Exodus Chapter 4

EXODUS 

CHAPTER 

4

1. Then Moses answered, "But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'

(Exodus chapter 4 verse 1)

As a human Moses showed his fears and doubts to God. Moses was scared stiff even though God promised to be with him all the way. This is our reaction. God asks us to do take on certain roles on life, like being a parent, or becoming a priest or a manager. The devil sows in our minds and hearts the seeds of doubt. Moreover the devil places the focus that determines the success or failure on us,.This is why we end up reasoning "Will I be able to do it?; Will I succeed?. On analyzing the dialogue in Exodus chapter 3 God constantly insisted that He would be with Moses all the way, however doubts still lingered in Moses's mind as in that of most humans.


" I pray to God that you teach us to tame our emotions and fears so that we can freely and totally place our trust in You!


2. The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." 3. And he said "Throw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses drew back from it. 4. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and seize it by the tail"-so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand- 5. "So that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 2 to 5)


In order to prove his power God does not make use of big and powerful things such as missile launchers or atomic bombs. God used a staff that turned into a snake. Moses was armed with the necessary signs and instructions in order to manifest the power of God. As Christians we also are armed with spiritual weapons, these are the sacraments such as confession, confirmation, communion, baptism and even praying with the Word of God and saying the rosary. These powers that in themselves appear to be simple are of extraordinary power. The devil is afraid of the Eucharist and the rosary that is chanted continuously during an exorcism to free a person from the clutches of the devil.


6. Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand into his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. 7. Then God said, "Put your hand back into your cloak"-so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body.

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 6 to 7)


In his display of weapons God showed moses, that He has authority over all realms of life, starting from the supernatural and the realm of what we call magic to the physical, that constitutes our own being. God explains to us how we are to behave in His Word and by means of many people, so that when the time comes we will be ready. The choice is ours.


8. "If they will not believe you or heed the first sign, they may believe the second sign. 9. If they will not believe even these two signs or heed you, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 8 to 9)


God explained to Moses the possibility that he would not be believed by both the Pharaoh and the people. However Moses was not to give up because God was to be with him all the way. God makes the same promise to us, that is never to give up on Him even if we consider Him as intervening at a slow pace when compared to our culture of instant gratification.


10. But Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

(Exodus chapter 4 verse 10)


When put to the test, our first reaction is to cower away from the opportunity, thinking that the responsibility is going to be totally ours. In his dialogue with God Moses uses the term 'I" many times as if the outcome depended totally on him. God is aware of both our strengths and our weaknesses and therefore does not ask of us anything that exceeds such limits. However when the task is given to us by God, He gives us even extraordinary qualities so that all will place their belief in God.



 11. Then the LORD said to him, "Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12. Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak."

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 11 to 12)


God gives us all the qualities that we need to accomplish His will in life. Therefore if we feel that we lack in some skill or quality we are to turn on God, who is the sole provider of our well being on many levels.


13. But he said, "O my Lord, please send someone else." 14. Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently, even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. 15.  You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. 16. He indeed shall speak for you to the people, he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. 17. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs."

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 13 to 17)


On reflecting God gives different gifts to different people. Some have the gift of being public speakers, others have the gift of being caring and understanding. One gift is not to be considered greater or inferior to the other but as being complimentary. All of God's gifts are given to us for a particular reason, that of being of an aid to the unfolding of God's plan for us and that of the world at large.


As in the case of Moses, we can choose to be cooperative with the will of God, or on the other hand we can be obstinate and troublesome to God. However if God really and truly wants us to accomplish this or that task nothing and nobody on earth can ever stop Him. On seeing that Moses continued to insist that he was not able to carry out the given task, God did not give up on Moses and His plan for our salvation. God played His trump card and provided Moses with other means of backup and support. This was Mose's brother Aaron who would assist Moses in the given task.


With reference to verses 13 to 17 of the fourth chapter of the book of Exodus, I would like to share my own testimony. When I started praying on the will of God I used to write on scrap books and any paper I could lay my hands on. Along the way I started using a computer. Moreover I met people who discouraged me from continuing this 'Analysis of the Bible', however at a moment of need God provided me with a friend from the other side of the world, actually from India who is assisting me in the compiling and editing of the chapters that we both meditate on. We share chapters, and I edit the chapters that we both reflect on and with  the help of God, we have covered 50 chapters of the book of Genesis and 4 chapters of the book of Exodus. I honestly never dreamt that I would finish the book of Genesis, however God changed the 'I" into a 'We" and now we are a team of three, that is God, myself Vince Micallef and Mr. Deevain Ajit Pawar from India.


18. Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Please let me go back to my kindred in Egypt and see whether they are still living." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."19. The LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt for all those who were seeking your life are dead." 20. So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt; and Moses carried the staff of God in his hand.

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 18 to 20)


Now that he was encouraged by God, Moses headed for Egypt, however this time it was a different Moses who returned back. Previously it was Moses the baby who was born in Egypt, who as a consequence of having killed and Egyptian fled in fear out of Egypt. This is the new Moses, who although was given a difficult task to accomplish was empowered and equipped according to the will of God.


When we are empowered by God, He works wonders in us. In fact there is no need for physical changes or signs, because the very experience of Him in our lives is enough to bring the necessary changes. Speaking for myself, I can testify that since the time of my first call, that is ratified everyday God is every day of my life empowering me to carry out His will day by day.


 21. And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

(Exodus chapter 4 verse 21)


Although we might have many things to do during our day, the most important priority is that of doing the will of God. Prayer time and meeting Him and breaking bread together is a priority. Loving each other, especially those who hurt us and discourage us is another priority. God does not want us to be afraid of the Pharaoh's that seem to dominate our lives. Armed with the 'Word of God' the 'Holy Sacraments', the 'Rosary' we can overcome the temptations of the evil one. Our greatest priority is to battle with the forces of our corrupt and sinful self, and then with the negative forces of our environments and inner or outer circles,


22. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD; Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I said to you, "Let my son go that he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.'"

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 22 to 23)


God continues to show Moses, that he will experience the resistance of the Pharaoh who will not cooperate with the will of God, and that the outcome of the struggle will be the death of the Pharaoh's son. On reflecting God loves us so much that he treats us as His sons and daughters. When speaking to Moses God referred to Israel His chosen people as being His Son.


24. On the way at a place where they spent the night, the LORD met him and tried to kill him. 25. But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Mose's feet with it, and said, "Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me! 26. So he let him alone. It was then she said, " A bridegroom of blood by circumcision."

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 24 to 26)


One might stop and question the reason why God would have wanted to kill Moses and  Zipporah's son. The reason is given to us by verse 25 of chapter 4 of the book of Exodus. The reason was that since Moses was quickly dispatched into the basket there was no chance to have him circumcised, for some reason this was also the case of Zipporah's son. The bottom line is that anything that is not pure but tainted by sin, has to be made clean before it can be used by God, because in God there is no traces of sin or contamination. This is why God by means of the Church gives us the opportunity to confess our sins by means of the sacrament of reconciliation so that we can be made pure again and therefore be reunited with God.


27. The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28. Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him. 29. Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites.

(Exodus chapter 4 verses 27 to 29)


As planned and promised by God Aaron was sent in order to accompany Moses in the quest of liberating God's chosen people from the exile of Egypt. On having arrived Moses shared his testimony with the elders about his experience with God and His plan to liberate them from the bondage of Egypt. As in the case of Moses it is very good if we have somebody with whom to share our experience of God, This helps us to grow in God and it also helps us to grow in our relationships with others.


30. Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31. The people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had given heed to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.


(Exodus chapter 4 verses 30 to 31)


On having arrived Aaron became the mouthpiece of Moses, who was he mouthpiece of God. When a person speaks under the influence of God the message may be met with either resistance or with acceptance. The evil one doe his best to influence the audience so that God's plan for our salvation will be delayed as much as possible. However even during such moments of tribulations God never abandons us.

I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:


"Hello my loving father, I would like to thank You from my heart, for all the good traits that you have given me. I would also like to thank You for those traits that can be better or need alot of work on. If it was not for this combination I would not be, the person whom You wanted me to be. Thank you for the assignments that you give me as a parent,  as a son, as an employee, as a friend,  as an on line blogger in the compiling of this analysis and even more in the years to come. Thank You also for supporting me with all the necessary support. Thank You for Deevain Ajit Pawar who is assisting me in the compiling of this Bible Analysis.


For give me Oh God for those times when I thought I was driving the boat and started reasoning with the "I" instead of with the "You". Forgive me for those times when I did not give You the merit for my achievements as I should have done. Thanks for Your love and care and for being a father to me. 

Thank You God