Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 4:10
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.
10. Oh ] In the Heb. a particle of entreaty, craving permission to speak: always followed by either Lord (‘Adonai,’ not ‘Jehovah’), v. 13, Jos 7:8 al., or my lord, Gen 43:20, Num 12:11 al. eloquent
nor since, &c.] In giving him his commission, God has conferred upon him other powers ( vv. 2 9), but not the gift of fluency.
heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue ] i.e. slow to move them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10 17. Moses’ fourth difficulty: he objects that he is not fluent, has no power to state his case, to convince or persuade the Israelites. He is promised, in reply, firstly, that God will be with him to give him words, and afterwards, as he still demurs, that Aaron shall be his spokesman.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eloquent – See the margin. The double expression slow of speech (Eze 3:5 margin) and of a slow tongue seems to imply a difficulty both in finding words and in giving them utterance, a very natural result of so long a period of a shepherds life, passed in a foreign land.
Since thou hast spoken – This expression seems to imply that some short time had intervened between this address and the first communication of the divine purpose to Moses.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 4:10-13
O my Lord, I am not eloquent.
The objections made to religious service
I. These objections were made after God had given him a full insight into the nature of the service required.
1. The insight given into the nature of this service was infallible.
2. It was forceful.
3. It was sympathetic.
II. These objections frequently arise from an undue consciousness of self.
1. From a consciousness of natural infirmity. This ought to inspire within them a more thorough determination to seek Divine help. Silence is often more eloquent and valuable than speech.
2. From a supposition of moral incapacity. The call of God is calculated to educate all the sublime tendencies of the soul, and renders men fit for the toil allotted to them.
3. That, rather than self, God must be the supreme idea of the soul when about to enter upon religious service. Our hearts should be a temple in which every act of service should be rendered to the infinite.
III. These objections do not sufficiently regard the efficacy of the Divine help that is promised in the service. Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
1. The Divine help is adapted to our natural infirmity. It is far better to have God joined to our infirmity, than to have the eloquent tongue without Him. Thus there are times when an infirmity may be an inestimable advantage to a Christian worker.
2. The Divine help is adapted to our full requirement. God did not merely promise to aid the speech of Moses, but also to teach him what he should say. So in the Christian service of to-day, good men are not merely aided in the line of their natural infirmity, but also along the entire line of their requirement.
IV. These objections are a reflection on the propriety of the Divine selection for the service. And the Lord said unto him, who hath made mans mouth, etc.
1. This method of conduct is ungrateful.
2. Irreverent.
V. These objections do not sufficiently recognize the dignity and honour the service will command.
1. There was the honour of achieving the freedom of a vast nation.
2. There was the honour of conquering a tyrant king.
3. There was the honour of becoming the lawgiver of the world.
VI. These objections are liable to awaken the divine displeasure. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.
1. This anger may be manifested in our removal from the service.
2. This anger may be manifested by the positive infliction of penalty.
3. This anger may occasion our eternal moral ruin.
Learn:
1. Good men ought to know better than to object to the service of God.
2. That in the service of God men find the highest reward.
3. That in the service of God men attain the truest immortality. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Uselessness of mere words
I am tormented with the desire of writing better than I can. I am tormented, say I, with the desire of preaching better than I can. But I have no wish to make fine, pretty sermons. Prettiness is well enough when prettiness is in place. I like to see a pretty child, a pretty flower; but in sermons, prettiness is out of place. To my ear, it would be anything but commendation, should it be said to me, You have given us a pretty sermon. If I were put upon trial for my life, and my advocate should amuse the jury with tropes and figures, or bury his arguments beneath a profusion of flowers of his rhetoric, I would say to him, Tut, man, you care more for your vanity, than for my hanging. Put yourself in my place–speak in view of the gallows–and you will tell your story plainly and earnestly. I have no objections to a lady winding a sword with ribbons, and studding it with roses as she presents it to her hero-lover; but in the hour of battle he will tear away the ornaments, and use the naked edge on the enemy. (Robert Hall.)
The art of the orator undesirable in a preacher
Hipponicus, intending to dedicate a costly statue, was advised by a friend to employ Policletus, a famous workman, in the making of it; but he, being anxious that his great expense should be the admiration of all men, said that he would not make use of a workman whose art would be more regarded than his own cost. When in preaching the great truths of gospel salvation the enticing words which mans wisdom teacheth are so much sought out that the art of the orator is more regarded by the hearers than the value of the truth spoken, it is no wonder that the Lord refuses to grant His blessing. He will have it seen that the excellency of the power lies not in our speech, but in His gospel. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Eloquence
I am not eloquent.
I. Then true eloquence may have its use.
1. To explain Divine truth.
2. To inspire men with the thought of freedom.
3. To manifest the perfection of the gift of speech.
II. Then do not condemn men who are.
III. Then do not envy those who are acknowledgod to be so. If we have not eloquence, we have some other equally valuable talent in its place.
IV. Then the Lord can use a feeble instrumentality. This will enhance the Divine glory.
V. Then words are not the chief conditions of service. Ideas, thoughts, emotions, and spiritual influences, occupy a more prominent place.
VI. Then do not grumble, but seek the Divine aid in your infirmity. He will help and bless work done for Him. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Slowness of speech
I. An infirmity.
II. A discretion.
III. A discipline. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Why was Moses not gifted with eloquence?
It might certainly be asked with propriety, why Moses, who was singled out by Providence as the great medium for bringing the wisdom of heaven down to the earth, for ever substituting Divine truth instead of human error, and who was gifted with such uncommon perfection of the mind and intellect, was denied the power of eloquence, apparently so indispensable for his extraordinary vocation. But it was an act of the sublime wisdom of the Almighty to withhold from Moses just the gift of persuasion, lest it should appear that he owed the triumph over the obstinacy of Pharaoh and the disbelief of the Israelites, not to the miracles of God and the intrinsic worth of the Law, but to the artifices and subtleties of oratory, which too often procure, even to fallacies and sophisms, an ephemeral victory. It was wisely designed that the power of God should the more gloriously shine through a humble and imperfect instrument. This is a remarkable and deeply interesting difference between the legislator of Israel and the founders of almost all other religions, to whom, uniformly, no quality is ascribed in a higher degree than the gift of eloquence. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Self-consciousness
Moses has now descended from the high level of the argument, and narrowed the case into one of mere human personality. He has forgotten the promise, Certainly I will be with thee. The moment we get away from Divine promise and forget great principles, we narrow all controversy and degrade all service. Self-consciousness is the ruin of all vocations. Let a man look into himself, and measure his work by himself, and the movement of his life will be downward and exhaustive. Let him look away from himself to the Inspirer of his life, and the Divine reward of his labours, and he will not so much as see the difficulties which may stand ever so thickly in his way. Think of Moses turning his great mission into a question which involved his own eloquence! All such reasoning admits of being turned round upon the speaker as a charge of foolish, if not of profane, vanity. See how the argument stands: I am not eloquent, and therefore the mission cannot succeed in my hands, is equivalent to saying, I am an eloquent man, and therefore, this undertaking must be crowned with signal success. The work had nothing whatever to do with the eloquence or ineloquence of Moses. It was not to be measured or determined by his personal gifts: the moment, therefore, that he turned to his individual talents, he lost sight of the great end which he was called instrumentally to accomplish. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fluency in speech
Moses was a thinker rather than a speaker. Fluency was not his forte. He saw too much in a moment to be able to give utterance to it all at once; and so his lack of readiness in the use of language was the result of the richness of his thought, rather than of its poverty. When the bottle is full, its contents flow out less freely by far than when it is two parts empty. So, very often, the fluency of one speaker is due to the fact that he sees only one side of a subject; while the hesitancy of another is the consequence of his taking in at a glance all the bearings of his theme, and of his desire to say nothing on it that will imperil other great principles with which it is really, but not to all minds visibly, connected. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
I will be with thy mouth.
Natural infirmities in relation to moral service
I. That God does not always see fit to remove natural infirmities from those who are commissioned to important service.
1. They keep us humble.
2. They remind us of God.
3. They prompt us to prayer.
II. That God renders natural impediments effective to the clear manifestation of His power and glory.
1. Should win our submission.
2. Should gain our confidence.
3. Should inspire our praise.
III. That God so far compassionates our natural infirmities as to relieve them by congenial and efficient help.
1. Fraternal.
2. Adapted to need.
3. Constant. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The Divine Creatorship
I. Should silence the voice of complaint under natural infirmities.
II. Should become an argument for the ready performance of any mission on which we may be divinely sent.
III. Should lean us reverently to acknowledge the sovereignty of God in the varied allotments of life. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Lessons
I. The Divine commission.
II. The Divine companionship.
III. The Divine instruction. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Speech, or dumbness, from God
I. Language is of Divine original. You may have been accustomed to consider it just as natural to man to speak as to walk; but this is a mistake. A child left to itself may learn to walk, but a child left to itself would never learn to speak; it would utter sounds, but it would never connect sounds with thoughts–it would never, that is, learn to express certain thoughts by certain sounds. It might invent some jargon of its own, but as to anything which should at all resemble even the elements of a language, and a system of sounds by which everything around us should be classified and defined, you will never think that this could be found in the accidental babblings of infancy; and however you may seek to account upon natural principles for the origin of language, we still venture to say, that unless you receive the Mosaic account of the Creation, there is no phenomenon so hopelessly inexplicable as language. Unless it be supposed that God formed man at first, and gave him the organs of speech, ay, and then taught him their use, and furnished him with words by which ideas should be expressed, language is the most unintelligible of prodigies; and you may search the universe and find nothing which you may not account for without God, if you can shut out His agency from the introduction of speech. And there is scriptural evidence of the fact, that God taught man language, or that the language first spoken was Divine in its origin. You will observe, that so soon as man was created God spake unto him; and thus the first use of words was to communicate the thoughts of God. But the thoughts of God must have been communicated in the words of God, and man could not have understood Gods words, unless he had been first taught them of God; so that when on the very outset of human existence you find conversation held between man and his Maker, you are forced to conclude, that since on no supposition could man in such a brief space have invented a language, the employed language must have been Divine, and Adam must have received from God the earliest intimations of speech.
