Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Exodus 4 Study Notes

← Take the quiz instead

General

What working arrangement does God set up between Moses and Aaron in 4:15-16?

Answer: Moses would give Aaron the message, and Aaron would announce it on Moses' behalf

God tells Moses that he is to tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron will then speak on his behalf to the people (4:15-16). God adds that Moses will be like God to Aaron. This does not mean Moses becomes divine. It means Moses receives the message from God, and Aaron passes it on, just as a prophet (someone who speaks God's words to others) passes on what God gives him. God later describes the same arrangement before Pharaoh, calling Aaron Moses' prophet (7:1-2). The Bible describes true prophets as people in whose mouths God puts His words (Deuteronomy 18:18; Jeremiah 1:9).

  • Exodus 4:15-16 (BSB)
    “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.”
    Moses is to put words in Aaron's mouth; Aaron will speak for him, and Moses will be like God to him.
  • Exodus 7:1-2 (BSB)
    “The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.”
    God restates the arrangement: Moses is like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron is his prophet.
  • Deuteronomy 18:18 (BSB)
    “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”
    A true prophet is one in whose mouth God puts His words, the same pattern Aaron follows with Moses.
  • Jeremiah 1:9 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”
    God puts His words in the prophet's mouth, the same pattern seen in the relationship between Moses and Aaron.

Theological

What is the structure of the Moses-Aaron relationship established in 4:15-16?

Answer: A prophetic model: God gives the word to Moses, Moses puts it in Aaron's mouth, and Aaron speaks it for him

God establishes a mediated prophetic structure: Moses will supply Aaron with the words, Aaron will be his spokesman to the people, and Moses will stand in the place of God to him (4:15-16). The phrase describes a functional relationship of revelation, not any deification of Moses; the same pattern is restated in 7:1-2, where Aaron is called Moses' prophet. It mirrors the definition of prophecy itself, in which God places His words in the prophet's mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18; Jeremiah 1:9). The authority of the message rests entirely on its divine origin.

  • Exodus 4:15-16 (BSB)
    “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.”
    Moses is to put words in Aaron's mouth; Aaron will speak for him, and Moses will be like God to him.
  • Exodus 7:1-2 (BSB)
    “The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.”
    God restates the arrangement: Moses is like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron is his prophet.
  • Deuteronomy 18:18 (BSB)
    “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”
    A true prophet is one in whose mouth God puts His words, the same pattern Aaron follows with Moses.
  • Jeremiah 1:9 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”
    God puts His words in the prophet's mouth, the same pattern seen in the relationship between Moses and Aaron.

General

True or False: Sent by the LORD into the wilderness, Aaron found Moses at God's mountain and greeted him with a kiss.

Answer: True

This is true. The LORD sends Aaron out into the wilderness, and Aaron finds Moses at God's mountain and greets him with a kiss (4:27). Moses then reports to Aaron all the words and signs the LORD had given him (4:28). This fulfills what God had told Moses: Aaron was already on his way and would be glad to see him (4:14). God's mountain is Horeb, where God first spoke to Moses from the burning bush (3:1). Both brothers are sent by God for this work (Psalm 105:26).

  • Exodus 4:27-28 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.”
    God sends Aaron to meet Moses; they meet at the mountain of God, and Moses tells him everything God said.
  • Exodus 4:14 (BSB)
    “Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.”
    God had told Moses that Aaron was already coming to meet him and would be glad to see him.
  • Exodus 3:1 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
    God's mountain is Horeb, where God first called Moses from the bush.
  • Psalm 105:26 (BSB)
    “He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.”
    Remembers God sending both Moses and Aaron, whom He had chosen.

Theological

True or False: At the LORD's direction Aaron went out and found Moses at God's mountain, greeting him with a kiss.

Answer: True

This is true. The LORD sends Aaron out into the wilderness, and he finds Moses at God's mountain and greets him with a kiss (4:27), after which Moses relays to him all the words and signs God had given (4:28). God's earlier word that Aaron was already coming and would rejoice to see Moses is thus fulfilled (4:14). The meeting takes place at Horeb, the site of Moses' call (3:1), and the two go out as jointly commissioned servants whom God had chosen (Psalm 105:26).

  • Exodus 4:27-28 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.”
    God sends Aaron to meet Moses; they meet at the mountain of God, and Moses tells him everything God said.
  • Exodus 4:14 (BSB)
    “Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.”
    God had told Moses that Aaron was already coming to meet him and would be glad to see him.
  • Exodus 3:1 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
    God's mountain is Horeb, where God first called Moses from the bush.
  • Psalm 105:26 (BSB)
    “He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.”
    Remembers God sending both Moses and Aaron, whom He had chosen.

General

What does God tell Moses about Pharaoh's response before Moses even arrives in Egypt (4:21)?

