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.’”
2 And the Lord said unto him, “What is that in thine hand?” And he said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Put forth thine hand and take it by the tail.” And he put forth 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 hath appeared unto thee.”
6 And the Lord said furthermore unto him, “Put now thine hand into thy bosom.” And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And He said, “Put thine hand into thy bosom again.” And he put his hand into his bosom again and plucked it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8 “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.”
10 And Moses said unto the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.”
11 And the Lord said unto him, “Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb or deaf, or the seeing or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say.”
13 And he said, “O my Lord, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send.”
14 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee; and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15 And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.” Exodus 4:1-17
God's explanations to Moses, thus far, have been insufficient for him. He questions God again, and we could say he is cowardly, but faith grows with obedience in the face of doubt. When he left he Egypt, he left a criminal, and he was not welcome with open arms by his own. Moses has been a shepherd in the wilderness for many years now, and as humble as that may seem to some, it is also quite peaceful. I would find it very difficult to give up the hillside, the quiet, the reward of laboring with my hands and sitting by the fire at night. He is not just afraid, in my opinion, he is disinterested and making it about himself. God comforts him again with signs and wonders to show the people. These signs will precede the message, but now Moses concern is turned to that. He is not eloquent with words, he has spent much time away from the need of words. I ask, is it the charisma of the speaker or the message that is important? Well, faith, much like courage, is not without test of doubt, and God, though angry is not without compassion. He provides Moses a speaker but does not relinquish him from his duty. If God allowed him to bow out, then Moses would have led a most serene and placid life. Blind to eternity that may not seem such a bad thing, but the entropy of this life demands an end to all things. Time and times, Moses will stand before God at his appointed time, and what shall be said of these times? Thank God for ignoring our cries for pampering and easement. Thank Him for sending the Messenger, and help us understand and share the message.
And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,42saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."43Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.…Luke 22:41-43
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