The responses of Pharaoh and Israel were not what Moses expected when he made his pronouncement to "let My people go." When the king oppressed the people and the people expressed their resentment, Moses told the Lord,
“If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” (Exodus 6:12).
Then in case the Lord was hard of hearing, Moses reiterated his complaint in Exodus 6:28-30,
Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
Even though they had had this discussion as reported in Exodus 4 about Moses' inadequacy to complete the task, Moses still harped on the reasons why he was not the one for the job. This is not the focus of this study however, but instead let's look at what the Lord inserted between verses 12 and 28. Here is an excerpt:
Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. These were the heads of their families: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben . . . (Exodus 6:13-14).
It's almost as if the Lord ignored Moses' protests and instead conducted His own census of the tribes and clans who were in Egypt. He was saying, "I know exactly what I am asking you to do, Moses. I have more information than you so I don't need you to lecture me. I have a complete count of all those who are present in Egypt and I know them by name and family heritage. What's more, I know all about you and your family" and then shared Moses' family tree just so he would know that He had made no mistake—Moses was His man! It is interesting that Moses wrote this account and was essentially telling a story on himself that did not portray him in a positive light. Moses told us, "Look how I resisted the Lord yet He was sufficient to get the job done. This story isn't about me, it's about Him."
Do you continue to pour out your litany of excuses to the Lord like He needs to be informed? Do you still not comprehend that He is able and capable to make you able and capable? Do you see He is intimately acquainted with you and your family history and has still assigned you a purpose and distributed creative gifts? It's time to put the excuses away and step up to serve the One who knows more about you than you know about yourself. He does indeed know your name.
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