In Exodus 4:1-17, God appoints Moses to a divine mission – to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt where they had been in bondage for over 400 years. Through Moses, God teaches us that we are not valuable because He needs us to perform His work, but rather, we are valuable because the omnipotent God of the Universe desires to use us to manifest Himself.
Exodus 4:1-17
Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”
10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
11 So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
• V.1 – Freudian psychology is futile compared to God’s knowledge of the intricacies of the human mind and emotions. Therefore, He knows we experience fear; He knows what causes us to be afraid, and what causes us to become discouraged. He knows what causes us to lose faith. He knows the Moses fears rejection.
o Have you ever feared rejection for being a follower of Christ?
o Note Exodus 13:17 - 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
God is the architect of a wonderful plan for your life that is inconceivable to us.
If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.
Remember Isaiah 55:8 – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.”
o God knows how you feel. When you feel discouraged, God knows. When you feel afraid, God knows. When you feel alone, God knows.
o By attentively hearing His voice, He offers us the encouragement we seek. He knows what hurts you, but He wants us to seek His face in our times of despair!
Through prayer and reading His Word. Constant communication with God.
Prayerfully
Engaged
And
Christ
Endearing
• VV.2-9 – God reveals several miracles to Moses to help ease his fear of rejection by Pharaoh.
o God uses miracles to assure Moses that he is fully equipped to carry out the Father’s mission for Him.
God asks Moses, "What is that in your hand?"
And Moses answers, "A rod".
With what are you equipped to perform God's work? Remember that God is a highly efficient God. He uses as much as you give Him, whether that be 0%, 20%, 40%, or 100%.
o God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom we are in constant communion. If we are willing to surrender to the wonderful plan that God has for each and every one of us, God will give true peace.
Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is Peace
• VV.10-11 – Moses has a speech impediment – he stutters. Despite God’s display of miracles and assurance that Pharaoh will listen to him, Moses still feels inadequate; he is lacking faith.
o Have you ever struggled with the feeling of inadequacy? That you weren’t good enough? That people would reject you or ridicule you?
Have you ever had a weakness that made you feel inadequate to perform God's work for you?
o We stand on God’s promise: God never calls you to a task that He has not fully equipped you to perform.
o God manifests His power by working through people whom you wouldn’t expect. It demonstrates His power to perform the supernatural. That which is impossible by man.
• God is angered by Moses’ short-sightedness and lack of faith, but He tells Moses that he will be accompanied by his older brother Aaron, who is an eloquent speaker. God assures Moses that all he needs to do is “obey God and leave the consequences to Him”. God will put the words into Moses’ mouth- all Moses has to do is allow himself to be used by God.
• Recall the story of Jonah the Prophet. God used Jonah, in all of his humanly flaws, to accomplish great things. God gives us the power of testimony. Jonah was bleached by the stomach acid of the fish - a creature that was worshipped by the pagan Ninevites. Therefore, when Jonah arrived in Nineveh, the Ninevites willingly listened to him.
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