Êxodo 4
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
Êxodo 4
Meyer - “Aaron, who came to meet Moses, could speak well; but he was a weak man, whose alliance with Moses caused his nobler younger brother much anxiety and pain.” So - Moses is in a good place after his brush with death and has a good spiritual "rhythm" now - Go...so, whereas before it was Go...whoa (so to speak). he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him - Aaron obeyed without hesitation. The mountain of God was Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai, where Moses received God's call (Ex 3:1+ = Horeb, the mountain of God.) And then when Moses asked assurance from God regarding his call, God said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” (Ex 3:12+) The phrase mountain of God is used 7x in the OT but only here refers to Mount Horeb - Exod. 3:1; Exod. 4:27; Exod. 24:13; 1 Ki. 19:8; Ps. 68:15; Ezek. 28:14; Ezek. 28:16 Exodus 4:28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do. told Aaron - Ex 4:8,9,15,16 Jon 3:2 Mt 21:29 and all - Ex 4:11-13 Exodus 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries MOSES BRINGS AARON "UP TO SPEED" Up to speed idiomatically means fully informed. Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do - In short, Aaron now knows Moses has been sent to deliver Israel and that he would do so only after God had brought 10 plagues on Egypt (aka all the signs). J Ligon Duncan - Facing the enormity of the challenge before him, Moses was surely encouraged by this indication of God’s providence that He was with him. That He was looking out for him. That he was going to provide for him every step of the way. And we, too, ought to peruse God’s providence and study encouragement and thanksgiving in it. Do you look at God’s providences? Do you seek to see the encouragement that God has unfolded in your own experience? Whether He has called you to a specific mission or whether He has called you to study faithfulness. Are you looking for the signs of God’s encouragement in that? As you do, I think you will find ample opportunity for thanksgiving to God. And if you don’t, you will miss opportunities for thanksgiving to God which will actually slacken your faith, because in the very process of thanking God for His encouragements and providence, we are reminded how actively He is involved in our everyday experience. God encourages Moses this way. God continues to encourage His people by providence today. That’s the first thing we see. God manifesting Himself for encouragement in providence. THOUGHT - Again we see that God is the power behind the signs (implied in this passage) but Moses is His instrument who in turn has God's instrument (staff of God) in his hand! God's sovereignty intimately integrated or juxtaposed with Man's Responsibility. This pattern is good to remember when we are doing some spiritual work for the Lord (we need to be mindful of His power and grateful for His provision of that power). In fact, this pattern is eminently applicable to ALL of our spiritual life EVERY day! Truly in Him we live and move and have our being. Truly we are always 100% Dependent and 100% Responsible" (100/100)! If that truth is a bit humbling to you, then perhaps you need to be humbled a bit! (cf Jas 4:6b+). Exodus 4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; Ex 3:16 24:1,11 Exodus 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ELDERS OF ISRAEL GATHERED Presumably Moses and Aaron came into Egypt together but there are no details of this journey. One can imagine it would be quite a time of swapping stories about their ups and downs in the previous 40 years. The Septuagint for assembled is the Greek verb sunago which is the root of the Jewish word synagogue (sunagoge). One might say this was the first "Jewish Synagogue" meeting! Then - Then is always an important expression of time and is always worth pausing to ponder and query asking questions like "What time is it? What happens next? Why does this happen now?, etc". When then is used (as determined by the context) to be an expression of time or "time phrase", it usually indicates sequence and thus marks that which is next in order of time, soon after that, following next after in order of position, narration or enumeration, being next in a series (See English definitions). Moses and Aaron went - Moses leaves out their journey from Mount Horeb to Egypt. The point is that Moses is now obediently moving forth in the center of the will of God, always a safe place to be! And assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel - In the preceding chapter God had commanded Moses "“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt." (Ex 3:16+) God had predicted/promised/guaranteed Moses that the leaders of Israel would heed his words - “They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ (Ex 3:18+) Now, what God did not forewarn Moses about was the fact that Pharaoh would "ratchet up" the oppression on his Hebrew slaves because of Moses and Aaron's request to take a "long weekend trip" (so to speak). J Ligon Duncan - the biggest challenge is not going to be Pharaoh, it’s not going to be the taskmasters, it’s not going to be keeping up with a quota in unreasonable settings, the biggest challenge that the children of Israel face is to believe God’s word. That’s the biggest challenge that they have before them. And I want to suggest to you that you see that in verses 29 through 31. Exodus 4:30 and Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. And Aaron - Ex 4:16 performed the signs - Ex 4:2-9 Exodus 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries AARON FUNCTIONS AS MOSES' "PROPHET" A prophet is one who speaks for another the words that they receive from that person. Here Moses is like a "human teleprompter" (so to speak) for Aaron. And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses - Recall Moses' unwillingness in Ex 4:14 results in God passing the baton for most of the speaking engagements to his brother Aaron (Ex 4:15-16). Moses received the word from God but it had to be spoken to the elders by his brother Aaron because he had resisted the LORD's commission. It reminds me of the priest Zacharias who was the father of John the Baptist and who was struck mute by the angel after expressing doubts (Lk 1:18+) regarding John's birth (Lk 1:11-19,20+) He then performed the signs in the sight of the people - The three signs that validated that Moses had indeed seen a revelation of Jehovah are described in Ex 4:2-9. Note signs is plural, suggesting that one miracle was not sufficient to gain their trust, which is in fact hinted at the Jehovah's words twice mentioning "If they will not believe." (Ex 4:8,9+). The elders and people were walking by sight not by faith, which becomes a repeated theme in exodus - living by sight, not by faith! Exodus 4:31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped. believed - Ex 4:8,9 Ex 3:18 Ps 106:12,13 Lu 8:13 was concerned - Ex 3:16 Lu 1:68 He had seen - Ex 2:25 3:7 they bowed low - Ex 12:27 Ge 17:3 24:26 1Ch 29:20 2Ch 20:18 Exodus 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ISRAEL BELIEVES AND WORSHIPS So - Term on conclusion - On the basis of the speech and the signs, the following results. The people believed - This fulfills the promise God made to Moses in Ex 3:18 that "they will pay heed to what you say." Surely each fulfilled promise would serve to fortify and undergird Moses' trust in Jehovah. Moses and Aaron had initially appeared to the assembled elders (Ex 4:29) but this now refers to the people, presumably as many of the 2 million who could see the signs. They believed God had spoken to Moses regarding deliverance from Egypt. THOUGHT - Notice the principle that what you believe determines how you behave. And what you believe about God is the most important belief you will ever have! In this case their belief led to worship. Tozer said it this way "What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us!" (Or paraphrased "it is the most important thinking about us!") And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped - Note that heard is not just detecting "sound waves" but responding in obedience to what is heard. The reaction by Israel was proper and was a response to their appreciation of (belief in) Jehovah's concern for their affliction. Sadly their belief and spiritual high was quickly changed to disbelief and a spiritual low (despondency Ex 5:9+) in Ex 5:15-19+ and Ex 5:20-21+. THOUGHT - This same truth in the believer's life should prompt our heart-felt, loving response, for truly He daily bears our burdens (Ps 68:18), daily gives us new mercies (Lam 3:22-23), daily walks with us wherever we go (Heb 13:5+) and daily enables us live life on a higher (closer to Heaven) plain (Php 2:13+)! How's your walk today beloved? (Perhaps you need to pray Colossians 1:9-12+). Currid comments that "We are witnessing in the exodus event a contest between the God of Israel and the god of Egypt—that is, Pharaoh. It is a good example of what Paul declares in Ephesians 6:12+: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.’ Thus, in the book of Exodus we are viewing something much greater than a simple national struggle against oppression. We are witnessing a heavenly, divine combat."
