#LENT2019 Day 5-6, Part 1: Exodus 4

(For our lent devotional, we’ll be going through the book of Exodus with the rest of our church and be looking at the hand of God carrying the Israelites through their captivity and oppression as well as their sin and unbelief. Keep up with us as we look at how much God loves His people and never leaves us alone.)

NOTE: I haven’t been able to update for a couple of days so I’m double-posting! Hopefully you guys can read this when you can.

(Part 1) First: read Exodus 4

What’ll it take for you to trust Him?

When God told Moses his practical plan of the future, Moses’ first reaction was not to rejoice or to trust God. It was to question the future that He had just spoken. He raises a concern to God that he thinks that God ought to take more seriously— and God does. God responds to his concern with miracles, the first being taking Moses’ staff and turning it to a snake, and the second being turning Moses’ hand to be leprous and reverting it back. God also gives him a “back-up” miracle of showing the presence of God with an option to have water from the Nile turn into blood (a foreshadowing of one of the ways God will make Himself known in this story).

One of the most striking things about this is the level of trust God is asking for. In the midst of showing his miracles, God asks Moses to trust God profoundly. We see this in God’s instruction to Moses for the first miracle God performs.

God asks Moses,

“What is in your hand?” To this, Moses responds,

“A staff.” God then commands him,

“Throw it on the ground.”

Moses does, and the staff turns into a live snake. At this point, there’s nothing to be alarmed about, but one could imagine Moses’ state of shock. God at this point commands Moses again:

“Put out your hand and catch it by the tail.”

Even snake catchers or charmers catch snakes by the head. This is where it’s safest to grab a snake because it’s where the snake can’t bite you. But when you grabs a snake by the tail, it’s leaving yourself open to any attack from the snake. Yet God asks this of Moses. God has Moses fulfill a potentially dangerous request, not because God wants Moses to risk being poisoned, but regardless of what God is asking Moses to obey, God desires Moses’ obedience. Moses responds in obedience, and sure enough, the live snake turns back into a wooden staff.

God asks Moses to be obedient and to trust Him. God is not authoritarian here at all; he considers what Moses has to say and responds. He acknowledges that the people of Israel may not be pleased and gives options to Moses. He’s clearly hearing Moses out. God of the universe, who is doing crazy things, with everything under His control, is allowing Moses to approach and ask and is responding to Moses in complete. grace.

But Moses still isn’t convinced by God, and after these miracles, says this:

“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.”

In this second interjection, Moses reminds God that not only do people not trust him, but also will not be convinced past his speech impediment. God doesn’t take it at all— in fact, God’s been a part of Moses’ creation, and is fully aware of what he can or can’t do. God, knowing Moses and his imperfections, his weaknesses, chooses to use Moses in his weakness. In His grace and providence, God reassures Moses with the profound and complete promise that He will be with Him. He proves this promise with His encounter with Moses and with the miracles that He’s just performed. God says that he will give Moses what to say and that He will be behind everything that Moses does. The God of the universe is promising Moses His favor in this task. But Moses still doesn’t buy it, and says this:

“Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

God gets angry at this point with Moses because Moses is fighting back. At first, it may have been hesitance and shock at the magnitude of obedience that would be needed, but with this third response, it’s clear that there’s a heart issue Moses is fighting with here. He has no more objections, but out of more extreme fear, or unbelief, or even simple unwillingness, Moses refuses. And after having answered all of what Moses was saying, after hearing him out, God responds differently as well. God’s anger is kindled. He’s angry that Moses is not willing to trust God and obey. But God doesn’t react— God responds. He attaches Aaron to Moses to help Moses speak.

It’s not God’s first option— He can use Moses regardless, because there’s nothing He can’t do— but for Moses’ sake, God uses Aaron too. There’s more room for error with another person, but there’s nothing that God can’t intervene in. And as if God’s grace isn’t good enough, He keeps Moses as the central piece. God can indeed use anyone, but His intention even in Moses’ unbelief and doubt is still to use Moses as the central person to receive the word of the Lord.

It’s crucial to note that Moses doesn’t answer God here. It’s striking that it ends with God’s spoken word. And then it jumps to a temporal episode where God’s anger leads him to attempt to kill Moses. There’s clearly something unresolved there. In the story, Moses is saved by Zipporah’s wise, quick thinking; however, it’s unclear why God was trying to kill him, so it’s unclear if that contributed to Moses being spared. One thing is clear: God chooses to not kill him and let him live. God had every reason not to spare Moses, given the previous conversation, but God’s grace had no limit. And afterward, God lets Moses meet Aaron so that they can do God’s work together.

What’s the significance of all of this?

Grace. The grace of God encounters Moses, meets Moses where he’s at, answers all his questions, and in response to Moses’ stiff silence, spares his life. God is not there for Moses because Moses was any good— it’s clear that Moses isn’t any good on his own. Yet God doesn’t give up on him and is set on using Moses for his glory. This is all based on grace.

In what part of your life does your weakness, doubt, and insecurity cloud over God’s call for your life? In what areas of your life do you look God in the face and say you can’t do it, even if He is all-powerful and in full control? And yet, God doesn’t just meet us where we’re at and leave things at that— He challenges us to move into all that He is preparing for us to be.

Let’s reflect on the gracious, loving God that meets where we’re at as we reflect on our own delayed obedience or disobedience. In what areas of your life do you feel God calling you to act? Do you trust that He will be with you and that He will work for your good? Let’s take that step of not just faith, but trust.

all my love,

janedo