Moses & History (part 1)

Ryan Cox • April 17, 2025

Moses & History (part 1)

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:4


We recently received an email from a student who heard us teach at a camp and is now attending college. The camper wrote:

We have been talking about Genesis and the birth of Moses, and my professor has mentioned several times that those pieces of the Bible may not be historically accurate, but are just told to depict a characteristic of God. I know you mentioned that the Bible is one of the most historically accurate books we have, and that is not lining up with this new content I am being told. Do you view the story of creation and for example the birth of Moses to be completely written as it happened or not? I am very confused how we believe the Bible is infallible while still believing content like that is not true, but more of a literary element. I know this is a deep question and you are very busy, but if you get a chance and could give me some guidance I would greatly appreciate it.


The following is part 1 of our response:

The first thing that comes to mind is Jesus’ words in John 5:46, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.” In that chapter, Jesus confirms the Jewish belief that Moses, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, composed the Torah/Pentateuch. Moses is mentioned by name 79 times in the New Testament as a real person in real history who truly wrote Genesis–Deuteronomy.

Regarding Jesus, here is what He said about Moses’ authorship:


Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14 – Jesus said Moses wrote the Torah, specifically the leprosy laws in Leviticus 14.
Matthew 19:7-8 & Mark 10:3-5 – Jesus confirmed that Moses wrote the Torah, specifically marriage laws in Deuteronomy 24.
Matthew 22:24-32, Mark 12:19-27, Luke 20:28-38 – Jesus confirmed that Moses wrote the Torah, as He specifically declared the writings of Moses are “Scripture” (Matt. 22:29 & Mark 12:24). He also confirmed Moses recorded the inheritance laws in Deuteronomy 25 and quoted Exodus 3:6 as real history and Scripture written by Moses.
Mark 7:10 – Jesus specifically said Moses wrote down in the Torah the Ten Commandments as well as the passages of Exodus 21 and Leviticus 20.
John 3:14 – Jesus confirmed the historicity of Numbers 21, including Moses and the bronze serpent.
John 6:31-32 – Jesus confirmed the historicity of Exodus 16, including Moses and the provision of manna.
John 7:19-24 – Jesus confirmed that Moses wrote the entire Torah (verse 19) and specifically the Sabbath and circumcision laws.


Jesus’ statement in Matthew 22:29 and Mark 12:24 that Moses' five books are Scripture is highly significant. The Greek word for "Scripture" (graphé) is used 51 times, including II Timothy 3:16, which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed”. The New Testament is adamant that the Old Testament, in particularly the first 5 books, are directly inspired by God. They were regarded by Jesus, the Apostles, and all Jewish people of that time as genuine, factual history.

Here is what I never hear professors who deny the historicity of Genesis, Exodus, etc., address: Was Jesus wrong when He taught that Genesis through Exodus is real history? If so, what does that do to His credibility and deity?

In Matthew 19:4-5, Jesus specifically quoted Genesis 1:27, 2:24, and 5:2 as real history; Jesus taught the Creation account was real history. He referred to Abel (Matthew 23:35) as the first prophet, a real person in history, confirming the historicity of Genesis 4. In Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-27, Jesus confirmed the historicity of Noah and the global flood (Genesis 6-9). And in Luke 17:28-32, Jesus confirmed the historicity of Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah, including his wife turning into salt (Genesis 19).

Jesus made it very clear that everything in Genesis is real history. For someone to deny that is to say Jesus was wrong or that someone knows more than Jesus. The rest of the inspired New Testament authors all agree with Jesus with numerous references to Genesis, Exodus, etc. as real history with real people.

 

May 2025 Printed Newsletter

By Bob Dugas • May 23, 2025
NS-29 Launch

Ordered Space

By Matt Miles • May 22, 2025
As many of you may know, I appreciate space. Not space around me, although the older I get the more I appreciate that as well. The things in the heavens fascinate me and have for a large chunk of my life. I love working with our telescopes, allowing people to see for themselves objects that the Lord made on the 4th day of history. When I was younger I followed our Space Shuttle program, and over the years I have had the opportunity to see a couple of those shuttles around the country. Now it is great to see all the renewed interest in exploring the heavenly creation. I know most of it is for evolutionary reasons, yet over and over again something is discovered that points to the trustworthiness of God’s Word. After all, we are to study His creation as Genesis 1:28 states. On a recent trip to El Paso, it occurred to me that Blue Origin’s launch facility is in west Texas somewhere. After some quick searching I realized we were within an hour and half of it, and there was a rescheduled launch window during the time of our meeting. So, with some persuading of my colleagues, we arose early one morning to make the launch. We made it with just minutes to spare. It was spectacular! The whole launch to just beyond the Karman Line (space boundary, 62 miles/100km) and return of the rocket and capsule is about ten minutes total. While Blue Origin is best known for its New Shepherd rocket that carries paying customers to space and back with the biggest windows ever in a capsule, this NS-29 launch was purely experimental with a payload of instruments to measure simulated lunar gravity. Even though it was not a Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Starship or Falcon launch, it was great to hear and feel a launch for the first time, from blast off to the sonic boom return. It has piqued my desire to see a bigger launch now. As I began to reflect on what I experienced, the Lord reminded me of His design. Earth, our home planet, is so well designed for life. There is literally nowhere in all the universe like it. Yet He gave us the ability to discover creation beyond it. The only reason we can launch rockets and do space exploration is because He set it up in an orderly way. Physics works because He established it to work in a predictable fashion. As much as we may never understand everything in the universe from our position here, it works on an ordered reality that is reinforced by God’s Word. This is what drove Sir Isaac Newton in his understanding of physics. He wrote, “The motions which the planets now have could not spring from any natural cause alone but were by an intelligent Agent.” Evolutionists may come up with theories about the origin of things in the heavens, but over and over again they are being shown through experimentation and observation to be wrong. The Lord set the order of everything in the beginning and sustains it by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). So as you look to the heavens tonight, gaze into the depths of space and observe the different facets the Lord placed up there for our eyes (Genesis 1:17). Peer through a telescope at the lesser light of the moon with marvel and anticipation of further human study in the coming years. Check out the amazing observations being made by the James Webb telescope from deep in space. All of these place a perspective of how awesome our Creator is and how much we depend on Him. Our design becomes more and more obvious with every discovery, yet in our universe we appear so minuscule and fragile. Thanks be to God that His infinite focus has, is and always will be here on us! Blessings.

Moses & History (part 2)

By Ryan Cox • May 22, 2025
Moses & History (part 2)
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