Moses
tried really really hard to forfeit the plan God had for him. He didn't want to
go back to Egypt and free the Israelites. Moses was happy where we was. Even
with God speaking to him from a burning bush, Moses had no intention of
carrying out the plans God had for him. Moses was full of excuses, even with
the assurances of God.
But
Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if
they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Then
the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A
shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.“Throw it down on the ground,”
the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into
a snake! Moses jumped back. Then the Lord told him, “Reach out
and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back
into a shepherd’s staff in his hand. Perform this sign,”
the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the
God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob—really has appeared to you.” Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak,
and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin
disease. “Now put your hand back into your cloak,”
the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out
again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body. The Lord said to
Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first
miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. And if they
don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some
water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the
water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.” But Moses pleaded with
the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and
I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words
get tangled.” Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s
mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear,
see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you
as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” But Moses again pleaded,
“Lord, please! Send anyone else.” Then
the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about
your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his
way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. Talk to him, and put the
words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will
instruct you both in what to do. Aaron will be your
spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the
place of God for him, telling him what to say. And take your shepherd’s
staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”
(Exodus 4:1-17)
Three
times in Exodus 4, Moses asks God to use someone else. What if they don't
believe me? I'm a bad public speaker. And then just, please Lord, use someone
else.
I'd
like to think that if God showed up and spoke to me in a burning bush and asked
me to do something, even something I didn't want to do, that I would listen and
wouldn't argue. But I know myself, and I'd probably be like Moses and put up a
fight.
Fear
can be crippling. Fear prevents us from taking the steps God has in store for
us. But if we let fear get the better of us, we can miss out on the destiny
that God has in store for us. Moses tried to default on God's plan for him and
let someone else take the wheel.
And
to be fair, the destiny God had in store for Moses was going to be difficult.
God says He's going to make Pharaoh's heart hard and not willing to let
the people go. God makes an attempt to kill Moses shortly after he heads
towards Egypt. And Moses' first encounter with Pharaoh doesn't really help the
Israelites and doesn't make them view Moses with a lot of favor. And then Moses
had to deal with the Israelites, who made is life awful!
But
Moses got to talk to and see God. He got to free God's chosen people! And he
tried to throw that all away...
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