Lesson 5 —A Prophet Greater Than Moses
- May 31
- 14 min read
Deuteronomy 18 and 33, Numbers 24, Isaiah 40, Malachi 4-5, Habakkuk 3, Isaiah 11: 15-16, Hosea 11:1, Psalm 110
The morning sun streamed through the narrow opening in the stone wall, pouring bright ribbons of light across the worn floor. Dust shimmered in the beams. Outside, Bethsaida had awakened—nets were being shaken out, fishermen called to one another, footsteps passed along the road—but inside the synagogue, there was excitement. There was something special today! A visiting rabbi, from Jerusalem!
“Bachurim,” their rabbi said. “ I am pleased to introduce to you one of my favorite teachers. I myself was blessed to sit under his teaching years ago. His name is Gamaliel. He sits on the Sanhedrin! I have invited him to share with us some of his favorite scriptures about The Promised One, the Mashiach. He has heard what you have learned so far and is pleased with your progress. Our area, Northern Galilee, has a reputation for loving the Tanakh. The schools teaching Bet Midrash in our area have produced fine young scholars ready to teach the Torah themselves!”
The boys had heard of Gamaliel. How honored they were to have such a guest rabbi!
Simon sat forward, but without his usual impatience. Andrew’s face was calm, though thoughtful. James sat upright and steady, determined not to miss a word. Philip’s brow was slightly furrowed, ready to ask questions. John sat still, eyes lifted toward the rabbi.
Gamaliel entered carrying several scrolls. They recognized the first one as the Torah scroll. He placed them before them with great care and rested both hands upon them, pronouncing a blessing.
Then he looked at the boys and started in. “You have seen that the Messiah will suffer.” No one answered. “You have seen that He will be rejected, wounded, and bear the sins of others.”
Simon lowered his eyes. “But that is not the end of His story.” Gamaliel said. The boys lifted their heads. “Today,” Gamaliel said, “You will hear how the Mashiach is prophesied by Moses. Our lesson today starts in the Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy. Who can tell me what is happening in this book?”
James jumped in. After forty years in the wilderness, Moses, Joshua, Caleb and the entire camp of Israel is stationed at Abel Shittim, on the banks of the Jordan River in Moab. Across the river is Canaanite country, and the cities of Gilgal and Jericho. Moses gives a set of sermons to the next generation of Israel, to remind them what has gone before, and to caution them about what is coming. He is also preparing to turn the leadership over to Joshua.”
Gamiliel nodded with approval, “Well done. Let’s take a look at these verses, Deuteronomy 18:15-18. Moses is talking to the people. Can anyone recite them for us?”
John jumped in. “ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen, just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.'”
Gamaliel smiled at John, and continued to teach. “This is one of the most significant prophecies about the Promised One in the Torah. He will be a prophet, like Moses, but greater. Now certainly this verse is referring to Moses’ intimacy with God, and speaking God’s words back to the people. But stop and consider this for a moment. Moses was our greatest prophet. No other prophet was as great as Moses. But this one will be even greater! Since that time, all of Israel has anticipated this Prophet!
Gamaliel let this thought sink in. Then he asked, “Let’s name all the things that the Prophet Moses did!”
Simon started. “He led the people out of bondage. Delivered them. Confronted the gods of Egypt with the ten plagues.”
James added, “ He followed the pillar of cloud in the wilderness leading them to Mt. Sinai. He split the Red Sea! He made the bitter water sweet at Marah. He split the rock and the water came out– enough for the entire camp!”
Andrew jumped in. “Moses climbed up Mt. Sinai and met God at the top of the mountain. It was covered with fire! God spoke directly to Moses, and he delivered messages to the people, going up and down the mountain. He was also judging the people.”
Philip added, “When God spoke the Ten Commandments to the people, they became afraid and asked God to speak to them only through Moses, the Prophet. Moses also offered to stand in the gap for the people when they sinned with the Golden Calf. He was the mediator of a New Covenant which God made with the people. He enforced God’s decrees. He spoke to God face to face.”
John added, “He built the tabernacle of God so that God’s presence could go with them! He loved God and tried to please him! He led the people like a shepherd for forty years!”
Gamaliel nodded with approval at the summary the boys had presented. He went on, “So this Prophet is going to be even GREATER than Moses. We have seen the rise of many great prophets in Israel… Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, and so on. But none yet have been greater than Moses.”
“Let’s take a moment to study a portion of the Book of Numbers. In this book, the Israelites are now camped at Abel Shittim, at the Jordan River, in the country of Moab. The king of Moab, Balak, is so fearful of the Israelites, that he hires a renowned, but not non-Israelite, prophet in the area to curse them. His name was Baalam. God tells him not to go with Balak, but he tells Balaam if he does go, only to speak the words of Yahweh. Rather than cursing the Israelites, Balaam was compelled by God to deliver three elaborate blessings upon Israel. Later, Balaam betrayed Israel, though, by advising the Moabites to corrupt Israel through idolatry and sexual immorality, leading to a plague on Israel.
"Here is what Balaam declared over Israel! What is foretold about the Messiah in his words?” The boys had studied this passage of Torah before, but now all were leaning in to listen for clues. Gamaliel began to read.
