Excuses, Excuses from Exodus 4:1-19

Today I am commenting on Exodus 4:1-19, which reads:    

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so 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.” Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous - it had become as white as snow.  “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.” Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

We often think that we can’t or won’t do certain things but then we find that we are wrong.  Jerry Clower once told a story about just such a time.

One of his cousins at Yazoo, MS was known to be a great fisherman, who always came home with a cooler full of fish.  The local game warden became suspicious of this cousin’s success and decided to go fishing with him to discover his secret.

After they got out on the lake, the cousin reached into his tackle box and pulled out a primed stick of dynamite.  He lit the fuse, tossed it in the water, and . . .  bam! The dynamite exploded.  Up boiled the water and dozens of stunned fish.  The cousin began to use his net to pull them in the boat.

About that time the game warden got his voice back and said, “Man, what are you doing?  Don’t you know you can’t fish like that?”

The cousin reached into the tackle box, lit the fuse on another stick of dynamite and stuck it in the game warden’s hand.  “Now,” he said, “are you gonna sit there and talk, or are you gonna fish?”

As we look at our Scripture passage for today, we find Moses in a similar situation as the game warden. 

EXCUSE ONE: THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME 

God was calling Moses to a huge task. He was to return to Egypt where he was wanted for murder and to confront Pharaoh, a despotic, murderous king. Then, he was to lead the Hebrews who scorned him to Canaan. Has God ever asked you to do such a thing? I know He has never asked me to do something so fear-inspiring.

Moses feared that no one would believe him. Often, our fears are not realistic but his was a real fear. From the standpoint of the Jews he was the failed adopted son of Pharaoh. Why trust him? From the standpoint of the Egyptians he was a nobody shepherd from the backside of the desert. Anyway, who ever heard of a burning bush?

In truth, many of his objections were the result of his own impetuousness. 

I remember the case of a young preacher who got ahead of God and his own congregation. He was initiating ministries out in the community without consulting the leaders of his church and without proper planning. A deacon got his attention one day by telling him, “Young man, if you want to go where no man has gone before, you are going by yourself!” The deacon was not opposed to the objectives of the ministries, but to the way the young minister was pursuing them autonomously and without developing a team effort.

In response to his objection, God gave Moses a reassuring promise. He gave him two signs, the snake and the leprosy, and He reminded Moses of His power and might. Moses needed to realize that God will take our lives and make a sign of them for Himself. As the hymn says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” 

Likewise, we must never discount the power of personal testimony; as the blind man healed by Christ proclaimed, “I was blind, but now I see!”

EXCUSE TWO: I DON’T SPEAK VERY WELL  

Moses, in his fright, forgot some important facts when making this excuse. He forgot that God made his tongue. He forgot that God could make his tongue work. He forgot that God knew his problem and took it into account. Moses was having “I” trouble. He was focused on himself and had forgotten Who was conversing with him.

We too, are afraid to speak at times:

In witnessing situations.

In testimony situations.

When confronting sin.

When counseling and comforting. 

We often don’t know what to say in grief situations. Often the best thing is to say nothing and allow the comfort of our loving presence do the work. This is not applicable in every situation, however and we too, have “I” trouble and forget God’s promises.

We must remember that God promised He would give us the words we need. We only need to make ourselves available to God. As Luke 12:11-12 says: “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. ‘For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.’”

EXCUSE THREE: I DON’T WANT TO GO  

The central problem is the “I” trouble Moses was having. It really wasn’t his reputation and prior acts. It was not his ability to speak or preach. It was not his ability to do signs and wonders. It was that he just didn’t want to go!

He didn’t want to because he was afraid. Fear is a natural emotion and despite God’s demonstrations of power, Moses still feared. Of course, we get afraid, too but as an instructor at the US. Army Airborne School told us in Class 37-79: “It is OK to be afraid, but it is not OK to give into it.”

The best antidote for fear is knowledge, but knowledge of the correct subject. Moses may have been a shepherd from the backside of the desert, but he was actually a learned man. He was taught many things by Pharaoh in Egypt and by Jethro, his father-in-law, in Midian. Moses also learned much about survival and nature by following sheep in the desert but what he needed most was to know God. 

Some people say they can worship God on the riverbank just as well as in church.  Moses shows that they are wrong.

THE END OF EXCUSES  

God can only be pushed so far. He is the omnipotent creator and the sovereign king of the earth. His plan and will are righteous and best.

God is patient, but, in the end, He will be obeyed!

Yet, even though God would not be denied, He was gracious, and He equipped Moses. He gave him a mouthpiece, his brother Aaron.

In the same way, God equips us because God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called:

The Holy Spirit is our comforter and helper.

We have spiritual gifts, pastors, teachers, and deacons.

We have the whole counsel of the Word of God plus many Bible study and training resources.

At the end of all the excuses was Moses’ obedience. In the end he complied with God’s will and he returned to Egypt. He decided to be a tool of God to further God’s redemptive plan.

CONCLUSION:

The story is told of an Army Reserve Doctor who during Desert Shield tried to avoid being mobilized. He reported at the designated place and time but implored his commander to excuse him from the deployment because of his bustling medical practice. His commander just looked at him and said, “Grab your bag and get in line!” 

In the end, Moses grabbed his bag and got in line with God. What is it you can’t do that God asks of you? Nothing! All you have to do is grab your bag and get in line with God!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt