Exodus 4

Exodus 4 continues the account of the call at the burning bush that begins in chapter 3. When God says that He will send Moses to Egypt, Moses repeatedly hesitates. This chapter contains the rest of that conversation and Moses' journey back to Egypt. Moses' first appearance before Pharaoh follows in chapter 5.

Outline

• Verses 1–9: When Moses says that the people will not believe him, God gives him three signs. His rod becomes a serpent and then turns back into a rod; his hand, placed in his bosom, becomes "leprous as snow" and is then restored. If the people still do not believe, he is to pour water from the river (the Nile) onto dry land, and it will become blood.
• Verses 10–17: Moses says that he is "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue" and asks God to send someone else. God's anger is kindled against Moses, and He appoints Moses' eloquent brother Aaron as his spokesman. God commands Moses to take the rod in his hand and perform the signs with it.
• Verses 18–23: With the permission of his father-in-law Jethro, Moses sets out, setting his wife and sons on a donkey. God says that He will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and He instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh that Israel is God's firstborn son and that, if Pharaoh refuses to let Israel go, God will slay Pharaoh's firstborn.
• Verses 24–26: At a lodging place along the way, the LORD seeks to kill Moses. His wife Zipporah takes a sharp stone, circumcises their son, and says, "A bloody husband art thou to me."
• Verses 27–31: Aaron meets Moses at the mountain of God. The two gather the elders of Israel; Aaron speaks God's words and performs the signs, and the people believe, bow their heads, and worship.

Key Verses

• Exodus 4:2: "What is that in thine hand?" A shepherd's ordinary rod is called "the rod of God" in verse 20 and thereafter becomes the instrument of the signs.
• Exodus 4:11–12: "Who hath made man's mouth? … I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." In this passage the weakness of the one who is called is joined to the promise of God's presence.
• Exodus 4:22: "Israel is my son, even my firstborn." This verse describes the relationship between God and Israel as that of a father and son. It also foreshadows the final plague, the death of the firstborn (Exodus 12).

People and Places

• Moses: The man called to lead Israel out of Egypt.
• Aaron: Moses' older brother, introduced as "the Levite" (see Levites). He conveys Moses' words to the people on his behalf.
• Jethro: Moses' father-in-law, who lives in Midian.
• Zipporah: Moses' wife. In this chapter she circumcises their son.
• Pharaoh: The king of Egypt. In this chapter he is mentioned only in God's words to Moses.
• The elders of the children of Israel: The representatives of the people, the first group Moses and Aaron gather.
• The mountain of God: The place called Horeb in chapter 3. It is commonly identified with Mount Sinai.

Points for Reflection

• God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart: Verse 21 states that God will harden Pharaoh's heart. Elsewhere, however, as in Exodus 8:15, the text records that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Paul cites the example of Pharaoh in Romans 9 (Romans 9:18–23). The Calvinist tradition tends to read this in connection with God's sovereign decree, while the Arminian and Wesleyan traditions tend to explain it as judgment resulting from Pharaoh's repeated refusals. For further discussion, see the article Predestination and Free Will.
• Interpreting verses 24–26: This passage is very brief and ambiguous. Because the Hebrew text says only "him," interpreters differ over whether God sought to kill Moses or his son. The Korean Revised Version renders the word as "Moses." The episode is commonly explained in connection with a failure to perform circumcision, the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:14). The text does not say which son was circumcised.
• Moses' speaking ability: The text says only that Moses was not eloquent. The story that he injured his tongue as a child by putting a burning coal in his mouth comes from later Jewish tradition and is not found in the biblical text. In Acts 7, by contrast, Stephen says that Moses "was mighty in words and in deeds" (Acts 7:22).
• Connections to the New Testament: The description of Israel as God's son is echoed in Hosea 11: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1). That verse is quoted in Matthew 2 in the account of the infant Jesus' flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:15).

In the Korean Church

Verse 2, "What is that in thine hand?", is frequently used as a sermon text, often applied to teach that God uses the small things each person has. Verses 10–12, which deal with Moses' hesitation and God's promise, are used in sermons on calling and dedication. In Sunday school, the sign of the rod becoming a serpent is often presented as one of the scenes in the story of Moses.