II. Every case of inability to speak is of Divine appointment. God has meted out to us our every endowment, whether of body or of mind; we are indebted for nothing to chance, for everything to Providence; and though it were beside our purpose to inquire into the reasons which may induce God to deny to one man the sense of sight, and to another the sense of hearing, we are as much bound to recognise His appointment in these bodily defects as in the splendid gifts of a capacious memory, a rich imagination and a sound judgment, which procure for their possessor admiration and influence. And when there shall come the grand clearing up of the mysteries and discrepancies of the present dispensation, we nothing doubt that the Almighty will show that there was a design to be answered by every deformed limb, and every sightless eyeball, and every speechless tongue, and that in regard both to the individual himself and to numbers with whom he stood associated, there has been a distinct reference to the noblest and most glorious of ends, in the closing up of the inlets of the senses, or in the yielding the members to disease or contraction. The deaf and dumb child shall be proved to have acted a part in the furtherance of the purposes of God, which it could never have performed, had it delighted its parents by hearkening to their counsels and pouring forth the music of its speech; the blind man and the cripple shall be shown to have been so placed in their pilgrimage through life, that they should have been decidedly disadvantaged, the one by sight, the other by strength. Who maketh, then, the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing or the blind? have not I the Lord? Thine, O God, is the allowing upon earth the melancholy assemblage of those who seem but fractions of men; but wise and good, though unsearchable and past finding out, are all Thy ways and all Thy permissions.
III. And there are two inferences which you should draw from the facts thus established, and which we would press with all earnestness on your attention.
1. You discern, first of all, the extreme sinfulness of looking slightingly or with contempt on those who are afflicted with any bodily defect or deformity. Ridicule in such case, however disguised and softened down, is ridicule of an appointment of God; and to despise in the least degree a man because he possesses not the full measure of senses and powers, is to revile the Creator, who alone ordered the abstraction.
2. If we are indebted to God for every sense and every faculty, are we not laid under a mighty obligation to present our bodies a living sacrifice to our Maker? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Gifts other than eloquence an element in leadership
Probably Moses stammered, as he said he was slow of speech; and was not fluent in speaking, notwithstanding all his learning. A man may be a philosopher, a statesman, may have a clear head and a strong will, a solid judgment and a great mind, and yet be destitute of any talent for speaking. It was the same with St. Paul (see 1Co 2:1-4; 2Co 10:10), who was so full of wisdom and zeal and love, but had no eloquence. (Prof. Gaussen.)
Inspiration better than education
Speaking of art-training, Mr. Ruskin says: Until a man has passed through a course of academy studentship, and can draw in an improved manner with French chalk, and knows foreshortening, and perspective, and something of anatomy, we do not think he can possibly be an artist. What is worse, we are very apt to think that we can make him an artist by teaching him anatomy, and how to draw with French chalk: whereas the real gift in him is utterly independent of all such accomplishments. So the highest powers of the teacher or preacher, the power of interpreting the Scriptures with spiritual insight, of moving the hearers to earnest worship and decision, may exist with or without the culture of the schools. Learned Pharisees are impotent failures compared with a rough fisherman Peter anointed with the Holy Ghost. Inspiration is more than education. (H. O. Mackey.)
Strength not always appropriate
Professor Tyndall states as a most remarkable fact, that the waves which have up to this time been most effectual in shaking asunder the atoms of compound molecules are those of least mechanical power. Billows, he instructively adds, are incompetent to produce effects which are easily produced by ripples. It is so with us. Often the greatest of us cannot do things that the smallest and weakest can. God sends power from on high to them, and it should be our prayer that God will endue us with power from on high that we may do His work, even though we be the weakest and humblest of His servants.
God can make use of poor material
The meek Moses lost sight of the fact that God does not of necessity require good material. The paper manufacturer is not nice in the choice of his materials. He does not, writes Arnot, reject a torn or filthy piece as unfit for his purpose. All come alike to him; for he knows what he can make of them. The filthy rags can be made serviceable. So God needed not a man highly endowed with mental gifts and intellectual energies, with commanding presence and persuasive eloquence. His providence and grace could prepare Moses for his mission.
Gods biddings are enablings
The missionary John Williams once said that there were two little words which were able to make the most lofty mountains melt: Try and Trust. Moses had yet to learn the use of these words. God taught him. The sailor has to be taught that he must not look on the dark and troubled waters, but at the clear blue heavens where shines the pole-star. Moses was gazing at the surging sea of Egyptian wrath, and God taught him to direct his gaze heavenward; then to try and trust, for greater is He that is with you than all that be against you. As an early Christian writer enjoins, let us not forget–as Moses did at first–that all Gods biddings are enablings, and that it is for us not to ask the reason but to obey.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. I am not eloquent] lo ish debarim, I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2, ish sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Ps 140:11, ish lashon, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Ac 7:22, that he was mighty in words as well as in deeds? There are three ways of solving this difficulty:
1. Moses might have had some natural infirmity, of a late standing, which at that time rendered it impossible for him to speak readily, and which he afterwards overcame; so that though he was not then a man of words, yet he might afterwards have been mighty in words as well as deeds.
2. It is possible he was not intimately acquainted with the Hebrew tongue, so as to speak clearly and distinctly in it. The first forty years of his life he had spent in Egypt, chiefly at court; and though it is very probable there was an affinity between the two languages, yet they certainly were not the same. The last forty he had spent in Midian, and it is not likely that the pure Hebrew tongue prevailed there, though it is probable that a dialect of it was there spoken. On these accounts Moses might find it difficult to express himself with that readiness and persuasive flow of language, which he might deem essentially necessary on such a momentous occasion; as he would frequently be obliged to consult his memory for proper expressions, which would necessarily produce frequent hesitation, and general slowness of utterance, which he might think would ill suit an ambassador of God.
3. Though Moses was slow of speech, yet when acting as the messenger of God his word was with power, for at his command the plagues came and the plagues were stayed; thus was he mighty in words as well as in deeds: and this is probably the meaning of St. Stephen.
By the expression, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, he might possibly mean that the natural inaptitude to speak readily, which he had felt, he continued to feel, even since God had begun to discover himself; for though he had wrought several miracles for him, yet he had not healed this infirmity. See Clarke on Ex 6:12.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I am not eloquent; not able to deliver thy message acceptably and decently, either to Pharaoh or to the Israelites. Since thy appearance to me, thou hast made some change in my hand, but none in my tongue, but still I am, as I was, most unfit for so high an employment. But indeed he was therefore fit for it, as the unlearned apostles were for the preaching of the gospel, that the honour of their glorious works might be entirely given to God, and not to the instruments which he used.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10-13. I am not eloquentIt issupposed that Moses labored under a natural defect of utterance orhad a difficulty in the free and fluent expression of his ideas inthe Egyptian language, which he had long disused. This new objectionwas also overruled, but still Moses, who foresaw the manifolddifficulties of the undertaking, was anxious to be freed from theresponsibility.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Moses said unto the Lord,…. Notwithstanding the above miracles, he seems unwilling to go on the Lord’s errand to Pharaoh and to the Israelites, and therefore invents a new objection after all his other objections had been sufficiently answered:
I am not eloquent; or “a man of words” s, that has words at command, that can speak well readily, and gracefully; such an one, he intimates, was proper to be sent to a king’s court, that was an orator, that could make fine speeches, and handsome addresses, for which he was not qualified:
neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant; neither in his younger years had he ever been an eloquent man, nor was there any alteration in him in that respect, since God had given him this call:
but I [am] slow of speech, and of a slow tongue; had some impediment in his speech, could not freely and easily bring out his words, or rightly pronounce them; so Lucian t the Heathen calls Moses slow tongued, or one slow of speech, and uses the same word the Septuagint does here, which version perhaps he had seen, and from thence took it.
s “vir verborum”, Paguinus, Montanus, Piscator, Ainsworth. t In Philopatride.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Moses raised another difficulty. “ I am not a man of words, ” he said (i.e., I do not possess the gift of speech), “ but am heavy in mouth and heavy in tongue ” (i.e., I find a difficulty in the use of mouth and tongue, not exactly “stammering”); and that “ both of yesterday and the day before ” (i.e., from the very first, Gen 31:2), “ and also since Thy speaking to Thy servant.” Moses meant to say, “I neither possess the gift of speech by nature, nor have I received it since Thou hast spoken to me.”
Exo 4:11-12 Jehovah both could and would provide for this defect. He had made man’s mouth, and He made dumb or deaf, seeing or blind. He possessed unlimited power over all the senses, could give them or take them away; and He would be with Moses’ mouth, and teach him what he was to say, i.e., impart to him the necessary qualification both as to matter and mode. – Moses’ difficulties were now all exhausted, and removed by the assurances of God. But this only brought to light the secret reason in his heart. He did not wish to undertake the divine mission.
Exo 4:13 “ Send, I pray Thee, ” he says, “ by whom Thou wilt send; ” i.e., carry out Thy mission by whomsoever Thou wilt. : to carry out a mission through any one, originally with accus. rei (1Sa 16:20; 2Sa 11:14), then without the object, as here, “to send a person” (cf. 2Sa 12:25; 1Ki 2:25). Before the word is omitted, which stands with in the construct state (vid., Ges. 123, 3). The anger of God was now excited by this groundless opposition. But as this unwillingness also arose from weakness of the flesh, the mercy of God came to the help of his weakness, and He referred Moses to his brother Aaron, who could speak well, and would address the people for him (Exo 4:14-17). Aaron is called , the Levite, from his lineage, possibly with reference to the primary signification of “to connect one’s self” ( Baumgarten), but not with any allusion to the future calling of the tribe of Levi ( Rashi and Calvin). speak will he. The inf. abs. gives emphasis to the verb, and the position of to the subject. He both can and will speak, if thou dost not know it.
