Moses’ Spokesman

Exodus 6:28-7:7

²⁸ And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ that the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” ³⁰ But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am of *uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

*uncircumcised lips – What on earth did Moses mean by that? In this time, it is thought that circumcision, or the lack of, referred to impurity or inadequacy. So, in light of these definitions, Moses meant he had a speech impediment. Alternatively, it is some other difficulty speaking, (great fear of).

1. So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
   • as God – refers to Moses as the mouthpiece for God and then Aaron as a mouthpiece for Moses.
   • Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) Moses will act on God’s power and authority before Pharaoh
   • Navi (נָבִיא) – Prophet, meaning “one who speaks on behalf of another.”
   • During this time, Pharaoh was seen as a god. Now, he would be faced with someone speaking on behalf of the true power of God.
2. You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.
   • The first sentence: “You shall speak all that I command you.” gives clear indication that God is the source of the message and that Moses/Aaron are the messengers.
   • Second sentence: Pharaoh may have been seen as the god of his country. However, Israel belonged to God. He had come to reclaim them as His people.
   • This reclaiming is a foreshadowing of the future. A redeemer was to come to provide spiritual deliverance to the world. This anticipated moment was in the future of His people
3. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.”
   • “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”
   • Ak’sheh (אַקְשֶׁה) – From the root קָשָׁה (qashah), meaning to make stubborn, strong, or unyielding.
   • This doesn’t mean that God took away Pharaoh’s free will, or forced him to sin. Pharaoh was already stubborn and cruel. God only strengthened these characteristics that Pharaoh already adopted.
   • “and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.”
   • The signs and wonders that God has given Moses to perform before Pharaoh will be proof of God’s authority. They will also prove that Egypt’s gods are false.
4. “But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.”
   • “Pharaoh will not heed you” – Ahead of sending Moses and Aaron, God already knows Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. He has no lack of free will. He has chosen disobedience of God and cruel and evil treatment of Israel. God just confirms this.
   • “Lay My hand on Egypt” – Yad (יָד) – Hand, symbolizing God’s power and intervention.
   • This phrase often signifies divine punishment as in Ezekiel 25:7
   • “My armies and My people” – Enslaved or not, God sees Israel as His people and he is coming for them
   • “By great judgments” – Sh’fatim (שְׁפָטִים) – Judgments, meaning legal decrees or punishments.
   • These plagues are not random. They are not just disasters arising copiously to scare Pharaoh. They are punishments against Egypt’s sins.
5. “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
   • “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord” – יהוה i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel
   • YHWH alone is the supreme God.
   • “Stretch out My hand” – Direct intervention
6. Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did.
   • In direct opposition to the behavior of Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron are obedient and do exactly as they are commanded. They display faith and trust in God despite the past doubts of Exodus 3-4.
7. And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
   • Compare to Abraham who received his call at 75

References:

Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.

Strong, James. The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. 1890. Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/.

Holy Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson, 1982. Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/.