The Fourth Covenant With Moses (PBUH)

Why did God send Moses? Why did the people of Israel go through so many trials? And how can a divine Covenant be broken by the very people who received it?

The story of Moses holds a central place in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. It recounts the liberation of a people, the confrontation with a tyrannical sovereign and the establishment of a legislation intended to organise a community.

But in The Goal of the Wise, this story has an additional meaning: it represents a new stage in the spiritual education of humanity.

The Fourth Covenant introduces a more developed relationship between divine authority, the law, collective responsibility and the recognition of the messenger.

1. A new stage in the history of the Covenants

The first three Covenants gradually established the foundations of the relationship between God and humankind.

With Adam, humanity receives its first responsibilities.

With Noah, it discovers the collective consequences of corruption and the trials of faithfulness.

With Abraham, the Imamate and the transmission of divine authority take on a decisive place.

The mission of Moses is part of this continuity.

It takes place in a world where societies have developed and where questions of justice, power and collective organisation are of growing importance.

Guidance therefore no longer concerns only individual conduct.

It must also meet the needs of a people.

2. Pharaoh: the power that refuses to recognise its limits

Pharaoh represents a political authority that claims to hold almost absolute power.

In the religious account, he refuses to recognise the message of Moses and keeps the children of Israel in a state of oppression.

The confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh thus goes beyond the conflict between two men.

It brings two conceptions of power face to face.

On one side, an authority that considers itself the source of its own legitimacy.

On the other, a messenger who affirms that ultimate authority belongs to God.

This opposition allows us to reflect on a universal question: what becomes of a society when its leaders recognise no moral limit to their power?

3. Liberation is not enough to transform hearts

The Exodus is one of the most striking episodes of the mission of Moses.

The people of Israel leave oppression behind and begin a new existence.

But the account shows that physical freedom does not immediately guarantee spiritual freedom.

The habits, fears and beliefs acquired over generations do not disappear in an instant.

The children of Israel must learn to live differently.

From this perspective, the trials of the desert take on a particular meaning.

They do not concern only the material difficulties of a journey.

They also reveal the inner resistance of a community called to change.

4. The Mosaic Law: a legislation suited to its era

One of the essential principles of The Goal of the Wise is that the laws of the different Covenants respond to the circumstances of their time.

The legislation established with Moses is part of this evolution.

A large community cannot be organised according to the prescriptions suited only to the early times of Adam.

New rules become necessary to govern social relations, responsibilities and behaviour.

This evolution does not mean that God changes His nature.

It means that people’s needs evolve.

The book thus invites us to distinguish the fundamental principles of divine guidance from the legal provisions specific to an era.

5. The golden calf and the return of old habits

The episode of the golden calf illustrates the fragility of human faithfulness.

While Moses is absent, part of the people turns away from the Covenant.

This account raises a fundamental question: why can people who have witnessed extraordinary signs return to practices contrary to the teaching they received?

The answer is not limited to a lack of proof.

It also concerns attachment to habits, the influence of the group and the difficulty of remaining faithful when the guide is no longer immediately present.

Knowing a truth does not automatically guarantee putting it into practice.

6. Spiritual succession: what happens in the absence of the messenger?

The story of Moses also introduces the question of succession.

When a guide is absent or leaves this world, how is the Covenant to be preserved?

In the general perspective of The Goal of the Wise, the continuity of guidance cannot rest solely on individual interpretations.

It presupposes the recognition of the authority established by God.

This question runs through all the Abrahamic traditions.

It will become particularly important in the following Covenants, when communities will have to determine to whom the responsibility of preserving and explaining the teachings received belongs.

7. The difference between possessing a Scripture and following its guidance

A community can preserve a sacred text while drifting away from its message.

This is one of the great themes of the work.

Possessing a Scripture does not exempt believers from the effort needed to understand its meaning.

Nor does it guarantee that religious institutions always faithfully transmit the original intention of the messenger.

This distinction is essential for understanding the place given to the living guide in The Goal of the Wise.

The religious text transmits precious knowledge, but the relationship with guidance cannot be reduced to the reading of words.

8. A Covenant that prepares the coming of Jesus

The Fourth Covenant is part of a history that does not stop with Moses.

It prepares the later events and the new spiritual responsibilities of humanity.

The book presents the succession of the Covenants as a process of deepening.

Each stage brings knowledge and a legislation suited to its context.

But each stage also confronts believers with a new trial: recognising guidance when it manifests itself again.

Conclusion — True liberation begins within

The story of Moses reminds us that leaving oppression behind is not enough to make the chains of ignorance, pride and habit disappear.

The Fourth Covenant presents a humanity called to learn justice, obedience and collective responsibility.

It also emphasises that faithfulness to God is not measured only by the preservation of a tradition, but by the ability to recognise divine guidance.

Had we lived in the time of Moses, would we have followed his call despite Pharaoh’s opposition? And would we have continued to trust him during the trials of the desert?

The next Door leads us to Jesus Christ and the Fifth Covenant.