“Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD” (1 Sam 3:19-20).
According to the anti-missionaries, the NT is wrong about Deuteronomy 18 because the promise of a prophet like Moses was fulfilled by Joshua, long before Yeshua appeared in the NT. While I don’t fault the anti-missionaries for noticing strong parallels between Joshua and Moses in the book of Joshua, I do fault them for not paying attention to and/or ignoring the significance of the numerous parallels between Moses with Israel’s other prophets and leaders in the Hebrew Bible.
Undoubtedly in 1 Samuel 3:19-20, the author of 1-2 Samuel intentionally depicts the prophet Samuel in the image of Joshua, who in turn was also depicted in the image of Moses. Samuel “grew” in extraordinary stature, just like Joshua: “Now the LORD said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to GROW you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you'” (Josh 3:7). “On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life” (Josh 4:14). The LORD’s words didn’t fail (“fall” in Hebrew) through Samuel, just has they hadn’t through Joshua: “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed [fallen]” (Josh 23:14).
Reading these verses about Samuel in the inspired Messianic echo-chamber of the Hebrew Bible, we cannot help but notice that the reference to Samuel as “a prophet of the LORD” (v. 20) identifies Samuel as “a” prophet like Moses as well. And similar analogies between Moses and Israel’s other great and not-so-great leaders continue throughout the storyline of Israel’s inspired history.
Because the authors of the Hebrew Bible longed for the coming of THE PROPHET LIKE MOSES, they constantly and consistently compare nearly all of Israel’s prophets and leaders (and not just Joshua) to Moses. But we must not forget that the final verses of the Torah (not written by Moses!) provide an emphatically clear commentary on Deuteronomy 18:15 which states that neither Joshua nor any of the other prophets in the Hebrew Bible truly measured up to the promise. This makes the coming of Yeshua an absolute necessity so that the words of Israel’s greatest OT prophet (Moses) wouldn’t “fail/fall” as well!
“Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. BUT A PROPHET NEVER AROSE IN ISRAEL LIKE MOSES, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deut 34:9-10).