Exo 4:14-17 And Aaron is quite ready to do so. He is already coming to meet thee, and is glad to see thee. The statement in Exo 4:27, where Jehovah directs Aaron to go and meet Moses, is not at variance with this. They can both be reconciled in the following simple manner: “As soon as Aaron heard that his brother had left Midian, he went to meet him of his own accord, and then God showed him by what road he must go to find him, viz., towards the desert” ( R. Mose ben Nachman). – “ Put the words ” (sc., which I have told thee) “ into his mouth; ” and I will support both thee and him in speaking. “ He will be mouth to thee, and thou shalt be God to him.” Cf. Exo 7:1, “Thy brother Aaron shall be thy prophet.” Aaron would stand in the same relation to Moses, as a prophet to God: the prophet only spoke what God inspired him with, and Moses should be the inspiring God to him. The Targum softens down the word “God” into “master, teacher.” Moses was called God, as being the possessor and medium of the divine word. As Luther explains it, “Whoever possesses and believes the word of God, possesses the Spirit and power of God, and also the divine wisdom, truth, heart, mind, and everything that belongs to God.” In Exo 4:17, the plural “ signs ” points to the penal wonders that followed; for only one of the three signs given to Moses was performed with the rod.
Exo 4:18 In consequence of this appearance of God, Moses took leave of his father-in-law to return to his brethren in Egypt, though without telling him the real object of his journey, no doubt because Jethro had not the mind to understand such a divine revelation, though he subsequently recognised the miracles that God wrought for Israel (Exo 18). By the “ brethren ” we are to understand not merely the nearer relatives of Moses, or the family of Amram, but the Israelites generally. Considering the oppression under which they were suffering at the time of Moses’ flight, the question might naturally arise, whether they were still living, and had not been altogether exterminated.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
10 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. 11 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? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. 13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
Moses still continues backward to the service for which God had designed him, even to a fault; for now we can no longer impute it to his humility and modesty, but must own that here was too much of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in it. Observe here,
I. How Moses endeavours to excuse himself from the work.
1. He pleads that he was no good spokesman: O my Lord! I am not eloquent, v. 10. He was a great philosopher, statesman, and divine, and yet no orator; a man of a clear head, great thought, and solid judgment, but had not a voluble tongue, or ready utterance, and therefore he thought himself unfit to speak before great men about great affairs, and in danger of being run down by the Egyptians. Observe, (1.) We must not judge of men by the readiness and fluency of their discourse. Moses was mighty in word (Acts vii. 22), and yet not eloquent: what he said was strong and nervous, and to the purpose, and distilled as the dew (Deut. xxxii. 2), though he did not deliver himself with that readiness, ease, and elegance, that some do, who have not the tenth part of his sense. St. Paul’s speech was contemptible, 2 Cor. x. 10. A great deal of wisdom and true worth is concealed by a slow tongue. (2.) God is pleased sometimes to make choice of those as his messengers who have fewest of the advantages of art or nature, that his grace in them may appear the more glorious. Christ’s disciples were no orators, till the Spirit made them such.
2. When this plea was overruled, and all his excuses were answered, he begged that God would send somebody else on this errand and leave him to keep sheep in Midian (v. 13): “Send by any hand but mine; thou canst certainly find one much more fit.” Note, An unwilling mind will take up with a sorry excuse rather than none, and is willing to devolve those services upon others that have any thing of difficulty or danger in them.
II. How God condescends to answer all his excuses. Though the anger of the Lord was kindled against him (v. 14), yet he continued to reason with him, till he had overcome him. Note, Even self-diffidence, when it grows into an extreme–when it either hinders us from duty or clogs us in duty, or when it discourages our dependence upon the grace of God–is very displeasing to him. God justly resents our backwardness to serve him, and has reason to take it ill; for he is such a benefactor as is before-hand with us, and such a rewarder as will not be behind-hand with us. Note further, God is justly displeased with those whom yet he does not reject: he vouchsafes to reason the case even with his froward children, and overcomes them, as he did Moses here, with grace and kindness.
1. To balance the weakness of Moses, he here reminds him of his own power, v. 11. (1.) His power in that concerning which Moses made the objection: Who has made man’s mouth? Have not I the Lord? Moses knew that God made man, but he must be reminded now that God made man’s mouth. An eye to God as Creator would help us over a great many of the difficulties which lie in the way of our duty, Ps. cxxiv. 8. God, as the author of nature, has given us the power and faculty of speaking; and from him, as the fountain of gifts and graces, comes the faculty of speaking well, the mouth and wisdom (Luke xxi. 15), the tongue of the learned (Isa. l. 4); he pours grace into the lips, Ps. xlv. 2. (2.) His power in general over the other faculties. Who but God makes the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? [1.] The perfections of our faculties are his work, he makes the seeing; he formed the eye (Ps. xciv. 9); he opens the understanding, the eye of the mind, Luke xxiv. 45. [2.] Their imperfections are from him too; he make the dumb, and deaf, and blind. Is there any evil of this kind, and the Lord has not done it? No doubt he has, and always in wisdom and righteousness, and for his own glory, John ix. 3. Pharaoh and the Egyptians were made deaf and blind spiritually, as Isa 6:9; Isa 6:10. But God knew how to manage them, and get himself honour upon them.
2. To encourage him in this great undertaking, he repeats the promise of his presence, not only in general, I will be with thee (ch. iii. 12), but in particular, “I will be with thy mouth, so that the imperfection in thy speech shall be no prejudice to thy message.” It does not appear that God did immediately remove the infirmity, whatever it was; but he did that which was equivalent, he taught him what to say, and then let the matter recommend itself: if others spoke more gracefully, none spoke more powerfully. Note, Those whom God employs to speak for him ought to depend upon him for instructions, and it shall be given them what they shall speak, Matt. x. 19.
3. He joins Aaron in commission with him. He promises that Aaron shall meet him opportunely, and that he will be glad to see him, they having not seen one another (it is likely) for many years, v. 14. He directs him to make use of Aaron as his spokesman, v. 16. God might have laid Moses wholly aside, for his backwardness to be employed; but he considered his frame, and ordered him an assistant. Observe, (1.) Two are better than one, Eccl. iv. 9. God will have his two witnesses (Rev. xi. 3), that out of their mouths every word may be established. (2.) Aaron was the brother of Moses, divine wisdom so ordering it, that their natural affection one to another might strengthen their union in the joint execution of their commission. Christ sent his disciples two and two, and some of the couples were brothers. (3.) Aaron was the elder brother, and yet he was willing to be employed under Moses in this affair, because God would have it so. (4.) Aaron could speak well, and yet was far inferior to Moses in wisdom. God dispenses his gifts variously to the children of men, that we may see our need one of another, and each may contribute something to the good of the body, 1 Cor. xii. 21. The tongue of Aaron, with the head and heart of Moses, would make one completely fit for this embassy. (5.) God promises, I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth. Even Aaron, that could speak well, yet could not speak to purpose unless God was with his mouth; without the constant aids of divine grace the best gifts will fail.
4. He bids him take the rod with him in his hand (v. 17), to intimate that he must bring about his undertaking rather by acting than by speaking; the signs he should work with this rod might abundantly supply the want of eloquence; one miracle would do him better service than all the rhetoric in the world. Take this rod, the rod he carried as a shepherd, that he might not be ashamed of that mean condition out of which God called him. This rod must be his staff of authority, and must be to him in stead both of sword and sceptre.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 10-17:
Moses continued to offer excuses that he could not do the job God had called him to do. God had disposed of his first objection, that the people of Israel would not believe him. Now he offers the excuse of his own personal limitations.
“I am not eloquent,” literally, “I am not a man of words.” This is a flimsy excuse, especially in view of Moses’ response to God’s voice in this instance.
“Of a slow tongue” implies some type of speech impediment. Jewish tradition says that Moses had difficulty in pronouncing the labial sounds (b, v, m, ph, p).
God’s response: He was fully aware of Moses’ physical limitations. After all, He is the One who made Moses as he was!
This is a reminder that man’s greatest usefulness to God comes from his personal limitations. It matters not if one is blind, mute, deaf, crippled, or has some other handicap: God can use all such to accomplish His will – if one will place himself at God’s disposal. God is not looking so much for ability, as for availability.
Verse 11 is a statement of God’s purpose in grace. It is a powerful indictment of those who argue for abortion in cases where the “quality of life” may not meet man’s own standards.
Verse 13 indicates Moses’ grudging acquiescence to God’s call. This provoked God’s anger. Moses’ attitude limited his potential. God took from Moses a part of the work – and blessing – he was to do, and gave it to his brother. Aaron would become his official spokesman. Moses would tell Aaron what God had said, and Aaron would relay this to the people. The irony of this is that if God could make Aaron understand what Moses had to say, He certainly could make the rest of the people understand it!
The rod which had become a snake was to be a badge, symbolic of the Divine authority bestowed upon Moses.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. O my Lord. Moses catches at every word of escape, so as to force himself from the task imposed on him, not that he desires to refuse the command, but because he trembles at its importance. It is this distrust of his own powers which makes him so hesitating and timid. The remedy was obvious, that he should assure himself, since he well knew that he was undertaking nothing rashly, that God, whose command he obeyed, would supply him with ample strength. In this, then, lay the fault, that he did not cast all his cares on God, and, setting aside his own weakness, hope against hope, like Abraham, who
“
considered not his own body now dead; neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; being fully persuaded that what God had promised, he was able also to perform.” (Rom 4:18.)
It was an act of modesty in him to reflect on the defect which he mentioned, if he had but asked for succor from God; but when he proceeds further, and requests to be altogether discharged, he does an injustice to God, as if He would lay a greater burden on His servants than they could bear, or would give any inconsiderate command. This over-anxious caution is, therefore, deservedly condemned, although it may have some admixture of virtue; because whatever difficulty we encounter, this ought to be a sufficient encouragement to us, that as often as God chooses men as His ministers, although they are in themselves good for nothing, He forms and prepares them for their work. It is, indeed, lawful to fear in perplexities, provided that our anxiety overcomes not the desire to obey; but whatever God enjoins it is never right to refuse on any pretext. Moreover, we see that the instruments which seem but little suitable are especially employed by Him, in order that His power may more fully appear. He might, if He had chosen to use Moses as His ambassador, have made him eloquent from the womb; or, at least, when He sends him to his work, have corrected his stammering tongue. It seems a mockery, then, to give a commission of speaking to a stammerer; but in this way, (as I have said,) He causes His glory to shine forth more brightly, proving that He can do all things without extrinsic aid. Interpreters vary as to the meaning of the words. Some think that the clause “since thou hast spoken to thy servant” is added in amplification, as if the tongue of Moses began to be more slow than ever since the vision had appeared; but since the particle גם, (52) gam, is thrice repeated, I interpret it simply, that Moses had never been eloquent from his infancy, and that he was not now endued with any new eloquence.
(52) גם, properly also Here rendered since in A V. ; the margin of which exhibits, otherwise, the Hebrew idiom with exactness. — W
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 4:10-14
THE OBJECTIONS MADE TO RELIGIOUS SERVICE
I. These objections were made after God had given him a full insight into the nature of the service required.
1. The insight given to Moses was infallible. It had been Divinely imparted. God had appeared to him in the burning bush, had informed him of the bitter servitude of Israel, and of His intention to achieve their freedom through his instrumentality. Moses could not be mistaken in all this. His observation and hearing had not been deceived. He could retrace his own mental and moral experience occasioned by the phenomenon. Nor was the burning bush the only token that he had received, but he had also long communion with God. The Divine name, in all its significance and grandeur was unfolded to the vision of his soul. And the sacred presence before which he stood, had made him feel that his mission to Israel was a solemn reality, requiring all the energy and devotion of his nature. Thus, had an insight into the naturerequirementssuccessand method of his work been Divinely and infallibly communicated to him. And good people in these days have an equally infallible insight into the religious service that is required of them. It is found in the Bible. It is given in the life of Christ. It is seen in the moral want of humanity. They learn it not from the burning bramble-bush, not from the audible voice of God, not from the miraculous turning of rods into serpents, but in hours of quiet communion with the Infinite; in times of severe grief the soul is infallibly taught the meaning of these great calls to service.
2. The insight given into the nature of this service was forceful. What could have been more sublime, more instructive, more impressive, and consequently more calculated to command attention and obedience, than a service made known by such a grand display of heavenly glory, of the Divine name, and of the Divine power. This was designed to lend moral force to the duty made known to the desert shepherd. And so in these days our calls to spiritual service come to us full of heavenly meaning and grandeur. They gather emphasis from our lonely and dependent condition, from the fact that they come from God, from the fact that they plead the cross of Christ as a claim upon our obedience, from the fact that all the motives of the Bible are on their side, and from the fact that there is given a Divine inspiration to enable us to perform them. Every enlightened conscience knows the forcefulness of these Divine appeals. Let us not be found disobedient to duty so impressively made known, so solemnly required, and so awful in its possibility of eternal retribution.
3. The insight given into the nature of this service was sympathetic. God did not merely tell Moses of the work he had to perform in relation to the freedom of Israel, and then withdraw Himself from the vision of the bewildered shepherd, but remained for a length of time in conversation with him, answering questions, dispelling doubts, removing difficulties, giving a new revelation of the Supreme life, and finally delegating to him the Divine power. Hence the Divine Being manifested the truest sympathy, the sympathy of friendly intercourse and help, with Moses in his very arduous undertaking. Certainly I will be with thee,nothing could have been more sympathetic than this. And so, to-day, good men have given to them a sympathetic insight into the service that is required of them. God bears with their moral weakness. Answers their objection. Forewarns them of difficulty. Inspires them with bright hopes. Announces Himself as their unerring Friend and Guide.
II. These objections frequently arise from an undue consciousness of self.
1. From a consciousness of natural infirmity. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, etc. Moses has now narrowed the mission to himself and his own ability for it, leaving altogether out of calculation his heavenly preparation, and the Divine promise of help. And here is the weakness of an undue consciousness of self, in that it tends to put God out of our service. Unaided human ability cannot achieve the service of God. If Moses had been eloquent he could not have accomplished the freedom of Israel without the Divine aid. In undertaking moral service, men must not think too much about their own physical, mental, or moral capabilities, but mainly of Him who has called them to the work. He can make provision for all their defects. It is quite true that many good people have a natural hindrance to religious workthey are slow of speechthey find it difficult to pray in a prayer meetingor to undertake any duty requiring publicitybut this does not place them outside the range of service. God sometimes calls such to achieve the freedom of the slave. It ought to inspire within them a more thorough determination to rely on Divine help. Silence is often more eloquent and valuable than speech.
2. From a supposition of moral incapacity. Moses did not think himself capable of securing the freedom of a vast nation like Israel, a nation of such historic grandeur, and of such holy moral relationships and covenant, hence distrustful of self, he cried; Who am I? And this feeling of incapacity is frequently shared by good men when they are called to the performance of religious service. And apart from the Divine call, preparation, and help, all men are totally unfit for such work, but the vision of heaven and the revelation of God are calculated to lift them above their natural infirmities, to place them on a level with their duty, and enable them to rise superior to difficulty. The call of God is calculated to educate all the sublime tendencies of the soul, and render men fit for heroic toil.
3. That rather than self, God must be the supreme idea of the soul when about to enter upon religious service. At such times the good man must forget his natural infirmity for service in the all-absorbing thought of the Divine love, companionship, and power. His soul must rest in the arms of the Infinite, and catching the smile of the Divine face, it will ever be cheered, and inspired for duty, and in the happiness of such an experience, all painful thoughts of self will be excluded from the mind. The Christian service of men in these days retains too feebly the thought of God, hence its unrest, its inefficiency. Our hearts should be a temple in which every act of service should be rendered to the Infinite.
III. These objections do not sufficiently regard the efficiency of the Divine help that is promised in the service. Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
1. The Divine help is adapted to our natural infirmity. God promised to aid the speech of Moses. And so it is now. God always meets men, in the performance of their religious service, at the point of their weakness. The natural powers of men are used in the missions of God. The Divine plan is to strengthen them if weak; to guide them if strong. If our natural infirmity is diffidence, God will give us courage. He sends power and help to men in that department of soul where it is most needed. It is far better to have God joined to our infirmity, than to have the eloquent tongue without Him. Thus there are times when an infirmity may be of inestimable advantage to a Christian worker.
2. The Divine help is adapted to our full requirement. God did not merely promise to aid the speech of Moses, but also to teach him what he should say. So in the Christian service of to-day, good men are not merely aided in the line of their natural infirmity, but also to the extent of their requirement. See the variety of the Divine help given to Moses: the vision of the bush; the revelation of the great Name; an insight into the success of his mission; the miracle. Thus, not merely was he aided in speech, but in all the need of his soul. A grand encouragement for Christian workers to-day. God is with us to the full extent of our want.
IV. These objections are a reflection on the propriety of the Divine selection for the service. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made mans mouth, etc.
1. This method of conduct is ungrateful. Instead of mentioning this one natural infirmity, Moses ought to have been thankful that he had so many aids to the work required of him. Was the impediment of speech more to him than the vision, revelation, and miracles with which he had been favoured? Certainly not. Hence his ingratitude. Moses has many imitators to-day. Men are called to religious service. But instead of reviewing their favourable circumstances, the holy qualifications that have been imparted to their souls, they fix their attention upon one drawback unto they complain and become discontented. What ingratitude!
2. This method of conduct is irreverent. Moses ought to have remembered that he was in converse with God, that he was commanded by God to this work. This ought to have subdued his mind. It ought to have silenced objection. He is not now paying sufficient deference to the Divine presence. So, good men should ever remember that it is God who calls them to service, and that therefore they must merge all their natural reasonings into a faithful compliance with His will. We must be more reverent in our service-relations with Heaven.
V. These objections do not sufficiently recognise the dignity and honour which the service will command.
1. There was the honour of achieving the freedom of a vast nation.
2. There was the honour of conquering a tyrant king.
3. There was the honour of becoming the Lawgiver of the world. All religious service is honourable, and this is especially shewn in the history of Moses. It elevated him from the sheepfold to the throne. Instead of the crook it gave him the sceptre. And many a man, whose name is known to fame and history, has gained eminence through co-operation with the providence of God, and undertaking a work for the moral good of men. If men did but realise the dignity of religious service, they would never be deterred from it by their own natural infirmities.
VI. These objections are liable to awaken the Divine displeasure. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.
1. This anger may be manifested in our removal from service.
2. This anger may be manifested by the positive infliction of penalty.
3. This anger may occasion our moral ruin. It is dangerous to trifle or contend with the Divine call to religious duty. There is a point beyond which God will not permit a human soul to do so. Our prompt obedience will be the most welcome to heaven, the most effective in service, and the most kindly to others, whom our disobedience might have called into perilous prominence. Aaron. LEARN:
1. Good men ought to know better than to object to the service of God.
2. That in the service of God, men find the highest reward.
3. That in the service of God, men attaineth divinest immortality.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 4:10.
1. Some suppose that Moses being astonished with Gods glory, since his beginning to talk with Him, which they gather was three days, one after another, was thus disabled in the use of his tongue, and though eloquent before, yet now in this Divine mission he seemed a child unto himself, and unable to speak to men. (Philo, Origin, Gregory). But this supposition is plainly against the meaning of the text, which is as if Moses had said, I have not only wanted eloquence heretofore, but ever since thou has spoken to me. I have not found this faultamended. And if he had only at this time been taken with a lack of words. there would have been no need for the oratorical help of Aaron afterwards.
2. Some imagine that Moses had been a shepherd so long that he had, to a large extent, lost the power of words.
3. Some imagine that Moses meant his inability to speak to Pharoah in the Egyptian tongue.
4. Some imagine that Moses had a natural impediment in his speech.
5. Probably Moses found a difficulty in readily e pressing his thoughts. He was slow of speech. And such an instrument did God choose for his own greater glory; and thus doth Moses write of himself, laying open his imperfections, and backwardness in obeying Gods calling in humility; whereby we must also learn to lay open and confess our own faults, that they may be forgiven unto us out of Gods mercy [Mayer].
Moses had not that first, second, or third of an orator, elocution, or pronounciation. And yet God made choice of him rather than eloquent Aaron to pray (Exo. 17:12). Not gifts but graces prevail in prayer [Trapp].
Moses still continues backward to the service God had designed him for; we can no longer impute it to humility and modesty, but must own that there was too much of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in it. Moses pleads that he was no orator. He was a man of clear head, great thought, and solid judgment, but had not a voluble tongue, or ready utterance. We must not judge of men by the readiness and fluency of their discourse. What he said distilled as the dew. Christs disciples were no orators, till the spirit made them such [Henry and Scott].
God does not always make it appear that he hath furnished men for services till they are actually called to engage in them, but we may depend upon Him to qualify us for whatever He commands us to do. All knowledge, wisdom, and utterance, with every good gift, are derived from Him; but many endowments are supposed needful or useful in the public service of God and His Church, which He pours contempt upon, as mere tinsel, worthless, if not pernicious. Such are all the studied and affected arts of human cratory, which the great apostle would not condescend to employ, that the faith of the people should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God [Scott].
Let a man look unto himself, and measure his work by himself, and the movement of his life will be downward and exhaustive. Let him look away from himself to the Inspirer of his life, and the Divine reward of his labours, and he will not so much as see the difficulties which may stand ever so thickly in his way [City Temple].
Infirmity of faith maketh those called by God to object to the service He commands of them.
Miracles sometimes will not silence such objections of doubting souls.
Unwilling souls for Gods work are apt to plead real infirmities for excuse.
Weakness of faith will urge against Gods call, not only self-insufficiency, but also the lack of Divine supply in the direction of infirmity.
Infirmity in speech may be an argument to men against the work of God, but it is not to God Himself.
ELOQUENCE
I. I am not eloquent. Then true eloquence may have its use:
1. To explain Divine Truth.
2. To inspire men with the thought of freedom.
3. To manifest the perfection of the gift of speech.
II. I am not eloquent. Then do not condemn men who are. Some people are in the habit of condemning in others what they do not find in themselves. Many public speakers denounce their eloquent compeers for the simple reason that they are not so gifted themselves.
III. I am not eloquent. Then do not envy those who are acknowledged to be so. Nature has unequally distributed her gifts. She has given the thinking power to one, the speaking power to another. If we have not eloquence we have some other equally valuable talent in its place. Let us therefore be thankful, not envious.
IV. I am not eloquent. Then the Lord can use a feeble instrumentality. We should have antecedently imagined that God would have selected Aaron for the work of Israels freedom. But not so. God can send a great message by a man of slow tongue. This will enhance the Divine glory.
V. I am not eloquent. Then words are not the chief conditions of service. In the service of the good, ideasthoughtsemotionsand moral influences occupy a more prominent place than mere words.
VI. I am not eloquent. Then do not grumble, but seek the Divine aid in your infirmity. If the time spent in lamenting our natural infirmities was only occupied in prayer to God for help in our work, and for his blessing thereon, the world would soon be emancipated from the bondage of sin.
SLOWNESS OF SPEECH
But I am slow of speech.
I. An Infirmity.
II. A Discretion.
III. A Discipline.
Exo. 4:11. The Hebrews, in giving a reason why the Lord speaketh of His making dumb, and deaf, and blind, as well as giving a mouth to speak, say, that these things were spoken in allusion to His past operations with Moses; because, when he had slain the Egyptian that wronged the Hebrew, and was by Pharaoh therefore committed to the gaoler, the gaoler was immediately smitten with blindness, and so Moses had opportunity to escape from him, and the King, seeing that he fled, was stricken dumb, so that he could not speak nor make any sign to have him apprehended again. But whether this is true or not, it is certain that God can thus in judgment smite whom it pleaseth Him, as He did the Sodomites with blindness [Mayer].
To balance the weakness of Moses, God here reminds him of his own power. To encourage him in this great undertaking. He repeats the promise of His presence, not only in general, but in particular [Henry and Scott].
By this appeal to Moses respecting the origin of the human faculties, God would have him to infer, that he who bestowed them upon the first man, could, with infinite ease, endow him with those which were lacking, and remedy those which were imperfect [Bush].
How sublime is the rebuke of God! Cannot the Maker of mans mouth touch with eloquence the lips which He has fashioned? What is human eloquence but the expression of Divine music? Pedantic, rhetoricians may fashion rules of their own for the refinement of human speech; but he who waits diligently upon God, and whose purpose is to know the will of God, that he may speak it to menwill be entrusted with an eloquence rhythmic as the sea and startling as the thunder. Rhetoric is the gift of God. Eloquence is not a merely human attainment. The secret of convincing and persuasive speech is put into the hearts of those who forget themselves in the homage of God and truth [City Temple].
Jehovah indulgeth his weak servants to object, that he may multiply satisfaction to their doubts.
God teacheth and checketh his servants sometimes by questioning with them.
Mans mouth is from God, and so ought the use of it to be.
Defects of speech and senses are incident to some amongst men.
THE DIVINE CREATORSHIP
I. Should silence the voice of complaint under natural infirmities.
II. Should become an argument for the ready performance of any mission on which we may be divinely sent.
III. Should lead us reverently to acknowledge the Sovereignity of God in the varied allotments of life.
NATURAL INFIRMITIES IN RELATION TO MORAL SERVICE
I. That God does not always see fit to remove natural infirmities from those who are commissioned to important service:
1. They keep us humble.
2. They remind us of God.
3. They prompt us to prayer.
II. That God renders natural impediments effective to the clear manifestation of His power and glory:
1. Should win our submission.
2. Should gain our confidence.
3. Should inspire our praise.
III. That God so far compassionates our natural infirmities as to relieve them by congenial and efficient help:
1. Fraternal.
2. Adapted to need.
3. Constant.
Exo. 4:12. There is no mouth into which God cannot put his words. Balaams ass was enabled by God to convince his master [Trapp].
Gods injunction of duty justly follows his satisfaction to doubts.
God utters successive injunctions to duty, even though men try to withdraw from them.
Gods promise of presence and influence aids his injunctions, and renders them more welcome to his servants.
A mouth divinely instructed, is mighty in the word of wisdom.
I. The Divine Commission.
II. The Divine Companionship.
III. The Divine Instruction.
Exo. 4:13. Does not this hold up to us a faithful mirror, in which we can see our hearts reflected? Truly it does. We are more ready to trust anything than the living God. We move along, with bold decision, when we possess the countenance and support of a poor frail mortal like ourselves; but we falter, hesitate, and demur, when we have the light of the masters countenance to cheer us, and the strength of His omnipotent arm to support us [C. H. M.]
Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
1. Some think that Moses meant his brother Aaron, who was older, and of more eloquent speech; but no mention had yet been made of Aaron, whom Moses knew not to be alive till the Lord told him. (Exo. 4:18).
2. Some think that Joshua was meant, whom God revealed to Moses as the Leader of Israel into the Land of Promise. This would make Moses appear somewhat envious of Joshua.
3. The majority of the ancient writers think that Moses here speaks of the Messiah.
4. The meaning of Moses is, that whereas God might find out many more fit than himself, He would send by their hand, whoever they might be.
Unbelief has still something to oppose against Gods call and promise.
A weak faith is ever willing to avoid the difficulty of work.
Infirm believers are willing to put off Gods work to any from themselves.
The weak in faith would yet have them to be of Gods sending that shall be employed for the freedom of the Church.
AN EVASION OF SPIRITUAL WORK
I. He recognised the necessity that the work should be accomplished. Moses did not cast a doubt upon the need, utility of the mission given to him; yea, he virtually acknowledged that it was worthy of more able instrumentality. Like many to-day. They acknowledge that certain work in connection with the Church ought to be done. But that is all.
II. He manifested a disposition to shrink from achieving the work himself. There are hundreds in our churches who acknowledge the need of certain religious enterprise, but they do nothing to it themselves.
III. He expressed a desire that some other person should be called to, and entrusted with, the work. This course is often pursued by people. The very enterprise that they refuse to undertake themselves, they propose should be carried out by another. They hope thus to relieve themselves of its difficulty.
IV. He was in danger of losing the honour of the work to which he was called. God might have refused to send Moses after all this indolence and unbelief. People do not know the moral good and honour they miss by refusing the work of the Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Exo. 4:10-14.
(1)Hesitation!A youth erasing a narrow tree-trunk bridge kept looking at the gorge below, down which foamed and thundered the mountain cataract. His conductor saw that he was turning giddy and faltering: whereupon he counselled him to fasten his eye on the lovely scenery in the front. A boy climbing the ladder of ropes leading to the top mast began to tremble as he looked down at the deck and yawning waters, which, when his father noticed, he endeavoured to prevent by shouting: Look up! Moses hesitated; therefore God tells him two things:
1. To look up to Him: and
2. To look at the holy land whither He would bring His people from Egypt
With eyes turned upward, whence her help descends,
She waits expecting till the tempest ends.
Holmes.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(2)Worthlessness.The meek Moses lost sight of the fact that God does not of necessity require good material. The paper manufacturer is not nice in the choice of his materials. He does not, writes Arnot, reject a torn or filthy piece as unfit for his purpose. All come alike to him; for he knows what he can make of them. The filthy rags can be made serviceable. So God needed not a man highly endowed with mental gifts and intellectual energies, with commanding presence and persuasive eloquence. His providence and grace could prepare Moses for his mission. Yet
No mortal eye the manner sees,
The imperceptible degrees,
By which our Lord conducts His plan,
And brings us to a perfect man.
Wesley.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(3)Try and Trust!The missionary John Williams once said that there were two little words which were able to make the most lofty mountains melt: Try and Trust. Moses had yet to learn the use of these words. God taught him. The sailor has to be taught that he must not look on the dark and troubled waters, but at the clear blue heavens where shines the pole-star. Moses was gazing at the surging sea of Egyptian wrath, and God taught him to direct his gaze heaven-ward. then to try and trust, for greater is He that is with you than all that be against you. As an early Christian writer enjoins, let us not forgetas Moses did at first-that all Gods biddings are enablings, and that it is for us not to ask the reason but to obey. As Luther said, I would rather obey than work miracles.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(4)Success!Moses was looking at himself, not at God, who was issuing the commands, and therefore was responsible for its fulfilment. With the issue Moses, had nothing to dowith the execution very much. Certain officers, says Dr. Scudder. once spoke in the presence of the Duke of Wellington of the missionary enterprise as though there could be no rational prospect of its success. The old iron Duke replied by asking them what they had to do when the commander-in-chief issued marching orders? On receiving their ready response, To march, he quickly enquired for a Bible. Opening it, he told them that the marching orders of the chief of the missionary army were: Go ye into all the world and preach. He added, Your duty is to march and fight. The responsibility of success lies with the commander, not with you. If you do not march I shoot you
Let me to Thy wisdom leave
When and what thou are to give:
All Thy works to Thee are known,
Let Thy blessed will be done.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(5)Disinclination!When Palamedes came to Ithaca to invite Ulysses to join in the expedition against Troy, the latter, unwilling to engage in the undertaking, betook himself to ploughing the sand, as an evidence of insanity, and consequent unfitness. Moses pretended unfitness to excuse himself from the duty to which God was calling him, but upon the discharge of which he was very unwilling to enter:
Be not too fast, be not too slow;
Be not too early, not too late;
Go, where His orders bid thee go;
Wait, when His orders bid thee wait.
Upham.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(6)Gifts and Graces!The meanest grace is above the highest intellectual gifts, as the smile of a sunbeam is more powerful to chase away the grim and sour darkness of the night than the sparkling of a million diamonds. As Beecher says, mere eloquence is like the light of shavings, which burn with a sudden flash, blazing for an instant, and then going out without leaving either coals or beat behind. It is like the harp which, while the wind touched its chords, discoursed harmonious strains; but music and breeze died away together. Mans eloquence is mighty, but it is transient.
Could I command with voice or pen
The tongue of angels and of men,
A tinkling cymbal, sounding brass,
My speech and preaching would surpass;
Vain were such eloquence to me
Without the grace of charity.
Montgomery.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(7)Divine Help!Changes take place above and around the fortress; but its massive buttresses still stand unmoved, and its battlements frown defiance at the strength of the foe. Certainly I will be with thee. The clouds above are fleeting past, it may be in pall-like gloom The leaves are budding or fading according to their seasons upon the earth. There, however, stands the Rock of Ages, upon which is rooted the Fortunes of Truth and Faithfulness:
And truth shall live for ever,
And through endless ages give
Her blessings to the sainted,
And fail them nevernever.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(8)Work!Moses was evidently at ease, and disliked action. Evidently his mind was in a dangerous condition, for, as Cecil says, a man who gets into the habit of enquiring about proprieties and expediencies, and occasions, often spends his life without doing anything to purpose. The state of the world is such, and so much depends upon action, that everything seems to say loudly to every man: Do somethingdo it. Moses was well nigh forgetting all about Egypt in his quiet and happy home in Midian:
Offer thy light on the altar;
In the high purpose be strong:
And if the tired spirit should falter,
Then sweeten thy labour with song.
Punshon.
Exo. 4:10-14.
(9)Duty!Duty is first; pleasure comes second. God first; then self. His glory; then our own ease. The welfare of Israels host before the comfort of the shepherd Moses. When Pompeius Magnus prepared and freighted a ship with provisions for beleagured Rome, his friends endeavoured, with persistent importunity, to dissuade him from so doing. With great vehemence he responded: It is necessary that I should go, not that I should live. Moses needed not to be concerned about his own safety, so long as the freedom of Israel was accomplished.
Away, then, causeless doubts and fears,
That weaken and enthral;
Wipe off, my soul, thy faithless tears,
And rise to dutys call.
Lyte.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(10) I am not eloquent.Heb., No man of words am I. Moses, still reluctant, raises a new objection. He is not gifted with facility of speech. Words do not. come readily to him; perhaps, when they come, he has a difficulty in uttering them. According to a Jewish tradition, he was unable to pronounce the labials, b, f, m, p, v. According to his own expressions at the end of the verse, he was heavy or slow of speech, and heavy or slow of tongue.
Neither heretofore.Heb., neither yesterday, nor the day before. It is a Hebrew idiom to make these words cover past time generally. (See below, Exo. 5:7-8; Exo. 5:14; and comp. Gen. 31:2; Gen. 31:5, and 2Sa. 3:17.)
Nor since thou hast spoken.Converse with God had not cured his defect of utterance, whatever it was. He remained slow of speech and slow of tongueunready, i.e., and hesitating.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
MOSES HESITATES AND IS REBUKED, Exo 4:10-17.
10-12. I am not eloquent Literally, not a man of words .
Slow of speech Rather, heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue . Moses declares that he is no orator, has not the gift of persuasion, and therefore he has not confidence that he can convince Israel of his mission . So Paul tells us that his bodily presence was weak, and his speech contemptible; but where are weighty and immortal words to be found if they fell not from Paul and Moses? Moses, like Paul, felt weak when he measured himself with his work. He did not yet realize how God’s strength is made perfect in such weakness. It would also seem that Moses was not fluent, like Aaron his brother; and, perhaps, from his long separation from his brethren, he had to some degree lost command of his native language. This would naturally make him diffident in undertaking a popular appeal. He may have been conscious, too, that in his forty years’ exile from Egyptian civilization his tongue and manners had caught a desert rudeness, which poorly fitted him to appear in the courts of the Pharaohs. Here, for the first time, prophetic inspiration is promised to man. Henceforth in the whole subsequent history of the Church we see this endowment of the Holy Ghost. So the lips of the shrinking Isaiah were touched with a “live coal” from the heavenly altar. Isaiah 6. So Jehovah laid his hand on the mouth of the wavering Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1. So it was given to the uncultured Apostle to speak boldly before rulers and peoples: and so God’s Spirit has ever been a fire in the words of his genuine messengers. Moses was learned enough to know the vanity of learning, and had now become wise enough to see the folly of wisdom, so that he was just the instrument for God’s hand.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Moses Continues His Resistance And Yahweh Becomes Angry ( Exo 4:10-17 ).
Moses is naturally appalled at the hugeness of the responsibility that Yahweh is seeking to place on him and desperately tries to avoid taking it on. But Yahweh has prepared him precisely for this and is adamant, and in the end even angry..
a Moses protests that he is not capable for the task in hand because he is not eloquent (Exo 4:10).
b Yahweh replies that it is He who has made man’s mouth and Who makes man dumb (and otherwise) (Exo 4:11).
c He commands Moses to go and promises that He will be with his mouth and teach him what to speak (Exo 4:12).
d Moses indirectly asks Him to use someone else (he is not rejoicing) (Exo 4:13).
d Yahweh is angry and points out that Aaron the Levite is coming to meet him and will rejoice to see him (Exo 4:14).
c Moses is to put words in his mouth, and Yahweh will be with both their mouths and will teach him what to do (Exo 4:15).
b Aaron will be to Moses a mouth and Moses will be to him as God (Exo 4:16).
a He must take his staff in his hand with which he will do the signs (Exo 4:17).
The parallel in ‘a’ suggest that although he is not eloquent the signs will do the talking. In ‘b’ the one Who has made man’s mouth in the parallel provides Moses with a mouth. In ‘c’ Yahweh’s promise made will be fulfilled in the parallel by Him being with both their mouths, but Moses will be in charge. In ‘d’ Yahweh is upset at his intransigence but points out that He has already made provision for it.
Exo 4:10-12
‘And Moses said to Yahweh, “Oh Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before or since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and do not have a ready tongue (am of slow tongue).” And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes dumb, or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
Moses continued to seek to avoid his unwelcome assignment. This time he argued that he was no good at refined conversation. In those days eloquence was looked on as vital in diplomacy, and requests, submissions and arguments were seen as needing to be couched in flowery language. Thus Moses felt that he was not suitable. Through living with the Midianites he felt that he had long since lost any ability he had to be flowery in his speech like a diplomat. He was now a rough and ready tribesman. And he knew that meeting Yahweh had not improved the situation.
Yahweh’s reply was to point to Who was behind Moses. Does he not recognise that He is the One controls all man’s functions? He could therefore enable Moses and show him what to say. But Moses was still reluctant. He was too aware of his inability in that field, and besides, he did not like the whole idea. His next words make that clear.
Exo 4:13
‘And he said, “Oh Lord, send, I pray you, by the hand of him whom you will send.”
In view of the response this clearly indicated a polite refusal. His plea is that Yahweh must choose someone else. (Moses was eloquent enough here). He may choose whom He would, but not Moses.
Exo 4:14-15
‘And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and he said, “Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes out to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. And you will 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.” ’
This description is in human terms. God’s ‘anger’ is the divine response to disobedience, unwillingness and lack of faith, not a sign of lack of control. It depicts His condemnation of and aversion to sin. (There is no ready human word for it, for it is outside our experience). But His response was measured and compassionate. He pointed out that Aaron, Moses’ brother, was eloquent. He was already bringing him out to meet Moses and then he could act as his spokesman. But Moses must take final responsibility. It was Moses who was God’s chosen spokesman. It should be noted that God had already anticipated Moses’ reaction and had graciously made provision for it. He is not unaware of the weakness of His servants. His anger contains within it understanding.
’
The Levite.’ This is the first use of the term. ‘The sons of Levi’ are becoming ‘the Levites’, personal relationship is becoming tribal relationship. Aaron, like Moses, was descended from Levi, and the comment may probably not be intended to illuminate Moses so much as the reader, as a reminder that both Moses and Aaron are of the tribe of Levi. (In Exo 6:16-19 the term ‘the Levites’ is clearly equated with ‘the sons of Levi’ and is not otherwise obviously technical). Or it may here also indicate that Aaron was the head of the tribe of Levi, or an outstanding person within it.
It has been asked whether God would need to tell Moses that Aaron was a Levite if it just meant that he was descended from Levi, but then we could ask, would he need to tell him that he was his brother? The simplest answer is as we have said above. It was explanatory to the reader. However in both cases it may be that Moses might know of other Aarons who were related to him and could be called ‘brother’ ( a term with a fairly wide meaning) and thus that ‘the Levite’ would be seen as distinguishing him from the others.
Another possibility is that Aaron, as a result of his eloquence, had become known by reputation as ‘Aaron the Levite’ and that God was referring to that fact. This would then require that Moses had had some previous contact with his family, which was of course quite possible. He would not have spent all that time in Midian without seeking to get in touch with his family. There is no evidence elsewhere for the term to be an official designation at this early stage.
“Behold, he comes out to meet you.” God would now arrange for Aaron to come to meet Moses (see Exo 4:27). This could indicate that He had already done so, or alternatively that it was already seen as accomplished in His mind.
“When he sees you he will be glad at heart.” Moses need have no fear. Their meeting would be a joyous one. They had not met for many long years, and Aaron must have wondered how his princely brother was faring. Messages communicated by others were all very well, but they did not tell the whole story. Now he would know and their meeting would make him pleased and delighted.
“And you will speak to him and put the words in his mouth.” Aaron was to become the spokesman, but Moses must still decide what would be said. He was to be in overall control. And God would guide them both.
Exo 4:16
“And he shall be your spokesman to the people, and it shall be that he will be to you a mouth and you will be to him as God.”
Literally ‘he will be to you a mouth.’ The background to these words is clearly Egyptian. There “mouth” (ra) is used metaphorically for a representative of Pharaoh. The office of a “mouth” was so important that it was held by the highest State dignitaries. The titles “mouth” and “chief mouth” were used in relation to people such as chief superintendents and overseers of public works who acted as intermediaries between the Pharaoh and the Government officials. The concept of “mouth” or “chief mouth” involved a confidential and exalted position at court, ranking immediately after the king. They were mouths to a god.
“And you will be to him as God.” Possibly better ‘as a god’, that is, as standing in God’s place. As Pharaoh’s ‘mouths’ spoke for him as a god, so Aaron will parallel these high officials and speak in the name of Moses. As Yahweh will say to Moses later, “I will make you a god to Pharaoh (Exo 7:1).” Pharaoh would indeed learn to fear him and his seemingly divine powers. This puts Pharaoh’s ‘divinity’ firmly on an earthen plane. The battle would be between Moses and Pharaoh, not between Pharaoh and God.
Exo 4:17
‘And you will take in your hand this staff with which you will perform the signs.”
This refers to the staff of Moses (Exo 4:2). As ‘God’ he will speak by performing signs. From now on this staff, which will have delivered God’s first sign, (and is here linked also with the other signs) will be called ‘the staff of God’ (Exo 4:20). It will be with Moses, and often used by Aaron, in all his future activities, a reminder that the power of Yahweh was with him and that his authority was derived from God, and that thereby he could control the snake, and smite and heal. It was a visible evidence of God’s presence with him, and through it he would soon perform many other signs.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Fears of Moses Reproved
v. 10. 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. v. 11. 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? v. 12. Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. v. 13. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send. v. 14. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy brother? v. 15. 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.
v. 16. 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, v. 17. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Exo 4:10. And Moses saidI am not eloquent St. Stephen, Act 7:22 says, that Moses was mighty in words, as well as in deeds: an expression, which is also used, Luk 24:19 of Christ, who is called a prophet, mighty in deed and word: by which is evidently meant, the excellence of each in legislation; the power of their words, considered as law-givers, and instructors of mankind; and also, as prophets foretelling future events: and in this sense there is no contradiction between the words of St. Stephen concerning Moses, and those in this verse: for, doubtless, a man may be an excellent lawgiver and prophet, and yet not excel at all in eloquence. And it was on account of his deficiency in this, (O Lord, I am not eloquent, but slow of speech, and of slow tongue,) that Moses here attempts to decline the office of an ambassador of GOD. The reply which the Almighty made to him, Exo 4:11 was abundantly sufficient to obviate his objections. St. Paul, though powerful to persuade, seems to have been contemptible in speech, 2Co 10:16. St. Clement, in his epistle to the Corinthians, urges these words as a proof of the humility of Moses. The phrase, neither heretofore, nor since, signifies only, that he never was eloquent.
REFLECTIONS.Moses still objects, and God continues to answer him.
1. He is not eloquent: though a man of great abilities, yet flow of speech. God thus distributes diversities of gifts to his servants. Some with deep understandings want expression and fluency; others, less solid in judgment, have words at will. Few possess all excellencies.
2. God reasons with him on his power and promise. The work is God’s; he is able to accomplish it. It is his will, it shall be done. Note; Our gifts and graces are all from God; and if the ears are deaf to Gospel-calls, or the eyes blind to the things which make for our peace, God will be found just in his judgments.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 66
MOSES DECLINING THE COMMISSION GIVEN HIM
Exo 4:10-14. And Moses said unto the Lord, Q 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 mans 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.
THAT iniquity should prevail among the blind and ignorant, is no more than might reasonably be expected: but when we behold it in the most eminent saints, we are ready to exclaim, Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou so regardest him? It should seem indeed that God has determined to stain the pride of human glory, by recording the faults of his most favoured servants. It is remarkable that those who are most noted in Scripture for their piety, not only fell, but manifested their weakness in those very graces for which they were most distinguished. Abraham yielded to unbelief, Job to impatience, Moses to anger, Peter to fear. The circumstances here related concerning Moses, clearly shew, not only what Moses was, but what human nature is, when put to the trial. The following observations therefore, while they elucidate the text, will lead us to behold our own faces as in a glass.
I.
There is in man a backwardness to engage in Gods service
[Who was this man? Moses, in some respects the most pious of mankind. What was the service to which he was called? The most honourable and beneficial that could possibly be assigned him Yet, with a pertinacity truly surprising, he persisted in declining it, and desired that any one might be employed in it rather than he [Note: 3.].
We, it is true, are called to no such service. But is there no work committed to us? Has not God appeared to us in his word, and commanded us to devote ourselves to his service? Has not the Saviour bidden us to deny ourselves, and take up our cross daily, and follow him? And have we not shewn an utter aversion to obey his call? Glorious as his service is, have we not declined it; and, like Moses, been more studious of our own ease than either of Gods honour or the benefit of our fellow-creatures? Because we have foreseen difficulties, we have been unwilling to embark in the cause of God and of our own souls; when we ought rather to have gloried in enduring hardships for God, and closed with the proposal at once, saying, Here am I, Lord; send me [Note: Isa 6:8.].]
II.
We are prone to cloke this backwardness with vain excuses
[Moses would not in plain terms refuse to obey his God: but he tried by even method to excuse himself from undertaking the office assigned him. He first pretends to decline through modesty [Note: Exo 3:11.]: and we might have given him credit for real humility, if his subsequent refusals had not shewn that he was actuated by a far different principle. When God has obviated all objections arising from his unworthiness, then, in direct opposition to Gods promise, he objects, that the people will not believe his message [Note: Comp. Exo 3:18 with 4:1.]. To remove all apprehensions on this ground, God works three miracles before him, and commissions him to perform the same in the sight of Pharaoh and the people of Israel [Note: 9.]. Still averse to engage in this work, he pleads his want of eloquence, and his consequent unfitness for such an undertaking [Note: The text.]. To obviate this, God asks him, Who made mans mouth; and whether He, who had given him the faculty of speech, was not able to give effect to his endeavours? Yea, he promises to be with him, and to teach him what he shall say. And does not all this overcome his reluctance? No: he still declines the service, and begs that God would employ any other person rather than himself.
Now we say that these were rain excuses: for the real principles by which he was actuated, were unbelief and cowardice. He had failed in this attempt forty years before, when he had run unsent, and acted in his own strength, and striven for the victory with no other than carnal weapons; and now he is apprehensive of another failure, when expressly sent, and furnished with a wonder-working rod, and assured of success by a God of almighty power and unimpeachable veracity. Moreover, as on the former occasion Pharaoh sought his life, he is afraid to put himself within his reach, lest he should execute his threats upon him [Note: 9.].
And what are the pleas whereby we attempt to justify or extenuate our neglect of God? Have they any solidity? yea, have they any foundation in truth? Are they not mere excuses? and is not an aversion to the service to which we are called, the true reason of our declining to engage in it? We will not say in plain words, I hate God; I hate religion; I am determined never to follow the Saviours steps: but we pretend that this is not a convenient season, or that the work to which we are called is impracticable. Yes; if we will only suffer our own consciences to speak, they will tell us that our pleas are mere excuses, and that, in fact, we are hypocrites, and dissemblers with God.]
