4 AugustExodus 4

Making excuses

God speaks to Moses about God seeing the oppression of his people. God chooses Moses, and quickly, Moses starts to make excuses for why he couldn’t meet God’s request. I’m not adequate for the task. Exodus 3:11 (AMP) “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” God said in reply to Moses, Exodus 3:12 (AMP) And God said, “Certainly I will be with you”I don’t know enough. Exodus 3:13 (AMP) Then Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers (ancestors) has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” Exodus 3:14 (AMP) God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am”; and He said, “You shall say this to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’”People won’t take me seriously. Exodus 4:1 (AMP) Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me or take seriously what I say? For they may say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” Again, the Lord countered Moses’ excuse. If the people didn’t take Moses seriously, they would take seriously the three powerful signs God promised to perform through Moses. Exodus 4:8-9 (MSG) “So if they don’t trust you and aren’t convinced by the first sign, the second sign should do it. But if it doesn’t, if even after these two signs they don’t trust you and listen to your message, take some water out of the Nile and pour it out on the dry land; the Nile water that you pour out will turn to blood when it hits the ground.”I cannot talk. Exodus 4:10 (MSG) 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.” Exodus 4:11-12 (MSG) 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.”Moses' final excuse, Lord, “please send someone else.” Exodus 4:13 (MSG) He said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!”. The anger of the Lord was kindled at this point. . . so God appoints Aaron, Moses’ brother, to speak for Aaron. Exodus 4:14-17 (MSG) 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.”Moses tried to avoid doing what God had created him to do. Let's not make excuses like Moses when God calls us to complete a task. Unlike Moses, God’s only Son, Jesus, did not make excuses. He willingly went to the cross without hesitation or objection. Jesus didn’t ask God to send someone else. He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day, all without making any excuses. This was God’s plan for salvation.Like Jesus, we should not make excuses when God asks us to do something. God is always with us, just as He was with Moses. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can call on His divine name anytime, day or night. We don't need to ask God to send someone else when He gives us a task. Instead of offering excuses, we should rely on God's promises. We may run out of excuses, but God’s assurances are endless.