20130913 Friday, September 13 2013
Exodus 04: Signs For Israel

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"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"

Moses was given to meet the LORD God by means of a sign, a flaming bush: "Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt" (see Exodus 3: The Sign Of The Flaming Bush). The LORD, Who was and is Jesus Christ (see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God; see also The Forerunner Of Man and Of God) then gave Moses the means to provide miraculous signs to the unbelieving people of Israel: "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."

"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.

4:2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand?

And he said, A rod.

4:3 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.

4:4 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: 4:5 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." (Exodus 4:1-5 KJV)

The LORD then gave Moses the ability to deliver more signs, and if they still would not believe, a sign that the Pharaoh himself would experience: "the river shall become blood."

"4:6 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.

4:7 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.

4:8 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. 4:9 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." (Exodus 6:1-9 KJV)

Moses was a very humble and unassuming man. He also pleaded, "I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." While many have regarded that to mean that Moses had some sort of speech impediment, he certainly didn't have it later. It should be kept in mind that "speech" and "tongue" refer moreover to language (see The Word Of God In The Tongues Of Man), not merely the ability to speak in itself. Moses was raised, from infancy, in the palace of the Pharaoh where his primary language was Egyptian. Hebrew was not his first language, but for Moses' brother Aaron, it was. Hence, when speaking to the Israelites, "he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth."

"4:10 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.

4:11 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? 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

4:13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

4:14 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. 4:15 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. 4:16 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. 4:17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs." (Exodus 4:10-17 KJV)

Moses then returned to his father-in-law Jethro, who "said to Moses, Go in peace."

"4:18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive.

And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

4:19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. 4:20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." (Exodus 4:18-23 KJV)

The incident with the circumcision done by Moses' wife Zipporah (see Moses And Zipporah) on the way to Egypt has been debated for centuries - even of who the "him" was that the LORD was going to kill. Was it Moses, or was it his uncircumcised son?

It should be kept in mind however that Moses was born as an Israelite. Moses was circumcised (he was with his actual Levite parents until three months old), as were all of the native-born Israelites. Despite their four centuries in Egypt, the Israelites never lost the original purpose of circumcision, for them, for that time (see Circumcision), as was about to be made obvious at the soon to occur Passover.

"12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD [see Israel In History and Prophecy: Passover], let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof." (Exodus 12:48 KJV)

The LORD commanded Moses to return to Egypt, not his entire family. There was no need for his family to go because Moses was going to return to where they were already living (and as it turned out, they didn't go). It was Moses' firstborn son who was about to be killed, not only because he would not have been permitted to be included in the Passover observance, and therefore survived the death of the firstborn throughout all of Egypt, but because he was already in a state of being cut off from his people. The circumcision saved his life on both counts. Zipporah's act had purpose, if not in Egypt, then throughout his life after the Exodus.

"4:24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. 4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision." (Exodus 4:24-26 KJV)

The calling of Aaron was also done directly by the LORD (see also The Origin Of The Levite Priesthood).

"4:27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. 4:28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

4:29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 4:30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 4:31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." (Exodus 4:27-31 KJV)

Fact Finder: Although they were brothers, did Moses and Aaron know each other only after they were both over eighty years old?
See The Meeting Of Moses And Aaron