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Spiritual Gifts, Volume 3
The Lord reproved Moses for his fearfulness, as though the God
who chose him to perform his great work was unable to qualify him
for it, or as though God had made a mistake in his selection of the
man. “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?” What an appeal! What a rebuke to the distrustful!
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“Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee
what thou shalt say. And he said, O, my Lord, send, I pray thee, by
the hand of him whom thou wilt send.” He entreated the Lord to select
a more proper person. The backwardness of Moses at first proceeded
from humility, a modest diffidence. But after God promised to remove
his difficulties, and be with his mouth, and teach him what to say, and
to give him success finally, in his mission, then for him to still manifest
reluctance was displeasing to God. His unwillingness to execute the
mission God had preserved his life to fill, and had qualified him to
perform, after the assurance that God would be with him, showed
unbelief and criminal despondency, and distrust of God himself. The
Lord rebuked him for this distrust. The deliverance of Israel out of
Egypt, in the manner God proposed to do the work, looked hopeless
to him of the mission ever being successful.
Moses excelled in wisdom in conducting affairs. Aaron, Moses’
elder brother, had been in daily use of the language of the Egyptians,
and understood it perfectly. He was eloquent.
“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. And thou shalt speak unto him,
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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. 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. And thou
shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.”
Moses consented to perform the mission. He first visited his father-
in-law and obtained his consent for himself and his family to return
into Egypt. He did not dare to tell Jethro his message to Pharaoh, lest
he should be unwilling to let his wife and children accompany him on
such a dangerous mission. The Lord strengthened him, and removed