Answer: God will harden Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh will refuse to release Israel

God tells Moses to perform all the wonders before Pharaoh, but also says ahead of time that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that Pharaoh refuses to release Israel (4:21). To harden a heart means to make it stubborn and unwilling to yield. Paul later uses Pharaoh as proof that God shows mercy to those He chooses and hardens those He chooses (Romans 9:17-18). God is sovereign (in complete control) over Pharaoh's heart. At the same time, Exodus also says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (8:15), so he is fully guilty for his stubbornness, even as the LORD hardened him (9:12). Both truths stand together, and God is never the author of sin; He tempts no one to do evil (James 1:13).

  • Exodus 4:21 (BSB)
    “The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”
    Before Moses reaches Egypt, God announces that He will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not release Israel.
  • Romans 9:17-18 (BSB)
    “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”
    Paul quotes God's word to Pharaoh and concludes that God hardens whom He wills.
  • Exodus 8:15 (BSB)
    “When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.”
    Pharaoh himself hardened his heart when he saw relief, showing his own guilty stubbornness.
  • Exodus 9:12 (BSB)
    “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.”
    The narrator records that the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, just as He had said.
  • James 1:13 (BSB)
    “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”
    God tempts no one to evil, so His hardening never makes Him the author of Pharaoh's sin.

Theological

What does God announce concerning Pharaoh in 4:21, before the contest begins?

Answer: That He will harden Pharaoh's heart, making him refuse to release Israel

Before Moses reaches Egypt, God declares that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, with the result that Pharaoh refuses to release Israel (4:21), the first of several announcements of divine hardening. Paul draws on this history to teach that God shows mercy to whom He wills and hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:17-18), and the narrative confirms it when the LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart just as He had said (9:12). Exodus is equally clear that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (8:15), acting freely and culpably according to his own wicked will. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are both fully true here: God judicially confirms Pharaoh in the rebellion he chooses, yet God is never the author of sin (James 1:13).

  • Exodus 4:21 (BSB)
    “The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”
    Before Moses reaches Egypt, God announces that He will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not release Israel.
  • Romans 9:17-18 (BSB)
    “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”
    Paul quotes God's word to Pharaoh and concludes that God hardens whom He wills.
  • Exodus 8:15 (BSB)
    “When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.”
    Pharaoh himself hardened his heart when he saw relief, showing his own guilty stubbornness.
  • Exodus 9:12 (BSB)
    “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.”
    The narrator records that the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, just as He had said.
  • James 1:13 (BSB)
    “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”
    God tempts no one to evil, so His hardening never makes Him the author of Pharaoh's sin.

General

What does God tell Moses to say to Pharaoh about Israel in 4:22-23?

Answer: Israel is God's firstborn son, and if Pharaoh will not release him, God will kill Pharaoh's firstborn son

God calls Israel His firstborn son and tells Pharaoh to let His son go to worship Him; if Pharaoh refuses, God will kill Pharaoh's own firstborn son (4:22-23). Israel's sonship is a gift of God's choosing, often called adoption (Romans 9:4). The warning comes true at the last plague, when the LORD strikes down the firstborn of Egypt, from Pharaoh's son down (12:29). The prophet Hosea later remembers the exodus as God calling His son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), and Matthew shows that these words are fulfilled in Jesus, God's true Son, who also came out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15).

  • Exodus 4:22-23 (BSB)
    “Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son, and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’””
    God calls Israel His firstborn son and warns that Pharaoh's refusal to release him will cost Pharaoh his own firstborn.
  • Exodus 12:29 (BSB)
    “Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.”
    At the tenth plague the LORD strikes down the firstborn of Egypt, including Pharaoh's, fulfilling this warning.
  • Hosea 11:1 (BSB)
    “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.”
    Hosea recalls the exodus as God calling His son out of Egypt.
  • Matthew 2:15 (BSB)
    “where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””
    Matthew applies Hosea's words to Jesus, the true Son who relives Israel's exodus.
  • Romans 9:4 (BSB)
    “the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.”
    Paul lists sonship by adoption among Israel's covenant privileges.

Theological

What claim does God make about Israel in the message to Pharaoh in 4:22-23?

Answer: Israel is His firstborn son, and Pharaoh's refusal to release him will be answered by the death of Pharaoh's firstborn

God names Israel His firstborn son, a covenant sonship by adoption (Romans 9:4), and demands his release for worship, threatening Pharaoh's firstborn in return (4:22-23). The judgment is measure for measure and is executed at the tenth plague (12:29). The theme runs to Christ: Hosea remembers the exodus as God calling His son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), and Matthew declares that word fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 2:15), the true and faithful Son in whom Israel's sonship reaches its goal.

