“Blogging the Institutes” is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin’s work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List.
Moses’ Miracles Confirmed Moses’ Writings
The miracles that Moses did confirmed the rules he received from God and the teachings he passed along. Let’s recount some of these: Moses was carried up the mountain in a cloud. He remained there 40 days. His face radiated during the giving of God’s law to Israel. Lightening flashed on every side. Voices and thunder thundered through the air. There was the sound of the trumpet which was not sounded by any human voice. Think about when Moses entered the tabernacle and was obscured from sight by the cloud of God’s glory. His authority was vindicated when God destroyed Korah, Nathan, and Abiran. There was the rocked which gushed water when he struck it. Manna rained from heaven when he prayed.
Don’t all these miracles demonstrate that Moses was a prophet who was called by God? If anyone objects and says that I am taking these debatable points for granted, let me answer this way: Moses wrote about these in the presence of all the people. They could have verified what he was writing. How could he deceive a whole nation to think he accomplished things he never actually did? Is it even plausible to believe that Moses could have accused the people of Israel of being obstinate, and unbelieving and at the same time boast about all the miracles he performed which were verified by the people of Israel when they hadn’t even occurred? It would have been too easy to expose Moses as a fraud. Therefore, his writings have the mark of recording actual events which happened.