Exodus 4:10 - Meaning and Application

Moses still holds back from the task God had chosen for him, and now his reluctance goes too far. We can no longer call this humility or modesty, but must see too much cowardice, laziness, and unbelief in it. Here we see how Moses tries to excuse himself from the work.

First, he says he is no good speaker: “O my Lord, I am not eloquent” (Exodus 4:10). He was a great thinker, leader, and teacher, yet not a polished orator. He had a clear mind, deep thought, and sound judgment, but he did not speak with ease or quickness. So he felt unfit to speak before powerful men about weighty matters, and feared the Egyptians would overpower him in speech.

We should not judge people by how smoothly they speak. Moses was “mighty in words” (Acts 7:22), and yet not eloquent. What he said was strong, clear, and to the point, “like dew” (Deuteronomy 32:2), even if he did not say it with elegance or ease. Paul also said his speech was unimpressive (2 Corinthians 10:10). Much wisdom and real worth can be hidden behind a slow tongue.

God often chooses messengers who seem to have the fewest natural advantages, so his grace in them will stand out more clearly. Christ’s disciples were not skilled orators until the Spirit made them so.

When this excuse was answered, Moses went further and asked God to send someone else, leaving him to keep sheep in Midian (Exodus 4:13). In effect, he said, “Send anyone but me. You can surely find someone better.” An unwilling heart will cling to a poor excuse rather than none at all, and gladly puts hard or risky work on others.

God answered all of Moses’ excuses with patient kindness. Though the Lord’s anger burned against him (Exodus 4:14), he kept reasoning with him until he overcame him. Even deep self-doubt, when it keeps us from duty, slows us in duty, or weakens our trust in God’s grace, displeases him. God has good reason to resent our slowness to serve him, because he has already given us far more than we can repay.

Yet though God is rightly displeased, he does not reject Moses. He reasons with his stubborn child and wins him by grace and kindness.

To answer Moses’ weakness, God reminds him of his own power (Exodus 4:11). First, God points to the very matter Moses raised: “Who made man’s mouth? Was it not I, the Lord?” Moses knew God made man, but now he must remember that God made the mouth too. Keeping God in mind as Creator would help us through many of the difficulties that stand in the way of our duty (Psalm 124:8). God, as the maker of nature, gives us the ability to speak. And from him, as the source of gifts and grace, comes the ability to speak well, “mouth and wisdom” (Luke 21:15), and “the tongue of the learned” (Isaiah 50:4). He also “fills the lips with grace” (Psalm 45:2).

Second, God shows his power over all our faculties. Who but God makes the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? The best working of our powers is his work, for he makes the seeing eye (Psalm 94:9), and he opens the mind, the eye of the soul (Luke 24:45). Our weaknesses are also under his rule. He makes the dumb, the deaf, and the blind. Is there any trouble of this kind that the Lord has not brought about? He has, and always in wisdom and rightness, and for his own glory (John 9:3). Pharaoh and the Egyptians were made spiritually deaf and blind, as in Isaiah 6:9-10. But God knew how to handle them and bring honor to himself through them.

To encourage Moses in this great task, God repeats the promise of his presence. He does not only say, “I will be with you” (Isaiah 3:12), but gives the promise in a more specific way: “I will be with your mouth.” In other words, the weakness in your speech will not ruin your message. It does not seem that God removed Moses’ speech problem right away, whatever it was. But he did something equal to that, he taught Moses what to say, and then let the message stand on its own. If others spoke more smoothly, none spoke more powerfully. Those whom God sends to speak for him must depend on him for what they say, and it will be given to them in that hour (Matthew 10:19).

God also joins Aaron, Moses’ brother, in the mission. He promises that Aaron will meet him at the right time and will be glad to see him, since they likely had not seen each other for many years (Exodus 4:14). Then God tells Moses to use Aaron as his spokesman (Exodus 4:16). God could have set Moses aside completely because of his reluctance, but he understood Moses’ weakness and gave him help.

Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). God appoints two witnesses, so that every word may be confirmed (Revelation 11:3). Aaron was Moses’ brother, and God wisely arranged it so their natural affection would strengthen their partnership in carrying out this mission. Christ sent his disciples out two by two, and some of those pairs were brothers. Aaron was the older brother, yet he was willing to serve under Moses because God had ordered it so. Aaron could speak well, while Moses had greater wisdom. God gives different gifts to different people so we see our need for one another, and each person can help the whole body (1 Corinthians 12:21). Aaron’s speech, joined with Moses’ mind and heart, would make a man fully suited for this mission.

God still says, “I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth.” Even Aaron, though he could speak well, could not speak effectively unless God was with him. Without the constant help of divine grace, even the best gifts will fail.

Finally, God tells Moses to take the rod in his hand (Exodus 4:17). This shows that he was to carry out his work more by action than by speech. The signs he would do with that rod would make up for any lack of eloquence. One miracle would serve him better than all the rhetoric in the world. He was to take the rod he had used as a shepherd, so he would not be ashamed of the humble work from which God had called him. That rod would become the staff of his authority, serving him instead of both sword and scepter.