  • Exodus 4:22-23 (BSB)
    “Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son, and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’””
    God calls Israel His firstborn son and warns that Pharaoh's refusal to release him will cost Pharaoh his own firstborn.
  • Exodus 12:29 (BSB)
    “Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.”
    At the tenth plague the LORD strikes down the firstborn of Egypt, including Pharaoh's, fulfilling this warning.
  • Hosea 11:1 (BSB)
    “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.”
    Hosea recalls the exodus as God calling His son out of Egypt.
  • Matthew 2:15 (BSB)
    “where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””
    Matthew applies Hosea's words to Jesus, the true Son who relives Israel's exodus.
  • Romans 9:4 (BSB)
    “the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.”
    Paul lists sonship by adoption among Israel's covenant privileges.

General

What is Moses' worry at the start of Exodus 4?

Answer: That the Israelites will not believe him and will claim the LORD never appeared to him

Moses fears that when he returns, the Israelites will doubt him and say the LORD did not really appear to him (4:1). This is a real worry, since his own people had rejected him once before when he tried to help them (Acts 7:35). But God had already told Moses that Israel's elders would listen to him (3:18), and He had promised to be with him (3:12). So Moses' fear, though understandable, was a failure to trust what God had already said. God answers him patiently by giving him signs to perform, as the rest of the passage shows.

  • Exodus 4:1 (BSB)
    “Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’””
    Moses objects that the Israelites may refuse to believe him and deny that the LORD appeared to him.
  • Exodus 3:18 (BSB)
    “The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
    God had already told Moses that the elders of Israel would listen to him, so his objection runs against God's own word.
  • Exodus 3:12 (BSB)
    ““I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.””
    God had promised His own presence with Moses and given him a sign, answering the fear behind the objection.
  • Acts 7:35 (BSB)
    “This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.”
    Recalls that Israel had earlier rejected Moses, which helps explain why he feared being disbelieved again.

Theological

What objection does Moses raise in Exodus 4:1?

Answer: The Israelites may disbelieve him and deny any appearance of the LORD to him

Moses' objection in 4:1 concerns his credibility: Israel may deny that the LORD appeared to him at all. The fear is not groundless, since Israel had once rejected him as ruler and judge (Acts 7:35). Yet it contradicts God's explicit word that the elders would listen (3:18) and His promise of presence and a confirming sign (3:12). Moses' reluctance reflects weak faith in the reliability of God's word rather than a lack of information. God condescends to that weakness by supplying confirming signs, not by withdrawing the commission.

  • Exodus 4:1 (BSB)
    “Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’””
    Moses objects that the Israelites may refuse to believe him and deny that the LORD appeared to him.
  • Exodus 3:18 (BSB)
    “The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
    God had already told Moses that the elders of Israel would listen to him, so his objection runs against God's own word.
  • Exodus 3:12 (BSB)
    ““I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.””
    God had promised His own presence with Moses and given him a sign, answering the fear behind the objection.
  • Acts 7:35 (BSB)
    “This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.”
    Recalls that Israel had earlier rejected Moses, which helps explain why he feared being disbelieved again.

General

True or False: When Moses asked Jethro for permission to leave, he explained that God had commissioned him to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt.

Answer: False

This is false. Moses simply asks Jethro to allow him to return to his kin in Egypt and find out whether they were living, and Jethro tells him to go in peace (4:18). The text does not record Moses telling Jethro about the burning bush or his mission to Pharaoh, and it gives no reason for this. Moses had been living as part of Jethro's household and working as his shepherd (2:21; 3:1), so it was right for him to ask his father-in-law's blessing before leaving.

  • Exodus 4:18 (BSB)
    “Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.”
    Moses asks his father-in-law's permission to return to Egypt, and Jethro sends him off in peace.
  • Exodus 2:21 (BSB)
    “Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.”
    Moses had agreed to live with Jethro's household and married his daughter, which is why he seeks Jethro's leave.
  • Exodus 3:1 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
    Moses was tending Jethro's flock when God called him, showing he still worked for his father-in-law.

Theological

True or False: In seeking Jethro's leave, Moses disclosed the divine commission to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out.

Answer: False

This is false. Moses' stated reason is to go back to his kinsmen in Egypt and learn whether they yet live, and Jethro dismisses him in peace (4:18). The narrative records no disclosure of the commission and supplies no motive for his reticence. As a member of Jethro's household who tended his flocks (2:21; 3:1), Moses honors Jethro by seeking his release before departing.

  • Exodus 4:18 (BSB)
    “Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.”
    Moses asks his father-in-law's permission to return to Egypt, and Jethro sends him off in peace.
  • Exodus 2:21 (BSB)
    “Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.”
    Moses had agreed to live with Jethro's household and married his daughter, which is why he seeks Jethro's leave.
  • Exodus 3:1 (BSB)
    “Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
    Moses was tending Jethro's flock when God called him, showing he still worked for his father-in-law.

General

What happens when Moses finally asks God to send someone else (4:13-14)?

Answer: The LORD becomes angry with Moses, yet provides his brother Aaron to help him

After all of God's promises and signs, Moses still asks God to send someone else (4:13). This time the LORD's anger burns against him (4:14), because Moses is not simply unsure of himself; he is refusing God's call. Yet even in His anger, God is kind: He tells Moses that his brother Aaron, a good speaker, is already coming to find him. God does not release Moses from his task, just as He would later insist that a reluctant Jeremiah must go (Jeremiah 1:6-7). The LORD knows how weak we are (Psalm 103:13-14), and He made this hesitant man into a servant later praised as faithful (Hebrews 3:5).

  • Exodus 4:13-14 (BSB)
    “But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.”
    Moses asks God to send someone else, and the LORD's anger burns against him, yet He announces that Aaron is coming.
  • Jeremiah 1:6-7 (BSB)
    ““Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.”
    Jeremiah also protests his inadequacy, and God insists that he must go where he is sent.
  • Psalm 103:13-14 (BSB)
    “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.”
    The LORD knows the frailty of His people and treats them with a father's compassion.
  • Hebrews 3:5 (BSB)
    “Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.”
    Moses, despite this reluctance, is later commended as faithful in all God's house.

Theological

How does the LORD respond to Moses' final refusal in 4:13-14?

Answer: His anger burns against Moses, yet He graciously provides Aaron as a helper without revoking Moses' call

Moses' plea that God send someone else (4:13) moves from weakness to outright reluctance, and the LORD's anger burns against him (4:14). Yet divine anger here coexists with condescending grace: God does not revoke the call but provides Aaron, already on his way and able to speak well. The call of a prophet is not negotiable (Jeremiah 1:6-7), but God deals with His servants as a Father who knows their frame (Psalm 103:13-14). The same reluctant Moses is later commended as a faithful servant of God's household (Hebrews 3:5), a testimony to God's sustaining grace rather than Moses' native resolve.

  • Exodus 4:13-14 (BSB)
    “But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.”
    Moses asks God to send someone else, and the LORD's anger burns against him, yet He announces that Aaron is coming.
  • Jeremiah 1:6-7 (BSB)
    ““Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.”
    Jeremiah also protests his inadequacy, and God insists that he must go where he is sent.
  • Psalm 103:13-14 (BSB)
    “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.”
    The LORD knows the frailty of His people and treats them with a father's compassion.
  • Hebrews 3:5 (BSB)
    “Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.”
    Moses, despite this reluctance, is later commended as faithful in all God's house.

General

According to Exodus 4:5, why did God turn Moses' staff into a snake and back again?

Answer: So the Israelites would believe that their forefathers' God had truly appeared to Moses

God asks Moses what he is holding, and it is an ordinary shepherd's staff. When Moses throws it down it turns into a serpent, and Moses flees from it; when he seizes its tail it becomes a staff once more (4:2-4). God explains the purpose: this sign is meant to lead the Israelites to believe that the God their forefathers worshiped really had appeared to Moses (4:5). A sign in the Bible is a miracle that points beyond itself, confirming that a message truly comes from God (Hebrews 2:4). John says the same about the miracles of Jesus: they were recorded so that people would believe (John 20:30-31).

  • Exodus 4:2-5 (BSB)
    “And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.””
    The staff becomes a snake and back again, so that Israel may believe that the God of their fathers has appeared to Moses.
  • John 20:30-31 (BSB)
    “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
    John says the signs of Jesus were written so that people may believe, the same purpose God gives for Moses' signs.
  • Hebrews 2:4 (BSB)
    “and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”
    God affirmed His messengers through signs and wonders, as He does for Moses here.
  • Exodus 7:10 (BSB)
    “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.”
    Before Pharaoh, Aaron casts down his staff and it becomes a serpent, the same kind of sign now performed at God's command.

Theological

What purpose does God assign to the sign of the staff and the snake (4:2-5)?

Answer: To authenticate Moses to Israel as one to whom the covenant God of the patriarchs had appeared

The sign turns Moses' shepherd's staff into a snake and back again (4:2-4), and God states its function directly: to bring Israel to believe that the covenant God of the patriarchs had appeared to Moses (4:5). The miracle is credentialing, not an end in itself. The same logic runs through redemptive history, where God attests His messengers with signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:4), and the signs of Christ are recorded that people may believe (John 20:30-31). The staff has no power of its own; when the sign is later shown before Pharaoh, with Aaron casting down his staff, it happens only as God commands (7:10).

  • Exodus 4:2-5 (BSB)
    “And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.””
    The staff becomes a snake and back again, so that Israel may believe that the God of their fathers has appeared to Moses.
  • John 20:30-31 (BSB)
    “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
    John says the signs of Jesus were written so that people may believe, the same purpose God gives for Moses' signs.
  • Hebrews 2:4 (BSB)
    “and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”
    God affirmed His messengers through signs and wonders, as He does for Moses here.
  • Exodus 7:10 (BSB)
    “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.”
    Before Pharaoh, Aaron casts down his staff and it becomes a serpent, the same kind of sign now performed at God's command.

