Exodus - Part 6 - Exodus 3:7-4:17

Moses is about to try arguing with God. He has five questions: Who am I?, Who are You?, What if they don’t believe me?, What if I’m not good enough?, Can you please send someone else?

Moses’ first question, “Who am I?” reflects his change of attitude since he murdered an Egyptian, went on the run, and wound up as a shepherd. Now, he doesn’t think he has what it takes and that he has messed up in a way that God can’t use him. But God reassures Moses that He made him for this purpose. God will certainly go with him and Moses will act by God’s authority.

When Moses asks, ‘Who are you?’, God answers saying “I AM WHO I AM.” He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He tells Moses to meet with the elders of the Israelites and relay everything that God has said to him. The Israelites will listen to him and they will go with Moses to Pharaoh and ask that they be allowed to journey into the wilderness to worship God. But, God reveals to Moses that Pharaoh will not let them go. God will then perform mighty deeds and only after that will Pharaoh let them go. But they won’t go empty-handed. the Egyptians will give them whatever they ask for and so they’ll plunder the Egyptians.

Moses’ next objection is “What if they don’t believe me?”. What Moses is really saying is, “I care more about other’s opinions about me.” That’s something we all struggle with because we’re human. God knows this, so He gives Moses some signs to demonstrate God’s power. He has Moses throw his staff on the ground and it turns into a snake. Moses runs away from it, but God tells him to grab it by the tail and when Moses does, it becomes a staff again. Then God has him put his hand into his cloak. When Moses removes it, his hand is leprous. Then God tells him to put it back into his cloak and his hand is healed. God tells him if the Israelites still don’t believe, to take some water and pour it on the ground and it will turn into blood. It’s an awesome set of signs and Moses will not look like a fool.

However, Moses isn’t done. His next objection is that he is not a good speaker. He implies that he has some sort of speech impediment. He just saw God turn a rod into a snake and Moses thinks the way he speaks will cause this mission to fail. Moses still thinks this is all about him and not about God. God tells Moses that He is the creator of man’s mouth, and will give him the words to say.

Moses knows he’s running out of arguments and the last one is truly desperate. He begs God to send someone else. Moses just doesn’t want to do it. The text says God is angry with Moses at this point. He tells Moses, he still has to go, but his brother Aaron will do all the talking. God arranged it so Aaron would be coming out to meet Moses. Moses is out of options and finally stops arguing with God.