Jude 1:9

‘But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you”.'

But they are being very foolish, for if they would but remember it, even Michael the Archangel did not dare to rail at the Devil. Rather he said, “The Lord rebuke you.” He was aware of just how powerful the Devil was. They would do well therefore to take notice.

The illustration is taken from The Assumption of Moses, an apocalyptic work dealing with what happened to Moses' body when he died, and the scene depicted is of Michael seeking to gain control of his body over against the Devil. But the point of the illustration is not to be found in the detail, but is in order to bring out the concern that even Michael the Archangel demonstrated when dealing with the Devil, so much so that he dared not stand against him alone but threw himself on the Lord's power and might.

Note On Michael The Archangel.

Michael is one of only two angels who are named in Scripture. The other is Gabriel (Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:19; Luke 1:26). Michael is cited in Daniel as being the angel whose responsibility it was to protect the interests of Israel (Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:21; Daniel 12:1). He is described there as a ‘chief prince' (Daniel 10:13). In Daniel 12:1 he is ‘the great prince'. This is the first point in Scripture where we learn of evil angels who can affect circumstances in the world and God's purposes for the nations (Daniel 10:12; Daniel 10:20). But even so they are subject to God's ordinances (for He forecasts how the nations will behave). Michael is also mentioned in Revelation 12:7 where he is depicted as commander-in-chief of God's army of angels which was sent to preserve Israel and her seed, and there he causes the defeat and casting down of Satan.

The name Michael means ‘who is like God' but it was a name shared with many others. We must not therefore read into it more than is warranted. There are no grounds for seeing him as being Jesus. He is a ministering spirit (Hebrews 1:14), not the Messiah.

End of note.

Note On The Assumption Of Moses.

The work in question is lost but has been built up from excerpts taken from early Christian writers who knew the Book. The important passage read as follows:

“Joshua accompanied Moses up Mount Nebo where God showed Moses the land of promise. Moses then sent Joshua back to the people to inform them of Moses' death, and Moses died. God sent the Archangel Michael to remove the body of Moses to another place and bury it there, but Samma'el, the Devil, opposed him, disputing Moses' right to honourable burial. --- The Devil brought against Moses a charge of murder because he smote the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. But this accusation was not better than slander against Moses, and Michael, not tolerating the slander, said to the Devil, “May the Lord rebuke you, Devil.” At that the Devil took flight and Michael removed the body to the place commanded by God, where he buried it with his own hands. Thus no one saw the burial of Moses.”

With regard to this we should note that the statement, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan” is found on the lips of the LORD in Zechariah 3:2. It is thus a Scriptural phrase indicating how Satan is to be dealt with. Furthermore Jude's point here is not that we need to accept the whole story but only the salient points that were relevant, the points which he outlines.

Deuteronomy tells us that God buried Moses' body (Deuteronomy 34:6), and there are no grounds for denying that He used angels for the purpose. Indeed we might have expected it. We can compare how Jesus said that the angels bore Lazarus to Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:22). And as Moses was the leader of Israel, Michael, as the chief angel who represented Israel, would naturally be suitable for the task, or at least, to be in charge of the ‘work-party', thus giving Moses the honour that was his due. That Satan would want to interfere at such an important time is probable. He may well have foreseen that God had some future purpose for Moses, as found for example at the Transfiguration (Mark 9:4). So there is nothing intrinsically unlikely in the basic idea that he sought to interfere in the arrangements. The detail need not be pressed.

End of Note.