By Austin B. Tucker
To this excuse God graciously gave Moses some reassurance. At God’s command, Moses threw his rod on the ground and watched it become a snake. At God’s word, he picked it up by the tail, and it became a rod again. God also showed Moses his hand miraculously become leprous when he put it into his cloak and become clean again the same way.
When I was a young man, another young man struggled with unbelief and wanting to believe. He said, “If I could just see one miracle, I could believe!” I don’t know if he ever saw a miracle or ever did become a believer. I do know that God does not ordinarily accommodate such prayers. When you think about it, if you have proof, what do you need with faith? In fact, if you have proof, is faith possible?
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In the case of Moses, this may have been more a fear of failure than a lack of trust in God. Everyone ever called to work for God can identify with that! What if I go and utterly fail? Like Moses, we need to see that the results are up to God. Our job is to be faithful.
IV. A most familiar excuse comes next: “I’m not a public speaker!” (
Ex. 4:10).
“O Lord, I have never been eloquent . . . I am slow of speech and tongue.” Sound familiar? God calls us to go next door and give a word of testimony to a neighbor. Oh, what would I say? Or God calls someone to teach a Bible class or preach a sermon. Oh, not me! I could never do that!
But God says, “Who gave you your mouth? . . . Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (cf.
Ex. 4:11-12, NIV). Do you think you are telling God something he doesn’t know? He knows whether or not you can speak. He made you – personality and all. You can’t speak? So what? God can still speak through you.
V. Finally, we come to the heart of the issue: “Send someone else!” (
Ex. 4:13).
The bottom line for most of us is the matter of willingness. If you are not willing to let God use you, he just might pass you by. In the case of Moses, a gracious and super-patient Sovereign gave him the help of Aaron to be his spokesman. God is “slow to anger” (
Ex. 34:6), but our rebellion can push him to his limit. “The Lord’s anger burned against Moses” (
Ex. 4:14), but God kept after Moses until he obeyed.A man in his mid-fifties had a family to support when he finally resigned his job. He packed up and moved family and all to seminary. He said, “God called me when I was young, but I would not go. He would not let me alone. I wish I had obeyed when I was young, but God has a way of making us willing.