Exodus 4:1-17 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice: for they will say… Now therefore go, and I will be with thee, etc. (ver. 12.) It is not at all clear whether the four objections urged by Moses against receiving the Divine commission were presented at one interview with the manifested God, or whether the controversy recorded Exodus 3:1-4:17, occupied weeks or months. The probabilities are in favour of some considerable time. See 4:10, and specially in the Hebrews In dealing with this particular plea, viz. the lack of eloquence, we must bear in mind that it is not for every man to be a Moses, or a preacher, or even a worker. True, there is a ministry for each and all; but some are called to, one of patience in suffering. Treat the subject therefore as one of Divine supplementing of human infirmity generally. Comp. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. I. SHRINKING FROM DIVINE SERVICE. Not a doubt of this in the case of Moses. Earlier he was not unwilling to put himself forward as the champion of Israel - Acts 7:25; but diffidence came with years. So Jeremiah - Jeremiah 1:6. So all the prophets - their message a "burden" - something heavy to be carried, to which they braced themselves. So Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:16. Nor is the feeling unhealthy or undesirable. Self-confidence looks at first the best preparation for great enterprises. But is it so? Leek at life. In all departments, to estimate aright the greatness of the work, the comparative feebleness of our resources, and yet the weight of our responsibility, is the condition of success; e.g. Lord Clyde in India. The Christian minister. By the reluctance of Moses, measure the irresistible impulse upon his spirit. Nor is consciousness of incapacity always the reality of incapacity. II. THE EXCUSE THAT IS OFFERED. Take ver. 10, translated thus: "And said Moses unto Jehovah, Let it please Thee, O Lord, not a man of words am I, either since yesterday, or since the day before, or since the time Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant; for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I." 1. The time-hint. An intimation here of a long controversy between Moses and God. 2. The meaning of Moses. He was not a "man of words" - not eloquent, in the popular sense; he was heavy - doubly heavy - of lip and tongue. A great writer of poetry and prose, but not a speaker. This self-estimate just. Yet there were compensations. He was "mighty in word." Distinguish between fluency and power. He was, too, a man of thought. A man of action. 3. A lesson in passing: "Take heed how ye hear!" - "Take heed what ye hear." Compare the massive eloquence of the Puritan age, and the men it made, with what seems to be now the taste of many for the sensational - with present impatience of so-called "heavy" preaching. Where would Israel have been, had Israel turned its back on the "heavy" Moses, and followed the lead of the brilliant but perhaps shallow Aaron, who could make molten images under the very shadow of Sinai, the mount of God, ere reverberating thunders had died away in the desolation of the desert. 4. The essence of his excuse. The defect was to the mind of Moses fatal - eloquence was the one quality material to his mission. To many missions (e.g. military or administrative) eloquence is not essential. The mission of Moses was diplomatic - it needed tongue-power. "Say unto the elders of Israel!" "Say unto Pharaoh." He had to persuade a nation of slaves that he was the heaven-sent deliverer. He had to go into the audience-chamber of the greatest potentate of earth, and speak to him for a nation, and for Jehovah behind the nation. Just the one thing he could not do; and for which he had not the indispensable qualification. So in thousands of other eases, of various forms of duty and responsibility, of sorrow and perplexity. "Tongue" and "lip" and "word" are what the service demands, and all are wanting. III. THE DIVINE DECLINING OF EXCUSE. Notice - 1. The changing tone. It is - (1) Encouraging. Vers. 11, 12. (2) Indignant. Moses said, ver. 13: "Let it please Thee, O Lord, send I pray Thee by a hand Thou wilt send." (See the Hebrews) This sounds submissive, as though Moses meant, "Send me." But from the translation of the LXX. the words seem to have carried a disloyal meaning, now lost in the Hebrews: "I pray Thee, O Lord, prepare for Thyself another capable, whom Thou wilt send." And so Jehovah was indignant. Self-diffidence may be carried too far. Yet was not Moses wholly cast away - for Jehovah took up again a tone likely to woo him to his duty. (3) Encouraging again: vers. 14-17. 2. The counter pleas. God allows the truth of all we say, and then comes in with his own Divine counter pleas why he should not accept either our excuses or declining - of which the main articles are these: The glory of God will be manifested - (1) In the use of man at all. God might have glorified himself in breaking to pieces the empire of Egypt without the intervention of any human agency. Pietists have sometimes thought that they glorified God by making him everything, man nothing. But God glorifies himself more by using men, for men are such poor tools to work with. E.g. Quentin Matsys making the beautiful covering for the well that stands in front of Antwerp cathedral with only a file and hammer. How? Such work with only file and hammer? So great an overthrow here, and such a creation of nation and church by a man, and such a man? The strength of God is evermore working by our weakness. (2) By the imperfection of our powers: vers. 11, 12. God the Creator of the imperfection as well as the power - the dumbness of the dumb, as well as the eloquence of the eloquent. He does this - i.e, supplements our imperfect power, by - 1. Other faculties in the man. So here "the rod" of might in deed was to supplement the imperfect speech. [See also above, II. 2.] 2. Other men. Here by Aaron, vers. 14 16. 3. Himself. In the earlier part of this controversy it was, "Certainly I will be with thee" - a general declaration. Now it is, "I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. The Almighty power goes along with the imperfect organ of the Divine will. Apply as suggested above to all - whether in the activity, or in the patience of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. - R. Parallel Verses KJV: And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. |
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