Exodus 4 ""Moses Goes"

Don't miss the animated videos on Moses (below).

Two verses stand out in Chapter 4 and I will show both. Moses is continuing his defense that he is not the man for the job for several reasons. He is proven wrong. Look.

Exodus 4:1 "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee."

That's his opinion but look at this verse.

Exodus 4:31 "And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped."

This is a good lesson in how God uses what is available. He asked Moses what it was in his hand to which Moses replied 'a rod'. He was told by God to cast it to the ground and it became a serpent and Moses ran from it. Then God told Moses to pick it up. Notice how Moses is coming around now. He picked up the serpent and it became a rod again. v4.

For a second sign God told Moses to put his hand into his bosom which he did and it came out leprous as snow. v6. Then he was instructed to put it into his bosom again and it came out normal. v7. I believe that settled the part about the people not believing Moses had talked with the Lord. But he has another excuse.

Exodus 4:10 "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloguent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

I believe Moses was telling the truth. He was Hebrew but raised in the house of Pharaoh. I've heard people talk in languages other than their native tongue and they do sometimes have to speak slowly and sometimes haltingly. I once new a man who spoke very well in English but his original tongue was Spanish. I ask him if he thought in English or Spanish and he said Spanish his original tongue. It was necessary for him to translate his thoughts into English as he spoke.

God does provide a solution for Moses by sending his brother Aaron who I know that he can speak well v14. Remember back when the Lord told Jacob that he would go with him down to Egypt. God knew that Aaron could speak well and so obviously he was around there.

God's anger is kindled in verse 14. He has patiently gone over every reason Moses presented and given a solution to the problem. He tells Moses in no uncertain terms that Aaron was coming to meet him and for Moses to put words in his mouth and let him speak for him. The command is finalized in verse 19. "And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life."

Now Moses appears to be preparing for his trip. He gathers up his family and has them loaded on a donkey. Now it is no longer a matter of if Moses will go, yet he still seems to be doing busy work to delay it. It sounds like it to me. God in verse 21 makes it 'when' not if. "And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt..." Notice the 'when' . Again and again Moses is reminded of how to present things to Pharaoh. As the chapter closes Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. Next it will be time to tell the king.

Verse 24-26 is a portion of scripture that I have pondered, off and on, for years. It deals with circumcision. I welcome any insight on these verses. CI Scofield explains that Moses was forgetful concerning the covenant sign of circumcision between God and Israel while he was on his very journey to deliver them. In the book of Joshua chapter 5 verses 3-5 tells of a later instance when Israel stopped and circumcised those born in the wilderness which had not yet fulfilled the command. Those coming out of Egypt had, but those born later had been neglected. So, even with the clarity of Moses mission it was still essential to honor the covenant. I suppose it would have hampered Moses argument if he had not even followed God's command with his own son.

We should take away the lesson of the original verses of this chapter. Moses did not think the people would believe him but it turns out they were hungry for a word from the Lord and did believe.

Psalm 119:89 "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."