Exodus 4 reminds me of the battle of the sexes commonly promoted today. For millennia men and women cooperated in shared responsibilities just to survive. Life is hard, and life alone is harder. Today’s lesson is about willingly carrying the burden for others. We begin with Moses, perhaps the most revered man in history, doing his best to refuse the role God has given him. In the previous chapter God told him everything that will happen. Moses answered: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me?” This goes beyond caution, Moses is trying to avoid the leadership role. Men today are told that is okay. Note God’s response: “What is that in your hand?“. “A staff,” Moses replied. A staff is the tool a shepherd leans on, and a trusted weapon when under attack. God said: “Throw it on the ground“. When he did, it turned into a snake. Then the Lord told Moses to “take it by the tail”. That is the challenge in life; overcoming fear to take up something difficult. “The snake turned back into a staff in his hand“. Moses must control the scary thing before it becomes useful. At the end of the chapter it is called “the staff of God”. His most trusted tool now belongs to God.
The chapter continues with a symbol of restoration. Moses had been hiding in the desert for 40 years. He felt unworthy. It is harder to recover from failure than starting off new. “The Lord said, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak’… and when he took it out, the skin was leprous.” Leprocy was a terrifyingly deadly disease. In the Bible, it symbolizes sin and corruption. “‘Now put it back into your cloak’… and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh”. Only God has the power to forgive sin. The message is that no matter how badly we have messed up in the past, God will give us a fresh start. God includes instructions to Moses: “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second”. People seldom overlook our history until we live out the new life we now possess. God also includes a third sign: “The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” Sadly, without repentance and forgiveness, there will be judgement.
Moses is still an unwilling vessel, giving yet another excuse: “ I am slow of speech and tongue… Please send someone else.” We read: “the Lord’s anger burned against Moses”. Moses has been uniquely prepared for this assignment, but God allows his older brother Aaron to become his mouthpiece. Moses’ reluctance to lead creates separation in his relationship with God (and perhaps his wife). God told him to: “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” Then we read a strange verse: “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it.” She was not a child of Abraham, and very likely she would not allow Moses to circumcise the boy as God commanded. No details are provided, but I think she realized that she was the source of strife. Her desire for unity saved him. Together they both acknowledged God’s authority. Friend, is it time for you to stop fighting and cooperate? Ultimately the Israelites “bowed down and worshiped.”