General

Many details of the episode at the lodging place (4:24-26) are hard to understand. What is its clearest lesson?

Answer: God takes His covenant sign seriously, even in the household of the man He chose to lead Israel

On the way to Egypt, the LORD meets Moses and is on the verge of killing him. Zipporah quickly circumcises her son with a flint knife, touches the foreskin to Moses' feet, and utters her bridegroom-of-blood saying; then the LORD lets him alone, and the text explains that her words referred to the circumcision (4:24-26). This is one of the most puzzling passages in the Bible. The text does not say which son it was or explain every detail, and interpreters honestly differ. What is clear is that circumcision was the sign of God's covenant with Abraham's family (Genesis 17:10-11), and a male left uncircumcised was to be cut off (Genesis 17:14). Moses' son had evidently not yet received it. The text does not say outright why the LORD confronted Moses, but because the danger ended once the circumcision was done, the episode points to this lesson: the man sent to lead God's covenant people could not neglect the covenant sign in his own home. Paul later explains that circumcision was a sign and seal of righteousness received through faith (Romans 4:11).

  • Exodus 4:24-26 (BSB)
    “Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)”
    At a lodging place the LORD is about to kill Moses until Zipporah circumcises her son; the phrase she uses is tied to the circumcision.
  • Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)
    “This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”
    God gave circumcision to Abraham's family as the sign of His covenant.
  • Genesis 17:14 (BSB)
    “But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.””
    An uncircumcised male was to be cut off from his people for breaking the covenant.
  • Romans 4:11 (BSB)
    “And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.”
    Paul calls circumcision a sign and seal of the righteousness Abraham had by faith.

Theological

Granting the notorious obscurity of 4:24-26, what point does the text make clear?

Answer: The covenant sign could not be neglected in the household of the covenant mediator

The LORD meets Moses at an overnight stop and is on the point of putting him to death; Zipporah circumcises her son, touches the foreskin to Moses' feet, and utters her bridegroom-of-blood saying, after which the LORD spares him, the narrator linking her words to the circumcision (4:24-26). Much remains obscure, including the identity of the son and the precise sense of her words, and interpreters differ on the details. The clear point is the seriousness of the covenant sign. Circumcision was God's appointed sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:10-11), and its neglect meant being cut off as a covenant breaker (Genesis 17:14). The text does not state the reason for the LORD's confrontation outright, but since the threat lifts once the son is circumcised, the episode implies that the mediator of Israel's redemption could not lead God's people while his own household disregarded the sign and seal of the covenant (Romans 4:11).

  • Exodus 4:24-26 (BSB)
    “Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)”
    At a lodging place the LORD is about to kill Moses until Zipporah circumcises her son; the phrase she uses is tied to the circumcision.
  • Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)
    “This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”
    God gave circumcision to Abraham's family as the sign of His covenant.
  • Genesis 17:14 (BSB)
    “But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.””
    An uncircumcised male was to be cut off from his people for breaking the covenant.
  • Romans 4:11 (BSB)
    “And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.”
    Paul calls circumcision a sign and seal of the righteousness Abraham had by faith.

General

What do Moses and Aaron do when they reach the Israelites (4:29-30)?

Answer: They gather the elders; Aaron speaks all of God's message, and the signs are performed in front of the people

Moses and Aaron gather all the elders (the older leaders) of Israel. Aaron passes on all the words God had given Moses, and Moses does the signs in the people's sight (4:29-30). This is exactly what God had instructed at the burning bush: go and gather the elders and tell them that the LORD has appeared (3:16). The plan God set up, with Aaron speaking for Moses, is now working just as God said. God had also promised that the elders would listen (3:18), and the next verse shows that promise coming true.

  • Exodus 4:29-30 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,”
    Moses and Aaron gather Israel's elders; Aaron speaks the LORD's words and Moses performs the signs.
  • Exodus 3:16 (BSB)
    “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.”
    God had told Moses to gather the elders of Israel and tell them the LORD had appeared to him.
  • Exodus 3:18 (BSB)
    “The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
    God had promised that the elders would listen to him.

Theological

How do Moses and Aaron carry out their first mission among the Israelites in 4:29-30?

Answer: They assemble the elders, Aaron relays the LORD's words, and the signs are performed before the people

Moses and Aaron gather Israel's elders; Aaron speaks all the words God had given Moses, and Moses performs the signs in the people's sight (4:29-30). The scene executes the instructions given at the bush (3:16) and puts into operation the prophetic arrangement of 4:15-16. God's promise that the elders would heed Moses (3:18) is about to be fulfilled, underscoring that the success of the mission rests on God's word rather than on the persuasive gifts Moses feared he lacked.

