Excuses, Excuses…
Continuing with our theme this week of why we don’t want to come into the presence of the Lord, another reason is that God often requires things of us that we do not feel we are capable of performing. One such situation occurred with Moses. Moses who was said to be the greatest man that ever lived outside of Jesus, came to God with one excuse after another after God commissioned Him to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt.
10 Moses raised another objection to God: "Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer."
11-12 God said, "And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say."
13 He said, "Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!"
14-17 God got angry with Moses: "Don’t you have a brother, Aaron the Levite? He’s good with words, I know he is. He speaks very well. In fact, at this very moment he’s on his way to meet you. When he sees you he’s going to be glad. You’ll speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll be right there with you as you speak and with him as he speaks, teaching you step by step. He will speak to the people for you. He’ll act as your mouth, but you’ll decide what comes out of it. Now take this staff in your hand; you’ll use it to do the signs." Exodus 4:10-17 (MSG)
Moses had already understood that he was to be the deliverer of God’s people from Egypt. He knew the assignment, but he didn’t know what it would take to carry it out. When God said to him that he would have to go to Pharaoh and command that the people be set free to worship in the wilderness, he deferred to God his problem with speaking. Even though God assured him that He would be with him, Moses none the less felt his speech impediment was such that he would not be taken seriously.
Can you imagine God getting exasperated? After all that He had done in showing Moses the miracle of the burning bush and setting the time just right with Moses: accusers being dead, nonetheless Moses did not believe God could take care of his speech delivery. God took away Moses’ excuse by letting Moses know that his brother Aaron was good at talking and he could talk to Pharaoh, even though Moses would have to give him the words.
The moral of the story, there is no excuse you can give that God cannot remedy with a more than satisfactory way out. As i always say, God knows the way through the wilderness!
Maria