Exodus 4:1-17 NKJV
4 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”
2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
In Exodus 4, Moses is standing before God, wrestling with his calling to lead Israel out of Egypt. God had spoken clearly, but Moses was filled with doubts. “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice?” Moses asked, fearing rejection and failure. God responded not with rebuke, but with reassurance. He gave Moses signs to perform: turning a staff into a serpent, turning his hand leprous and then healing it, and turning water into blood. These signs were not merely for Moses’ sake but for the people of Israel to know that the LORD had truly sent him.
Moses’ reluctance, however, went deeper than doubts about the people’s response. He worried about his own inadequacies. “I am not eloquent,” he told God, “But I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Here, Moses fixated on his weaknesses rather than trusting in God’s power. How often do we do the same? We focus on our limitations, afraid that we won’t be enough for the task God has placed before us. Yet God reminded Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? … Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
God equips those He calls. He didn’t need Moses to be perfect; He only needed Moses to be willing. But even after God’s assurances, Moses hesitated, saying, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” At this, the LORD’s anger was kindled, yet even in His anger, God showed mercy. He provided Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be his spokesman, allowing Moses to fulfill his calling with the help of another.
This passage teaches us that God is patient with our doubts and fears, but He also expects us to trust Him. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in the God who made us, who knows our weaknesses and promises to be with us. Like Moses, we may feel unqualified, but God never sends us without also providing the strength, the words, and the people we need to accomplish His will.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your patience and grace. Strengthen our faith, that we may trust in Your power, not our own abilities. Amen.