Bible Character Explorer
Exodus and Wilderness Period • c. 1526 to 1406 BC (traditional dating)
Moses
Mediator of the LawThe deliverer of Israel and mediator of the Sinai covenant
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."
Hebrews 11:27 (KJV)
Overview
Moses is the central human figure of the Exodus and the most important leader in Israel's history before the coming of Christ. He led Israel out of Egypt, mediated the Sinai covenant, received the law, and guided the nation through forty years of wilderness wandering. His life divides into three forty-year periods: the first in Pharaoh's palace, the second as a shepherd in Midian, and the third leading Israel toward the promised land. The New Testament presents him as a type of Christ and as a witness to Jesus's glory on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Gospel Connection
Moses himself declared that his ministry was incomplete and pointed forward. The prophet he promised in Deuteronomy 18 is Jesus Christ. The law Moses gave revealed the righteousness God requires and the impossibility of achieving it through human effort. John 1:17 draws the definitive contrast: the law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. At the Transfiguration, a voice from the cloud said of Jesus, 'This is my beloved Son; hear him,' the very command Moses gave about the prophet to come. Moses pointed his whole life toward someone greater, and that someone arrived.
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.