Day 27

Exodus 4:1–5:21; Matthew 18:1-20; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 5:15-21

YESTERDAY, WE NOTICED that Moses had reservations about God’s instructions to return to Egypt. In today’s reading from Exodus, we continued with the conversation between Moses and God, and we encountered another of the saddest scenes in the Bible.

Moses explained to God why he was the wrong person, pleading that no one would believe him. God provided miraculous signs to solve this problem, but Moses wasn’t finished with excuses. “O Lord, I’m not very good with words,” he said. “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” (Exodus 4:10).

How did God respond?

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? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.

This brings us to a very sad statement from the lips of Moses: “Lord, please! Send anyone else” (Exodus 4:13).

Through this exchange, once again, the Bible becomes a mirror into our souls. We’ve all done this in one way or another. In thought, word, or deed, we’ve explained to God why we are the wrong person and are not equipped to obey Him. We’ve all said, “Please send someone else,” fully exposing our fears. This response also exposes the frailty of our faith. And yet “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6), and it is impossible to know God without faith.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. . . . And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me” (Matthew 18:3, 5). We must reach higher than our highest reasoning and beyond our greatest fears to have the faith of a child who believes that all things are possible. Otherwise, we will mimic Moses and ask God to send someone else.

Thankfully, Moses ran out of excuses and returned to Egypt. The Bible would be quite a different story had he not. As with Joseph’s story, things only got worse once Moses obeyed God. The slavery intensified, making everyone frustrated and angry with Moses. But as we shall soon see, God will not be thwarted.

WORSHIP:

All who seek the LORD will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the LORD. He rules all the nations.