Exodus 4:1-17 - Signs, Wonders, and Speech
Notes
Transcript
The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 4:14-17:
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.”
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is the Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Dear Church,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to Exodus 4:1-17. This morning we come to the last three excuses Moses uses as to why he should not go back to Egypt. Remember our setting, Moses is shepherding Jethro’s flock looking for green pastures. Moses comes to Mount Horeb and sees a burning bush, but the bush is not consumed. He turns aside to look at this sight and the Lord appears to Him. Even more incredible, the Lord begins to speak to Moses!
The Lord has heard the cries and prayers of pain from the people of Israel. He has a plan to rescue His people from their afflictions and Moses will be sent back to lead them. What a tremendous privilege and honor. God would choose a murderer, a fugitive, and one who was already rejected bye the people of Israel to go back to Egypt and lead them to this same Mount to worship Yahweh where they will dwell in His presence. It’s an unfathomable experience on Mount Horeb and he’s given an incomprehensible mission. Yet, Moses balks. We’ve already seen Moses give 2 excuses for why he cannot go, and now we will see 3 more.
We might look at Moses in this situation and say, “what are you doing? How can you do this? Why are you running from this? Don’t know you this is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob speaking to you! Have some faith Moses!” Yet, don’t we remember the faithless moments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham tells Sarah to tell the Egyptians that they are siblings because He is scared the Egyptians will kill him because she is beautiful, and they’ll want to have her as a wife. Isaac, does the exact same in Gerar. Jacob tricks Esau more than once. Moses is just like the patriarchs. He, like them, has weak faith at times.
We can look at these four men and think they are superheroes worthy to be saved. Yet, Scripture makes it very clear they are sinners. Fallen, finite, limited, restricted men who are unable to stand before God in and of themselves. Like us, they would be found guilty before a holy, perfect, and righteous God. For us, this should cause to look to the ultimate hero in Scripture - Jesus Christ! We should be elated that the righteousness credited to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses was imputed to them. They were all counted as righteous because God bequeathed His righteousness to them in a glorious declaration in Christ. And we, with weak, scrawny, feeble faith are gloriously declared righteous in Christ. We with excuse-making capabilities like Moses, gloriously and graciously, have been declared righteous before an all powerful God, thanks be to Christ.
The sermon title this morning is, “Signs, Wonders, and Speech.” There will be three sections, 1) Exodus 4:1-9 - They Won’t Believe Me, 2) Exodus 4:10-12 - I Can’t Talk, and 3) Exodus 4:13-17 - Send Someone Else.
Exodus 4:1-9 - They Won’t Believe Me
Exodus 4:1-9 - They Won’t Believe Me
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.” 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.” 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. 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.”
Oh, Moses, Moses, Moses. If it weren’t enough to ask, “Who am I?”, and “Who are You?” If it weren’t enough to hear God promise him success, he came up with more excuses. At the heart of this excuse is Moses believing that elders of Israel won’t believe He met with Yahweh. Imagine the scene though. Moses comes back to Egypt and calls the elders together. At least one elder has got to be thinking, “Is that Moses? Yes. The one who murdered an Egyptian? Yes. He’s calling us together? Yes!” Moses tells them he was shepherding Jethro’s flocks. Slowly a hand goes up. “Yes, Asher?”, says Moses. Asher responds, “Who is Jethro?” “My father-in-law.” “Gotcha! Thanks, Moses.” “As I was saying…” “Moses, who are married to?” “Zipporah, Asher.” “Great. Continue.” “As I was shepherding…” “Moses…” “Asher, for crying out loud! Let me get through this!” There’s always a guy like me in my mind as I construct stories. Moses tells them about the burning bush, and that he met the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “I met Yahweh!” he exclaims.
I can imagine, in Moses’s mind, that’s not going to go to far. The silence would be deafening, and then the uproar as they call him a liar. He doesn’t believe the elders are going to trust his story! Notice the Lord’s gentleness and patience with Moses. He provides Moses three incredible signs for the elders. They will certainly believe Moses has been sent by Yahweh! He does not come in his own power, but He comes by the decree of Yahweh with His authority.
