How Could Moses Say That About Himself?

Can a Humble Man Say He is Humble?

What do you think? Is saying you are humble proof that you are not humble?

One of the questions that people raise about whether Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible is this: How could Moses write that he was the most humble man on the earth if he really was so humble?

Jesus Said That Moses Wrote

Let’s look at the whole picture. First of all, Jesus Himself said that Moses wrote about Him. So he confirmed that Moses actually wrote something. John 5:46 quotes Jesus, “For if you believe Moses, you would believe Me, for Moses wrote about Me.”

An example of Moses writing about Jesus is Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where God told Moses He would raise up a Prophet “like you.” Although it might seem prideful for Moses to predict that God would send a future prophet like himself, he was simply reporting what God had said and what God was inspiring him to write.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.  Jesus was validating that the Old Testament stories that Moses wrote, were true.

Did Moses Write Like a Proud Man?

That leads us to observe that Moses did not write about himself in the first person, telling how God used Him mightily. He wrote in the third person, reporting as though watching from the outside. He didn’t just tell us great things about himself.  Some of the well known interesting Bible stories about Moses show us that he revealed his own flaws and weaknesses. Here are some of them:

• He killed an Egyptian and had to flee Egypt.
• He argued with God at the burning bush, saying that he wasn’t a good enough speaker to go to Pharoah to set his people free.
• He revealed how he had struck the rock in anger, and therefore was not allowed by God to enter the Promised Land.
• He showed his dependence upon others when he needed help to hold up his arms so that the Israelites could win a battle.

Why Did Moses Write?

In Exodus 34 we read how God told Moses to write down “these words.” This included the laws and plans for building the tabernacle. Moses spent 40 glorious days and nights in God’s presence, receiving revelation and writing what God was showing Him. The glory of God radiated from his face to the point that he had to put a veil over His face in the presence of the people when he came down from the mountain.

The Humility of Moses

I’m guessing that since Moses was humble, he may have struggled over having to write God’s opinion of him – that he was the most humble man in the world. But he was faithful and obedient to record what God showed him he should write.

Let’s take a closer look at this Bible passage in which God expressed this opinion. It’s in Numbers 12. Miriam and her brother Aaron expressed pride and racism when they became upset with Moses for marrying a black woman. They were against the marriage and talked against Moses. They questioned his authority, which had been given by God, pointing out that God had spoken to them also. They were sort of saying, “What is so special about Moses anyhow?

Miriam and Aaron were expressing their own pride. As they did this, God pointed out how humble Moses was. God called them out and rebuked them, saying that those receiving prophecies had dreams and visions from God. But Moses was different. God spoke with Him “mouth to mouth.” In other words, only Moses was hearing direct words from God, and they were not.

God withdrew from them, and Miriam was covered in leprosy. Aaron humbled himself before Moses, asking for forgiveness and for Moses to intercede before God for Miriam. Moses cried out to God for healing for Miriam. He did not gloat that she was being punished for speaking against him. This was another sign of his humility. God answered, but caused her to have to stay outside the camp for seven days until she was healed.

Looking at this whole story, it’s easy to see that Moses was not boasting about himself. He was simply writing the account of what had happened, including the parts about himself that God showed him to write.

By the way, I recently discovered from reading Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled, that Moses’ last words before he died included a prophecy of a stranger from far away who would visit Israel when it was lying waste, before the Jews would return to their land.  This prophecy was fulfilled in great detail by none other than Mark Twain.  Fascinating reading!  The book is a novel, but is based on Bible prophecies.

The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled