Exodus 4:14-1714And 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. 15And 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. 16And 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. 17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. (Exodus 4:14‑17)
As long as it was a question of Moses’ timidity and humility, God’s patience with him persisted most remarkably. But when it became the workings of unbelief and pride, resulting in Moses’ asking the Lord to send someone else, God could no longer be patient with such behavior.
“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. 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. 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.” 10:14-16.
Thus was Moses deprived of the honor of being himself the sole instrument used of God for the deliverance and leadership of Israel. This honor and dignity must be shared with another. Through his lack of faith, he relinquished a valuable portion of his place in God’s service. But at this moment, having one to share the burden and upon whom he could visibly lean, the halting of Moses was overcome. Sharing his place with Aaron, hover, was to present difficulties while going through the wilderness. And serious difficulties they were, for many of them would never have been experienced had he acted alone. Aaron would have the most prominent place before man, for he was to be the spokesman of his brother. However, in tender grace, the Lord reserved to His servant Moses the chief place before Him, giving him the honor and privilege of being the means of communication between Himself and Aaron, He was to impart to Aaron the message to be delivered. God’s purposes cannot be frustrated, but we may suffer for our unbelief and disobedience.
Finally, the rod of authority was given to Moses. “And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand,” said the Lord, “wherewith thou shalt do signs.” Nothing else was to accompany Moses — just the shepherd’s rod. With it he was to display the power of God in miraculous signs before both Pharaoh and the children of Israel. The rod became as it were the seal of his mission, as well as the sign of his office. For in leading His people out of Egypt he carried with him the authority of God. It might only be a rod, but God does not require great things to accomplish His purposes. The very weakest vessel — human or otherwise, may be His means of displaying His power.
ML 08/18/1968