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More Exodus commentaries

Exodus 1:1-14

Exodus 1:15-22

Exodus 2:1-15

Exodus 2:16-25

Exodus 3:1-10

Exodus 3:11-22

Exodus 4:1-9

Exodus 4:10-17

Exodus 4:18-31

Exodus 5:1-9

Exodus 5:10-23

Exodus 6:1-13

Exodus 6:14-30

Exodus 7:1-13

Exodus 7:14-25

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Exodus 4:1–9
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Power

Moses’ third excuse for not wanting to be the spokesman for God was that, people will say,"The Lord has not appeared to you as you say, and they will not believe me” (v. 1). The Lord’s answer to Moses was, “What is that you have in your hand” (v. 2) Moses said that it was a walking stick .This was to enable him to perform supernatural tasks:

  1. He cast his rod on the ground, and it became a snake and then back into a staff  (vv. 3-4). God will take what we  have in our hands and use it, if we will but trust Him. Of itself, the rod was nothing but in God’s hands it became power.
  2. He put his hand  inside the soft folds of the garment he was wearing and when he pulled it out it was covered with leprosy and when he did it a second time it was strong and healthy (vv. 6-7). This shows how by nature man’s hand is unfit to be used of  God but with His cleansing we can be used in a great way for His glory.
  3. When he took water from the Nile River and poured it upon dry land it became blood (vv. 8-9). But this God showed Moses how He had power to overcome the Egyptians and He still wants to show us His power to overcome our enemies.

Application

The excuses which Moses used for not wanting to do what God asked are the same ones I tend to use today but God still wants me to trust Him to do His work. What am I trusting Him to do in and through my life today?

Exodus 4:1-9 (English Standard Version)

Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'" The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"--so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- "that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. "If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

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