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.’” (4:1)
Moses’ lack of confidence regarding the mission on which God is sending him is enormous. He told God that the elders won’t believe that the Lord appeared to him. So, God graciously gave Moses a sign: his staff turning into a serpent and becoming a staff again. God gave him a second sign: God instructed Moses to put his hand in his cloak, and when he took it out it became leprous like snow, and then when he put it back in his cloak and took it out, it was restored to health. God then gave him a third sign in case they didn’t believe after the first two! Moses was to take water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground and the water would become blood. Three miraculous signs!
But Moses protested, saying that he was not a good speaker. God replied that He, the one who made man’s mouth would be with his mouth and teach him what to speak. Moses responded by asking God to send someone else.
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. 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. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff with which you shall do the signs (Exodus 4:14-17).
We have seen that God is very, very patient. He had given Moses three miraculous signs. He had answered Moses’ objection about not being a good speaker. But Moses persisted in not wanting to obey God and do this mission. So, God became angry with Moses. When God becomes angry, it’s a righteous anger. When we get angry, it may or may not be a righteous anger. We need to distinguish between the two. Emotions are not wrong in and of themselves – God has them and we are made in His image, albeit tainted by sin. But God, while being understandably angry with Moses’ lack of faith that God would be with Him and make this mission a success, is also patient and kind. He tells Moses that his brother Aaron, will be the spokesperson, working with Moses who would tell him what to say.
How patient God is! But what would it have looked like if Moses trusted God when given the three signs? We don’t know. God might still have given him Aaron for support.
God will accomplish his purposes. Sometimes he needs to deal with someone like Jonah, who had to suffer severe consequences for refusing to do what God wanted, and then finally was ready to obey God. I’d rather not go through all that.
I’d rather be like my friend who was worshipping the Lord one day, when God told her that she needed to fly to another city and give a difficult message to some people. My friend obeyed. She didn’t tell the Lord, “But God, that will cost a lot of money that I don’t have!” or “But what if they get upset with me?” She simply obeyed. And God provided. It turned out that the response to her word from the Lord was good, but whether the response would have been good or not, the point was her obedience. I want to follow my friend’s example, don’t you? And we can because God is trustworthy!
Prayer: Thank you, God, for Your patience. Help me not to test it, but to do whatever You ask of me, to obey You in all things, and never to think I know better. Amen.