  • Exodus 4:29-30 (BSB)
    “Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,”
    Moses and Aaron gather Israel's elders; Aaron speaks the LORD's words and Moses performs the signs.
  • Exodus 3:16 (BSB)
    “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.”
    God had told Moses to gather the elders of Israel and tell them the LORD had appeared to him.
  • Exodus 3:18 (BSB)
    “The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”
    God had promised that the elders would listen to him.

General

True or False: In the second sign, Moses' diseased hand was made healthy again, matching his other skin.

Answer: True

This is true. In the second sign, Moses slips his hand into his cloak and draws it out diseased with leprosy, white like snow; when he repeats the motion, the hand comes out healthy again, matching his other skin (4:6-7). Leprosy was a feared skin disease, and in Israel only God was thought able to heal it (2 Kings 5:7). The sign shows that the God who sent Moses has power both to strike and to heal (Deuteronomy 32:39). Jesus later showed that same power when He cleansed a leper by His word (Matthew 8:3).

  • Exodus 4:6-7 (BSB)
    “Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow. “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.”
    Moses' hand becomes leprous inside his cloak and is then restored.
  • Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)
    “See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”
    God declares that He both wounds and heals, the double power shown in this sign.
  • 2 Kings 5:7 (BSB)
    “When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!””
    The king of Israel recognizes that curing leprosy belongs to God alone.
  • Matthew 8:3 (BSB)
    “Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
    Jesus cleanses a leper with a word, displaying the same divine power over leprosy.

Theological

True or False: In the second sign, Moses' hand became leprous and was then restored to full health.

Answer: True

This is true. Moses' hand is made leprous in his cloak and then made whole again (4:6-7). The sign displays God's sovereign power over disease in both directions, to afflict and to heal (Deuteronomy 32:39), a power Israel recognized as belonging to God alone (2 Kings 5:7). Christ's authoritative cleansing of a leper by a word (Matthew 8:3) displays the same divine prerogative.

  • Exodus 4:6-7 (BSB)
    “Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow. “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.”
    Moses' hand becomes leprous inside his cloak and is then restored.
  • Deuteronomy 32:39 (BSB)
    “See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”
    God declares that He both wounds and heals, the double power shown in this sign.
  • 2 Kings 5:7 (BSB)
    “When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!””
    The king of Israel recognizes that curing leprosy belongs to God alone.
  • Matthew 8:3 (BSB)
    “Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
    Jesus cleanses a leper with a word, displaying the same divine power over leprosy.

General

How do the Israelites respond after seeing the signs and hearing the message (4:31)?

Answer: They believe, and when told the LORD had noticed their suffering, they bow and worship

The people believe. When they hear that the LORD has taken notice of Israel and seen their misery, they bow down and worship (4:31). Moses' fear from the start of the chapter, that they would not believe him (4:1), turns out to be unfounded, just as God had said. God had told Moses that He had seen His people's suffering (3:7), and long before, Joseph had promised that God would surely come to help them and bring them out (Genesis 50:24). The New Testament uses the same idea when Zechariah praises God for visiting and redeeming His people through the coming of Christ (Luke 1:68).

  • Exodus 4:31 (BSB)
    “and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.”
    The people believe, and when they hear that the LORD has seen their misery, they bow and worship.
  • Exodus 3:7 (BSB)
    “The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.”
    God had declared that He had seen His people's affliction and heard their cry.
  • Genesis 50:24 (BSB)
    “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.””
    Joseph had promised that God would surely visit Israel and bring them out of Egypt.
  • Luke 1:68 (BSB)
    ““Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.”
    Zechariah praises God for visiting and redeeming His people in Christ, the same pattern of divine visitation.

Theological

What is Israel's response in 4:31?

Answer: Faith and worship upon hearing of the LORD's visitation and His regard for their affliction

Israel believes, and on hearing of the LORD's visitation and His regard for their affliction, they bow and worship (4:31), overturning Moses' fear of 4:1 and confirming God's word. The language of divine visitation recalls God's declaration that He had looked on their affliction (3:7) and Joseph's dying assurance that God would surely visit Israel and bring them out (Genesis 50:24). Visitation is God's gracious coming to act for His covenant people, a theme that climaxes when Zechariah blesses God for visiting and redeeming His people in Christ (Luke 1:68). This early faith will soon be tested when the oppression worsens.

  • Exodus 4:31 (BSB)
    “and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.”
    The people believe, and when they hear that the LORD has seen their misery, they bow and worship.
  • Exodus 3:7 (BSB)
    “The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.”
    God had declared that He had seen His people's affliction and heard their cry.
  • Genesis 50:24 (BSB)
    “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.””
    Joseph had promised that God would surely visit Israel and bring them out of Egypt.
  • Luke 1:68 (BSB)
    ““Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.”
    Zechariah praises God for visiting and redeeming His people in Christ, the same pattern of divine visitation.

