Exodus 4:1-17

When we come to this chapter we see an unwilling witness receive all that he needs to stand for God in a wicked world. Moses represents the reluctant leader who could do all that God commands but in his unbelief is disobedient in spite of what God wants him to do. We can learn today that God has also given us everything that we need to be a witness for him in the earth. All we need to do is to obey him and trust him.

Reason # 1

¹But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The LORD never appeared to you’?”

²Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

³“Throw it down on the ground,” the LORD told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

⁴Then the LORD told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

⁵“Perform this sign,” the LORD told him. “Then they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”

Note:

• Moses gets the opportunity to believe in God before anyone else
• Moses gets to see that God can use whatever he puts in his hands
• Moses gets to see the power of God before anyone else
• Moses gets to decide if he will believe before anyone else
• This verse is not about snakes, but rather the power of God to give life and to take life

Reason #2

⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease.* ⁷“Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the LORD said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body. ⁸The LORD said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign.

Note:

• Once again we see that this sign is for Moses first, then for the others.
• The miracle is done on Moses, so that he will never forget what God can do
• It’s not about the skin disease it’s about the power of God
• Moses gets to see the diversity of Gods power and to trust God before anyone else
• Moses gets to experience Gods power in a new way
• Moses gets to see how God can work personally to help others in need.

Reason # 3

⁹And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

Note:

• Once again Moses gets the opportunity to believe in God before anyone else
• Moses gets to see that God can use whatever he puts in his hands to display HIS power

¹⁰But 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.”

¹¹Then 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? ¹²Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

¹³But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

Note:

• Here we see the reluctance of the messenger. Moses in spite of what he has seen the Lord do, refuses to obey his command
• Moses because of unbelief will not accept the Lords task as an opportunity to join Him in ministry
• Moses wants to use his speech impediment as an excuse but God is not interested in his excuses

Reason # 4

¹⁴Then 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. ¹⁵Talk 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. ¹⁶Aaron 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. ¹⁷And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Note:

• Here we see a new sign. God shows Moses that he can bring his brother without Moses even when Moses doesn’t know where he is.
• It’s a miracle because Moses hasn’t seen Aaron in years.

Question:

1. What have you learned about Moses in this lesson?
2. How is unbelief detrimental to the believer?
3. Why is it so hard for Moses to believe in what God has to say