God told Moses that He would be with his mouth and teach him what to say, and surely Moses could not ask any more than that. But the flesh is always weak! No doubt if we have tried to talk to our friends about the Lord, we have discovered that we were not eloquent, and that we know very little of His Word; but the Lord is ever willing to help us and teach us what to say, just as He said He would help Moses. May we be more willing for His sake!
God’s Choice
Moses still held back, and asked the Lord to send someone else instead of him. God was then angry because of Moses’s unbelief. God can always use someone else when we are unwilling, just as He used Aaron here. God will see that the message of the gospel is carried wherever He wants it to go. No one will ever be lost because of our unfaithfulness, but we are the losers when we hold back, and eternity will reveal what a loss it has been. May we be more like Isaiah who said, “Here am I; send me” (1 Sam. 16:1111And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. (1 Samuel 16:11)) (Isaiah 6:88Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)). God was very gracious to Moses, and he did not set him aside altogether; He allowed Aaron to be the spokesman for him.
Moses then went back to his father-in-law and told him that he wanted to visit his brethren in Egypt again. How wonderfully this typifies to us the Lord Jesus, who, after choosing a bride from among the Gentiles as Moses had done, will then return to the guilty nation of Israel and bring them into blessing. God told Moses that all those who sought his life were dead and therefore he could return to Egypt with confidence. Forty years before, Moses’ brethren had rejected him, but now God was sending him back to them as their deliverer. This reminds us very strikingly of the Lord Jesus who was once rejected by the Jews, but is soon coming back as their Deliverer.
God’s Way
Moses took his wife and children and started out for Egypt. God told him the exact message that he and Aaron were to bring to Pharaoh, so that he did not have to follow his own thoughts about it. If we undertake some service for the Lord, how much better to do it in His way, than to try our own. We shall find His way in His Word, and we need to read it diligently. Moses was to ask Pharaoh to let Israel go free that they might serve the Lord. The Lord warned Moses beforehand that Pharaoh would not be willing to do it.
You can be messengers to tell sinners of the way of deliverance from Satan’s bondage, but you will find as Moses did, that Satan does not want to let sinners go. Moses warned Pharaoh that if he did not let the children of Israel go, God would kill his oldest son; but Pharaoh would not listen. He hardened his heart. He did not believe the message. He was like many today, who, when warned of coming judgment, just laugh, and refuse to listen. God did not kill Pharaoh’s son at once, for He is a patient God. He sent many plagues first, which should have made Pharaoh realize that God was speaking to him and that he should repent of his wicked ways.
Further Meditation
1. How was Moses like the Lord Jesus?
2. What can you expect if you present the gospel to your friends, neighbors or co-workers?
3. For some really encouraging stories of sharing the gospel with others you might want to read Incidents of Gospel Work: Showing How the Lord Hath Led Me by C. Stanley.