General

What is the shepherd's staff called when Moses carries it back to Egypt in 4:20?

Answer: The staff of God

God tells Moses to take his staff with him so he can perform the signs (4:17). When Moses sets out with his family on a donkey, the text now calls it the staff of God (4:20). It was an ordinary shepherd's tool, but God claimed it for His own use. Later, God tells Moses to lift it over the sea to divide the waters (14:16), and Moses takes it up the hilltop during the battle with the Amalekites (17:9). God often chooses ordinary and weak things to do His great work (1 Corinthians 1:27).

  • Exodus 4:17 (BSB)
    “But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.””
    God tells Moses to take the staff in his hand to perform the signs.
  • Exodus 4:20 (BSB)
    “So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.”
    Moses sets out for Egypt with his family, carrying what is now called the staff of God.
  • Exodus 14:16 (BSB)
    “And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
    The same staff is lifted over the sea when God divides it.
  • Exodus 17:9 (BSB)
    “So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.””
    Moses again refers to it as the staff of God at the battle with Amalek.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:27 (BSB)
    “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
    God delights to use weak and ordinary things to accomplish His purposes.

Theological

By what name does 4:20 designate the staff Moses takes back to Egypt?

Answer: The staff of God

God instructs Moses to take the staff with which he will perform the signs (4:17), and on the journey the narrator names it the staff of God (4:20). The ordinary shepherd's implement is now consecrated as the instrument through which God will act: over the sea (14:16) and at Rephidim against Amalek, where Moses again calls it the staff of God (17:9). The power is never in the object but in the God who appoints it, consistent with His pattern of choosing lowly means to put the strong to shame (1 Corinthians 1:27).

  • Exodus 4:17 (BSB)
    “But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.””
    God tells Moses to take the staff in his hand to perform the signs.
  • Exodus 4:20 (BSB)
    “So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.”
    Moses sets out for Egypt with his family, carrying what is now called the staff of God.
  • Exodus 14:16 (BSB)
    “And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
    The same staff is lifted over the sea when God divides it.
  • Exodus 17:9 (BSB)
    “So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.””
    Moses again refers to it as the staff of God at the battle with Amalek.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:27 (BSB)
    “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
    God delights to use weak and ordinary things to accomplish His purposes.

General

What third sign does God give Moses in case the people still refuse to believe (4:8-9)?

Answer: Nile water poured out on dry land would become blood

God anticipates that some might not believe even two signs, so He gives Moses a third: draw some Nile water and pour it out on dry land, where it will become blood (4:8-9). The Nile was Egypt's lifeline, so this sign already hints at what God will do to Egypt. Later, in the first plague, God turns the whole Nile to blood in front of Pharaoh (7:17, 7:20), and Israel's songs remembered that God turned Egypt's rivers into blood (Psalm 78:44). God's patience is shown in giving sign after sign to confirm His word.

  • Exodus 4:8-9 (BSB)
    “And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second. But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.””
    If the first two signs fail to persuade, Moses is to pour Nile water on the ground, where it will become blood.
  • Exodus 7:17 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.”
    The same sign returns on a national scale as the first plague, so that Pharaoh would know that God is the LORD.
  • Exodus 7:20 (BSB)
    “Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.”
    Records the Nile itself being turned to blood before Pharaoh, the larger fulfillment of this sign.
  • Psalm 78:44 (BSB)
    “He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”
    Israel's later worship remembers God turning Egypt's rivers to blood.

Theological

What is the third confirming sign given to Moses in 4:8-9?

Answer: Nile water poured out on dry ground becoming blood

God provides a graded series of signs for an unbelieving audience, and the third is Nile water poured on dry ground turning to blood (4:8-9). Because the Nile sustained Egypt's life, the sign anticipates judgment on Egypt; it reappears on a national scale as the first plague, when the river itself is turned to blood before Pharaoh so that he would know that God is the LORD (7:17, 7:20; cf. Psalm 78:44). The multiplication of signs displays God's forbearance in confirming His word to a people slow to believe.

  • Exodus 4:8-9 (BSB)
    “And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second. But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.””
    If the first two signs fail to persuade, Moses is to pour Nile water on the ground, where it will become blood.
  • Exodus 7:17 (BSB)
    “This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.”
    The same sign returns on a national scale as the first plague, so that Pharaoh would know that God is the LORD.
  • Exodus 7:20 (BSB)
    “Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.”
    Records the Nile itself being turned to blood before Pharaoh, the larger fulfillment of this sign.
  • Psalm 78:44 (BSB)
    “He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”
    Israel's later worship remembers God turning Egypt's rivers to blood.