Êxodo 4
Meyer - “Cherish the lowliest thought you choose of yourself, but unite it with the loftiest conception of God’s All-Sufficiency. Self-depreciation may lead to the marring of a useful life. We must think soberly of ourselves, not too lowly, as not too extravagantly. The one talent must not be buried in the earth.” David Thompson - Some have questioned whether or not Moses had a speech impediment. I am not sure we can conclude that based on this word. In fact, Stephen said that “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). It seems to me that the more probable argument Moses is making is that he is claiming that he is not really a great communicator. He was not a guy who would win oratorical contests. Now Moses was well-trained in Egyptian education and it is possible that he is struggling with the fact that he doesn’t think he knows Hebrew well enough to lead the Hebrew nation. In light of what God says about Aaron in verse 14, that he speaks “fluently,” this is a real possibility. Now let’s face it. For the past 40 years, Moses has not been a public speaker; he has been a quiet shepherd. He has been working for a Midianite priest. He has not been polishing up on his Hebrew or for that matter he hasn’t been talking too much of anyone. But all that was about to change. (Sermon) Exodus 4:2 The Little Things "And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand?" Exodus 4:2 Our Scripture reading for today contains Moses’ response to God’s call at the burning bush. Having just been commissioned to lead the children of Israel out of bondage, he was apprehensive about how the Egyptians, and even his countrymen, would react. But the Lord said to him, “What is that in thine hand?” “A rod,” Moses answered. Then He said to him in Ex 4:17, “And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.” Most of us are familiar with the great miracles associated with that rod when Moses obeyed the Lord. It was insignificant in itself, but it became a powerful instrument when committed to the Lord. Writing on this theme, J. W. Johnson imagined the following conversation between God and some of His faithful servants down through the centuries: “‘What is that in thine hand?’ asked the Lord. ‘A sling,’ said David. ‘It is enough; go up against the giant,’ and the great Goliath fell before the shepherd boy. ‘What is that in thine hand?’ ‘A sword,’ answered Jonathan. ‘It is enough,’ and the brave youth, followed by his armor-bearer, went up against an army, and the Philistines were defeated....’What is that in thine hand?’ ‘A pen,’ said John Bunyan, as he spoke from the arches of Bedford prison. ‘It is enough,’ and he wrote the story Pilgrim’s Progress, which will live while the world endures.” Exodus 4:10-17 - Now Go! Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. —Exodus 4:12NIV More than 10,000 evangelists and Christian leaders sat in a giant auditorium in Amsterdam in 1986 listening to world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham. I sat among them, listening as he narrated some of his experiences. Then, to my surprise, he said, “Let me tell you: every time I stand before the congregation of God’s people to preach, I tremble and my knees wobble!” What! I wondered. How can such a great preacher who has enthralled millions with his powerful sermons exhibit trembling and wobbling knees? Then he went on to describe not fear and stage fright, but intense humility and meekness as he felt inadequate for the daunting task to which God had called him. He relied on God for strength, not on his own eloquence. Moses felt inadequate when God sent him to deliver the enslaved Israelites from their 400-year captivity in Egypt. Moses pleaded with the Lord to send someone else, with the excuse that he had never been a good speaker (see Ex. 4:10,13). We may have similar fears when God calls us to do something for Him. But His encouragement to Moses can also spur us on: “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (v.12 niv). As Billy Graham said that day, “When God calls you, do not be afraid of trembling and wobbling knees, for He will be with you!” What task does God have for you to do today? Depend on Him by asking for His help. Wherever God sends us, He comes alongside us. Exodus 4:10-17 He Trains My Hands Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. Psalm 144:1 When former NBA player David Wood was playing for Taugrés de Baskonia, I was with him at a Spanish Basketball Cup final. Before one game, he read Psalm 144:1: “Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” He turned to me and said, “You see? It’s as if God has written this verse just for me! He trains my hands to catch rebounds and my fingers to shoot!” David felt called to play basketball and had learned that God takes us as we are and enables us to do what He calls us to do. We can easily dismiss ourselves as having little use to God because we feel we have nothing to offer. When God appeared to Moses and assigned him the task of telling the Israelites that He would deliver them from the Egyptians (Ex. 3:16-17), Moses felt inadequate. He said to the Lord, “I have never been eloquent . . . . I am slow of speech and tongue” (4:10). Perhaps Moses had some kind of speech impediment, or he was just afraid, but God overcame his inadequacy with His sufficiency. God said, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (v. 12). All God wants from us is to follow His plans. He will sort out the rest. In His mighty hands, you can be a blessing to others. Here I am, Lord, ready to serve You in whatever way You desire. Lead me. Dr. Jaime Fernández Garrido is director of the evangelical radio and television program Born Again, author of various books, and composer of more than 400 hymns and choruses. God’s call to a task includes His strength to complete it. Exodus 4:10-17 Absolutely Nobody Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. —Proverbs 30:2 He wanted to be a nobody. In 1992, a Seattle man running for the office of Washington State’s lieutenant governor legally changed his name to “Absolutely Nobody.” As he entered the race, he said he wanted to greet the voters, saying, “Hi, I’m Absolutely Nobody. Vote for me.” He later admitted that the purpose of his campaign was to abolish the office of lieutenant governor. This man used a name as a gimmick, but the Bible has a lot to say to those of us who present ourselves to others as a nobody. The right kind of humility is healthy. The songwriters of Israel knew how important it is to see our foolishness apart from God (Ps. 73:22; Prov. 30:2). Jesus Himself showed us that without God we won’t accomplish anything of lasting value (John 5:30; 15:5). But we read a warning in the story of Moses. There’s a downside to insisting that we are “nobody” if it is to avoid doing what God commands (Ex. 4:1-17). Our motives make us into somebody who resists the loving purposes of God. Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine; Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine. Take all my will, my passion, self and pride; I now surrender, Lord—in me abide. —Orr Without Christ we can do nothing. With Him we can do everything He wants us to do. Exodus 4:10-17 The Power Of Our Limits Moses, on the occasion of his call by God, made excuses. "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exodus 4:10). The wording suggests that Moses had a speech impediment—perhaps he stuttered. But the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?" (Ex 4:11). Our impairments, our disabilities, our handicaps are not accidents; they are God-designed. He uses every one of our flaws for His own glory. God's way of dealing with what we call "limitations" is not to remove them but to endow them with strength and use them for good. In the New Testament, Paul the apostle referred to an unspecified "thorn in the flesh" that he repeatedly asked the Lord to take from him (2Co 12:7, 8). But God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2Co 12:9). All faithful saints who walk with God Through weakness learn to trust His Word; They're not immune to pain or tears, But learn to rise above their fears. —D. De Haan God's strength is best seen in our weakness Exodus 4:11 The LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? NLT Exodus 4:11 Then the LORD asked Moses, "Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? Ge 18:14 Ps 51:15 94:9 146:8 Isa 6:7 35:5,6 42:7 Jer 1:6,9 Eze 3:26,27 33:22 Am 3:6 Exodus 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JEHOVAH'S RHETORICAL QUESTIONS David's declaration parallels Jehovah's rhetorical question - "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." (Ps 139:14) The LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? - God asks questions which serve as a reproof of Moses' doubts. God does not say Moses does not have deficiency, but that He, God, has all sufficiency and can overcome Moses' deficiencies. God is also saying "I made you who you are." He is affirming His sovereignty. Ryken - These rhetorical questions are a reminder that God made us exactly the way he wanted to make us. Who gave us our eyes, ears, and mouth? Obviously God did. If that is the case, then our abilities, inabilities, and even disabilities are ordained by him. God has equipped us with every talent we need to do his will. He made us the way that he made us for his glory. People often wish they had someone else’s abilities instead of their own. An example of this kind of covetous thinking comes from the movie Amadeus, which despite its historical inaccuracies makes a compelling spiritual point. The film is about the extraordinary musical talents of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), as viewed from the perspective of his fellow composer Antonio Salieri (1750–1825). Salieri was a fine musician in his own right, but he was no Mozart, and he knew it. Rather than using his own talents to glorify God, he envied the gift that God had given to Mozart. His resentment about Mozart led him to reject God, and in the end he became a bitter old man, the self-professed “patron saint of mediocrity.” If it is true that God made us exactly the way he wanted, then we cannot complain about our lack of ability without grumbling against God. When Moses said, “I don’t know how to speak,” God responded by saying, “Who gave man his mouth?” It was God’s way of showing Moses that he was mouthing off. Every time we complain about our personal limitations, what we are actually doing is insulting the God who made us. (PW-Exodus) J Ligon Duncan - God takes Moses in light of his objection, God takes Moses right back to the doctrine of creation, and He emphasizes His sovereignty. God is the one who gifts as He chooses. If God has called Moses, he can give Moses what Moses needs. God is capable of taking into consideration everything about Moses that needs to be taken into consideration as He calls him into service. And so notice what the Lord says. "Who has made man’s mouth. Who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord." Moses, God reassures by reminding him that He is the one who creates, and He is the one who gives these gifts. (Exodus 4:10-17 A Spokesman for Moses) David Thompson - God responds to Moses concerning His sovereignty. Now God says to Moses, who do you think makes people the way they are? That word “made” or “makes” is one that means God actually designs and places or sets people up in exactly the way He wants (Ibid., pp. 370-371). So when we see someone who we think is born with a handicap, that person has been created by God and is here by God’s sovereign decree. God determines if a person comes into existence not being able to talk. He determines if a person comes into existence who cannot hear. He determines if a person comes into existence who is blind. Now maybe you don’t like that about God. Well, that is too bad. Our problem is we want God to fit in with the way we think about things; but God is a whole lot bigger than the way we think about things. He is God. So what we need to do is to recognize His great sovereignty in everything, including people who are handicapped. (Sermon) (See also Why does God allow people to be disabled / handicapped?)