Expressiveness Expedited
| Moses said to the LORD, "O 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 man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." 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 his heart will be glad when he sees 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. (Exodus4:10-16) |
But even when God tells Moses that He can give him the ability to speak perfectly - Moses continues to protest and so God provides another solution in the form of Aaron, Moses' brother.
The question we are left with is this:
- Did God "cave in" to Moses' sense of inadequacy?
- Did God, who could make a donkey speak, simply allow Moses to get away with a stubborn lack of trust?
Although Moses' reticence angered Him, God, with great love, saw a deeper need than Moses' lack of verbal expressiveness. I think that Moses was afraid of facing such a daunting task alone. And so God gives Moses a companion and sidekick and, for Moses, who better than his big brother?
If we follow Moses' journey, there are almost always companions who share his journey with him: His siblings Aaron and Miriam are a core part of his leadership team even when their ambitions get in the way. Young Joshua is his protege. Aaron and Hur hold up his arms in the battle against the Amelikites. He even allows his father-in-law Jethro to give him leadership advice. The only times Moses is alone is when he is with God. Moses is team-orientated.
I think it is wonderful that God cares about Moses so intimately that He looks beyond the surface issue (a stutter) and sees a soul in need of companionship.
So God cuts through (expedites) the speech issue (expressiveness) to address the real need: Moses was lonely.
Let's exult in the knowledge that God knows us intimately and even when our stubbornness might anger Him, He always patiently meets our deepest needs and so we exalt Him for His love.
