Chapter Four
Hesitant Moses
4:1 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.’ ” 2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”
Moses appears to be overwhelmed, who wouldn’t be? One minute tending a flock and the next, talking with God. But God was now asking him to go talk to the elders of his people and convince them to go with him to talk with the most influential and powerful man in Egypt. God must have made a mistake; He has the wrong man. So, Moses begins to push back, saying, “they will not believe me or listen to my voice.” He is telling YHWH that they will certainly doubt that He appeared to him. Possibly before Moses was finished talking, God asks him, what is in his hand? He replied, “A staff.”
God introduced the concept of signs back in Genesis 1:4, setting up the lights in the sky (sun, moon, stars) to be signs and for seasons. As pointed out earlier,[1] signs are used to convey information, provided the person viewing understands what they represent or mean. God will now provide Moses with a number, and certainly a variety, of signs to demonstrate that God did indeed send him to free His people and take them to the Promised Land.
Moses had a staff in his hand, we see throughout Scripture, the ‘staff’ or ‘rod’ is used as both something for protection (for example, see Psalms 23:4) and stern leadership (see Psalms 2:9 and Revelation 2:27), often representing God’s grace for protection of His people. Here, Moses’ staff will be an instrument of several signs and will later be known as the “staff of God.”
4:3 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. 4 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— 5 “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.”
Moses does what God instructed him to do and throws his staff on the ground. The staff instantly turns into a serpent as Moses flees from it (as most people would do). Some commentators have difficulty with this demonstration as it uses the Hebrew word ‘nā·ḥāš’[2] (translated here as ‘serpent’), which is often associated with Satan. However, we see in history that snakes were revered in Egypt, representing power and authority, as indicated by the use of a snake head on Pharaoh’s headpiece. This sign would then be something that Pharaoh could relate to. Even though initially frightened by the appearance of the serpent, Moses had faith enough to pursue the serpent and grab it by its tail, a method not recommended by those who handle snakes (best from behind its head).
The purpose for this demonstration is repeated, “that they may believe that the LORD…has appeared to you.”
4:6 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. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign.
God immediately continues with the second sign, the giving and taking away of a skin disease (in Hebrew known as ‘meṣō·rǎ’·’ǎṯ’,[3] a verb often translated as leprosy; however, it could be a number of conditions that causes the skin to look white). It was incurable at this time and due to its progression and the disfiguration of the victim, it was considered repulsive and offensive. Seeing his hand become leprous would have undoubtedly shaken Moses, making this demonstration very effective. But then God says something very curious, He warns Moses that they may not be convinced with the first sign. Most believe that the reason God warned Moses was to prevent him from being discouraged.
It is interesting to note that throughout the Bible, leprosy (‘ṣar’aṯ’,[4] the Hebrew noun or ‘lepra’[5] in the Greek) is used as an idiom and symbol for sin.
4:9 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.”
Continuing the theme that Moses’ audience does not believe, God offers a third sign. He is to take some water from the Nile River (sacred to the Egyptians) and pour it on dry ground and it will be turned into blood. Mankind has for a long time understood the relationship between life and water. Even today, the quest for life, begins with the search for the current or past existence of water on other planets. While modern man may not worship water, like the ancient Egyptians did, the understanding of it being essential for life has never been questioned. However, blood also represents life, especially human life, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…” (Leviticus 17:11a), or more importantly, “redeemed life,” as that verse continues, “and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (Leviticus 17:11b) All pointing to the future spilling of blood by Jesus, for our salvation.
4:10 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.” 11 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? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 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. 15 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. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
Once again Moses succumbs to his fear and calls God’s attention to the fact that he doesn’t speak that well, being of slow speech and tongue. It is possible that Moses may have had a speech impediment. Then God reminds Moses that He created the mouth, He is the one that allows people to see, hear, and speak, so speaking will not be a problem. God told Moses to go, as He will provide the words that will be spoken (a similar promise was given to Christians as well, see Matthew 10:16-23; Luke 12:8-12; Romans 8:26-27).
Moses couldn’t see himself doing this, and some say he may have been discouraged by his first attempt to help the Israelites (see Exodus 2:11-15) or he was simply overwhelmed with fear, either way, he asks God to send someone else. As one might expect, Moses’ reluctance angered God, however, God already had “plan B,” in action. He told Moses that his brother Aaron would be the spokesman, using the words God provided for them. Aaron was already on his way out to visit Moses, who would be delighted to see him.
The phrase, “you shall be as God to him,” refers to God talking through Moses and then on God’s behalf, tell Aaron what to say. Aaron will be subordinate to Moses who will be the one guided by God and then Moses in turn will guide and instruct his brother who then will be the spokesperson to the Israelites and Pharaoh.
Moses is then instructed to take the staff with him as it will be integral for several of the signs.
Considerations
Why would God tell Moses that those witnessing these demonstrations of God’s power would not believe him? From the fall of man into sin (see Genesis 3:6), it seems that man has always had a better idea than God. Some of this can be attributed to lack of memory, forgetting God or His Word can cause serious deleterious effects! But the primary reason is simply the fact that man is evil. Jesus once said: “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23) The prophet Jeremiah reported God saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) The apostle Paul also pointed out that our thinking is hostile to God (see Romans 8:7). God will use the ‘wonders’ to show the world that the God of the Israelites is not only real, but is the one and only God, the true God.
