Exodus 4:1 But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”
Moses is vainly trying to defend the peace he’s enjoyed for forty years, even though he realizes he’s about to lose it. We argue with God, even though we know it’s pointless.
2 Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.
3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.
4 Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.
5 “Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease.[Leprosy] 7 “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. 9 And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”
God isn’t swayed by Moses’ arguments, for He knows ultimately Moses is going to agree. Now God gives Moses three signs by which Moses can prove that God has spoken to him: changing a staff into a snake and back into a staff, producing leprosy and healing it instantly, and changing the water of the Nile to blood. But Moses is still trying to wriggle out of the divine call.
10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
11 Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
Throughout the history of people of faith, this cry has continued. “God, I’m not capable; send someone else.” One book title that has intrigued me is Here Am I, Send Aaron!
14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. 17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”
All Moses’ arguments have fallen apart, and God is moving him back to Egypt. But here’s the key: As Moses obeys, God gives him peace on the way. Obedience to God brings peace, even when we are in the midst of struggles and trials. If Moses were to try to remain in the desert with those sheep, he would find himself intensely uncomfortable and fully conscious that he is not where God wants him to be.
In the fall of 1986, we experienced this divine discomfort. Both of us had good jobs and were making a decent living. We were attending an excellent church. But while things seemed to be going fine, we were intensely conscious that God wanted us to be somewhere else. Finally, when we applied to a mission group, that discomfort relented and we had peace. That mission group rejected us on doctrinal grounds; however, we had now entered into the process of applying and continued until we were accepted and eventually sent to Ghana.
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt,” Moses said. “I don’t even know if they are still alive.”
“Go in peace,” Jethro replied.
19 Before Moses left Midian, the Lord said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.”
20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.
21 And the Lord told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. 22 Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’”
27 Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. 28 Moses then told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to perform.
What’s going on here? Moses encounters God near Mount Sinai/Horeb, out in the desert. Evidently, all the time Moses is arguing with God, God is instructing Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness near Mount Sinai. When Moses continues to protest that he isn’t a polished speaker, God moves Aaron to look for Moses. Now Moses will hear from God, informing Aaron so Aaron can speak. What’s strange is that Moses learned the court dialect while growing up in Pharoah’s palace; yet, Aaron is the one who will be speaking. Perhaps Aaron is also good with languages and has acquired that court dialect also.
29 Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. 30 Aaron told them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. 31 Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Fond as Moses is of his quiet life as a shepherd, he now has to move into a totally different sphere. But when God moves us, God’s peace continues to abide with us. Now Moses begins to understand how God has worked in his life, preparing him for leadership. Is Moses worried? Certainly, who wouldn’t be? But Moses has the comfort of knowing that he is in the center of God’s will for his life.
Perhaps you are suffering divine discomfort. Ask God to show you if there’s anything He’s asked you to do that you have yet to act upon. As soon as God reveals something, do whatever He asks. You will find peace.
PRAYER:Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help all those experiencing holy discomfort to discern Your Will for their lives and to follow You whole-heartedly. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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