Moses at Christ’s Transfiguration

We’re looking for evidence of Moses being taken from Mt. Sinai to be at Christ’s Transfiguration on Mt. Hermon. So, let’s look at the timing and circumstances around his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai.

First, let’s look at the timing. The first Shavuot occurred at Mt. Sinai. Israel left Egypt the day after Passover (Ex 12:21, 31) which became known as the first day of Unleavened Bread (Ex13:4-6). The next day became known as the Feast of First Fruit once they entered the Promised Land (Lv 23:9). They arrived at Sinai on Day 46 which was the first day of the Third Month (Sivan; Ex 19:1). They consecrated themselves for two days (Ex 19:10-11). On Day 48, God appeared with fire and smoke on the mountain (Ex 19:16). Day 49, Moses wrote down all that God had said (Ex 24:4). Then, on Day 50, Israel was consecrated as a nation before God (Ex 24:8). Shavuot occurs 50 days after First Fruit (Lv 23:16).

Moses then goes up Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. Exodus 24:13-18 tells us that Moses went up the mountainside with Joshua:

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. (v 15)

It tells us what God’s presence looked like to those down below:

To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. (v17)

After 7 days, Moses went further up the mountain:

Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (v 18)

Because Moses was on the mountain for so long, the Israelites assumed Moses likely died in the fire on the mountain. To appease the people, Aaron makes a golden calf for the people to worship (Ex 32:4-6).

When Moses came down from the mountain, he broke the stone with the Ten Commandments God had written with his own hand before them (Ex 32:19). This showed his disapproval as well as God disapproval. Moses then destroyed the idol and made the people drink the water with the ashes of the golden calf in it (Ex 32:20). Approximately, three thousand people died that day because of their sin (Ex 32:28). While Moses did intercede for the people, God still sent a plague(Ex 32:35).

Next, Moses takes stone tablets he prepared back up the mountain as God instructed, and he asked to see God (Ex 33:18). Once he was back on the mountain, God granted his request:

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. (Ex 34:5)

This is likely the time Moses was transported to the Transfiguration where he meets Christ—Yahweh or Jehovah.

Once Moses was back at Sinai, God the Father shields him and passes before him. This also confirms that God the Father and God the Son are part of the Godhead as both are referred to as LORD (Yahweh or Jehovah).

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished (Ex 34:6-7a)

This would be a testimony to Moses that Christ who he just met was also God and emphasize what Jesus told him about his coming death to forgive their sin. One of things Jesus spoke to him about was “his departure” (Lk 9:31), i.e., his crucifixion which would soon occur. The word for departure is the same word as exodus. Christ was likely comparing the exodus Moses had with the children of Israel out of Egypt to the exodus he was providing for his people out of their sin and providing for the exodus of the righteous from Sheol. Perhaps this is what prompts Moses to ask God if he would forgive their sin, go with them, and not forsake his people (Ex 34:9). God reiterates his provisional covenant to Moses – prosperity and protection with obedience (Ex 34:10-11).

Moses’ face did not shine until he came down from the mountain with the second version of the Ten Commandments.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. (Ex 34:29)

His face did not shine from being with God previously—only this time. Could the reason be that he was with Christ on Mt. Hermon experiencing Christ’s transfiguration? Moses likely didn’t know he was transported through time but only knew he had encountered the Lord.

After this time, when he went inside the Tent of Meeting, he met with the Shekinah glory of God, which would have been Yahweh, or Christ, as Moses seemed to need to continually wear the veil over his face (Ex 34:34-35).

For Moses, meeting with Christ would be an encouragement to him regarding his ordained mission. It proved far greater than he had ever believed. This likely allowed him to have more compassion and patience with the Israelites. This is not to say that he still did not become frustrated with their actions at times.

This could be a reason Moses was able to predict the coming of Jesus:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. (Dt 18:15)

This likely helped Moses better understand the purpose of the Law given to him. The Tabernacle and its sacrifices were not only requirements but were prophetic in nature. Moses would also better understand he would become a symbol of hope. He represented all those righteous Israelites who die will one day be with their coming Messiah in heaven. Perhaps Jesus told him this. This may also be how Moses could have written about his death and the dispute over his body with Satan before the event actually occurred.

In addition, this could be the genesis of many Jewish leaders understanding the prophetic nature of their feast days and sacrifices. While not necessarily stated in Scripture, many of the Jewish commentaries, like the Mishna, points to a lot of this understanding. Perhaps the genesis for all these understandings came from Moses’ conversations with Christ at his transfiguration. This is different from us today. We see Jesus and what he did and can retrofit his actions and deeds into Old Testament scriptures. The Jews, however, prospectively saw their Messiah fulfilling all these things in their Torah and prophetical scriptures.

While not proof, this likelihood of Moses transported from Sinai to Mt. Hermon for Christ’s Transfiguration does help to explain many things the Israelites would need to piece together as they lived and looked forward to their coming Messiah.

What about Elijah? We’ll discuss him next time. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens