Exodus 4:10-17 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”
Yesterday, I shared a portion of this scripture as we considered the fact of being on a mission for God. God called Moses to rescue His people, but Moses did as many of us do, and found an excuse. He explained that he was tongue tied and that his words became tangled when he spoke. God patiently reminded Moses of who makes a person’s mouth, determines whether one will speak or not, hear or not, or see or not. But still Moses begged for the Lord to choose anyone but him for this task. I can just imagine how exasperated God must have been. Here we have the Creator of the universe speaking audibly to Moses explaining that He would give him the words he needed and all that it would take to accomplish the task at hand, yet Moses still begged, “don’t pick me.” Finally, God in his exasperation, gives Moses a partial out. He told him that He would allow Moses to use his brother Aaron as his spokesman for the people. Aaron would be the mouthpiece, but Moses would still stand in the place of God for him telling Aaron what to say. God’s pretty awesome. He could have just corrected Moses’ speech impediment, whatever that may have been, but instead, He brought a teammate in for Moses. Rather than using Moses alone, He allowed Moses to have his brother at his side for the upcoming events.
Moses lived a pretty remarkable life. Let’s do a quick recap. At the mere age of three months old, he was rescued by a princess (Exodus 2:1-10). He then fled to Midian (Exodus 2:11-22). God spoke to Moses from a burning bush in Exodus 3. Next we learn about the ten plagues. Moses had to repeatedly ask Pharoah to let the people go. Each time he refused, and God sent plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 7 – 12:30). Finally, Pharoah complied and allowed the people to leave, and the Exodus began. Of course, Pharoah changed his mind and went after them, and God miraculously parted the Red Sea so that the people of Israel crossed over the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 12:31-15:21). We later read about God giving Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), and don’t forget the golden calf incident (Exodus 32). Moses left Sinai and renewed the covenant (Exodus 33-34). He eventually named Joshua as his successor, and later died at the age of one hundred and twenty. When we consider all of this, we must also remember that the people Moses was rescuing at God’s command fought him pretty much the whole way. They whined and complained to the bitter end. They turned their backs on God numerous times only to repent and move forward again. Sometimes it was like he was herding thousands of preschoolers through the wilderness. But all the while, Moses stayed strong following the command of God. Moses wasn’t perfect. He didn’t even want to do the task that God commanded him to do. He tried to talk God out of it, but God knew that Moses was the man for the job even when Moses couldn’t recognize this himself.
Life is going to throw some challenges at you. If you are serving Christ, this is a definite given. Life isn’t going to be easy, but just as God provided for Moses as he traveled through the wilderness, He will provide for you and I today. When we follow the will of God, we can have confidence in knowing that God is working everything out behind the scenes. He will give us the words that we need to say. He will give us the boldness and courage to speak and proclaim His Word. Y’all, He parted the Red Sea, sent manna and quail from heaven, and turned a rock into water. There is nothing that God can not accomplish, and just imagine how much we could accomplish for the glory of God if we would stop making excuses and avoiding His calling on our lives. If God puts a calling on your heart, He will take care of you and see it through, you only have to be a willing participate!
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 