By David ReayTuesday 20 Nov 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Exodus 4:10-16
10 But 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.”
11 Then 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? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
14 Then 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. 15 Talk 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. 16 Aaron 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. (NLT)
Put yourself in Moses’ sandals. He is being asked to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt and has to admit he is not the world’s greatest public speaker. He rightly senses his task will require some public speaking! Can’t God pick on a better speaker?
God replies that he is well able to equip Moses: he can untangle the words and give him clarity of speech since God himself created such faculties. Christian history is full of people who, with God’s help, transcended their natural limitations.
Even so, God knows that no one individual can do everything. If Moses doubts God’s equipping, God provides Moses with human help in the person of his brother Aaron. Apparently he speaks well. He can take some of the load off Moses.
What this says to us is that God is able to equip us to do what he commands. He either helps us overcome our human limitations or provides other human beings to do what we might not be able to do. Or perhaps God does both. Certainly later in the narrative we don’t see much sign of timidity in Moses’ speech.
It is good to know that if God gives us a job to do, he gives us the tools to do the job.
Blessings
David Reay