Moses is worried that the people will not believe him when he goes to Egypt and repeats what the Lord has told him to say and do. God gives him different signs to show the people to make them believe him.
- A staff he holds in his hand, when thrown to the ground will turn into a serpent. When he picks it up by the tail, it will turn back into a staff.
- He should put his hand inside his cloak and when he pulls it out it will be leprous. When he returns it to his cloak and pulls it back out, it is restored like the rest of his skin.
- He should take some water from the Nile, and when he throws it onto dry ground, it will turn into blood.
Moses still had his concerns that he would not be able to speak eloquently, since he was slow in speech and tongue.
“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? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
-Exodus 4:11-12
Moses still wan’t listening, and the anger of the Lord was kindling against Moses. He said that Moses’ brother Aaron, the Levite, would go with him and speak. Moses was to tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron would speak for him to the people, and he shall be his mouth.
So, Moses with the staff in hand, returned to Egypt; for all the men that were after him were dead. He took his wife and sons with him.
“And the Lord said to Moses. “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles I have put in your power. But, I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'”
-Exodus 4:21-23
Along the way, at a lodging place, apparently the Lord got mad at Moses and sought to put him to death. Zipporah, Moses’ wife, took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So the Lord let him alone. Then she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
I have no idea what any of that means ??
Moving on, Aaron met Moses in the wilderness and Moses told him all the words the Lord had sent him to speak, and all the signs he was commanded to do. Moses and Aaron went and gathered all of the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke the words and Moses did the signs; and the people believed them and bowed their heads and worshiped.
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to see the Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'” But the Pharaoh questioned who this Lord was, and why he should obey him.
Pharaoh responded with commanding the taskmasters to no longer give the people straw to make bricks, and that they would need to gather their own straw. However, the number of bricks they made in the past will in no way be reduced. They said, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.”
The foremen of the people of Israel went to the Pharaoh and asked him why he was treating his servants like that. They were getting no straw to make bricks, and then being beaten for the fault being on his own people.
They met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them when they came out from the Pharaoh. They were angry with them and said, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
“Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
-Exodus 5:22-23
The Lord basically responded with, “Just wait and see what I do with Pharaoh!” With a strong hand he will send them out of this land. The Lord reiterated to Moses everything he was to say to the people of Israel, to assure them he would come through on his promise. Moses spoke the words to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to him, because their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
The Lord told Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh saying the same things he had just spoke to the people.
“But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”
-Exodus 6:12-13
Today ended with the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, listing the names of their family trees. I always dislike when it does this, because I can never follow it accurately or pronounce most of the names.
I’m also wondering why Moses is questioning everything he is told to do. Why was he chosen for this task, when he acts so disobedient? God even got mad enough he was going to kill him on the journey to Egypt; so why not choose someone He knew wasn’t going to be a pain in the ass?
Some notes from my Life Application Bible: Circumcision symbolized the Jews separation from Gentiles and their unique relationship with God. God was about to kill Moses because Moses had not circumcised his son. Why hadn’t Moses done this? Remember that Moses had spent half his life in Pharoah’s palace and half his life in the Midianite desert. He might not have been too familiar with God’s laws, especially since all the requirements of God’s covenant with Israel (Genesis 17) had not been actively carried out for over 400 years. In addition, Moses’ wife, due to her Midianite background, may have opposed circumcision. But Moses could not effectively serve as deliverer of God’s people until he had fulfilled the conditions of God’s covenant and one of those conditions was circumcision. Before they could go any farther, Moses and his family had to follow God’s commands completely. Under Old Testament law, failing to circumcise your son was to remove yourself and your family from God’s blessings. Moses learned that disobeying God was even more dangerous than tangling with an Egyptian pharaoh. Why did Zipporah perform the circumcision? It may have been Zipporah who, as a Midianite unfamiliar with the circumcision requirement, had persuaded Moses not to circumcise their son. If she prevented the action, now she would have to perform it. It is also possible that Moses became ill as a result of permitting disobedience, and so Zipporah had to perform the circumcision herself to save both her husband and son. This would not have made her happy – hence her unflattering comment to Moses.
Very helpful! Thank you! I need to get a reference book of some kind with the extra information. 😃
Vicky,
Thank you, I was wondering about this as well, I didn’t know if he was talking about circumcision on males or if it was representing something else.