Exodus 4:1-31
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,a 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.
18 And Moses went and returned to Jethrob his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.
28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.
29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Exodus 4:1. They will not believe me. Then the Lord directed him to work a miracle, the most convincing evidence of divine authority, for the removal of unbelief.
Exodus 4:2. A rod. Milton has displayed his classic and poetic genius on the rod of Amram's son. Reference has also been made to the Thyrsus of Bacchus, which was a dart surround with leaves of the vine. The fabulous history of Bacchus we have in old Hesiod, fab. 3. Pliny, book 16, chap. 4. Cicero on the nature of the gods, mentions five of that name, men who lived in different places. (book 3.) Modern literature, in the hands of bishop Huet in France, and Dr. Stukeley of London, gives us the fable as first founded on the promised Messiah. Bacchus was called Bimere, twice born, or a child by two mothers. He was son of Jupiter by Semélè, whose brightness having consumed the mother during pregnancy, the child dropped, and was placed by Jupiter in his thigh to complete the time. Thus Bacchus was twice born. Here we have the mystery of the divine and human geniture of Christ. The vine, the grape, the gay and laughing character of Bacchus, designate, not drunkenness, as feigned by the intemperate heathens, but all the paradisaical state of the earth in the glory of the latter day, when the wilderness shall blossom like the rose, and the deserts shall be glad; when the mountains shall drop down with new wine, and the vallies shall flow with milk; when every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, none daring to make him afraid. Bacchus is also called the god of war, and the most terrible of all the gods. Christ is the Lord of hosts; and there is not a promise of the enlargement of his kingdom, to which the utter destruction of all the incorrigible, expressed or understood, is not subjoined. Bacchus had a double-edged dart; but the Messiah has a sword with two edges to smite the earth. The Thyrsus, rabdos or rod, seems anciently to have been put into the hands of all illustrious characters. Vola, our northern sybil and poetess, says that men played in joyful gambols on the green, and had not known the want of gold, till the arrival of three powerful Thursa maids from Jotunheim.
Tefido I tuni, Teitur voro Var theim vettugis,
Want or gulli, Uns thriar komo,
Thursa meyar.
Amatkar miok, Or Jotunbeimom.
Ed. Stockholm, 1750.
Exodus 4:21. I will harden his heart. The critics read these words so differently as to make a great difficulty in the sense: and the ancient versions of the bible differ as much as the critics. I will harden I will fortify I will magnify I will hold I will corroborate I will fix settle or retain Pharaoh's heart. Vide Poli Syn. Crit. in loc. And it is said, Exodus 8:32, that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. “God,” says Theodoret, “had he so pleased, might have cut off Pharaoh by a sudden and single stroke; but his goodness induced him to employ more mild and lenient measures.” This indulgence, Pharaoh abused, turning it in every step to an occasion of confirming himself in his obstinacy, as appears in the course of the history, where we find him wavering under the anguish of the scourge, and disposed to comply; and upon the removal of the plague, resuming his former obstinacy. Hence it is evident, he acted by free choice and consent. Had he been wicked by a physical necessity, he could not so often have changed his mind. Hence also that expression, as the Lord had spoken by Moses, Exodus 9:35, is to be understood of the divine prescience or foreknowledge that it would be so. Biblio. Biblia, in loc. The fact seems to be, that when wicked men resist the works and grace of God, he in righteous judgment withdraws his grace, suffers them freely to take their own way, and then they ultimately pass into a state of reprobation. With men so hardened, God in his mysterious wisdom is sometimes pleased to accomplish the purposes of his providence. But as a good man cannot harden another to oppress and kill, so God could not harden Pharaoh to those cruel acts. Therefore, “Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” James 1:13.
Exodus 4:24. The Lord met him. The Chaldaic reads, the angel of the Lord. The rabbins make much ado in the illustration of this text. Moses had delayed the rite of circumcising Gershom, surnamed Eliezer, evidently because of family opposition. But now the mother performed the office to avert the impending stroke of death, reproaching Moses as a bloody husband. Christian, be aware, that circumcision of the heart is absolutely required, the mortification of all unlawful desires, else thy soul must die for sin. Nay more, as Moses did this on the day of his journey, so those desires must be suppressed in their first assaults.
REFLECTIONS.
The first object presented in this chapter is the mystic Rod, so often noticed in the sacred volume; the rod so often shook with terror against the Egyptians, and so often extended for the salvation and defence of Israel. It was undoubtedly figurative of the sceptre in the hand of Jesus Christ, by which he breaks his enemies, as a potter's vessel is shivered with a rod of iron: but which he extends every moment as a pastoral crook for the safety and protection of his flock. And how happy are the people sheltered under his guardian care.
Did the Lord support and fortify Moses to enter on this arduous embassy, not only by a repetition of the promises, but by a double miracle? Then the weakest of his servants should not be afraid; he will qualify them for their work, support them in affliction, and enable them to accomplish the good pleasure of his will.
But was he still unwilling to go and address the elders of Israel, recollecting that they had rejected him forty years before? Did he still pray that another might be sent in his place? In this he greatly displeased the Lord; for it was making light of the highest honours a mortal had ever borne. Just so, when a minister is once rejected in the early progress of his work, it is very discouraging, and he can scarcely raise his spirits or face them again, when he thinks that his labours of love have been disesteemed. But let him not be too much discouraged. Many whose ministerial course has been crowned with the greatest utility and honour, have been checked with humiliating difficulties in their early efforts. But wise and holy men are most impressed with the importance of the work; and on that account are most apt to start difficulties and indulge scruples.
Moses having his scruples and fears at length removed, endeavoured to discharge his duty to God with the consent of his family. He solicited leave of Jethro to visit his brethren; a reasonable request, after an absence of forty years. Let us learn of him, so to conduct our family affairs, that religion, if possible, may not be reproached by odd and imprudent conduct.
It is remarkable however, that he said nothing of his divine call. In a mission so extraordinary, Jethro had no experience, no knowledge; and therefore could give him no counsel. On the contrary, he might have thrown many impediments in the way. Hence we learn that it is most prudent for men labouring under an impression to devote their life to the ministry, not to advise with the less enlightened believers, but with aged ministers, who have acquired experience and known the glory to which they are called.
This man having once surmounted his fears, mark how expeditiously he proceeds to execute the divine commands, by hurrying away his wife when she had been but a week confined. The King's business requires haste; and the Lord's work is to be done before our own.
Mark farther, that the Lord may for a while excuse in others, what he will not excuse in his peculiar servant. Moses, being on a journey, had omitted the ritual of circumcision on the eighth day, which was the seal of the covenant; the Lord therefore met him in a menacing attitude. It becomes the heads and chiefs of religion to be foremost in setting a good example. Above all, let every man be assured, that unless he receive the Holy Spirit, the grand seal of the new covenant, he shall be cut off from the congregation of the Lord.