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2 Timothy 3: 16 says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness...” Proverbs 3:5, which is in the Scriptures, says to trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. An inference is made, then, that each verse in the Scriptures stands on its own, so that to determine the context of a verse in relation to the other verses is to employ a reasoning, or an attempt at understanding not the verses themselves, but how God aligns them. As an inference, we should trust, then, that God put forth the verses to be understood individually.
So with this in mind, we come across Jude 1:9-11 which says “...when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘the Lord rebuke you.’ But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.” Yes, and...?
This verse may be referring to Deuteronomy 34:4-6 in which God shows Moses the land He promised to the Hebrews, followed by God burying Moses somewhere “in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor.” To this day, no one has been able to locate his body, even given that much information.
Jude 1:9 implies that prior to Moses being buried, there is a dispute in front of God between the archangel Michael and the devil as to what to do with Moses’ body. The issue is, should the body be buried in a place where people can find it, which the devil proposes, or should it be in a hidden place as Michael proposes?
One can see, as verses 10 and 11 make clear, that Michael’s concern is that the Hebrews en route to the Promised land have shown themselves to be tempted to sin, with one of the sins being to violate the Commandment in Exodus 20:3 in which God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” That sin involved the Hebrews making a golden calf for themselves while Moses was on Mt. Sinai. Michael’s concern is said to be that given Moses’ stature among the sinful Hebrews, if they were able to locate Moses burial place, they would worship Moses instead of God. So, when in verse 11 Michael says to the devil “The Lord Rebuke you,” a decision has been made that the burial place be hidden so the Hebrews can’t find it.
As part of Michael’s argument, Verse 10 brings up that God destroyed the Hebrews who went against Him, thereby emphasizing the severity of the sin of worshipping Moses, which is stated in Numbers 14:26-29. To worship anyone but God is to exercise a form of rebellion against Him, which is a sin.
Some have asserted that the body of Moses is talked about in a figurative sense, that is, the body of Moses represents the Law that God gave to the Hebrews. So, when Michael argues that the body of Moses should be hidden from sight, he means that the Law that God gave to the Hebrews should be hidden, to be replaced by the goodness of Jesus and what he commands us. Some infer, then, that when the devil argues that the figurative body of Moses should be where it can be found, it would be in a sense a rebuke to Jesus. So ultimately, when God decides that the figurative burial place should be hidden, He is paving the way for Jesus to save us.
At first glance, it seems questionable that God wants the Law to be hidden almost right after it is given to the Hebrews, but perhaps that angle would make more sense if God was referring to the future, well after the Promised Land was settled. And to be sure as to Jesus, Jesus existed before he became known on earth, since Jesus in John 8:58 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
In a simplistic sense, Jude 1:9-11 stands as a confirmation that there is only one God, and there is no other. And that perhaps enforces a teaching in the Scriptures to be learned.
So with this in mind, we come across Jude 1:9-11 which says “...when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘the Lord rebuke you.’ But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.” Yes, and...?
This verse may be referring to Deuteronomy 34:4-6 in which God shows Moses the land He promised to the Hebrews, followed by God burying Moses somewhere “in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor.” To this day, no one has been able to locate his body, even given that much information.
Jude 1:9 implies that prior to Moses being buried, there is a dispute in front of God between the archangel Michael and the devil as to what to do with Moses’ body. The issue is, should the body be buried in a place where people can find it, which the devil proposes, or should it be in a hidden place as Michael proposes?
One can see, as verses 10 and 11 make clear, that Michael’s concern is that the Hebrews en route to the Promised land have shown themselves to be tempted to sin, with one of the sins being to violate the Commandment in Exodus 20:3 in which God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” That sin involved the Hebrews making a golden calf for themselves while Moses was on Mt. Sinai. Michael’s concern is said to be that given Moses’ stature among the sinful Hebrews, if they were able to locate Moses burial place, they would worship Moses instead of God. So, when in verse 11 Michael says to the devil “The Lord Rebuke you,” a decision has been made that the burial place be hidden so the Hebrews can’t find it.
As part of Michael’s argument, Verse 10 brings up that God destroyed the Hebrews who went against Him, thereby emphasizing the severity of the sin of worshipping Moses, which is stated in Numbers 14:26-29. To worship anyone but God is to exercise a form of rebellion against Him, which is a sin.
Some have asserted that the body of Moses is talked about in a figurative sense, that is, the body of Moses represents the Law that God gave to the Hebrews. So, when Michael argues that the body of Moses should be hidden from sight, he means that the Law that God gave to the Hebrews should be hidden, to be replaced by the goodness of Jesus and what he commands us. Some infer, then, that when the devil argues that the figurative body of Moses should be where it can be found, it would be in a sense a rebuke to Jesus. So ultimately, when God decides that the figurative burial place should be hidden, He is paving the way for Jesus to save us.
At first glance, it seems questionable that God wants the Law to be hidden almost right after it is given to the Hebrews, but perhaps that angle would make more sense if God was referring to the future, well after the Promised Land was settled. And to be sure as to Jesus, Jesus existed before he became known on earth, since Jesus in John 8:58 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
In a simplistic sense, Jude 1:9-11 stands as a confirmation that there is only one God, and there is no other. And that perhaps enforces a teaching in the Scriptures to be learned.