III.
However satisfactory our excuses may appear to ourselves, they will only bring upon us the divine displeasure
[Possibly Moses was unable to discern the true workings of his own heart: but did not God spy them out? and was not Gods anger kindled against him? How God manifested his anger, we know not: it is sufficient to know Gods judgment was according to truth.
Who then are we, that we should think to impose upon God, or to hide from him the motives by which we are actuated? Has he not cautioned us sufficiently against such fatal mistakes, saying, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap? Has he not warned us, that we shall certainly incur his displeasure, if we suffer any thing to keep us back from his service? He has mentioned the excuses made by those whom he invited to his feast: one had bought a piece of ground; and another a yoke of oxen which he wanted to see; another had married a wife, and therefore could not come. Now these were as weighty excuses for not going to an entertainment, as any that you can urge for not serving your God: and yet he declared that none of them should ever taste of his supper [Note: Luk 14:18-24.]. If this was the doom of those who were invited but once, do you think that you shall sit down at his supper, who hare rejected ten thousand invitations! No: you may excuse your supineness by saying, There is a lion in the way; there is a lion in the streets; but he will say, Thou wicked and slothful servant! Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. The spies thought they had reason enough for postponing the invasion of the promised land: but they were all excluded from it; as were all others who yielded to their pernicious counsels.]
Advice
1.
Beware of self-deception
[The heart is deceitful above all things: and we have a subtle adversary, who will not fail to help forward the most fatal delusions. We see how others are biased, and how empty the pleas are by which they often justify their conduct. Let us see in them an image of ourselves; and learn to suspect the treachery of our own hearts. Let us remember that we cannot deceive our God; and that the time is coming when we shall be judged, not by our professions, but by our practice.]
2.
Learn what are the duties to which you are called
[With respect to particular steps in life, it may be extremely difficult to judge [Note: For instance, whether one should go to such or such a station; whether one should undertake the office of a Missionary, &c.]: but about a life of devotedness to God there can be no doubt. Endeavour then to ascertain what the Scriptures require of you; and set yourselves instantly to fulfil it. Do not invent excuses to shift off your duty; but look up to God to direct you in his way, and to strengthen you for the performance of all his will.]
3.
Yield not to any discouragements in the way of duty
[It is not to be expected that you should meet with no difficulties. You must doubtless have conflicts, and many of them severe: but greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. You may not improperly, in a view of your own weakness, say, Who is sufficient for these things? but you must never forget who has said, My grace is sufficient for you. Go on then, expecting assuredly that your strength shall be according to your day of trial; that the weaker you are in yourselves, the more shall Jehovahs strength be magnified in your weakness; and that you shall at last be more than conquerors through Him that loved you.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 1:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 4:10 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.
Ver. 10. I am not eloquent. ] Heb., A man of words, a master of speech – – as Paul was. Act 14:12 He had not that first, second, and third of an orator, – elocution, or pronunciation. And yet God made choice of him rather than of eloquent Aaron to pray. Exo 17:12 Not gifts but graces prevail in prayer.
Slow of speech.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
my LORD. Should be “Jehovah”. One of the 134 places where “Jehovah” in the Primitive Text was altered to “Adonai”. App-32.
not eloquent. Hebrew “not a man of words “(Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.) Supposed to contradict Act 7:22, but eloquence is no necessary part of “wisdom”. With “all the wisdom of the Egyptians” he had not the wisdom needed for his work. The latter had to be learned at “the backside of the desert”.
slow. But “mighty”. Compare Act 7:22.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Gods Promises Overcome Moses Reluctance
Exo 4:10-17
To Moses second misgiving God made a promise of exceeding beauty, which all who speak for God should consider. Compare Exo 4:12 with Jer 1:7-9 and 1Co 2:4. If we looked at our natural powers as Paul used to do, we should glory in our lack of eloquence, as affording a better platform on which God might work. See 2Co 12:9-10.
In answer to the third misgiving God gave him his brother as assistant. Indeed, he was already on his way; but he was a weak man, and gave to Moses a great amount of anxiety and pain in their afterlife. After all, it is best for a man to lean only on God for counsel and ready help. If we step forth with this supreme alliance, we shall escape the hampering association with Aarons. We may as well get all we need at first-hand.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
eloquent: Heb. a man of words, Exo 4:1, Job 12:2, 1Co 2:1-4, 2Co 10:10, 2Co 11:6
heretofore: Heb. since yesterday, nor since the third day, slow of speech Exo 6:12, Jer 1:6, Act 7:22
Reciprocal: Gen 31:2 – as before Exo 3:11 – General Exo 6:30 – uncircumcised Jos 3:4 – heretofore Jos 5:14 – my lord Jdg 4:8 – General Jdg 6:15 – wherewith Jdg 7:10 – General 1Sa 19:7 – in times past 1Ki 3:9 – who is able 2Ki 13:5 – beforetime Isa 3:3 – eloquent orator Isa 6:5 – a man Isa 6:8 – Whom Dan 10:16 – my Lord Mar 7:37 – he maketh Mar 13:11 – take Act 18:24 – an 2Co 3:5 – that 2Co 12:9 – My grace
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 4:10. O my Lord, I am not eloquent He was a great philosopher, statesman, and divine, and yet no orator; a man of a clear head, great thought, and solid judgment, but had not a voluble tongue, nor ready utterance; and therefore he thought himself unfit to speak before great men and about great affairs. Moses was mighty in word, (Act 7:21,) and yet not eloquent; what he said was strong and nervous, and to the purpose, and distilled as the dew, (Deu 32:2,) though he did not deliver himself with that readiness, ease, and fineness that some do.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 4:10-16 J. Mosess Fourth Difficultyslowness of speech. This is met by a promise of prophetic inspiration, the fulfilment of which not only Deu 34:10, but the whole representation of J, endorses. It is followed here by a further exhibition of unreadiness, which evokes Yahwehs wrath. The association of Aaron with Moses has been compared to Deborahs co-operation with Barak. But since Aaron may only say what Moses tells him, this arrangement is no very clear mark of Divine anger. Moreover, in J, Moses habitually acts and speaks alone, and not by the mouth of Aaron, except in Exo 4:29 f.*, which obviously follows this passage. Perhaps, therefore, the reference to Aaron has been inserted by a somewhat later hand to explain the undoubted sacredness of the teaching office of the priest (cf. Priests and Levites, HDB, iv.). Aaron is in Exo 4:14 called the Levite (p. 106). But Moses himself was (Exo 4:21) traditionally descended from Levi. So here, as elsewhere (cf. Jdg 17:7, a young man . . . of the family of Judah who was a Levite), Levite was a term which connoted not ancestry but profession; it was equivalent to clergyman (MNeile, Ex., p. lxvi). Exo 4:14 b may be due to an editor, who thus led up to Exo 4:27 E.That Moses was to be to Aaron as God (Exo 4:16) was a particular case of what may be called the Divine policy of mediation. Parents are to young children in the place of God, and like relations to superiors are frequent; but such a phrase may not be pressed to cover the Jesuit claim to override a subordinates conscience.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Rather than inspiring confidence in Moses, God’s commission frightened him (Exo 4:10-12). Moses’ claim to be slow of speech (not handicapped, but lacking in eloquence) was a thinly veiled excuse by which Moses hoped to escape his calling. Stephen said Moses was eloquent (Act 7:22). Apparently Moses felt he did not have sufficient oratorical ability to persuade the Israelite elders or Pharaoh. God assured Moses that He would enable Him to communicate effectively. Again God reminded Moses that He was the creator.
"This claim of inadequacy is a recurring one in OT passages having to do with God’s call and commission (cf., e.g., Jdg 6:14-15; 1Sa 10:20-24; 1Ki 3:5-9; Isa 6:5-8; Jer 1:4-10; see also Habel . . . [Note: N. Habel, "The Form and Significance of the Call Narratives," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 77 (1965):316-23.] Whatever its connection to prophetic and royal traditions of the word and the messenger, its more important rootage is in the OT pattern of the weak become strong, the least become great, the mean become mighty, the last become first (cf., e.g, Jdg 6:11-24; 1Sa 16:1-13; 1Sa 17:19-54; Amo 7:14-15; Isa 6:1-13; Jer 1:4-19; and even Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12). This pattern is a metaphor of theological assertion in the Bible, and everywhere it occurs, its fundamental message is the same: God’s word, God’s rule, God’s teaching, God’s deliverance come not from man, no matter who that man may be, but from God. Even the election of Israel makes this point. Indeed that election is probably the most convincing of all the occurrences of the pattern." [Note: Durham, p. 49.]
"Cherish the lowliest thought you choose of yourself, but unite it with the loftiest conception of God’s All-Sufficiency. Self-depreciation may lead to the marring of a useful life. We must think soberly of ourselves, not too lowly, as not too extravagantly. The one talent must not be buried in the earth." [Note: Meyer, p. 71.]
Unable to excuse himself, Moses finally admitted that he did not want to obey God (Exo 4:13-16). God became angry with Moses because he refused to obey. However, the sovereign Lord would not let His reluctant servant go (cf. Jonah). Instead He provided a mouthpiece for Moses in his older brother by three years, Aaron (cf. Exo 7:7). This act was both an aid to Moses and a discipline for his disobedience. On the one hand Aaron was an encouragement to Moses, but on the other he proved to be a source of frustration as a mediator (e.g., ch. 32).
"The mouth of Moses may well be heavy and clumsy, slow and halting in speech. It would not matter if it were dumb altogether, and Aaron’s mouth, as well. Yahweh will be there, and Yahweh will take responsibility for both the message and the messengers. The staff in the hands of Moses and Aaron is a symbol of this powerful Presence." [Note: Durham, p. 51.]
As time passed, Moses grew more confident and communicative and increasingly took his proper place as Israel’s leader.