But in his distress and fear the servant of God now pleaded as an excuse a lack of speaking ability: “O my Lord, I am not eloquent. ... I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” He had been away from the Egyptians so long that he could not speak their language as easily as when he was among them.
Moses asked that a more competent person be chosen, but after the Lord had promised to remove all difficulties and give him final success, any further complaining about his unfitness showed distrust of God. It implied a fear that God was unable to qualify him or that He had made a mistake in His choice of the man.
Aaron, his older brother, and been speaking the language of the Egyptians every day, and he was able to speak it perfectly. God told Moses that Aaron was coming to meet him, and the next words from the Lord were an unqualified command.
“You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. ... So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” Moses could no longer resist, for all ground for excuse was removed.
Having once accepted the work, Moses entered into it with his whole heart, putting all his trust in the Lord. God blessed his prompt obedience, and he became eloquent, hopeful, confident, and well prepared for the greatest work ever given to a human being.
A person will gain power and efficiency by accepting the responsibilities that God places on him or her. However humble the position or how limited one’s ability, the person who seeks to perform the work faithfully will attain true greatness. Feeling one’s weakness is at least some evidence of recognition that the appointed work is great, and such a person will make God his counselor and strength.
Moses secretly dreaded Pharaoh and the Egyptians, whose anger had been kindled against him forty years before, and this made him reluctant to return to Egypt. But after he had set out to obey the divine command, the Lord revealed to him that his enemies were dead.
On the way from Midian, an angel appeared to Moses in a threatening manner, as if to destroy him. No explanation was given, but Moses remembered that he had disregarded one of God’s requirements. He had neglected to perform the rite of circumcision on their youngest son. Such a neglect on the part of Israel’s chosen leader would certainly lessen the force of God’s instructions on the people. Zipporah, fearing that her husband would be killed, performed the rite herself, and the angel then permitted Moses to continue on his journey. His life could be preserved only through the protection of holy angels, but while he continued to neglect a known duty, he would not be secure, for he could not be shielded by the angels of God.
In the time of trouble just before the coming of Christ, the righteous will be preserved through the intervention of angels, but there will be no security for the person who breaks God’s law. Angels cannot protect those who are disregarding any of the divine commandments.
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