Day 19 – A Year in the Bible – Exodus 4-6
______
EXODUS 4 – I WILL BE WITH THY MOUTH
Now Therefore Go, and I Will Be with Thy Mouth
And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. – Exodus 4:10-17
So often, I have prayed for God to use me, asked Him what is my purpose, said to Him, “Here am I, send me,” and yet when God calls and commissions me to join Him on a mission, my first reaction is – please Lord, send someone else! Moses did this, and most of us know exactly what he felt. He gave part of his assignment to someone else. Moses was a great man of faith, but at that moment he didn’t have faith that God would be true to His Word to be with him. He was given a mission that he was uniquely prepared for. He accepted parts of the task but not all of it. How many times have I done the same thing? I wanted the mission, but the fear caused me to hand parts of it to another. Help me, Father!
Aaron Spake All the Words the LORD Had Spoken Unto Moses
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. – Exodus 4:29-31
______
EXODUS 5 – LET THERE BE MORE WORK LAID UPON THE MEN
Let Us Go Three Days Journey and Sacrifice Unto the LORD Our God
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. – Exodus 5:1-3
They Be Idle, Let There Be More Work Laid Upon the Men
And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. – Exodus 5:6-9
Lord, why have You not moved – yet?
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy Name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all? – Exodus 5:22-23
When I first read this, I thought Moses sounded disrespectful. But Moses saw his people suffering and had received promises from God about a great deliverance for them. Ultimately, he is asking. Lord, why have You not moved on behalf of Your people yet?
Haven’t many of us asked that very same question lately??? I know I have.
______
EXODUS 6 – THOU SHALT SEE WHAT I WILL DO TO PHARAOH
Now Thou Shalt See What I Will Do to Pharaoh
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD. – Exodus 6:1-8
If anyone knows Melissa... 