#Exodus 4:1‭-‬17

[walkswithmyfather]

Exodus 4:1‭-‬17 (NIV). “Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

“Breaking Down Faith Barriers” By In Touch Ministries:

“As you seek to follow God, He will help you overcome each obstacle you encounter.”

“Yesterday, we discussed how Moses doubted God’s calling to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But the Lord graciously provided reassurance through wondrous signs and promised to help His servant accomplish everything, no matter how impossible it might seem (Ex. 4:1-5).

Moses wasn’t eloquent, and his inability to speak well left him feeling inadequate. So God reassured him by saying, “I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say” (v. 12). Remember, the Lord looks at the heart, not human qualifications (1 Samuel 16:7), which is why the people He chooses to carry out His plan often seem unlikely. What’s more, God can also overcome all our inadequacies. That’s what He did by calling Moses’ brother Aaron to go along and proclaim the God-given message (Ex. 4:14-17).

The Lord had an answer for each one of Moses’ concerns, and He will likewise help us overcome obstacles when we follow Him. As we step out in obedience, our trust in God grows, and we are able to leave the outcome—whatever it may be—to Him. Then, as the faith barriers in our life are demolished, we’ll be able to see the evidence of God’s presence and power. Not only that, but we will also experience the joy of submitting to His perfect will.”

[timdcook4]

‭Exodus‬ ‭15:1‭-‬25‬ ‭LSB‬

[1] Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. [2] “Yah is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. [3] “Yahweh is a warrior; Yahweh is His name. [4] “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are sunk in the Red Sea. [5] “The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. [6] “Your right hand, O Yahweh, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O Yahweh, shatters the enemy. [7] “And in the greatness of Your exaltation You pull down those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it devours them as chaff. [8] “And at the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. [9] “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be fulfilled against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will dispossess them.’ [10] “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. [11] “Who is like You among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Fearsome in praises, working wonders? [12] “You stretched out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. [13] “In Your lovingkindness You have guided the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have led them to Your holy habitation. [14] “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has seized the inhabitants of Philistia. [15] “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. [16] “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are still as stone; Until Your people pass over, O Yahweh, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. [17] “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, O Yahweh, which You have made for You to inhabit, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. [18] “Yahweh shall reign forever and ever.” [19] For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. [20] And Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. [21] And Miriam answered them, “Sing to Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.” [22] Then Moses had Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. [23] And they came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. [24] So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” [25] Then he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He set for them a statute and a judgment, and there He tested them.

[walkswithmyfather]

“Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” —Exodus 4:1‭, ‬8‭-‬13 (NIV)

“Moses to the Rescue” By Bible Love Notes

“Moses saw himself as a rescuer (Exodus 2:11-25). He killed an Egyptian while rescuing a Hebrew slave and had to flee for his life. When he reached Midian, his first act was to rescue Reuel's daughters (including his future wife) from bully shepherds.

But the years that followed changed Moses. He lost his self-confidence. God could have used the confident young Moses, Pharaoh's adopted grandson. He was bold and self-assured. He had a position of power and influence. But God used the elderly, fearful shepherd Moses, the "nobody" who no longer imagined himself a rescuer (Exodus 4:1-17).

We choose leaders who are confident in themselves, confident in their abilities, those with good self-images, who believe they can do anything they set their minds to do. We choose them and try to emulate them. But God waited until Moses was drained of his own self-confidence so he could place his confidence in God (1 Peter 5:6). May we make that our goal as well.”