Page 44 - Pentateuch

Let’s get Personal…

When, if ever, can we speak for God as his mouth? At this point in Exodus, we begin to learn more about
the unique role of Moses. “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother will be your
prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the
Israelites go out of his country (7:1-2).” God speaks to him in an unusual way, an unmistakable way. God’s
words to Moses are as clear, if not more so, than the audible voice of one person to another. Aaron does
not have this privilege. He gets his information second-hand. In succeeding verses, we read, “the LORD said
to Moses and to Aaron,” yet we are to understand the messages coming through Moses to Aaron. No one
else has this privilege. Moses is the sole mediator between God and all others in this history. The privilege is
great. The responsibility is great. Lesser men can make greater mistakes and be excused in some cases.
Moses, who has this great intimacy with God, has a more crucial position.

We are only in chapter seven. Moses is eighty years old (7:6-7), but this unique relationship is marked as
one to watch. We do well to discern between false and true voices. A true prophet is God’s mouth (3:16).
Here is one step further. Moses is closer yet to God, mediating between all the rest of Israel and God.
Hebrews 3:2 compares Jesus to Moses, “He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was
faithful in all God’s house.” Having already encountered the Son of God in Eden, talking with Abraham, and
interacting in a variety of other places, we would expect to learn more about him through his conversations
with Moses.

Is Pharaoh’s reaction typical of people hearing about the real God for the first time? How did Moses learn
about Christ (Heb. 11:24-27)? Does God often take a long time to answer our heartfelt prayers?
Are there spiritual parallels between the steps God took to rescue Israel from Egypt and the steps God
takes today to bring people to Christ? Should we be surprised if it takes a long time? What lessons might
Israel have learned about a coming Messiah through their practice of the Passover?

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