Is the bible to be placed alongside the works of composers, artists, or inventors? Could a man or a woman, directly or indirectly, rightly take credit as being the fountain or source from whom its words flowed? Not many bible enthusiasts would answer these questions in the affirmative. However, if the bible is not to be equated with any composition or work of art, in what way does it differ from them? How do we classify or categorize it?
A close examination of what the authors of the bible wrote, especially in the light of their backgrounds, personal circumstances and experiences, could be of some help in trying to unravel the mystery of inspiration. Let us start with Moses.
Moses wrote the first five books of the bible namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books, also called the Pentateuch, contain a record of, among other things, how all things were created. He also wrote about how God formed man from the dust of the earth and gave him dominion over all things. There is no doubt that any right thinking person would admit that these accounts of an inspired Moses are far more believable than the so-called Big Bang Theory. Moses also wrote about the fall of man; this was about how man allowed sin to intrude between himself and God. He recorded the immediate consequence of man's sin. This was his expulsion from that abode of peace and tranquility, Eden.
It was Moses who also recorded the story of the Tower of Babel. He wrote that a time came after the fall that man began to multiply greatly upon the face of the earth. It was then that it occurred to the human mind that a tower needed to be built; the top of which would reach the heavens. However, according to the book of Genesis, after the Creator had surveyed the situation, He concluded that it would be too dangerous to allow the human race, even though it had fallen, to remain united. This was because, according to the Lord God, ''No one seems to be able to stop man from whatever he decided to do.'' Here, the Almighty Himself acknowledged the unstoppable power of unity. He therefore confounded the human language so that the people no longer understood one another. This eventually led to the abandonment of the project. It was Moses who wrote the story of Noah, the godly preacher of righteousness to his generation.
Ordinarily, it was difficult to see anything in the early life of Moses that prepared him to become God's spokesman-in-chief or that positioned him to take on the role of a major writer on His behalf. Although he had the best education as 'a prince,' it could definitely not have been his upbringing at the royal courts of Egypt where the only true God was totally unknown. The king of Egypt displayed his crass ignorance of the true God as he remonstrated with Moses when the latter later demanded the release of the children of Israel. This pagan sovereign, in defiant unbelief, had exploded: ''Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him and let Israel go?'' The fact that Pharaoh responded in this manner testified to his readiness to risk all in the belief that his gods were all powerful. How then was Moses able to write about all the great things contained in the five books he authored, especially the Creation story? Could he have made them up?
It may be recalled that Moses was the son of Israeli slaves. His parents decided to abandon him in the Nile as a baby when they could no longer hide him. They had chosen to do this rather than gave him up to be slain before their very eyes by the agents of Pharaoh who posed as nurses and midwives. The ruthless king had given orders that all baby boys born to the Hebrews must die. King Pharaoh had reckoned that this was the only way to prevent the Israelis rising up in arms against him in the future. However, the parents of Moses , in their own desperate calculations, had reasoned that even if the baby Moses must die, it would not be while they watched. The baby was later found by an Egyptian princess who decided to bring him up as her own son. Moses was therefore able to have access to all the privileges that were available to a prince at the royal courts of Egypt.
It was hardly surprising that a time came when Moses found out who he really was. He discovered that he was not an Egyptian after all, but an Hebrew by birth. He also learnt of the circumstances that led to his becoming a prince in Egypt. Naturally, he was heartbroken because of the sufferings of his people and he sought ways by which he could help them. From his enquiries among his people, he was told that the God of their fathers had promised to deliver them from bondage. Moses loved his people intensely, seeking every opportunity to alleviate their sufferings. He chose to identify with them in their pain. On one occasion while he was trying to intervene on behalf of an Hebrew man who was being maltreated, Moses ended up murdering an Egyptian. The man did not need to be told of what would be the consequences of the murder. In order, therefore, to avoid being killed in revenge by the Egyptians, Moses escaped to the land of Midian. It was while there that he met and married Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel, a priest. Subsequently, he became a herdsman, working for his father-in-law. At this point, one can safely conclude that he had effectively abandoned his people to their fate in Egypt as he tried to settle down to a quiet life with his family on the outskirts of Midian.
It is not difficult to conclude that this profile of Moses was hardly that of a man who, on his own, was capable of doing anything meaningful in terms of releasing his people from bondage let alone writing about it later as he did in Exodus. He simply realised, sadly, that all his goodwill and passion were no match for the might of Egypt. He just ran away. Also, no one would dispute the fact that his experience as a herdsman was not the most appropriate preparation for a literary career.
The defining moment for Moses, however, came when he met Yahweh, the God of his fathers. This encounter turned out to be the consummation of his destiny. It also confirmed that the One who made the promise to liberate the offspring of Abraham after four centuries of bondage was able to deliver after all. It was as if God allowed Moses to come to the end of his tethers before deciding to show up. The intriguing thing was that the Almighty had concluded that Moses was still the man for the job.
This was how it happened: One bright mid-afternoon as he led the animals in his care to graze on the mountainside, Moses had a most frightening experience. He could see that not very far from where he stood the bush had caught fire. However, to add to his shock, the bush did not burn. It was as he attempted to make sense of what was happening that he heard the voice of the Almighty. This was unmistakable. It was a call from the One about whom he had heard so much but who he felt had decided to abandon the children of Israel to their fate.
After the Almighty had introduced Himself to Moses, He told him that He had heard the groanings of the children of Israel. The great Jehovah then went on to say that he had come to send him back to Egypt to secure their release. An incredulous Moses at first tried to make excuses as to why he did not consider himself sufficiently qualified for the job. Eventually, after much persuasion, he agreed to go and the experience was to change Moses and the course of his life forever. He became a new man. He was no longer the timid Moses who fled Egypt when he thought that his life was in danger. This call by God so empowered Moses that he was ready to return to Egypt, armed only with a rod and the words spoken to him by God. From then on, his thoughts, ways, words and actions were dictated by the great I AM whom he had met. His commission was to liberate Israel.
It has to be pointed out that the first five books of the bible were written by the new Moses, the empowered Moses, the inspired Moses. The man had become a mighty weapon in the hands of the Almighty. It was obvious that the writing of these books could not have been on his agenda when he started out in life. However, events proved that it was part of God's agenda for his life. Everything that Moses did after his encounter with God bore the imprint of the Almighty. These included inducing the seven plagues, parting the Red Sea and the writing of the first five books of the bible.
Therefore, all things pointed to the fact that the God of his fathers who spoke to Moses in Midian moved him to write. Surely, no one would suggest that Moses was able to liberate Israel by his own strength. Also, no one would have concluded that the parting of the Red Sea could be attributed to his genius. It is equally inconceivable that anyone would suggest that all the exploits recorded in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were a figment of his imagination.
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