Exodus 4 to 6 Three times Moses tells God he is a man with uncircumcised lips, much like Isaiah, who said his lips were contaminated. With Isaiah, one of the seraphs placed a lump of hot coal on his lips and cleansed his lips. For Moses, God gave him some pretty powerful signs of a rod, which changed into a serpent, and his hand turned leprous. Paul would later note: “For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,” [1Cor 1:22] Yet, even with that, Moses had excuse after excuse! “What if the people won’t believe me? O, my Lord, I am not an eloquent man.” God reminded Moses that He gave him a mouth, and He makes the blind to see or the deaf to hear. Yet, with all that, much like us, Moses began to whine and complain: send someone else; I can’t do it—which really means I won’t. Even though God was angry, He promised Moses he could have Aaron to help him. 

There are some lessons to glean from this interchange between Moses and God. If God calls, He will “equip you with every good thing to do his will,” [Heb 13:21] He will be your strength; ‘for whenever we are weak, then we will be strong.’ [2Cor 12:10 paraphrase] Thirdly, Moses and our complaints are a stench in His nostrils. Learn from Moses: There are no mistakes in God’s choices; trust Him, His plan, and His timing.

We are God’s servants, not the other way around.