Moses As Covenant Head, Pointing to Jesus

There are several comparisons in the New Testament between Moses and Jesus, such as in their office of prophet (Acts 3:22, Deuteronomy 18:15) and as mediators (such as Hebrews 8:6). It is this latter parallel that I want to discuss here.

We talk a lot about the mediatorial office of Jesus: "There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). And with good reason, for it is the basis of our justification before God.

But, if Moses was a type of Christ as mediator, where do we see his acting as mediator? There are obvious places, such as in the giving of the Law. But there is another, more-obscure occasion. Let us recall the one judgment against Moses that is recorded in Scripture: "Die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel" (Deuteronomy 32:50-52). Do you recall the original event (Numbers 20:2-13)? The people of Israel were journeying through the Wilderness, a desert country, and needed water. God told Moses to command the water to come out of the rock. However, Moses rapped on the rock with his staff. This is often identified as the reason for God's judgment against him, but Scripture never indicates that.

Rather, this is what the Scriptures say: "It went ill with Moses on their account" (Psalm 106:32). While it may have been a sin for Moses to rap the rock, rather than merely commanding it, that is not the reason for God's severe punishment against him. Rather, God punishes him as the covenant representative of Israel! This is the way that Moses was a type of the mediatorial role of Jesus. Just as Moses is judged as the covenant head of Israel, Jesus on the cross was judged as the covenant head of all believers (John 6:37-40, Romans 5:15, Ephesians 5:25). 

As rich as this truth is, one application that comes immediately to mind is the condemnation of the atomistic view of salvation which is predominant among modern evangelicals. Don't they run around telling everyone, "Jesus loves you; Jesus died for you"? But that isn't the biblical gospel. According to Scripture, Jesus knew His bride, and was sacrificed, not for random millions, but explicitly for her (note especially Ephesians 5:25). Jesus knew His bride from all eternity, loved her and her alone, and knowingly gave Himself for her.