The first sign is a staff that turns into a serpent. Moses is understandably terrified and runs from the serpent. The Lord tells Moses to pick up the serpent by the tail. Now, I’m not sure if anyone of you are trained snake handlers, but the tail is the worst place to pick up a snake. Moses is in a very vulnerable position, but he does as the Lord instructed. The serpent is turned back to a staff. The sign is given so the elders would believe Yahweh, the God of the patriarchs, has met with Moses. God has power over the most crafty animals.
A second sign: he places his hand inside his cloak and behold - leprous like snow. Moses puts his hand in his cloak a second time, and viola, it returns to normal. God has authority over the most feared disease of the ancient world.
A third sign: take water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground and it will turn to blood. The symbolism is palpable. The very water that claimed the lives of infant boys would be poured on the land and it would turn to blood. The blood of the infants in the Nile River cry out to God for justice as Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground in Genesis 4:10. “Vindicate our blood as the Egyptians through into the Nile for their gods to kill!” God has authority over Egypt, their gods, and their horrific crimes against the people of Israel.
Very soon, God will display His power to the elders. Furthermore, He is going to reveal His power to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The signs Yahweh will give to Moses are meant to convince the people of Israel that Moses has met with Him, and He is coming to deliver them from their afflictions. Yahweh, the infinite, glorious, holy God gives signs so that His people may know He is coming for them.
I hope there is a passage of Scripture that sitting in your mind as you think about God giving signs for His people. John 20:30-31:
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
What are these signs that John writes about in his Gospel account? In John 1:19-12:50, the first half of the Gospel of John, Jesus performs several signs which demonstrate that He is the Messiah! In John 2, Jesus changes the water into wine. In John 4:46-5:15, Jesus heals an official’s son and an invalid. In John 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then walks on water. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who had been born blind. In John 11, Lazarus is raised from the dead. A total of 7 signs in the Gospel. Why were all these signs written down by John? So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, which leads men, women, and children to have eternal life where they'll enjoy the presence of the Almighty forever.
As Yahweh sends Moses to Egypt with signs so that His people might believe him, so the Father sends the Son to earth to perform signs so that they might be in Him for eternal life. What do you say of Jesus? This is the most important question every person will ask in their lives - What do you say of Jesus? Who is He? Maybe you've never really considered this. You've always grown up with Jesus in the background. You grew up in a Christian home with parents who loved Christ. Yet, you've never dealt with the person of Christ. He’s been a good religious figure for you. He's been almost like a genie - you run to him for wishes, but He's not the Savior of your soul. He has not yet saved you from sin. Read the Gospel of John. Come face-to-face with the seven signs. Read and see the power, majesty, humility, and glory of Jesus. Come and see that He is the Christ who gives eternal life those who repent and come to Him.
Exodus 4:10-12 - I Can’t Talk
Exodus 4:10-12 - I Can’t Talk
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.”
These are verses that have stuck with me for almost 20 years. I remember discerning the Lord was calling me to pastoral ministry, but I had a few excuses of my own I listed out before the Lord. One of those excuses was, “God, I can barely get words out with my friends, let alone in front of people.” So, I empathize with Moses.
There is no reason to believe that Moses was lying. He really may have had some type of speech problem. However, Moses excuse lies not in whether or not his tongue works well, but whether or not he has faith in the Lord. Yahweh is sending Him and has already told Moses that he will have success. The promise has been given and reiterated.
We see the root of the excuse lies in faith based upon the Lord’s response. “Am I not the Creator of every person? Am I not the one who makes individuals mute, deaf, or blind? I do this! Now, go and I will be with you and will teach you what to speak.” Remember Psalm 139:13-16 from when Paul preached on the sanctity of life:
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
The Lord has wonderfully formed every single person that has been born. Some are born blind, deaf, or mute. Yahweh had created Moses for this specific task. He endowed Moses with the right gifts and skills to lead Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Moses did not believe this, and God was telling him, “I created you. I made you for this task. You are the one whom I will use. Stop looking at what you think your physical problems may be and look to Me! I’ve made you for this purpose!”
The same is true for you sitting in these chairs. God has created you for a God-ordained purpose with incredible Kingdom impact. Sadly, I think we are good at doing what Moses did here, “God could never really use me for something in His Kingdom. I can’t speak well. I don’t have the right education. I’m too old.” Excuse after excuse after excuse.
A mentor of mine once told me about a conversation he had with a man in his church. The man was an usher. Each week, he would show up and take the offering. He did a great job. However, one day Dave told him, “you know, you could be something greater than an usher in this church. You could be a disciple-maker.” Dave’s point wasn’t that being an usher is meaningless because there was a need there. However, Dave’s point was there is something so much greater for you to become - a kingdom agent living on mission.
The same is true for each of you. God has created each person in this room with unique personalities, gifts, strengths, and weaknesses. Our chief end is to glorify and enjoy God as His creation. There is also the reality that we are called to be witnesses for Christ declaring the Gospel boldly and then discipling new believers into the faith. We are called to live joyfully in this fallen and foreign world, glorifying God with our whole lives, delighting in Him, and offering ourselves up as living sacrifices. All the while, sharing the Gospel with those who do not know Him. Let us not be like Moses in these few verses.
Exodus 4:13-17 - Send Someone Else
Exodus 4:13-17 - Send Someone Else
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.”
The excuse Moses gives is a flat, “I don’t want to do this! Find someone else!” Yahweh burns with anger towards Moses, yet shows incredible grace in that He does not consume Moses on the spot. The Lord mercifully goes the five excuse miles with Moses. Patiently, tenderly, compassionately putting up with each of Moses’ excuses. It is only grace that Moses is not consumed as he stands on holy ground.
Yahweh has already said that His presence will go with Moses, and now the Lord gives him a partner to stand with him - his own brother Aaron. In the Lord’ providence Aaron, a Levite, is coming to meet Moses. Yahweh also created Aaron and knows he can speak well. Notice what Aaron’s reaction will be to seeing Moses - his heart will be glad. This is the first time the word “heart” is used in Exodus. Aaron’s will see his brother soon and he will rejoice.
The heart human is fickle. I do believe, unfortunately, Liberalism has entered our churches. One teaching that we see from Liberalism is that humanity is not really all that bad. Sure, humans can and do some horrible things, but overall most people are good, they have good hearts. Yet Scripture states the exact opposite. Jeremiah 17:9-10 states:
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
We see this so clearly in Pharoah. Pharaoh’s heart is entirely set against Yahweh. His heart is deceitful and desperately sick, only the Lord can understand it. Weren’t we at one time just like Pharaoh? A hard heart set against the glory of God. A heart that burned with anger when confronted with the realities of the inspired Word of Christ. A heart of stone cold towards the Creator. We were the ones from Romans 1:18-20:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
We were the unrighteous. We were the ones who suppressed the truth. We could plainly see in creation his invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, yet we closed our eyes to Him. We with hardened hearts we were those who rebelled and we had no excuse for we knew there was a God. Our hearts were set against Him. Yet, thanks be to Father that the Holy Spirit regenerated our hearts so that it became a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27) whereby we came to know the redemption of Christ Jesus. Even still, our hearts wander. They want the gods of this world. They want the idols that America can give us. They want power, money, sex, social status, and recognition. The heart wanders, but praise be to God that our redemption does not flow from our hearts, but from the sure foundation that is Jesus. Aaron’s heart was glad to see the future mediator of Israel, Moses. Will your heart be glad to see the true Mediator, Jesus? Or is your heart still stone and still needing to be regenerated by the Spirit of the living God?
Aaron will be the one who will speak to the elders. There is an interesting working out of how the words will eventually be delivered to the elders. God will give Moses words to speak, which in turn Moses will give to Aaron to speak, and Aaron will deliver the message to the elders. We must remember that the primary acting agent in the Exodus is Yahweh. Moses and Aaron are two representatives chosen by Yahweh to lead the Israelites in the Exodus. What are the people of Israel to primarily put their hopes, trusts, and affections in? Yahweh and His Word. Moses and Aaron are finite leaders who are prone to falling, but God and His Word are perfect, and entirely trustworthy.
Moses and Aaron would go to the elders of Israel. Aaron will speak the words Yahweh has commanded them to speak, and Moses will perform the signs.
Conclusion
Conclusion
