One Prophet Like Moses

One old man stand for di front of one big crowd. E don reach one hundred and twenty years, and e know say e no go ever cross di river wey dey dia front. E don lead dem for forty years. And now e dey tell dem: somebody else dey come. Somebody like me. Listen to am.

Di man na Moses. Israel camp for di plains of Moab, just across River Jordan from di land wey God promise dem. Moses no go enter with dem. So for di book of Deuteronomy, e give dem many goodbye speeches. E remind dem everytin wey God don do, and e teach dem how dem go live for di new land. For chapter eighteen, e talk about how God go dey talk to dem when e don go. Di nations wey dey around dem, e warn, dey try know future through fortune-telling, through signs, and through talking to di dead. Una no do dat kind tin, Moses talk. No be so di Lord dey talk to im people.

Then Moses give dem one promise. “Di Lord your God go raise one prophet for you from among you, from your brothers, like me. Na im you go listen to.” One prophet from among you. No be foreign seer, no be spirit, but one of dia own people. And like Moses. Think wetin dat one mean. Moses na di one wey talk with God face to face. E lead di people comot from slavery. E bring dem God law. E pray for dem when dem fail. Prophet wey be like dat go be somebody wey great well-well.

Moses remind dem why God make dis promise. Forty years before, for Mount Horeb, wey dem also dey call Sinai, di whole people hear God voice dey talk from inside di fire for di mountain. Thunder, smoke, ground dey shake. And fear catch dem well-well. Dem beg Moses: Make I no hear di voice of di Lord my God again, and make I no see dis big fire again, so dat I no go die. You go near, dem talk, and tell us wetin e talk. And God tell Moses, “Wetin dem talk, dem talk am well.” God no vex. E understand. People need somebody wey go stand between dem and im holiness wey dey burn like fire, somebody wey fit bring God words come near.

So God make im own promise. “I go raise one prophet for dem from among dia brothers, like you. I go put my words for im mouth, and e go talk to dem everytin wey I command am.” And then one serious warning. “E go happen say, anybody wey no gree listen to my words wey e go talk for my name, I go ask am account.” Di words of dis prophet na God own words. If you ignore am, na God you ignore. Generations pass. Plenty prophets come. But di last lines of Deuteronomy talk say no prophet never rise for Israel like Moses, wey di Lord know face to face. Di people continue to wait. Hundreds of years after, crowds go ask John di Baptist, Na you be di Prophet? And after Jesus feed five thousand people, dem talk, True-true, dis na di Prophet wey dey come into di world. Later, Peter go stand for di temple and talk say Jesus na di one wey Moses talk about.

Di people wey copy di Dead Sea Scrolls dey wait for dis prophet too. Among di scrolls wey dem find for caves near Qumran, one short document dey wey scholars dey call di Testimonia. E join some Bible passages together about di people wey dem expect say God go send, and e start with words from Deuteronomy, including di promise of Moses about one prophet like am from chapter eighteen. One hundred years or more before Jesus, people dey look out for am.

One prophet like Moses. You go find am for Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, verse fifteen reach nineteen. God promise to put im words for di mouth of one person wey go bring dem come near us. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. God talk about im prophet: listen to am. How you fit make space to listen to Jesus dis week?