General

What reassurance does the LORD give Moses about returning to Egypt in 4:19?

Answer: Everyone who had wanted to kill him had died

The LORD tells Moses in Midian to go back, because everyone who had wanted to kill him is dead (4:19). Moses had fled Egypt years before when Pharaoh tried to kill him (2:15), and during his long stay in Midian that king had died (2:23). Matthew's Gospel uses almost the same words when an angel tells Joseph to bring the child Jesus back from Egypt because those who wanted to kill the Child are dead (Matthew 2:19-20). Matthew shows that Jesus relives the story of Israel and its deliverer, and is the greater Savior to whom Moses points.

  • Exodus 4:19 (BSB)
    “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.””
    The LORD assures Moses in Midian that the men who wanted to kill him are dead.
  • Exodus 2:15 (BSB)
    “When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.”
    Pharaoh had tried to kill Moses, which is why he fled to Midian.
  • Exodus 2:23 (BSB)
    “After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.”
    The king of Egypt had died during Moses' long stay in Midian.
  • Matthew 2:19-20 (BSB)
    “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.””
    Joseph is told to return with the child Jesus in nearly the same words, because those seeking the Child's life are dead.

Theological

What assurance does 4:19 give Moses, and how does Matthew echo it?

Answer: Those who sought his life have died, words echoed when the child Jesus is called back from Egypt

God assures Moses that all who sought his life are dead (4:19), resolving the threat that drove him out of Egypt (2:15) after the death of that king (2:23). Matthew deliberately echoes the wording when the angel summons Joseph to return with the Child, because those seeking His life are dead (Matthew 2:19-20). The typology is Matthew's own: Jesus recapitulates Israel's history and the pattern of Moses, the deliverer whose life was threatened by a king, and He is the greater Mediator to whom Moses points.

  • Exodus 4:19 (BSB)
    “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.””
    The LORD assures Moses in Midian that the men who wanted to kill him are dead.
  • Exodus 2:15 (BSB)
    “When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.”
    Pharaoh had tried to kill Moses, which is why he fled to Midian.
  • Exodus 2:23 (BSB)
    “After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.”
    The king of Egypt had died during Moses' long stay in Midian.
  • Matthew 2:19-20 (BSB)
    “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.””
    Joseph is told to return with the child Jesus in nearly the same words, because those seeking the Child's life are dead.

General

How does God answer Moses' complaint that he is slow of speech (4:10-12)?

Answer: He reminds Moses that He made the human mouth and every ability, and promises to teach him what to say

Moses protests that he has never been a skilled speaker (4:10). God answers with questions: who gave people their mouths, and who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? It is the LORD (4:11). God is the Creator of every human ability, and He is also sovereign (in full control) over human weakness and disability (Psalm 94:9; John 9:3). So God tells Moses to go and promises to help him speak and teach him what to say (4:12). God does not wait for His servants to become strong; He shows His power through their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and gives them the words they need (Matthew 10:19-20).

  • Exodus 4:10-12 (BSB)
    ““Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.””
    Moses pleads that he is not eloquent, and God answers that He made the human mouth and will teach Moses what to say.
  • Psalm 94:9 (BSB)
    “He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”
    God, who formed the ear and the eye, is the Maker of every human faculty.
  • John 9:3 (BSB)
    “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.”
    Jesus teaches that a man's blindness served the purpose of displaying the works of God.
  • Matthew 10:19-20 (BSB)
    “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
    God promises to supply the words His servants need when they must speak for Him.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 (BSB)
    “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.”
    God's power is made perfect in the weakness of His servants.

Theological

What is the logic of God's reply to Moses' plea of poor speech in 4:10-12?

Answer: As Creator and sovereign over human faculties and their limits, God will Himself help Moses speak and instruct him

Moses pleads a lack of eloquence (4:10). God grounds His answer in creation and providence: He made the human mouth and ordains muteness and deafness, sight and blindness (4:11; Psalm 94:9). Even human disability falls within His purposes (John 9:3). The remedy is not a change in Moses' native ability but God's promised help as he speaks and His instruction in what to say (4:12), the pattern later promised to Christ's witnesses (Matthew 10:19-20). The sufficiency of the servant lies in God, whose power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

  • Exodus 4:10-12 (BSB)
    ““Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.””
    Moses pleads that he is not eloquent, and God answers that He made the human mouth and will teach Moses what to say.
  • Psalm 94:9 (BSB)
    “He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”
    God, who formed the ear and the eye, is the Maker of every human faculty.
  • John 9:3 (BSB)
    “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.”
    Jesus teaches that a man's blindness served the purpose of displaying the works of God.
  • Matthew 10:19-20 (BSB)
    “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
    God promises to supply the words His servants need when they must speak for Him.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 (BSB)
    “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.”
    God's power is made perfect in the weakness of His servants.