If man is so evil, what hope do we have? One could summarize using the words Jesus spoke to His disciples after they heard Him tell them that even a rich man could not enter heaven on his own. “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26) We can only overcome sin, the world and the devil through what God did for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
Moses Returns to Egypt
4:18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
Seeing that God is serious about him going to Egypt, Moses no longer has any excuses and prepares to leave. Since he has responsibilities of tending Jethro’s flock, he needs to make sure that they will be taken care of in his absence. He approaches his father-in-law and asks for permission to go see his brothers (a plural noun, can be brothers of same parents or same bloodline) to see if they are still alive. Note that he didn’t tell Jethro about God and the intercession of his people in front of Pharaoh. Perhaps he thought that he would not understand. Jethro gives Moses his blessing to leave, saying “Go in peace.”
4:19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
Moses may have already known that the Pharaoh who threatened his life was now dead, but certainly hearing from God that everyone that wanted to kill him for his actions forty years earlier were now dead, must have been very encouraging. Moses was now willing to go to Egypt, so he placed his wife and sons on a donkey and headed back to Egypt. Back in Exodus 2:22 we heard about the birth of their first son, their second son, Eliezer (see Exodus 18:4) may have been an infant at this time. It is interesting to note that his staff is now called, “the staff of God.”
4:21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
God reminds Moses to do everything He instructed him to do, Pharaoh was to see all the miracles. This is the first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘mô·pēṯîm’,[6] a reference to a sign, miracle, or wonder that is used most often to display God’s power. God then tells Moses that those miracles will not be enough to convince Pharaoh to let the people go because He will harden Pharaoh’s heart.
Moses might have thought, wait, weren’t we going to Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go? What’s changed? There is a lot more going on in this story than trying to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. These miracles (or signs and wonders) will be used to demonstrate God’s power to three different groups of people:
Essentially, they all need to see the full spectrum and power of these demonstrations, as stopping before they are each seen, would not be an effective demonstration. We also know that God will use this exodus out of Egypt as an identifier for Himself. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2, see also Exodus 18:10; 29:46; Leviticus 19:36; 22:33; 25:38, 42, 55; 26:13; Psalm 81:10)
The phrase, “I will harden his heart” often confuses readers. Many ask if this means God made Pharaoh’s heart more sinful or corrupt than it was on his own? No, God is merely amplifying an attitude that already existed in Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh was a man full of his own sinful desires and as a result rebellious against the true God. The word translated here as ‘harden’, is the Hebrew word ‘ǎḥǎz·zēq’,[7] which means “to become strong.” God will ‘strengthen’ Pharaoh’s dark and corrupt heart to demonstrate to the world that the God of the Israelites is indeed real and is the one and only God.
4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
This is the first time the phrase, “my firstborn son,” is applied to Israel as a nation. The firstborn son is typically blessed more than then the other children,[8] however this title will become more relevant later as Pharaoh continues to refuse to give God His firstborn. In response, God will take each Egyptian’s firstborn. It should also be noted that since God called Israel His son here (see also Jeremiah 31:9), many Jews had difficulty in accepting the fact that Jesus was the only Son of God many years later.
4:24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.
There is no doubt that this verse is a very strange verse, perhaps the most difficult verse in the book of Exodus. At a place where Moses and his family stopped for the night, God confronted Moses and either attempted to kill him or debilitate him in some manner (such as a life-threatening disease). The text does not offer any explanation, except for the following two verses, that speak about circumcision. Some scholars believe that one or both of Moses’ sons were not yet circumcised, and God needed to get his attention to correct that situation. There is also a tradition that claims that he and Zipporah, his wife, were waiting until their sons were 13 years old before performing the circumcision (a local Bedouin practice). Some believe that Moses went to this lodging place facility because he was getting cold feet again.
It is important to note that in the Hebrew text there is no reference to Moses by name in this verse or the next two verses. The name found in verse 25 is implied from pronouns, a common practice with translators to add clarification. As a result of not seeing Moses’ name in the text, some commentators believe that this story may either be about someone else or that some portion of the text is missing. While it is a perplexing story and seemingly leaves out a number of details, there is no reason to believe that Moses was not the subject.
4:25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
It appears that whatever God did to debilitate Moses (illness or some other malady), many believe that it prevented him from performing the circumcision himself. His wife Zipporah did the procedure on their son and then touched Moses’ feet with the flint (crude but effective scalpel). Some commentaries state that the term ‘feet’ is a euphemism for one’s private area (see Deuteronomy 28:57; Ruth 3:4, 7). Regardless of location, this act of touching Moses with the bloody flint was to involve him in the ritual. Perhaps it was her way of placing blame on him, as she says, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” There is great debate as to what that phrase means, especially since the words ‘bridegroom’ and ‘blood’ carry significant meanings in the New Testament (for example see Matthew 25:1-13; Luke 5:34-35). The probable reason was that she was very unhappy that she had to perform the ritual causing pain for their son. Some commentators suggest that it was at this time she left Moses.
4:27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do.
Aaron heard and obeyed God and left Egypt to meet Moses at “the mountain of God” (also known as Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb, see Exodus 3:1, apparently between Jethro’s home and Egypt). It was a happy reunion and Moses told Aaron everything that God had told him to do and say when they returned to Egypt.
4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Prior to going to Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron needed to gain support from the leaders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke and did all the signs as Moses instructed in front of the people and they believed. When they learned that God had visited them and seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped (fell prostrate before God). God had indeed heard their prayers!
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[1] See Considerations after Genesis 1:14-19.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 5175.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 6879.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 6883.
[5] Strong’s Greek 3014.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 4159.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 2388.
[8] See commentary under Genesis 25:19-23 regarding first-born sons.