“The utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open. 'How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and His Seed shall be in many waters. His King shall be higher than Gog, and his kingdom shall be exalted.'"
"God brings him out of Egypt. He has strength like a wild ox. He shall consume the nations, His enemies. He shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows. He bows down, he lies down as a lion. And as a lion, who shall rouse him? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.”
“What do you hear?”
“His King, the Promised One, is higher than Gog! His Kingdom will be exalted! His seed, Messiah, will be over the earth! He will be strong, like an ox and a lion!” Simon answered excitedly.
“There is more from Balaam in the book of Numbers. Here is another of his blessings spoken over Israel.” Gamiliel found the place in the scroll and began to read again. “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A Star shall come out of Jacob, a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession. Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob, One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city”(Numbers 24:17-19).
“Now what do you hear?” Gamaliel asked the boys.
“The Promised One, the Seed of the Woman, will be a great king. He will defeat Moab and Edom! He will have dominion, ” Philip stated.
“Is the city Jerusalem?” Andrew asked.
“We will see," nodded Gamaliel. “Now we return to the great scroll of Isaiah. In the second half of this glorious book, Isaiah prophesied that in the latter days, Messiah the King will arrive dramatically on the clouds, with his angels, bringing judgement and wrath. There will be a great battle with the seed of the serpent, and the Messiah will win! Israel will be regathered from the ends of the earth! In the book of Zechariah it is written that the remnant that returns will look upon Messiah, whom they had pierced. They will mourn, and will turn to Him for their salvation, crying out, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ They will be made the center of a new social order when Messiah's kingdom is set up on the earth, on Mt. Zion, in Jerusalem! Mt. Zion will become the seat of a worldwide government. There are so many glowing prophecies here!”
“This section of Isaiah, chapter 40, begins with an announcement. ‘A voice in the wilderness will cry, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! Make a straight path for Him! Every valley will be exalted and every mountain made low. The glory of the Lord is about to be revealed!’ It is the voice of a messenger who comes in the power and spirit of Elijah! The prophet Malachi records the words of Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD’” (Malachi 4:5). “This is an amazing prophecy! The words of Malachi give us more clues about the voice of God’s messenger (Malachi 3:1). Listen as I read them to you,” Gamaliel said, picking up a different scroll. He found the place, and started to read again.
“And he (the messenger) will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. ‘Behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of Hosts.”
“So, we can expect a prophet to announce the coming of the Holy One, ” Gamaliel explained. “Let me read some more of this from the scroll of Isaiah.”
“Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up! Fear not! Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his Arm rules for him. His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him,'” (Isaiah 40).
“Boys, what do you notice in this scripture?”
Simon jumped in. “The Lord God is coming with might! And it says God’s holy arm rules for Him. Is God’s HOLY ARM another name for Messiah?”
“Yes!” encouraged Gamaliel. “All the way back to the Exodus, God’s HOLY ARM was symbolic of a battle cry. When God’s holy arm was activated, it was metaphorical for the destruction of God’s enemies! It was a time to expect might and miracles.”
“There is a scroll of our writings that was written by the earliest prophet of all. Does anyone know the name of that book? It is not a part of the Torah, but it is a precious book just the same. It was preserved by Noah on the ark, and then passed down to Abraham and the rest.”
“The book of Enoch!” Philip said.
“That is right. In this book, Enoch gives us a vision, ‘See, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way..."
“In Deuteronomy 33:2, Moses prophesied about it, too. Simon, will you read this passage?” Gamaliel handed the Torah scroll to Simon. It was quiet for a moment while he located the passage. But Simon had memorized this part of the Torah years ago. He looked up and recited it, word for word, with a huge grin.
“The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir. He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the South, from his mountain slopes. Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. He was king over Jeshurun (Israel) when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel.”
“James, what do you hear?”
“This passage is similar to the one from the Book of Enoch. This passage is speaking of the Messiah! When he comes with his Holy Ones, in the latter days, he will follow the same Exodus route that Moses did! He will teach the people the Law of Moses. He will take his place as King over all Israel,” James noted.
Gamaliel took a moment, then, to smile at the aged rabbi, the teacher of this Synagogue School." These boys are sharp! They have been trained well. It was a delight to teach them!" He reached down then, to pick up a new scroll. His voice became more excited as he continued to work through the writings of the prophets.
“Now, let’s move to the writings of other prophets. How does Yahweh, and his Holy Arm, the Greater Moses, arrive in Jerusalem? Reading from both the Torah, and the prophet Habakkuk, God once again takes a wilderness journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, in Saudi Arabia, past Mt. Paran. Then he goes through Petra to set the remnant of Israel free from their hideout in the desert, and then marches to Zion to set up his kingdom. In the book of Isaiah, it says that, ‘His garments are red, soaked with blood.’ The wrath of God will be on full display. The Greater Moses will be dealing with the persecution of God’s people, the Jews, during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Do any of you know anything about that period of time?” Gamaliel asked.
“Yes,” said Andrew. The time of Jacob’s trouble is a seven year time of tribulation on the entire earth, prophesied by the prophet Daniel.”
