Exodus 4:1-17
August 10, 2024
Moses Given Powerful Signs
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.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 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. 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— “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.” 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. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 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.”
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.” 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? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please 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.”
Do you identify with Moses, when he asked God a what-if? Is it possible that you and I, the Church, can be defined as “What If” people? The Lord may not tell you to throw down your staff, but if he did, you and I would be just like Moses and become distance runners. Now our calling is probably not to lead a nation out of captivity, but to share with someone we work with, a relative, or a friend, how God has rescued you from the control of sin and set your feet on sound ground.
But it is the “What If” that keeps us from trusting God and allowing the Spirit to give us the words we need to share the victory we have in Christ. What if they tell me I’m a bible thumper? What if they make fun of me? What if they defriend me on social media? Yes, the enemy of our souls will give us many “What if”, but God will do it all for you if you trust Him.
Yes, you and I have a lot in common with Moses at this stage of his life, looking for a reason big enough for God to overcome our lack of skill to do what He has led us to do. This was His answer to Moses and to us: “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.” 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? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
Often, we hear “What if people say, as did Moses, send someone else, and like Moses, it is our brother in Christ that God has already told to go and encourage us. How I wonder if God’s anger is kindled, and you miss the blessing of being His instrument.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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