Commentary - Exodus 4:10-17

Bird's-eye view

Here we come to the final round of Moses's wrestling match with God at the burning bush. Having exhausted his more theological objections, Moses now resorts to the last refuge of a reluctant servant: the claim of personal inadequacy. He can't speak well. This is a classic example of false humility, which at bottom is just a pious-sounding form of unbelief. God's response is a thunderous assertion of His absolute sovereignty over all creation, including Moses's mouth. When Moses persists in his refusal, God's anger is kindled, yet in that anger, He provides a gracious, though concessionary, solution in the person of Aaron. The passage establishes the foundational principle of divine calling: it is not about our ability, but about God's all-sufficient presence and power. God does not call the equipped; He equips the called.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This section concludes the pivotal burning bush narrative that began in Exodus 3. God has revealed His name, His plan of salvation for Israel, and His intention to use Moses as His instrument. Moses has repeatedly objected, questioning God's presence, his own authority, and the people's belief. This final exchange is the climax of his resistance. It is the point where his reluctance hardens into outright refusal, prompting a response from God that is both wrathful and merciful. This arrangement, with Moses as the prophet and Aaron as the mouthpiece, sets the stage for their confrontation with Pharaoh and the entire exodus that follows.

Key Issues

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Exodus 4:10

10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, I have never been a man of words, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a hard mouth and a hard tongue.”

This is Moses's fifth excuse, and he has moved from the high ground of theological problems down to the bog of personal inadequacy. It sounds humble, does it not? But we must see it for what it is. This is not humility; it is a direct contradiction of God's wisdom in choosing him. Moses is essentially informing the omniscient God that He has made a casting error. When God calls a man to a task, the man's self-assessment is entirely irrelevant. The phrase "hard mouth and a hard tongue" is Moses's way of saying he is slow of speech, clumsy with words. But in the face of a divine commission, this is like a hammer telling the carpenter it is not suited for driving nails. The Creator knows the tool He has selected.

Exodus 4:11-12

11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and will instruct you what you shall speak.”

God does not offer Moses a pep talk. He does not say, "Come now, Moses, you are being too hard on yourself." He takes him back to the bedrock of reality: creation itself. "Who made man's mouth?" This is a foundational, presuppositional argument. The one who designed and built the mouth is certainly capable of operating it for His purposes. God's sovereignty extends not only to the well-functioning mouth but also to the mute, the deaf, and the blind. God is not the author of sin, but He is the sovereign over all conditions and calamities. He is Yahweh. Therefore, the command remains: "So now, go." The solution to Moses's weakness is not a new set of skills but the presence of God Himself. "I will be with your mouth." God's presence is the ultimate equipment. He will supply the words. Moses is to be a conduit, not an originator.

Exodus 4:13

13 But he said, “Please, Lord, send now the message by whomever You will.”

Here the mask of false humility slips entirely. This is the raw nerve of disobedience. After God has declared His absolute sovereignty and promised His personal, enabling presence, Moses's response is, in effect, "Please, send someone else." This is not a request born of humility but a plea born of stubborn unbelief. He is refusing the call. He has looked at the all-sufficient God of the universe and has decided that his own insufficiency is a bigger reality. This is an immense insult, and it is the heart of our own sin whenever we shrink from a clear command from God because we feel unequal to the task.

Exodus 4:14

14 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart.”

God's anger is not a fit of pique. It is the holy and righteous displeasure of a sovereign who has been defied by His creature. Unbelief in the face of God's clear promise is a profound sin, and God is angry about it. And yet, what follows is a marvel of grace. In His anger, God does not destroy Moses. He condescends to his weakness and provides a helper. Notice that God is already steps ahead. He asks a rhetorical question: "Is there not your brother Aaron?" God already had Aaron on the way. God's sovereign plan is so robust that it incorporates our failures and disobedience into its outworking. God acknowledges that Aaron is a good speaker, but this is a concession. The original plan was for God's power to be made perfect in Moses's weakness. Now, God will still accomplish His will, but through a modified arrangement.

Exodus 4:15-16

15 And you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you shall do. 16 Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him.

Even in this concession, God is careful to maintain the proper structure of authority. Moses is not demoted. He is still the one who receives the revelation directly from God. He is to "put the words in his mouth." Aaron is to be the spokesman, the mouthpiece, but Moses is the source. God promises to be with both their mouths, but the flow is clear: God to Moses, Moses to Aaron, and Aaron to the people. The phrase "you will become as God to him" is striking. It does not mean Moses is deified. It means that in this specific arrangement, Moses is the authoritative source of the divine word for Aaron. To hear Moses is to hear God's message. This establishes a pattern for prophetic authority throughout Scripture.

Exodus 4:17

17 And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Finally, God redirects Moses's attention from his mouth to his hand. He is to take the staff, that dead piece of wood that had already been transformed. This staff is to be the instrument of God's power. The signs will not be done by the staff, but by God, with the staff. It is a tangible reminder for Moses that the power for this mission lies not in his own eloquence, or even in Aaron's, but in the God who can make a dead stick bud and a stammering shepherd defy an empire.

Application

The excuses we make for our disobedience are often just as flimsy as Moses's. We dress up our fear and unbelief in the respectable clothes of humility. "I am not gifted enough," "I am not a leader," "I am not good with people." God's response to us is the same as it was to Moses: "Who made you?" The God who formed you is more than capable of using you for His glory.

The solution to our feelings of inadequacy is not to find a more talented person for the job, but to lay hold of the promise of Christ's presence. He has told us, "I am with you always, to the end of the age." Our sufficiency is not in ourselves, but in Him. God delights in using weak instruments, cracked pots, and stammering tongues, because it ensures that He gets all the glory. When we are called to a task, whether it is sharing the gospel with a neighbor or leading our families in worship, our job is not to assess our abilities but to trust His.