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Patriarchs and Prophets
selected. These excuses at first proceeded from humility and diffidence;
but after the Lord had promised to remove all difficulties, and to give
him final success, then any further shrinking back and complaining of
his unfitness showed distrust of God. It implied a fear that God was
unable to qualify him for the great work to which He had called him,
or that He had made a mistake in the selection of the man.
Moses was now directed to Aaron, his elder brother, who, having
been in daily use of the language of the Egyptians, was able to speak it
perfectly. He was told that Aaron was coming to meet him. The next
words from the Lord were an unqualified command:
“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. 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.” He could make no further resistance,
for all ground for excuse was removed.
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The divine command given to Moses found him self-distrustful,
slow of speech, and timid. He was overwhelmed with a sense of his
incapacity to be a mouthpiece for God to Israel. But having once
accepted the work, he entered upon it with his whole heart, putting all
his trust in the Lord. The greatness of his mission called into exercise
the best powers of his mind. God blessed his ready obedience, and
he became eloquent, hopeful, self-possessed, and well fitted for the
greatest work ever given to man. This is an example of what God
does to strengthen the character of those who trust Him fully and give
themselves unreservedly to His commands.
A man will gain power and efficiency as he accepts the responsi-
bilities that God places upon him, and with his whole soul seeks to
qualify himself to bear them aright. However humble his position or
limited his ability, that man will attain true greatness who, trusting to
divine strength, seeks to perform his work with fidelity. Had Moses
relied upon his own strength and wisdom, and eagerly accepted the
great charge, he would have evinced his entire unfitness for such a
work. The fact that a man feels his weakness is at least some evidence
that he realizes the magnitude of the work appointed him, and that he
will make God his counselor and his strength.