WAS Moses ready to go when God called him? No! Like Peter who began to sink when he got his eyes on the boisterous waves about him, Moses, looking at the difficulties, found his heart sinking within him. He thought the elders would not believe what he had to tell them, and would say that the Lord had not appeared to him.
God was very patient with Moses. He gave him some wonderful signs to show the people in order that they might believe that the Lord God of their fathers had really appeared to him. He told him to cast the rod, which he held in his hand, upon the ground. Moses did so and it became a serpent, and he was afraid and ran from it; but the Lord told him to put out his hand and take it by the tail. When he did this, it turned into a rod again in his hand. What a depth of meaning there was in this sign! The serpent, you know, is a type of Satan; and God’s power over Satan would be shown in this miracle.
The Lord then told Moses to put his hand into his bosom; he put it in and took it out, and it was leprous as snow. Again God told him to put his hand into his bosom. He did so, and when he took it out, it was healed. In this sign also, a wonderful truth is given us; for the awful disease of leprosy speaks of sin in the nature, which is incurable; but it is in God’s power to forgive sins, and to heal diseases.
Thus in these two signs we see God’s power over Satan, and His power to heal and to forgive. He told Moses if the people did not believe the first sign, they would the second; or if they would not believe either of these signs, he should take water from the river and pour it on the ground and it would become blood.
God was very gracious and kind to give these signs to Moses in order to show him that He was with him. But unbelief seems now to have crept into the heart of Moses. He pleads that he is not eloquent, that he is a man of slow speech and slow tongue.
The Lord still bears with him and tells him to go, and He will be his mouth, and will teach him what to say. Instead of rejoicing in such a promise, and going forward in the work which the Lord had for him to do, Moses asks that someone else may be sent. With this the Lord was displeased, but He showed only grace toward Moses, telling him that his brother Aaron was coming to meet him; and he would be glad in his heart when he saw him; and he should be spokesman for Moses to the people. Also, God promised to be with both of them and show them what they should do; and He told Moses that the men who had sought his life were dead.
Thus every difficulty in the way of making a start in this great work, seemed to be removed.
After Moses had heard what the Lord had to say to him, he went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and asked him to let him go to his brethren in Egypt and see if they were yet alive. Jethro told him to go in peace; so he took his wife and sons and placed them on an ass, and started on his journey. He took in his hand the rod which he now called “the rod of God.” And again the Lord counselled him as to what he should say and do when he came into Pharaoh’s presence.
And Aaron his brother came out to the mount of God to meet him, and he kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron of the wonderful things the Lord had said and shown him. When they reached Egypt, they gathered the elders of Israel together and Aaron told them what the Lord had said to Moses; and he did the signs in the sight of the people.
The people believed and their hearts were filled with joy, to think that the Lord had looked upon their affliction, and that He was about to deliver them.
ML 08/31/1902