Exodus 4:1-17
In Exodus chapter 3 God calls out to Moses through a burning bush and tells him that he has been chosen to go to Egypt so that God can free the Israelites and lead them to the promised land. Moses is reluctant about accepting this assignment. He probably remembers that forty years earlier, he thought he might be the one to help the Israelites and when he tried to intervene in a quarrel between a Hebrew and an Egyptian, things did not go so well.
Moses had a real fear that the Israelites would not listen to him nor accept him as their leader. So, God reveals His name to Moses and promises that He will be with Moses and that he and the Israelites will one day worship God on the mountain on which he stands.
At the beginning of Exodus chapter 4, Moses still has concerns about the Israelites not accepting him nor believing that the LORD appeared to him. So, the LORD gives Moses two signs to show the Israelites. The first was his staff turning into a snake when thrown down on the ground and then back to a staff when held by the tail. The second sign was for Moses’ hand to turn leprous, and then back to clean.
Moses then points to his problem with giving speeches to a crowd. The LORD tells Moses that He is aware of his speech impediment and that it will not hinder him from doing the LORD’s work.
Moses runs out of excuses and simply tells the LORD to send someone else. The LORD gets angry with Moses and tells him to take his brother, Aaron, with him. The LORD will tell Moses what to say, and Moses will tell Aaron what to say. The Lord commands Moses to leave for Egypt with Aaron and his staff.
Moses goes back to his father-in-law and asks permission to go to Egypt, and then leaves. The LORD then instructs Moses to not only perform the signs to the Israelites, but also to Pharaoh.
Then we have the frightening scene where the LORD threatens to kill Moses, presumably because of uncircumcision. But Zipporah, Moses’ wife, performs circumcision on their son, and the Lord decides to leave him alone.
The LORD instructs Aaron to go into the wilderness to meet Moses. They meet at the mountain of God where Moses explains everything to Aaron. They go to Egypt and Aaron speaks to the Israelites and performs the signs, and the people believe. They are moved to hear that the LORD had paid attention to their misery and was now going to act on their behalf. They bow down and worship the LORD.
Everything is now set for confronting the Pharaoh and requesting that he let the Israelites go.
There are several things to note about this passage.
After the LORD assures Moses that He will be with Moses, Moses still has concerns. But the concern is not about whether the LORD will be with him, but about the people’s response. Even if the LORD is with him, Moses is worried that the people will not believe him and will not listen to him. And it is apparent that the LORD also is aware of this possibility, since in verses 8-9, He covers the possibility of the people not being persuaded by the first two signs.
It is obvious that even if God has the power to bend everyone’s will to His, He chooses not to. People have the freedom to act – To accept or to reject. This aligns with our experience in sharing the gospel – People have the freedom to accept or to reject.
Considering the interaction between God and Moses in this section, it would seem easier for God to deal with the Egyptians directly, rather than using a reluctant Moses. Surely if God would directly deal with Pharaoh and exercise His great and terrible powers, freedom for the Israelites would be secured quicker than going through Moses. Yet, God chooses to go through Moses, even though Moses’ reluctance eventually moves Him to anger. Here again, God chooses not to make Moses into an automaton – Moses keeps his ability to give excuses and asks God to send someone else.
It is also notable that after the LORD’s anger was kindled against him, there is no mention of Moses changing his attitude. There are others in the Bible that when called by God, obediently go about doing Kingdom work. Moses was not one of the eager ones. Even though we know that Moses ends up being the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, his beginnings as a servant of the LORD started out a bit bumpy.
We see that God chooses to form partnerships with humans to move His plans along. While God supplies His power, the human still must do their part. Even if God will turn the staff into a serpent and back, there would be no opportunity for this show of power unless Moses and Aaron speak all the words that the LORD gave them. It would just be a magic show without explaining what God is doing.
In verse 14, we are told that Aaron was already coming to see Moses, apparently out of love and the desire to be with him. God uses this special relationship that existed between Aaron and Moses in verse 27 by telling Aaron to go see Moses at the mountain of God. We see that God can use special relationships – familial relations, marriage, friendship, etc. – For His purposes.
Whether for small things or big things, God can choose to rely on us for His work. Like Moses, we can ask for God’s help, and He will provide it. And whether we are reluctant like Moses, or eager like Joshua or Paul, God can still use us if we do what God assigns us to do.
So, when God gets our attention in some way, and reveals to us what He relies on us to do, let us step up willingly and in firm belief that if we do our part, God will do His.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship service of April 28, 2024.)