Not It - Exodus 4:10

4:10 - It’s been a big day for Moses and while it’s taken multiple days for us to go through this ordeal, it’s probably only been less than an hour for Moses, so it’s a lot to take it. And it’s kind of a catch 22 when it comes to prophets because the kind of personal characteristics that are required for someone to be a good prophet also makes them less inclined to do so. So yes, they might have the requisite faith and humility but that faith and humility also lends to them feeling inadequate for the job. This is par for the course and God knows this, not only for the job description in general, but also for the individuals that He calls. It’s kind of like how the beat down and defeat required to prepare someone spiritually to do great things can also really have an impact on someone’s confidence to do the things that are asked.

That’s exactly what happens with Moses here, after all the signs and wonders and miracles that he’s seen in the last few minutes, he begs “O my Lord, I am not eloquent… but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” Everywhere says that God is angry with Moses at this point, but I can’t imagine that he’s actually upset, because again, He knew that this would happen, that this would be his response. And again, this reluctance is also part of the requirement.

One theme that I seem to remember seeing throughout scripture is that prophets of God are in circumstances that aren’t flashy, they aren’t usually great orators or writers, but the ones who are eye and attention catching usually go the way anti-Christ, Sherem and Amalickiah come to mind. It might be something to consider, if those abilities lead to someone learning early in life that they can get what they want if they talk long enough or say the right things, which leads to the human characteristic of wanting as much power and possessions as they can get. It’s a chicken or the egg scenario, but essentially it comes down to, prophets of God cannot be the draw to the gospel, it has to be God. There’s a quote from Spencer J. Condie found on gospeldoctrine.com that says, “While a radiant countenance and eloquent speech are desirable qualities in preaching the gospel, it is the Holy Ghost, not the sentence structure, which begets conversion.”

It is also speculated that Moses’ “slow of speech, and of a slow tongue,” stemmed from the fact that he had not spoken Egyptian or Hebrew for many years, probably decades and he didn’t feel confident in going back to that. But it was probably a combination of all those things, and it’s interesting to consider that Moses, who was once so confident as a prince of Egypt that he killed an Egyptian taskmaster out of a sense of injustice rage that he now begs God to get someone more qualified to do the job that God has been quietly preparing him for. I get it, I think it goes along with aging and realizing our own shortcomings and trusting that God will strengthen them enough to become useful to Him.