Who Makes a Person’s Mouth?
Passage
Exodus 4:10-16 (NLT)
“10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.â€
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? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.â€
13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.â€
14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,†he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.”
Reflection
As I was reading the first 4 chapters of Exodus this morning, I was focused mostly on how Moses kept making excuses about his own inabilities. He was concerned he wouldn’t be taken seriously unless he was armed with the miracles that God provided him with. Then he makes excuses yet again and tells God that he cannot speak well, so he is concerned he would be unable to lead and persuasively speak. Although God is angry, he doesn’t let Moses wriggle free of this chance for leadership - he tells Moses to use his brother Aaron as his mouthpiece.
What strikes me about this is that God had plans for Moses and didn’t let Moses low self esteem get the better of him. He knew what Moses was capable of - but he had to convince Moses that he could do anything only because He (God) was on his side and would give him both the power and authority. How often do I shake off potential responsibility, leadership, or the use of my gifts because I poo-poo my abilities and fear failure? I have to remember that God is telling me I can do it, not because of my own ability or disability, but because God has enabled me.
Another thing that struck me is that God indicates that He knows what people’s weaknesses and disabilities are. He created us the way we are for a purpose. Even what we consider a weakness can be used to further His Kingdom and to grow us to be more like Christ.
Prayer
God, thank you for creating me - flaws and all. I know I tend to see the bad and not the good, but as the Jars of Clay lyric goes, “Change this something normal into something beautiful.” Thanks for letting me know that my weakness can be used for your strength. Amen.
Tags: [Bible, Scripture, quiet time, devotions, RWRW, Exodus, Old Testament, Moses, wisdom, Christianity]
No Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>