Sunday of Moses (CL)

Exodus 4:1-17

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵ “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.” ⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹ If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶ He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

One of my favorite lines in scripture, “He shall speak for you to the people, he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.” I realized something earlier this week. Moses is God coming to his people to bring them out of the Land of Slavery. God establishes Moses to be like the greater Moses to come.

Moses is not confident to stand before people in the place of God. Moses left his brothers and the people of Israel in bondage in the land of Egypt. He now is supposed to go back to these people as a savior, rather than the son of a Princess.

It can be very difficult for people to return to a bad situation and try to make it better. It can likewise be very difficult to go up to your neighbor and confront him for his sins. If we stand in the place of God, it is also difficult to forgive those who sin against us.

Nevertheless, God still calls Moses also provides signs of his calling. He tells Moses he will even provide him with a proper voice. God will speak the Words of Salvation through Moses and Aaron. God sends to his people his only begotten Son into the flesh to die for the forgiveness of sins. He sends the Greater Moses to lead his people into eternal life. Jesus will not just restore a leprous hand, but he will restore all of Creation.