Aaron-Second Fiddle to Greatness

Aaron – Second Fiddle to Greatness

Exodus 4:14-16

Every one of us wants to be successful.  It is easy to have a good spirit when you are in first place.  A type of humility may come rather freely when we are wearing the rewards of victory, but real character can only be developed when we are in second place or even lower.

Much is written and preached about Moses, but that is not who we want to focus on this evening.  The average Christian probably relates much more to Aaron than to Moses.

In comparing the potential of the two, we might of thought of Aaron as being the most likely to succeed in certain aspects of life.  He apparently had a lot of natural qualities that gave him very distinct advantages over Moses. 

Aaron was given a name that meant rich, fluent, or enlightened.  His name was one that might have shown a natural ability for leadership.  Moses’ name meant drawn out and when we think about his name, we most often think back to the story of him in the water and being found by the Egyptian princess.

Aaron was older than Moses as well.  Aaron was three years older, so it just stands to reason that he would be the natural leader.  He would have had additional favors and privileges from their father.  He would have a greater inheritance.  He would have so many things that would work in his favor.

As the oldest son, Aaron would be the one that would be expected to carry the name of the family on, as well as the glory of the family.  As the oldest son of a descendant of Levi, he inherited the natural honor of the family tradition and religion.  He would have been the one that moved on to the priesthood.  This gave him many responsibilities and potential that Moses did not have.

Aaron was identified entirely with his natural mother and father.  There were no legal, national or personal entanglements regarding his lineage.  Moses, of course, was identified with Pharoah and his family.  In many ways he was alienated from his actual birth relatives.

Moses had a place of high position and leadership because of his life as the son of the daughter of Pharoah.  When Aaron and Moses are compared, though, Aaron is immediately the one that shows himself as the more talented of the two.  Aaron was chosen to be the spokesman for Israel due to Moses’ apparent weakness in speech and communication.

God did not chose the brother with the greatest talent, though, he chose the one that he could use.  There were problems to overcome by selecting Moses instead of Aaron, but God made the right choice.

Moses had fled Egypt after murdering and Egyptian taskmaster.  God revealed his will to him through speaking to him through the burning bush.  Moses was not crazy about doing it, but he did give in to God’s will and allowed himself to be used in God’s service.

The faltering Moses exhibited all of the insecurities before God.  God told Moses, though, that he would not have to rely on his insecurities and inabilities, but he would have to rely on Him.  EXODUS 3:14.

Moses did not really want to accept all the responsibility that God wanted to give him.  He could just look at himself and see his shortcomings.  God chose an individual of great personal talent to come to his assistance as an aid.  EXODUS 4:14.  Not only would Aaron be a good assistant to Moses, he would also have a good attitude.

Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deut. Focus on the activities of Moses, but the ministry of Aaron cannot be overlooked.  Aaron had his good points and his weak points.  When he was strong he was a great support to Moses.  When he was weak, he brought out a godliness and strength in Moses that we would not have been able to see otherwise.

God had appointed Aaron to be the spokesman for Moses.  It was probably correct to understand that in most places that the Bible tells us that Moses spoke, it may have very well been Aaron speaking for him.

Think about the episode of throwing down the staff.  Moses had Aaron throw down his staff and it became a serpent.  Aaron’s staff also budded, and became a symbol of the awesome powers that God gave to Moses.

In the battle of the Israelites and Amalekites, Moses was to serve as an inspiration to the warriors of Israel against the enemy.  Moses stood on the rock of Horeb.  When he held his hands up over his head, Israel was winning the battle.  When he grew tired and had to lower his arms, the Israelites began losing the battle.  Aaron and Hur noticed this and proceeded to hold Moses’ arms high in the air till the battle was completely over.

God established a system that allowed Israel to approach God.  It was the Levitical system of sacrifice and worship.  He had Moses select Aaron to be the first high priest.  Aaron carried out this task with great distinction before God.

Was Aaron perfect?  No.  He had a lot of faults in his ministry that lead to great destruction for the nation.  He created a golden calf for the people to worship while Moses was on Sinai, he rebelled against the leadership of Moses, he joined Moses in sinning when Moses struck the rock.  In spite of all these things, God used him in a great an mighty way.

The lesson that we can learn from the life of Aaron is that it is better to be second fiddle to greatness than to be first in failure.  Aaron realized this.  His position required dedication to God, perseverance, faith, and humility.

Most of us are in second place or lower.  Are we developing the character qualities to allow us to serve God where we are?  Are we willing to accept the job that God has for us?  Are we willing to allow God to use us, in spite of our imperfections?