The Reluctant Prophet (2 Of 2)

God had a purpose in making this request.

• God was deeply concerned about His people’s suffering

• God heard their cries of sorrow

• God wanted to deliver them from their enslavement

To start with, Moses was a VERY RELUCTANT PROPHET! From Exodus 3:11-22 to Exodus 4:1-17, there is a continuation of Moses making up excuses for why He could not do what God had asked him to do.

I. THE RELUCTANT PROPHET

Exodus 4:1-17, deals with this continuation of excuses by Moses. “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. 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. 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? 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, 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. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.”

As we look at the life of Moses in this passage of scripture, we see Moses standing before the burning bush making up all kinds of excuses.

As he stands alone before the burning bush, and God speaks to him, he gives God his first excuse. “If I tell Israel that you have appeared to me in this fashion…THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME!”

The reason God wants him to go to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out of bondage, is because He is greatly concerned about them. Exodus 3:9-10 “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

When the Lord told Moses this, In Exodus 3, the excuses started flowing. When we turn to Exodus 4, the excuses continue to flow.

Look at Exodus 4:1, "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will NOT BELIEVE ME, NOR HEARKEN UNTO MY VOICE: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee."

Moses is saying to God that what is happening here, on Mt. Sinai, is too much for a mortal to be convinced is true. Listen, perhaps you have heard someone that claimed to have a supernatural encounter and you might have thought, “WONDER WHAT THEY ARE SMOKING?”