I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 4-6.
We hold Moses up as a great man of God, but when God called him, he had reason after reason why it could not be him. In yesterday’s passage when God first told him to go, Moses said, “But they are going to ask me who sent me. What name should I give them for You?” God’s answer was, “I am who I am.” I am pretty sure that in the Hebrew of the time that was pretty close to “I am the one who was, and is, and is to be.” Which is a statement of eternal presence. While the Israelites probably worshiped the gods of Egypt to some degree while they were in Egypt, they still had the stories from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which came to be Genesis.
His first objection met, Moses asked, “But what if they won’t listen to me?” So, God gave him a couple of simple, but impressive miracles to perform. I am pretty convinced that these three miracles are symbolic of something more. I am not sure what the symbolism means, but I am going to take a shot at it. The first represents power over the natural world, over plants and animals. The second represents power over the human body and its health. The third represents power over the very stuff of life. OK, I do not really like my explanation of the symbolism here. I think there is something different to it. I will have to spend some time looking. However, God points out that after performing these three miracles the Israelites will believe that Moses was sent by God.
Having to concede his second objection, Moses says, “But I am a lousy public speaker. I am lousy with words, I lose my train of thought, and I stutter.” To which God replied, “Who made people able to speak in the first place? I will be with you and I will put my words in your mouth.” God recognized that Moses was scared of looking like a fool (aren’t we all?). He promised him that no matter what happened He would still be with him and care for him. He promised that the success or failure of Moses’ mission would not rely on Moses’ choice of words. Whatever mission God is sending us on, He promises us the same. The success or failure of our mission does not depend on our skill. It depends only on us having faith in God to do the task He sets before us.
Finally having used up all of his objections, Moses flat out admits that he does not think he is up to the task and asks God to send someone, anyone, else. God was angry, not because Moses asked questions about practical things. However, God was angry because Moses believed that God had gotten it wrong by calling him to do this task. God is OK with us asking questions about how we will accomplish His will. He is OK with us pointing out our deficiencies related to the task to which He is calling us. However, God is not OK with us questioning His judgment in choosing us for the task to which He is calling us. God knew exactly what He was doing when He called us to our ministry (and yes, He has called each and every one of us to a ministry).