If you have your Bibles with you this morning, turn with me to John 5:45–47 and listen to these words from Jesus, “45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Do we believe the writings of Moses? What did Moses write in the Law that Jesus can ask, “if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?” That is the question I plan on answering this morning. There are several approaches we could take. We could look for types and shadows that point to Christ. We could see if there are any direct prophecies that Christ fulfills. And while these approaches are helpful, I’m not sure they fully explain what Jesus is saying here. I think Jesus is claiming that Moses intended his readers to be looking for someone like Jesus, that is, a Messiah. Let’s look back a few verse in John 5:39–40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
In these verses, Jesus claims that Moses directly testifies to him. The Bible was written to not fixate our hopes on rules and law, but to point us to Christ and his renewing work. All of Scripture bears witness to Christ. How do the writings of Moses bears witness about Christ? To answer this question, we first must clarify what Jesus is referring to in John 5:45–47.
Jesus is referring to the Law, the Torah, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses. Although we have it in our Bibles as five separate books, this most likely wasn’t originally the case, since Scripture treats it as one book. Consider Joshua 1:7–8
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
God, speaking to Joshua, refers to what Moses wrote as a singular book (or scroll). And he calls it the book of the “law.” In Hebrew, this word is Torah. It can mean law, regulation, teaching, instruction.1 This nuance is still prevalent in the New Testament. Paul seems to use this nuance in Romans 3:21 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.” Paul uses the Greek word namos to refer to the legal code within the Law and then for the Law itself. It is tempting to blend together our view of the torah with law. It is the center of the book. There are clear blessings and curses associated with obedience to it. But Paul doesn’t seem to have this view. He contrasts the law of works with the law of faith by pointing to the faith of Abraham which is in the torah (Romans 4). Instead of saying faith can only be understood by the law, he says that the law can only be properly understood by faith.
So for next 30 minutes, let’s place on hold the mindset to always view Genesis–Deuteronomy as primarily a legal code. It does contain one, but that is not the primary theological message that Moses is trying to communicate. This is why Jesus can say, “if you believed Moses, you would believe me.” So how does the whole book of the torah point us to Christ?
The best why I think we can see this reality is by focusing on its “hinge points.” The genre of the torah is largely narrative. There are songs, prophesies, blessings, and poems interspersed throughout the book, but the majority of the text is narrative. The story of Adam and Eve, the story of Abraham, the story of Moses, the story of Israel wondering the wilderness, etc. However, there are four major poetic sections that divide these large portions of narrative. Each of these four sections is followed by a brief epilogue. Some several paragraphs and others a brief sentence. We see the first poetic section in Genesis 49, as Jacob blesses his twelves sons. The second poetic section follows the Israelites escape through the Red Sea. After witnessing the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, Moses and Israel rejoice and sing a lengthy song to the Lord. We find this in Exodus 15. The third section is in Numbers 23–24, where Balaam is hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel but instead gives four blessings. The last section is Deuteronomy 32–33 where Moses gathers the twelve tribes of Israel and teaches them a song that will testify against them when they rebel against God and then he blesses each tribe. If Moses were to highlight a theme or a prophecy to the reader, or in other words point them to Jesus, it would need to be in these four poetic sections.
So in the time we have remaining, I want to go through each section and note the patterns, repetitions, and the singular theme throughout them. At the end, I’ll share a few Old Testament examples that seem to confirm this interpretation.
First, let’s note how Moses introduces this section. In v. 1, Jacob gathers his sons so that he can tell them what will happen to them in “?achariyth yomim.” The ESV will sometimes translate this phrase as “days to come,” and most other times as the “latter days,” as in last days. We’ll get back to this later, but we’ll list as our first observation.
Now jump down and look at vv. 8–12.
“8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.”
What stands out here?
1. Judah’s hand will be on the neck of his enemies. Judah will conquer his adversaries. (V. 8) This phrase is sandwiched in between a clear poetic parallel (brothers bowing down and praise), making this statement stand out through its placement as well as its imagery.
2. Judah will be praised and respected by his brothers. He will rule over “the peoples” and they will obey this king from Judah. (vv. 8 , 10).
3. Two sets of animal imagery are used.
a. First, Jacob compares Judah to a lion and lioness crouching down to hunt prey. (v. 9)
b. Second, the king of Judah has a foal and a donkey’s colt. (v. 11)
4. “Latter days” (49:1)
Let’s now look at our second passage, starting in verse 1.
1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name. 4 “Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. 5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. 8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. 13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. 18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
Let’s make note of some observations
1. There is repeated mentioning of the Lord’s hand defeating his enemies (vv. 6).
2. The enemies of Israel are named: Philistia, Moab, Edom, and Canaan (vv. 14–15).
3. The song ends by proclaiming that the Lord God reigns forever and ever. (v. 18)
4. No “latter days” mentioned
The third section is where themes begin to become far clearer.
In this section, we see Balaam, the prophet hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel. Balaam does his omens and divinations and realizes that he can’t curse Israel and must bless them. He gives four blessing, but we will focus on the last two, starting in Numbers 24:1
Poem 3 (Num 24:1–9)
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he took up his discourse and said,
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! 6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. 7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”
Let’s write down some observations
1. There will be a great king of Israel and his kingdom will be exalted. God will bring him out of Egypt and the king will conquer his enemies. (vv. 7–8)
2. God will be for him like the horns of an ox. He will be his defense mechanism (v. 8).
3. We see a repeated phrase about the king being like a crouched lion/lioness. (v. 9)
Poem 4 (Num 24:14–25)
14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” 15 And he took up his discourse and said,
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. 19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!”
Here are some more observations.
4. There is a repetition of the scepter imagery coming from Israel.
5. Balaam notes, that this king will conquer Moab, Edom, Seir, and many Canaanite cites (vv. 17–19).
6. The king of Israel will exercise dominion over the nations (v. 19).
7. “Latter days” (v. 14) are referring to the King of Israel not being near, but far.
Finally, let’s move on to the last section.
The song of Moses is one of the more saddening sections in the Torah. Moses knows that the Israelites will continue to rebel against God and, therefore teaches them a catchy song so that they will testify against them when they sin. Look at Deut. 31:29, “For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”
This song mainly summarizes the Lord’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness, but look at end of the song in verse 40 of Deuteronomy 32, “40 For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever, 41 if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh—with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’ 43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land.”
Here we see the same theme as Exodus 15: the Lord will conquer his enemies and save his people.
If this is the song, what about the blessing?
33:1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. 3 Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you, 4 when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. 5 Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of Judah:
“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people. With your hands contend for him, and be a help against his adversaries.”
Let’s note some observations
The Lord is king over Israel (v. 5)
The hands of the Lord help Judah against his adversaries (v. 7).
Judah calls to the Lord to conquer his enemies (v. 7)
“Latter days” (31:29)
Zechariah 9:9–10
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
What does Zechariah note about this king on a colt of a donkey? The king will rule over the nations and the Lord will defeat his enemies. This verse and Genesis 49:11 are the only two places where a foal and son of a donkey are paired so close together.
John quotes this verse in John 12:14–15, “And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
Psalm 2:1–9
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Here the Lord sets up a King who will conquer the nations and rule over them. Sound familiar?
Hosea 3:4–5
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.