The Life of Moses: God’s First Deliverer of Israel

by James Montgomery Boice

Publisher:

P&R

, 2018

Overview

“Apart from Jesus Christ, no person in history has made as deep or lasting an impression on the world as Moses.”

So begins this study of the life of Moses—the renowned lawgiver, prophet, friend of God, and deliverer of his people. The events of his life, spanning four books of the Bible, resound throughout Scripture—and while our own lives may seem to pale in comparison, God wants to grow in us the same character traits that he used in the life of this “servant of God” (Rev. 15:3).

This epic undertaking, composed of never-before-published material from the late James M. Boice, delves fully into the narrative of Moses’ life, uncovering its rich meaning and its gospel application to our lives today. Dr. Boice captures the broad sweep of Israel’s captivity, deliverance, and wanderings, defends the Bible’s historical reliability, and offers wise pastoral advice on many practical topics.

Demonstrating what we can learn from their successes and strengths as well as their sins and failures, Boice also leads us to look beyond Moses and the Israelites to the awesome power of their God and the much needed, final Deliverer of his people to come.

Key Features

• Contains previously unpublished sermons from James Montgomery Boice
• Examines the life of Moses througout the Pentateuch
• Provides a pastoral viewpoint and application for practical Christianity

Contents

Part 1: The Battle of Egypt

• Israel in Egypt
• The King Who Knew Not Joseph
• The Birth of Moses
• Doing the Right Thing in the Wrong Way
• The Burning Bush
• The First Meeting with Pharaoh
• Battle against the Gods of Egypt
• The Departure from Egypt

Part 2: Moses’ Finest Hour

• Learning to Walk with God
• Delegating Authority
• The Ten Commandments
• The Civil Law of Israel
• The Ceremonial Law
• Moses’ Finest Hour
• Show Me Your Glory
• The Shekinah Glory

Part 3: Worshiping In The Wilderness

• Leviticus: An Overview
• The Priests and Their Ministry
• The Day of Atonement
• Jubilee

Part 4: The Long, Hot Desert

• Numbers: An Overview
• Complaints and Opposition
• The Twelve Spies
• The Korahite Rebellion
• Moses’ Sin and the Death of Aaron
• The Serpent in the Wilderness
• Opposition from Without
• Final Preparations for Entering Canaan

Part 5: A Covenant to Keep

• Deuteronomy: An Introduction
• Cursings and Blessings
• The Second Song of Moses
• The Death of Moses

Top Highlights

“He spent forty years in the desert as a shepherd, and God met him at the burning bush and called him to be the deliverer when he was eighty years old. Then he led the people for forty years. It has been said that Moses spent forty years in Egypt learning something, then he spent forty years in the desert learning to be nothing, and then spent the last forty years of his life proving God to be everything. This is a good way of describing what the Christian life is all about. Some of us do not prove God to be everything because we’ve never learned that we are nothing. When we come to that point, we are ready to have God work through us as he did with Moses.” (Page 6)

“Seeing the Ten Commandments in the light of suzerainty treaties tells us that, when God gives us the law, it is not something that we are free to accept or reject as God’s equals. There is no one like God; he is a Sovereign above all sovereigns and is certainly your Sovereign and mine. God says that because he is the Lord, because he has created us (and, if we are Christians, because he has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy and saved us from our sin), this is the way that we should live.” (Page 141)

“What is the real meaning of holy? The basic idea is separation. When it is used of us, it means being separated from sin (negatively) and separated unto God (positively).” (Page 57)

“Apart from Jesus Christ, no person in history has made as deep or lasting an impression on the world as Moses, the ‘servant of God’ (Rev. 15:3).” (Page 3)

“The second kind of knowledge is what we would call knowledge by description” (Page 197)

Praise for the Print Edition

Dr. James Montgomery Boice was first and foremost a preacher. He preached with authority because he had a profound sense of the binding?and compelling truthfulness of God’s Word. And because Scripture is the very word of God, Boice had a profound sense of drama. We see this clearly in these never-before-published lessons on the life of Moses. Here we find astounding moments and breathtaking scenes. Here we find ourselves standing on holy ground. Here we learn from Moses that we must trust God, obey God, and focus on God to the exclusion of all else. And here Dr. Boice continues to teach us of our ultimate calling: to worship God in the splendor of his glory.

—Stephen J. Nichols, President, Reformation Bible College; Chief Academic Officer, Ligonier Ministries

Dr. Boice teaches us about more than the life of Moses. He teaches us why we can trust the God of Moses and how we are to hold fast to God’s Word. Through the life of Moses, Boice teaches us about the life of faith in our Redeemer. Once again, Boice’s pastoral care in his writing makes this book a great resource for laypeople to use during their devotional time.

—Aimee Byrd, Author, Why Can’t We Be Friends? and No Little Women; Cohost, Mortification of Spin podcast

What a gift to the church are these words from a faithful preacher of the Word who now knows the full presence of the Lord Jesus he served so well. As Dr. Boice unfolds the words and life of Moses in these chapters, he unswervingly points us to the promised prophet—one like Moses, but the very Son of God, the Word made flesh. I’m grateful to Linda Boice and those who with such excellence and love have compiled and edited this volume.

—Kathleen Nielson, Author, Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word; Advisor and Editor, The Gospel Coalition

Product Details

• Title: The Life of Moses: God’s First Deliverer of Israel
• Author: James Montgomery Boice
• Publisher: P&R
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 472
• Resource Type: Sermons
• Topic: Pentateuch

About James Montgomery Boice

James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938–June 15, 2000) was a Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death. He received degrees from Harvard University, Princeton Theological Seminary, University of Basel in Switzerland and Theological Seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

Boice served as senior pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was president and cofounder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the parent organization of The Bible Study Hour radio broadcast on which Boice was a speaker for more than 30 years. He also served as chairman of the International Council of Biblical Inerrancy for over ten years.

Boice’s 27-volume Expositional Commentary set reflects his years of experience in the pulpit. He also authored Foundations of the Christian Faith which provides a readable overview of Christian theology.