Exo 3:11 | KingComments | STEP | Moses comes with his objections. He sees his own 1. incapacity, 2. ignorance, 3. incredibility. 4. inarticulacy, 5. after which he finally shows his unwillingness. Moses is full of objections. His first objection shows that he considers himself totally unfit for his task. When he was still in Egypt he was full of vigor. Then he would just do it. There his self-assured ‘I’ forms the hindrance to God’s work. Now his humble ‘I’ is the hindrance. When God calls, it does not matter who we are, but Who He is. He says: “I will be with you.” This answer the LORD also gives to Gideon when he raises the same objection as Moses to the commission he receives from Him: “He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man”” ( ; cf. ). Moses also receives a sign that he and the people will serve God on His mountain. With this, God also gives the actual purpose of the redemption of His people: that they may serve Him. Serving here means serving as a slave. So far the people have served the Egyptians as slaves; after their redemption they will serve God and worship Him as His people (cf. ). As fast as Moses acted the first time when he struck the Egyptian to death, so slow he is now to respond to God’s calling. The man who has shown the progressive development of human nature now shows a reluctance that also stems from human nature. Neither of them can have a place in the work of God.

‏ Exodus 3:11

First Objection and God’s Answer

Moses comes with his objections. He sees his own

1. incapacity,

2. ignorance,

3. incredibility.

4. inarticulacy,

5. after which he finally shows his unwillingness.

Moses is full of objections. His first objection shows that he considers himself totally unfit for his task. When he was still in Egypt he was full of vigor. Then he would just do it. There his self-assured ‘I’ forms the hindrance to God’s work. Now his humble ‘I’ is the hindrance. When God calls, it does not matter who we are, but Who He is. He says: “I will be with you.”

This answer the LORD also gives to Gideon when he raises the same objection as Moses to the commission he receives from Him: “He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man”” (Jdg 6:15-16; cf. Jer 1:8).

Moses also receives a sign that he and the people will serve God on His mountain. With this, God also gives the actual purpose of the redemption of His people: that they may serve Him. Serving here means serving as a slave. So far the people have served the Egyptians as slaves; after their redemption they will serve God and worship Him as His people (cf. 1Thes 1:9).

As fast as Moses acted the first time when he struck the Egyptian to death, so slow he is now to respond to God’s calling. The man who has shown the progressive development of human nature now shows a reluctance that also stems from human nature. Neither of them can have a place in the work of God.