The Reluctant Moses

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

We see in the first verse that Moses was out in the pastures, minding his own business when he sees the burning bush. Moses who had once been a prince of Egypt was now just a sheep herder, a sheep herder who was not even tending his own flock, he was attending the flock of his father-in-law.

Although Moses was once a major figure, part of the royal family in Egypt, he was now just a shepherd and had been for some forty years.

Now God appears to Moses from out of the burning bush and gives him an assignment. God says that He has seen the suffering of His people at the hand of the Egyptian taskmasters and now is appointing Moses to lead His people out of Egypt to the land of milk and honey.

Then Moses starts a long list of excuses as to why he doesn’t want this job and as we look at the excuses Moses gives; we will find that they have a familiar ring to them. If we look closely at the excuses Moses gives, we may find that we have used these same excuses when God has called upon us to do something in His service. At least they are familiar to me.

First off Moses says:

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11 ESV

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Who am I Lord? Although Moses was once a member of the ruling house of Egypt, he is now just a lowly shepherd. A lowly shepherd some eighty years old. In all fairness, I think most of us in Moses’ position would probably say something similar. Lord, are you sure that I am the right man for this job, maybe 30 years ago, but now?

God’s response to Moses was quick and should have been sufficient:

Exodus 3:12 ESV

12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

God gives Moses the reassurance that He will be with him. In Romans, chapter 8, Paul writes:

Romans 8:31 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Have you ever used a similar excuse when you were asked to do something for God? I know I have. I had a pastor in Montana who I became very close to. I had been a lukewarm Christian for a number of years, but under his care and direction I felt myself growing spiritually. But when he asked me to teach the adult Sunday School class, I was not sure that I was the right person for that job. I didn’t feel like I was sufficient to the task. I did not agree to it right away, but in due course I did agree to teach that class and it revived a call to ministry that I had evaded for several years.

Sure, in a manner of speaking I felt insufficient to the task, but I think that maybe that is a good thing. What I mean to say is that we should always be dependent on God to supply our sufficiency. The person who feels that he can do the job without any help from God is probably not the person you want for that position.

2 Corinthians 3:5–6 ESV

5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

In Acts, chapter 4, Peter and John had been arrested for preaching Jesus and had to make an appearance before the high council. When the high council heard Peter and John, they were amazed:

Acts 4:13 ESV

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

The council realized that the words spoken by Peter and John were not words that Peter and John came by naturally, they were disciples of Jesus.

None of us, on our own, is competent or sufficient to serve the Lord, but to paraphrase Paul, we can do all things through He who strengthens us.

So the Lord addresses Moses’ first excuse, then Moses pleads his second excuse. He says:

What Shall I Say?

Exodus 3:13 ESV

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Moses considers how he is going to approach the Hebrews in Egypt, what shall I tell them, what if they don’t want to go. They had been in Egypt now for 400 years. Then we see God’s reply:

Exodus 3:14–15 ESV

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Some might offer a similar excuse today. What shall I say, my knowledge is inadequate? The answer is really quite simple:

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

The Gospel message is really summed up in verses 3 and 4. Christ died for our sins, He was buried and on the third day He rose again. The message is as simple as that.

Moses then reached back into his bad of excuses:

Suppose They Will Not Believe Me?

Exodus 4:1 ESV

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.’ ”

Now that Moses knows what to say, he is afraid that they will not believe him. If the people don’t believe him, then he is a failure. Many people use the same excuse to keep from giving out the Gospel. The fear of failure, the fear of not being believed, the fear of being thought to be different, of not fitting in.

God answered Moses by providing him several convincing proofs:

Exodus 4:2–9 ESV

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.”

God has also given us the evidences necessary to convince the honest and sincere person and that is the Word of God:

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

John 20:30–31 ESV

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.

How many more excuses do you think Moses can come up with? Let’s look at number 4:

I Am Slow of Speech and of Tongue

Exodus 4:10 ESV

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.”

This is an interesting excuse that Moses uses. Do you suppose the Lord was unaware of Moses’ speech skills? The Lord who knows all things already knows our shortcomings, but the Lord can make up for those shortcomings.

Exodus 4:11–12 ESV

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.”

Now here is an excuse that a lot of people can identify with. In fact, it has a name, Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. If you have this phobia, you are not alone. It is estimated that 75% of people have this anxiety.

When I was attending the university one of the required courses was speech. I did not realize it at the time, but speech class was the most dreaded class on the curriculum. As a matter of fact, the majority of the people in the class were taking speech as the last class in order to finish their degrees. There were only three of us who didn't fit that category.

Not being a proficient speaker did not keep Paul from reaching out to others:

1 Corinthians 2:1–4 ESV

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

Paul realized he was not a naturally gifted speaker, but Paul knew his message came from the Spirit.

Finally, Moses uses his fifth excuse:

Please Sent Someone Else

Exodus 4:13 ESV

13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

At this point we get the sense that Moses just did not want to go. How so like that are we today. Moses had been living a quiet life for the last 40 years, he really did feel up to the challenge that the Lord is proposing to him.

Moses’ unwilling spirit finally wears on the Lord:

Exodus 4:14–17 ESV

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.”

We can resist the Lord to the point where the Lord will have some choice words for us. It is easy for us to make excuses, sometimes many excuses, but with faith, the Lord provides us with the necessary skills to accomplish what He asks us to do.

Conclusion

In the case of Moses, we know the rest of the story. He took the assignment. He went to Egypt. He dealt with Pharaoh, and with the help of God, he delivered the Israelites out of bondage.

But what about us? What will be the rest of our story? Will we heed the call to preach the gospel to the lost? Or will we make excuses and someday suffer the wrath of God? Only time will tell, but I pray that we will not make excuses when the Lord asks us to do something for Him.

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