch. In the Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testament Bible (LXX) they are called “Law” after the Greek word nomos.
Disregarding the arguments that Moses was not the author of these books (the general consensus is that he is the author) the Books present a record of the greatest manifestation of God on the earth before Christ. The acts, ways and personality of God are portrayed no better than in these books. They highlight His personality; His love, kindness, mercy, flexibility, jealous anger and the fact that He will stop at nothing until He has a people for His own possession.
Assuming Moses is the author of all five books (and even if he is not) the books portray a meek and humble man called to a task greater than himself. God called him the most humble man on the face of the earth.
Moses, according to the record, spoke face to face with God. This is the most unique example of God moving through a frail human vessel (excluding Christ). In return for his courage and humility God performed great and wonderful acts through him. God did not move sovereignly but through this man. This is always, to the present day, the way God moves. “Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
Moses knew the Lord. He knew both His acts and His ways, which set him apart from the peoples he served. “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts [not His ways] to the sons of Israel” (Psalm 103:7). Consider the acts done by God through Moses. He delivered a nation of hundreds of thousands of people from the most powerful nation on the earth at the time (Egypt). At the same time God judged the gods of Egypt so that Egypt as a nation never returned to its former glory. He established arguably the greatest form of government known at the time. It was the first, and only, workable theocracy, governed by one God.
Moses stood between God and the people. Many times God, in His jealous anger, meant to destroy the entire nation. However, time after time, Moses changed His mind.
In the book of Genesis the lineage of the nation of Israel (and eventually Christ), is followed from Abraham, to Isaac and finally Jacob who was renamed for the nation Israel. The book details how god created the worlds from nothing by speaking a Word “Let it be”. The fall of man from paradise to futility is chronicled. However that futility was imposed in hope that it would one day be restored. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).
Israel means “struggle or contend with God” and the book portrays this struggle. It shows how God used any circumstance, acceptable to man or not, to preserve the lineage which became a nation. He used the cunning deceit of man (Jacob) and the unbelief of a man (Abraham) in order to fulfill His purpose. He established the principle that it is by faith that we prevail with God. The book is a perfect example of the words of the New Testament: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). The book details the lineages of men He rejected (Esau, Ishmael perhaps Lot). However, even to those He rejected He showed compassion by making nations of them. Their descendants, however, became the enemies Israel eventually confronted in the Promised Land.
The Old Testament, and the Books of Moses specifically. are images of heavenly things. Hebrews (8;4-5) says: “Now if He [ speaking of Christ] were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:4-5). Included in this book are detailed descriptions of how the Old Testament Feasts and rituals apply to Christianity today. The Books of Moses, rich in detail of the methods of forgiving sin by sacrifice and obedience, show the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice which provided salvation once for all eternally. The Old Testament sacrifices provided forgiveness for sin but only temporarily.
Hebrews explains the evolution of the old method of forgiving sins (called the Old Covenant) with the New Covenant initiated by Christ which forgives sins eternally
