Does the Bible speak in riddles, or does it show us the form of the Lord?
“When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.” - Numbers 12:6-8
This is a remarkably interesting passage. God states that with many prophets, he merely reveals himself only partially, or in disguises. However, with Moses, God states that he reveals himself fully. Is this merely an allegory to express the notion that Moses gives completely accurate and divine revelation? Were the Lord to have only stated that the second part, whereby I mean the 12:8, where he states that with Moses he speaks face to face, then I could more easily accept the idea of this as mere allegory. But 12:8 is drawn in sharp contrast to 12:6, which shows the Lord revealing himself to others only in visions and dreams.
This contrast is, I suspect, very important. If 12:8 were merely allegorical, then it would suggest that an abstract God, which Moses divines fully, rather than a concrete God, which actually shows himself face to face as a literal reading might suggest. However, the contrast is important. If the contrast were merely to suggest that Moses reveals accurately whereas other prophets reveal only partial or incomplete truths, then I think there would be more emphasis on suggesting that, rather than suggesting that the Lord reveals himself in “visions” and “dreams.”
I really feel like this passage almost explicitly denies the notion of the stories of the Bible as allegory. I think this passage suggests that the Lord actually reveals himself to Moses. Moses is not merely a man who gained renown for accurately divining the nature of the Logos, Moses was actually spoken to by a deity, Yahweh.
An allegorical and non-literal reading of the Bible lends credence to a view of the Bible as being an accurate divination the Logos, but when the Bible itself seems to suggest that this is a non-faithful reading of the text, then I can’t help but feel like the reading becomes a practice of eisegesis, rather than exegesis, that is, it becomes a practice of injecting one’s own meaning into the text rather than divining it’s true meaning.
I can fully appreciate an allegorical and non-literal reading of the Bible, and I can see some of the pragmatic benefits, but is this something one can be comfortable with? Either way, I believe this passage suggests a literal interpretation of the Bible, but is a literal interpretation of the Bible feasible? Very few Christians even assert that the Bible should be read literally…
August 4, 2008 at 1:20 am
FYI. the deity that Moses had seen is an angel. Not God the Father.
August 4, 2008 at 3:54 am
Hmm? Where does it indicate that? Would you mind elaborating?
August 4, 2008 at 2:49 pm
escritoire42,
You know why you may think and can say that the bible speak in riddles? because Wisdom was not given yet to you, to fully understand the bible. Read the following verses, and try to understand it.
And He said, Go thy way, Daniel: For the WORDS are closed up and sealed till TIME OF THE END.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; But the wicked shall do wickedly: and NONE of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.(Daniel 12:9-10)
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. And He will shew them HIS COVENANT.(Psalm 25:14)
Turn ye at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I WILL MAKE KNOWN MY WORDS UNTO YOU.(Proverbs 1:23)
For my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
THEY ARE PLAIN to him THAT UNDERSTANDETH, and RIGHT to them that FIND KNOWLEDGE.(Proverbs 8:7-9)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, And LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING.
In all thy ways acknowledge HIM, and HE shall direct thy paths.
BE NOT WISE in thine own eyes: FEAR THE LORD, and depart from evil.
(Proverbs3: 5-7)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid o them that are lost.(2Corinthians 4:3)
And take note of this last verse that I will gave to you.
And He said unto them, unto YOU(members of the Church of God in the bible ) it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without(outsiders and not yet members of the Church of God) all these things are done in parables:
That seeing they see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.(Mark 4:11-12)
These are the reason why, you may think that the bible is speaking in riddles.
Now, the answer to your query “Where does it indicate?” lies in the book of
Acts 7:30, 35, 38.
August 5, 2008 at 2:34 am
Hmm. Although Acts 7:30 and 35 only seem to indicate that an Angel spoke to Moses from the burning bush, Acts 7:38 DOES suggest that an angel spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. This is pretty interesting since I don’t recall anything in Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers that would suggest that it was an angel and not the Lord who spoke directly to Moses.
In fact, Acts seems to directly contradict Numbers, because, as is indicated in Numbers 12:6-8, the Lord places a lot of emphasis in his special relationship with Moses, which he states was “face to face.” I realize that Acts is part of the New Testament; does that automatically make it supercede the Old Testament? Why would the Bible seemingly contradict itself in this manner? I can understand overturning past proclamations regarding matters of ethics, but why change accounts regarding historical matters?
Did the Lord speak to Moses through an angel? Or did He speak to Moses “face to face”?
As for the rest of your post, I have no reason to suspect that I fully understand the Bible, as a matter of fact, I’m only just now reading it! I only marginally understand that which I have so far read, which is only that leading partially into Deuteronomy (as of now).
But I thank you for your comments, and I do hope to learn (and perhaps the Lord will pour his spirit into me, that He may make His words known!)!