There is a very interesting story in Exodus 4 (see below) where God called Moses and commissioned him for a specific assignment (leading the Israelites from bondage in Egypt). It’s the story where God first turned Moses wooden rod into a snake. Then God let Moses experience leprosy if only for a brief period of time, and then He miraculously took it away. These were to be signs so that after Moses performed them, the people would believe that Moses had been sent from God. I’ve always appreciated this aspect to God. He respects or intellect enough to give us signs in order for us to have a reason to believe that someone is sent from God. God did not expect the Israelites or Pharaoh to believe Moses was sent from God simply because he said that he was. God gave those signs to give the people reason to believe that Moses had been sent from God. It makes perfect sense that God would respect our rational nature because after-all he created us that way. He gave us minds that could reason and think logically, so it would make sense that God would speak to us in that way. It makes perfect sense, but it’s something that I have always appreciated about God.
But is there something else going on in this story and does it have any application to us? I think it does. God called Moses for a specific task, and as he commissioned him He dealt with Moses’ fear in a dramatic way. It makes sense that God would deal with Moses’ fear in a dramatic way since the mission that he was sending him on was also extremely dramatic. God dealt with three specific aspects to Moses’ fear.
The first aspect of fear is what I call external threats to our life. When the rod became a snake, the Bible records that Moses “fled” from it. That too makes sense. Fleeing conveys a sense of fear. Moses was afraid of the snake. I picture a kind of cobra or something similar. I don’t blame Moses for being afraid and “fleeing”. If it would have been me, “fleeing” would have been an understatement. But God directed Moses to do something remarkable. God told Moses to pick up the snake by the tail! Are you kidding me? Picking it up by the tail is a great way to get bitten. I’m not sure I could have done it even if God had directed me. But Moses did. He had to overcome his fear. Basically, he had to trust God more than his fear. It has been said that faith is what you do with your fear. Moses was afraid of the snake, but then he trusted the Word of God more than his fear, and he obeyed God and did the exact opposite things of what one would naturally think to do. Moses had overcome his fear of an external threat to his life.
The second aspect of fear that God dealt with is what I call internal threats to our life. We all fear going to our doctor and hearing the word “cancer”. It’s a fear of bodily harm or death that lurks in our subconscious. It’s a fear of bodily harm from within. Leprosy was the “cancer” of that day. It was a death sentence, but only after many years of ostracism and shame. Lepers had to live outside the camp alone with their disease. And in the end, lepers died alone. When God told Moses to pull his hand from his bosom and Moses saw the leprosy, his heart must have sunk to the desert floor. And once again, just as He had with the direction to pick up a snake by the tail, God instructed Moses to do the counter-intuitive thing. God directed Moses to put the leprous hand next to his bosom. If the leprosy could be contained to the hand, there might have been a chance for survival, but God told Moses to put the leprous limb next to his bosom potentially spreading the disease all around his body and sealing his fate. And once again, Moses obeyed the voice of God rather than trust his own instincts. Moses trusted God’s word over and against the dictates of his own fear. Moses had overcome his fear of an internal threat to his bodily harm.
The third aspect of fear had to do with threats to Moses’ soul. As we see in the story, Moses is ashamed by something in the way he speaks. The Bible records that Moses referred to himself as being “slow of tongue”. I imagine that Moses had some sort of speech impediment. Regardless, Moses felt inadequate to the task, and I imagine that he was afraid of what people would say about him. Moses may have been afraid of what people thought, and he might have been afraid of failure. This was probably the most crippling fear that Moses harbored. This fear was more of an obstacle than fear of bodily harm. This fear was more difficult to exercise from Moses than his external and internal bodily fears. Ultimately, God told Moses in a round-about way that God knew what he was doing. God sent Moses over his objections, and God told Moses that he needed to trust Him and not his own ability to speak. God knew that Moses was not eloquent, but God said something that was key. God told Moses that “He would be with his mouth and He would teach him what to say”. By going as commanded, Moses was forced to trust God despite his feelings of inadequacy. Did God choose Moses in spite of this inadequacy or because of it? Certainly, because of this impediment, Moses would be forced to rely on God for his words and not succumb to the temptation to trust his own eloquence. In going, Moses had overcome his fear of failure due to his own inadequacies.
What can we apply from this story to our lives. First, when God gives us a task, He will deal with our fear first. We should expect it. The task that God requires of us may not be as dramatic as what God asked Moses to do, so the manner in which He deals with our fear may not be as dramatic, but we should expect to deal with our fear when God asks us to do something for Him. We need to learn to hear and obey. We should expect that He will ask us to trust Him and not obey the dictates of our fear. We will need to overcome our fear of death if we want God to use us.
There is something else about Moses that is not in this story. In the previous chapter, we read about how God called Moses from the Burning Bush. The Bible says that Moses turned aside to see about that bush. At that point God spoke to Moses. God introduced Himself to Moses. AND MOSES HEARD. Many times, I pray and ask God to use me in some dramatic way. And yet do I ever turn aside to seek Him? Am I open to His voice? If I’m not even listening, what will I hear? We will need to seek Him and learn to hear His voice, if we want God to use us.
Finally, is my fear of failure holding me back from being used of God? Do I worry about what other people will think more than I worry about obeying God? Do I focus on my own short-comings rather than the omnipotence of the God I serve? God chose a man with a speech impediment to be His spokesman to the king of the world. What short-coming do I have that compares with that? What impediment do I have that the God of the Universe cannot overcome? Is my weakness greater than God’s greatness? I need to learn to trust in God rather than focus on my own inadequacies.
These are dramatic times that we live in for sure. God may ask us to do something that matches the drama of the times. We should start to get ready for that commissioning. Let us take our cue from Moses. We should diligently seek God. Allow Him introduce Himself to us anew. We should learn to listen to His voice. We should stop focusing on our own inadequacies and instead meditate on the greatness of the God we serve. We should be prepared to obey His voice rather than trusting in the dictates of our own fear.
Exodus 4
1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:5 That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.6 And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. 13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.14 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.