Why did people follow Moses?

[Ceallaigh]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

 

[Tom 1]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

Charisma and promises of something better on the one side, desperation on the other, maybe.

 

[A_Thinker]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

Moses eventually (it took time) came to represent an opportunity for the Hebrews to escape their slavery in Egypt.

Moses did encounter resistance from the people initially, but as he successfully made his way into Pharoah's audience ... and came back unscathed, ... and as the people began to witness the power of God manifested by Moses, they came to see him as a potential deliverer.

By the time Pharaoh was "persuaded" to let them go, ... the people, in the main, were ready to go with Moses.

 

[Pavel Mosko]

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

They followed him because they had no real choice. They literally and metaphorically were a "captive audience" being slaves to start with, and later refugees stuck outside surrounded by a wilderness. It was either follow Moses or be re-enslaved and maybe even killed by the Egyptians or by the desert.

 

[A_Thinker]

Charisma and promises of something better on the one side, desperation on the other, maybe.

Moses had no charisma ... God picked him for precisely that reason.

All that was accomplished through Moses ... was accomplished through the plan and power of God ...

 

[A_Thinker]

They followed him because they had no real choice. They literally and metaphorically were a "captive audience" being slaves to start with, and later refugees stuck outside surrounded by a wilderness. It was either follow Moses or be ree-nslaved and maybe even killed.

They did have a choice.

I'm sure that they had seen so-called "deliverers" dispatched by the Egyptians before ... along with all those that followed them.

They came to follow Moses ... because they ultimately saw that God was with him ...

 

[Ceallaigh]

Moses had no charisma ... God picked him for precisely that reason.

All that was accomplished through Moses ... was accomplished through the plan and power of God ...

Say what? Charlton Heston had gobs of charisma.

 

[Tom 1]

Moses had no charisma ... God picked him for precisely that reason.

All that was accomplished through Moses ... was accomplished through the plan and power of God ...

He was a poor speaker, that doesn't mean he lacked leadership qualities and charisma.

 

[A_Thinker]

He was a poor speaker, that doesn't mean he lacked leadership qualities and charisma.

Good leaders don't necessarily have charisma, though some do.

I can't think of any examples of Moses displaying charisma in the volumes written of him in scripture ...

 

[Tom 1]

Good leaders don't necessarily have charisma, though some do.

I can't think of any examples of Moses displaying charisma in the volumes written of him in scripture ...

Coming down off the mountain, getting a huge crowd of people to drink out of a dirty pool? That takes the kind of qualities charisma refers to. Charisma isn't all about a slick smile and a way with words.

 

[Abaxvahl]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

1) Because God said so. Even if no eternal life was promised following Jesus would still be the way to live because He said so.
2) To escape slavery.

 

[Ceallaigh]

The main thing I'm pointing out in this is that unlike the reason many give for following Jesus, Moses didn't say anything about going to heaven or hell.

 

[fhansen]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

Blessings in this life are pretty much what most people seek by defualt, without so much concern about the hereafter. Jesus came and put it all into a greater perspective, that the real blessings are eternal. We were made for "more", and only Godl, Himself, can satisfy that.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

Oh wow, love is supposed to be the reason. I guess He will never know them. No Holy Spirit.
As far as Moses, God revealed Himself through Moses. The percentages are probably the same. Some loved God and some did not. There is always just a "remnant" who have the heart.
Blessings.

 

[Lazarus Short]

In reading through the books of Moses, I am impressed at how much the Israelites did NOT follow Moses, but rebelled over and over.

 

[Albion]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

The fact is that many people would "follow" Jesus under those conditions. But not everyone would. There have been many religious leaders who did not promise heaven or that they themselves were God incarnate or anything of the sort, but they nevertheless attracted followers.

And yes, most of us know neighbors or acquaintances who say that Jesus was a great teacher of ethics, etc. and they admire him and to some degree "follow" his ethical teachings, but without believing all that the typical Christian does.

 

[A_Thinker]

Coming down off the mountain, getting a huge crowd of people to drink out of a dirty pool? That takes the kind of qualities charisma refers to. Charisma isn't all about a slick smile and a way with words.

Off the top of my head, I would describe charisma ... as ... having sway with the people.

Moses was more a good leader, one with his people, though apt not to delegate. More than anything else, he was the representative of a uniquely powerful God.

As for the incident you describe, the people saw Moses come back from the mountain, which they did not expect. His face likely shone with the glory of God we read of later in the story ... and I believe that the rebels had just witnessed the earth swallow up their rebel leaders ...

 

[SabbathBlessings]

Lots of Christians say they wouldn't follow Jesus if there was no promise of eternal life and or no threat of hell.

So I wonder then why people followed Moses then since he never said anything about gaining eternal life if you did, or going to hell if you didn't. It all pretty much rested entirely on blessing or punishment within this life.

When I read the scriptures about Moses bringing the Israelites out of bondage, through the wilderness and led to the promise land I see the parallel of where we are today Jesus leading us through the perils of this world to our promise land of Heaven. All scripture has meaning and lessons for us. God's Israel is synonymous with God's people.

 

[Ceallaigh]

In reading through the books of Moses, I am impressed at how much the Israelites did NOT follow Moses, but rebelled over and over.

Interesting that God chose them knowing that beforehand and then continued to preserve them.

 

[A_Thinker]

The main thing I'm pointing out in this is that unlike the reason many give for following Jesus, Moses didn't say anything about going to heaven or hell.

The carrot of the Mosaic Covenant ... was God's favor here on earth ...