“Andrew, please take the scroll and read this section for us. Boys, look for clues!” Gamaliel instructed.
Andrew sat up straight, and cleared his throat. This was a long passage! He wanted to do well! He took a deep breath and started in.
“God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.His splendor was like the sunrise. Rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed, but he marches on forever.I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you angry with the rivers, Lord? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one.. You struck the head of the serpent, the “house of evil” (the line of evil,) to lay him open from thigh to neck”( Habakkuk 3).
Andrew looked up from the scroll. Gamaliel asked the rest of the boys, “What do you hear?”
“The head of the serpent is crushed!” said John excitedly. “Just as predicted in Genesis three! Finally, the seed line of the serpent is defeated!”
“So we see a procession of the Greater Moses and the angels, traveling through the desert victoriously on the clouds. He stops to gather the remnant of Israel from Edom hiding in Petra as he goes, on His way to Jerusalem, destruction in his wake! The battle is on! The kingdom of the seed of the serpent, the one Daniel calls the Abomination of Desolation, is in full battle mode against Israel and Jerusalem. This march leads to Zion, where the Promised One will take the throne. He becomes the King! He defeats the enemy, crushing the head of the seed of the serpent. Finally, God will dwell among us once again!” Gamiliel took a breath.
“Let’s go back to Deuteronomy, ” he said. “Who would like to read?”
“I will!” volunteered John. He took the scroll and began to read with passion.
“There is no one like the God of Israel, who rides across the heavens to help you, on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you saying, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety and Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights”( Deuteronomy 33: 26-27).
Philip gasped. “He rides across the heavens on clouds?
“Yes,” Gamaliel said. “It is a mystery. It is a march through the desert, yet he arrives on the clouds with his holy angels. Many rabbis believe that this journey, or this second exodus will start in Egypt,( Isaiah 11: 15-16) follow the route to Midian, go through the Red Sea again, on to Sinai, and then to Bozrah, in Edom, before arriving in Jerusalem. His arrival brings salvation for his people. It will be majestic, and visible to all! They will look upon Him who they pierced. And it says in Zechariah, that they will mourn. There will be a national moment of recognition of the Messiah and repentance.”
“Rabbi Gamaliel, I am confused. I thought The Promised One was to come as a baby, born in Bethlehem! How can he also arrive in majesty in Jerusalem as king? I thought he was going to suffer and die?” Andrew asked.
"Now you have discovered the mystery. The Mashiach will come the first time, as a baby. He will be born in Bethlehem. He will go to Egypt (Hosea 11:1) and return to Israel. He will come as a shepherd, and will die as a Suffering Servant. But he will be the perfect sacrificial lamb. He will be a guilt offering. By His stripes we will be healed. He will take our transgressions. He will defeat death. And we will be saved through him. We only need to believe! He will rise from the dead. Then, he will sit down at the right hand of the Father in heaven until all the earth is made his footstool. Remember, the words of David? 'The LORD said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet' (Psalm 110). At the appointed time, The Promised One will come down from heaven once more, this time not as a baby, or a Suffering Servant, but as a Glorious King!”
The great rabbi rolled the scrolls closed one by one. The sound of parchment seemed solemn and final.
“Remember this, boys. The Messiah does not merely represent God.” He paused. “He is the Lord who comes to redeem.”
No one moved for several moments.
Outside, sunlight danced across the waters of Bethsaida. A breeze carried the scent of the sea through the doorway. Inside, the boys sat changed. It was as if the parts of a puzzle were coming together. Now they were beginning to see the integrated whole. The prophets each had part of the tapestry.
Simon was stirred with holy expectation. Andrew, filled with quiet wonder. James, anchored in certainty. Philip, wrestling and understanding at once. John, undone by the beauty of it.
The Messiah would suffer and die. And rise again. The Messiah would reign as King. The Messiah would gather, heal, judge, and restore. And somehow, the Messiah would be the Lord Himself. What would the Messiah, this Suffering Servant, yet Coming King, actually be like? What else would he do? Simon could not wait to discover the answer.
Each of the boys thanked Rabbi Gamaliel for coming to teach them before putting on their sandals and heading home. The Mashiach would be a Prophet even Greater than Moses. The walk gave each of them time to process the day. And of course, Simon talked the others into taking the long route home, right by Hannah’s house. He caught a glimpse of her, on the porch, working with her mother. She looked up then, and smiled at Simon, who was pretending to walk casually by. He nodded his head and smiled back. “Someday, I will teach Hannah all about the Messiah!” he thought happily. “We will teach our children, and our children’s children!”
Questions: (For Lesson Plans for this Lesson, CLICK HERE!
Who was Gamaliel?
Who was Balaam? Balak? What was the most significant part of Balaam's prophesies?
What was the mystery the boys discovered in this lesson?
What part does the book of Enoch play in the minds of the Hebrews at the time of Jesus? Does the book of Enoch help shape their ideas of Messiah? How?
How does this lesson give you another insight into who the Messiah really is?
What new names for Messiah are introduced in this lesson?
This is 44 minutes but give it a shot!!!
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