In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome back to Purify the Heart. I’m Pastor Zachary Courie, and today we continue our journey through the book of Exodus. Yesterday, we saw God reveal His name to Moses in the burning bush. But today, Moses responds to God’s call with reluctance. We’ll see how God equips Moses for the task ahead, showing both His patience and power. Let’s get started!
Exodus 4
4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Exodus 4:1–31, ESV)
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
In Exodus 4, the reluctance of Moses to obey God’s call becomes evident. Even after witnessing the miraculous signs God gave him, Moses continues to express doubt and fear about the task ahead. He questions God’s plan, emphasizes his speech impediment, and asks God to send someone else. But God patiently provides for Moses, proving to him with signs that God’s power will go with him. He also provides his brother, Aaron, as a helper to speak for him.
When the Lord provides Moses with signs, it’s to turn his faith to the Lord. He turns his staff into a serpent, heals his hand from leprosy, and turns water into blood to demonstrate that He is with Moses and will empower him for the task that He’s called him to. The Lord wants Moses to trust that His power is not limited to what Moses can do on his own.
Moses’ doubts aren’t just a one-time thing. He repeatedly hesitates, but God patiently answers each concern. This shows us how God overcomes any obstacle that would get in the way of Him keeping His promises to His people.
Despite Moses’ fear and lack of eloquence, God promises to be with him, to teach him what to say, and to provide Aaron as a mouthpiece. God doesn’t call us to work for Him without first giving Himself to us. His power is made perfect in our weakness.
We can see this pointing us to Christ in a few ways:
Moses initially struggled with the weight of his calling. Though not the same kind of struggle, Jesus in Gethsemane experienced deep sorrow and distress as He faced the full weight of God’s wrath against sin. Yet, unlike Moses, Jesus perfectly submitted to the Father’s will, praying in that same moment, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
Like the signs given to Moses, Christ performed signs and wonders to prove He was sent by God the Father. His miracles, like healing the sick and raising the dead, showed His divine authority to those who witnessed them, pointing them to the greater work He would accomplish on the cross.
By himself, Moses would never have been able to do what God called him to. But it wasn’t about Moses. The Lord called Moses to be His instrument to fulfill His promises to His people. So Christ, though He was true God, emptied Himself to embrace the limitations of His true humanity, for our sake. In John 14, Jesus said “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” John 14:10 ESV
It’s good for us who have been baptized into Christ’s death and raised to newness of life (Romans 6:3-4) to daily remind ourselves, “I am not my own; this is not about me. I am Christ’s own, that He may use me for His good purposes.”
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thanks for joining me to Purify the Heart! Tomorrow, we’ll continue with Exodus 5, where Moses faces Pharaoh’s opposition. Until then, grace be with you. Amen.
