Have you ever had somebody take away all of your excuses? Frustrating, isn’t it? It kind of forces us to get to the real reason. It goes something like this;
“Hey, let’s go to the movie.”
“I can’t, I don’t have any money.”
“I’ll pay.”
“Well, I have this yard work I’ve got to get done.”
“I’ll help you with that and we can go to the movie after we’re done. With both of us working it won’t take any time at all.”
“Ummm. Well . . . I have a headache.”
“I have some aspirin.”
“I really don’t want to go to the movie today.” And there it is! The real reason.
In Exodus 4:10-17 Moses never does say that he just plain doesn’t want to do what God is asking him to do, but that seems to be the real reason. God has established that it is about his power; that the people will eventually accept his power; his ability to accomplish what he has promised. Moses tries one more excuse, “Well, you know I’ve never been a man of words, not yesterday, not the day before that, not ever. I have this heavy mouth and heavy tongue thing going on Master.” Did Moses really have a speech problem? That may miss the point. What he is saying is that he is not one to speak before the elders of Israel and especially not before the Pharaoh of Egypt. He feels inadequate. He is not a statesman. He does not possess the skill for the job. We have been here before with Moses. He is saying yet again, “Who am I to speak before these people you want to send me to?”
To which Yahweh responds with “Who placed that mouth of yours Moses?” It will never be about Moses’ ability. It is always about the Presence of God; the God who is able to make it so a person cannot speak at all or even to hear; the God who is in charge of man’s ability to see or not. Moses is still focusing on the wrong thing; himself. God again promises his Presence. Literally he said, “I even I am with your mouth.” The Great I Am is present with Moses’ mouth. The Great I Am will teach Moses exactly what he is to say. All excuses gone! All excuses swallowed up by the Presence of the Existing One. So Moses makes a final plea, “Pray, Lord, send whomever you will, as long as it isn’t me.”
You did it now Moses! You have the anger of Yahweh burning against you. And why? Because all of the excuses were stripped away and Moses rebelliously tells God to send someone else. This seems to be beyond fear. This is flat disobedience. The Presence of God is not enough. And the result? The Present One is burning with anger. Whether we are aware of it or not, we have all of us most likely had the Present One’s anger burning against our stubborn refusal to obey even after all of the excuses have been swallowed up by who God is. But even in his anger, God offers a solution; Aaron, Moses’ brother, just happens to be a man of words. This passage makes it very clear, however, that Aaron is to answer to Moses as Moses answers to God. God even told Moses that he would be God to Aaron. That seems like a strange thing for God to say. The word “God” means “judge, ruler”. Even though God is offering a solution, Moses is to remain the leader of this venture. Aaron is not being offered as a replacement, which is what Moses really wanted. Sorry kid, you can’t always get what you want. Then Yahweh told Moses to grab the staff and reminds him that with it he will perform the signs of God’s power. Again, it is about God and his bility.
So, what are your excuses? It doesn’t matter. The Presence of God strips them all away. Your excuses are about you and your ability. “I am not strong enough; wise enough; good enough; holy enough; important enough. Ah shucks, God, I don’t speak so good.” One of the major themes of the Bible, which is seen in this passage, is the motif of the weak becoming strong; of the humbled becoming great. It is Gideon crying out to God, “If you hadn’t noticed I am the least important person of the least important tribe. Now, how is that going to work?” It is Saul hiding when it is time to be made king. It is Jeremiah bemoaning his speech and his youth. The story of Exodus is not about that great leader Moses. It is about God being Present with his mouth teaching him what to say. Lay down your excuses and obey. Shalom, Walter