Day 25: Exodus 4:1-6:30 “Moses Definitely Didn’t Seem Excited About His Calling”

13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

Moses had a lot of questions for God. How was this going to work? How would people believe that God had actually told him to say this?

God gave him 3 miraculous signs- the first was to turn his rod into a snake.

3-4 Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.”

I love how the Bible speaks so simply about what I imagine was a humorous sight and a moment of courage for Moses.

The next two signs were to turn Moses’ hand into a leprous hand and back again, and then have water turn to blood as it was poured on the ground.

Moses argued that he had never been eloquent, but God replied that it didn’t matter.

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Go, and he will teach you and help you. How many times do we wait to say yes until we know exactly what we need to say or how it will work. Perhaps we need to go anyway and trust God to equip and teach us when the time comes.

After God had done and said all of this, Moses still wanted someone else to do it.

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron? I know he can speak well.

Notice he didn’t pick the eloquent speaker to begin with.

15 “I will help both of you speak. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.”

It’s remarkable how God just compared the idea of Moses instructing Aaron and using him as a mouth piece to God instructing us and using us a mouthpiece. It really is the same if we learn to tune our hearts and spirits to his voice.

Moses returned to his father in law and asked to go back to Egypt.

19 The Lord had said to Moses, “Go back, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”

He also told Moses to perform the miracles for Pharaoh, even though God would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would say no.

22 “Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'”

Also, remember the king of Egypt had instructed the killing of all the newborn sons of the Israelites.

Apparently Moses’ son was not yet circumcised.

24-25 The Lord met him and was about to kill him, but Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched his feet with it.

Next time you’re having a bad day, just be thankful God’s not about to kill you but your mom saves the day by taking your foreskin off with a flint knife.

Just a thought.

God told Aaron to go meet Moses at the mountain, and Moses told him everything that had happened. They called together the elders of Israel to tell them and perform the miraculous signs for them, and they believed.

31 When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh as instructed, however the Pharaoh decided that the Israelites should start working harder, so ordered them all to make the same amount of bricks as before, but now instead of Pharaoh’s people supplying the straw, they would have to find the straw themselves. The Israelite foremen started getting beaten for not keeping up with the new, more difficult standards and they blamed Moses and Aaron.

Moses returned to God and asked why He had brought about more trouble.

5:23 “I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Sometimes things get worse before they get better.

God reassured Moses that Pharaoh would let the people go and that the people would inherit the land he promised to Abraham.

6:9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they didn’t listen because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. 

God told a frustrated Moses to go back to Pharaoh, but Moses asked why Pharaoh should listen to him if the Israelites had not.

Chapter 6 ends outlining a family tree and includes in verse 20 that Moses’ mother was married to her brother’s son.

I wonder if it would have been easier if Moses had just trusted God and done what he was told without trying to figure it all out. It seems like a lot of the battle was in his heart. Yes, things had just gotten worse, but in comparison to the peace that Joseph seemed to have in the midst of trials, I wonder if Moses had the same existing relationship with the Lord.

God, thank you for rescuing us. We may not understand your ways, but let us hold firmly to your word and promises no matter what our circumstances look like. Let us not doubt you based on sight, but trust you by faith. I believe you are for us and not against us. I believe your word is true. I thank you for all you have done and all you will do in my life, our lives, and the world. Convict our hearts today and forgive us where we have failed.