The God Who Makes the Mouth
Introduction: The Last Refuge of Disobedience
We live in a therapeutic age, an age that has made an idol out of our own perceived inadequacies. Before we undertake any great task, particularly a task given to us by God, we have been trained to first look inward. We take inventory of our strengths, our weaknesses, our personality type, and our spiritual gifts profile. We treat the command of God as though it were a job posting, and we are cautiously reviewing the list of qualifications to see if we are a good "fit." And if we conclude that we are not a good fit, we feel entirely justified in politely declining the offer, assuring God that He could surely find someone more qualified.
This entire way of thinking is a pious fraud. It is a modern, respectable, and church-approved form of rebellion. It cloaks our fear and our unwillingness in the guise of humility. We say, "I can't," when what we really mean is, "I won't."
In our text today, we come to the climax of Moses's objections at the burning bush. God has answered every one of his "what if" questions with a rock-solid promise of His own presence and power. But Moses has one last card to play, the ace of spades in the deck of disobedience. He appeals to his own personal inadequacy. He is not a good public speaker. And in God's response to this final excuse, we find the bedrock truth of His absolute sovereignty, and the staggering nature of His grace toward stubborn saints.
The Text
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.” 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? So now, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and will instruct you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Please, Lord, send now the message by whomever You will.” 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. 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. 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. And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
(Exodus 4:10-17 LSB)
The Excuse of Incompetence (v. 10)
We begin with Moses's final, desperate plea.
"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." (Exodus 4:10)
Moses is emphatic. This is not a new problem. He has never been eloquent. He is, in his own words, "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue." This is his resume, and he is submitting it as proof of his disqualification. On the surface, this sounds like admirable humility. Who are we to argue with his self-assessment? He knows himself better than we do. But he is not speaking to us. He is speaking to the God who made him.
This is the problem with all such excuses. They are profoundly man-centered. Moses is operating under the assumption that the success of this mission depends on his natural, native talents. He is looking at the task, then looking at his toolkit, and concluding that he doesn't have the right tools for the job. But the call of God is never an invitation to rely on your own toolkit. The call of God is a command to rely on Him. Moses's focus is entirely on the horizontal plane: his mouth, his tongue, his words. God is about to lift his chin and force him to think vertically.
The Sovereign Creator's Rebuke (v. 11-12)
God's response is not a pep talk. It is not an affirmation of Moses's hidden potential. It is a tectonic, worldview-shattering declaration of His own absolute sovereignty.
"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?'" (Exodus 4:11)
This is one of the most foundational statements in all of Scripture. God does not deny Moses's impediment. He takes credit for it. He essentially says, "Your mouth, with all its heaviness, is My handiwork. The mute man's silence is My design. The deaf man's inability to hear is My decree." This is hard doctrine, but it is glorious doctrine. God is not a cosmic tinkerer, doing His best with the flawed materials He finds. He is the sovereign potter, and He shapes every vessel for His own purpose. He is just as sovereign over disability as He is over ability.
This demolishes all our therapeutic excuses. You say you have a temper? Who made your emotions? You say you are not intelligent enough? Who made your mind? Your perceived weakness is not an obstacle to God's plan; it is often the very stage upon which He intends to display His power. God knew Moses had a heavy tongue when He called him. He was not surprised by this information. The point was never for Moses to be eloquent. The point was for God to be glorified.
And so, God follows His rebuke with a promise. This is the covenantal pattern. First law, then gospel.
"So now, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and will instruct you what you shall speak." (Exodus 4:12)
The solution to Moses's inadequacy is not a public speaking course. The solution is the presence of God. "I will be with your mouth." God promises to bridge the gap. He will be the eloquence. He will provide the script. All Moses has to do is show up and be a mouthpiece. This is the only qualification any of us ever need for any task God gives us: His enabling presence.
The Unvarnished Refusal (v. 13)
After this staggering promise, we would expect Moses to fall on his face in repentance and say, "Here I am, send me." But that is not what happens. The mask of humble inadequacy falls away, and we see the stubborn will beneath.
"But he said, 'Please, Lord, send now the message by whomever You will.'" (Exodus 4:13)
This is breathtaking. He is no longer offering excuses. This is a direct refusal. In the most polite and pious language possible, Moses is telling God, "No. Pick someone else." This reveals that the root issue was never his inability, but his unwillingness. He did not want the job. He was afraid of Pharaoh, afraid of the Israelites, and he simply did not want to go. His heavy tongue was the last, most convenient excuse to hide behind.
We must examine our own hearts in this. When we tell God we "can't" do something He has clearly commanded, like sharing the gospel with a neighbor or disciplining our children consistently, how often is "can't" just a respectable cover for "won't?"
God's Anger and Gracious Concession (v. 14-17)
At this point, God's patience runs out. But His response is a profound mixture of righteous anger and covenantal grace.
"Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses..." (Exodus 4:14)
Let us not skip over this. It is a fearful thing to provoke the living God to anger. Moses is standing on holy ground, and his insubordination has kindled the divine fire. God would have been perfectly just to consume him on the spot. But He does not. Instead, in His anger, He provides a concession. He provides a helper.
He brings up Aaron, the Levite. God already knows all about Aaron. He knows he speaks well. And He knows that, in His providence, Aaron is already on his way to meet Moses. God is never caught off guard. He then lays out the new arrangement. Moses will still be the revelator. He will receive the words from God. But Aaron will be the spokesman. "You will become as God to him," and he will be your mouth. This is a gracious provision, but we should not miss the fact that it is a second-best arrangement. Moses was offered the chance to be the direct instrument, and he refused. Now he must work through an intermediary. His sin resulted in a more complicated administrative structure.
God's grace is such that He will work through our failures and stubbornness, but that does not mean our failures are without consequence. God would still accomplish His purpose, but Moses's role was now altered because of his reluctance.
Finally, God points him back to the staff.
"And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs." (Exodus 4:17)
The power is not in the speaker, whether Moses or Aaron. The power is in God, and the staff is the visible symbol of that delegated authority. The Word (spoken by Aaron) and the Power (demonstrated by the staff in Moses's hand) will go together. This is how God always works. He speaks, and He acts. His word is never empty, but is always accompanied by power.
Conclusion: Your Inadequacy is the Point
This entire exchange is a foundational lesson for every Christian. God does not call the equipped. He equips the called. And the primary tool of His equipping is the promise of His presence.
Your feelings of inadequacy are not a bug; they are a feature. They are designed to drive you out of yourself and onto utter reliance upon God. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. The moment you think you are qualified for the task is the moment you have disqualified yourself. The man who says, "I am a great speaker, Lord, you should definitely pick me," is the last man God will use.
God chose a man with a heavy tongue to confront the most powerful empire on earth so that when that empire crumbled, no one could say, "My, what an eloquent man that Moses was." No, they would be forced to say, "The God of Moses is the one true God." Your weakness is the black velvet backdrop against which the diamond of God's sovereign power is meant to shine.
The ultimate answer to Moses's reluctance is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God incarnate, the perfect spokesman who never faltered, who never said, "Send someone else." And through His death and resurrection, He has given us not an Aaron, but the Holy Spirit Himself, who dwells in us. The command to the disciples in the Great Commission was not given to a team of polished orators. It was given to fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots. And their promise was the same as Moses's: "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Therefore, when God calls you to speak His truth, whether to your children across the dinner table or to a hostile world, do not look at your own tongue. Look to the God who made it. Your inadequacy is the price of admission. Pick up the staff He has given you, open the mouth He has made, and trust Him to be with it. For He is the God who not only calls the unqualified, but who delights to display His glory through them.