Exodus 4:6 – 17 “Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak. ” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow. “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.
And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second. But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so that you can perform signs with it.”
God is giving Moses more ways of proving to the elders of Israel that God has really sent him. God gives Moses two signs that should convince the most critical observer: changing a healthy hand into a leprous one and back and changing Nile River water into blood. In Moses’s day, leprosy was one of the most feared diseases. Lepers became social outcasts and the destruction of tissue as the leper lost all feeling in hands, feet, and sometimes the face, was horrific in the extreme. And then there was the changing of Nile River water into blood. Egyptian religion was tied to the Nile in many forms. The Nile was the major source of water for all of Egypt, and annual flooding of the Nile brought fresh dirt for farming. The Egyptians venerated the Nile and the idea that anything could taint the water of the Nile would be nearly unthinkable. The Israelites had been in Egypt long enough that they probably had adopted most of the Egyptian ideas about the Nile.
But Moses is still trying to make excuses. Several years ago, I saw a book entitled “Here am I Lord; Send Aaron!” That sums up Moses’s attitude. Some people feel that perhaps Moses stuttered. Perhaps Moses was just uncomfortable with the idea of appearing before the royal court after years of leading followers whose only language was “Baaaa!” At any rate, Moses is trying to wiggle out of this assignment. It’s at this point that God asks Moses, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
But Moses is still trying to dodge and begs God to send someone else! Finally God designates Aaron as Moses’s mouthpiece. Moses will tell Aaron what to say and Aaron will speak on Moses’ behalf.
Here in Ghana, when someone is to present a matter to a chief, it is quite common to take someone along as a linguist. At the same time, each chief also has a linguist who speaks on his behalf, even if the chief speaks the same language as the petitioner. In some traditions, linguists were necessary because certain turns of phrase were taboo and commoners might make fatal mistakes when speaking. Perhaps there was such a tradition at the court of Pharaoh and Moses was concerned that he might not speak correctly after all those years in the desert. But God is having none of Moses’s excuses and even reminds him to make sure he takes his staff with him.
APPLICATION: Many times we know what God wants us to do; we just don’t want to do it or we wish someone else would lead the way. Perhaps God is asking you to take a strong moral stand. Perhaps you are in a situation at work in which compromise would seem to be the safest measure. Perhaps God has been working on you to step out and to take a new direction in your life and you wish someone else would do it first!
I love this conversation between God and Moses because it demonstrates how totally human Moses was and how many misgivings he had. Later on, when Moses is bringing down the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai and when he is meeting with God face to face, it’s hard to remember that Moses really was only a man.
God graphically demonstrates His mercy to Moses in this passage by allowing Moses to negotiate with Him. God didn’t have to assign Aaron to speak for Moses, but God allowed Moses that consideration. Are you worried that you won’t measure up if you step out to do what God wants you to do? Ask God for help. The same God who raised up Aaron to speak for Moses can still help you.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you know how weak and fallible we are. Thank you that despite our shortcomings, you still call us to do your work. Help us to follow hard after you, knowing that in our hour of need, you will be there. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment