When God Calls and You Feel Completely Unqualified
What’s Exodus 4 about?
Moses is standing before a burning bush, having just received the call of his lifetime, and his response is basically “Thanks, but no thanks – I’m not your guy.” What follows is one of the most relatable conversations in Scripture: God patiently addressing every excuse while Moses desperately tries to talk his way out of the job.
The Full Context
Exodus 4 picks up immediately after the burning bush encounter where God has just commissioned Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt. We’re eighty years into Moses’ life – forty years as Egyptian royalty, forty years as a Midianite shepherd – and now God wants to send him back to the very place where he’s a wanted fugitive. The chapter captures Moses at his most human moment: called by God but paralyzed by his own sense of inadequacy.
This isn’t just ancient biography; it’s a masterclass in how God works with reluctant servants. The literary structure moves from Moses’ doubts (Exodus 4:1-17) to divine provision of signs and helpers, then to Moses’ actual departure (Exodus 4:18-31). But sandwiched in the middle is one of the most puzzling episodes in all of Scripture – God’s near-fatal encounter with Moses at the inn. The chapter themes of calling, inadequacy, and divine patience set up the entire Exodus narrative, while the strange circumcision incident reminds us that covenant faithfulness matters even for God’s chosen leaders.
What the Ancient Words tell us
The Hebrew here is absolutely fascinating. When Moses says lo ya’aminu li (“they will not believe me”) in verse 1, he’s not just expressing doubt – he’s using a verb that carries the weight of covenant faithfulness. The same root (’aman) gives us “Amen” and appears when Scripture talks about Abraham believing God. Moses isn’t just worried about credibility; he’s concerned about covenant trust.
Grammar Geeks
The phrase “slow of speech and slow of tongue” in verse 10 uses two different Hebrew words for “slow” – kaved peh and kaved lashon. The word kaved literally means “heavy” – the same word used for Pharaoh’s “hardened” heart. Moses is essentially saying his mouth and tongue are too heavy, too sluggish to do what God asks.
But God’s response is even more revealing. When He says “Who has made man’s mouth?” the Hebrew mi sam peh la’adam echoes the creation language of Genesis. God isn’t just offering to help Moses speak better – He’s reminding him who designed human communication in the first place.
The signs God gives are loaded with symbolism that would have resonated powerfully with both Moses and his future audience. The staff becoming a snake (nachash) evokes both the serpent of Eden and the serpent-staffs of Egyptian magicians. When Moses’ hand becomes leprous and then heals, the Hebrew uses metzora’at – the same term for the ritual uncleanness that separated people from the community of God.
What would the Original Audience Have Heard?
Picture yourself as an Israelite slave hearing this story for the first time around a campfire in the wilderness. Your leader Moses is telling you about his calling, and he’s being brutally honest about his initial reluctance. This isn’t the triumphant origin story you might expect from your deliverer.
The signs would have been immediately significant. Egyptians feared snakes but also revered them as symbols of divine power – pharaohs wore the cobra on their crowns. When Moses’ staff swallows the Egyptian magicians’ staffs later, any Hebrew who heard this story would remember that their leader’s power had divine backing from the very beginning.
Did You Know?
The leprosy sign would have been particularly meaningful to slaves who lived in constant fear of ritual impurity. In a world where skin diseases could make you an outcast, seeing Moses’ hand instantly healed would have been a powerful demonstration that their God could restore what seemed permanently broken.
The water-to-blood sign prefigures the first plague, but for the original audience, it represented something even more fundamental: water was life in the ancient world, and turning it to blood symbolized the power over life and death itself.
But Wait… Why Did They…?
Here’s where things get genuinely strange. In verses 24-26, God apparently tries to kill Moses at a roadside inn, and Zipporah saves him by circumcising their son and touching Moses’ feet with the foreskin. What on earth is happening here?
This passage has puzzled interpreters for millennia. The Hebrew is cryptic, almost deliberately obscure. Some possibilities: Moses had failed to circumcise his son, breaking the covenant sign that marked God’s people. Or perhaps this represents a kind of spiritual testing – Moses needed to experience vulnerability and dependence before he could lead others.
Wait, That’s Strange…
The phrase “bridegroom of blood” that Zipporah uses appears nowhere else in Scripture. Some scholars think it’s an ancient ritual formula we’ve lost the context for, while others see it as Zipporah’s spontaneous response to a life-or-death crisis. Either way, it’s clear that covenant faithfulness isn’t optional, even for God’s chosen deliverer.
What’s certain is that this episode serves as a stark reminder: the God who calls us to service is also the God who demands holiness. Moses can’t lead God’s covenant people while neglecting covenant requirements in his own family.
Wrestling with the Text
Let’s be honest – Moses’ excuses in this chapter sound remarkably contemporary. “They won’t believe me” (verse 1). “I’m not a good speaker” (verse 10). “Please send someone else” (verse 13).
These aren’t theological objections; they’re deeply personal fears. Moses has spent forty years in exile, probably replaying his earlier failure when he killed the Egyptian and fled. Now God wants him to return as a leader? The imposter syndrome is real.
But notice God’s patient response. He doesn’t rebuke Moses for his honesty or demand blind faith. Instead, He provides concrete answers: miraculous signs for credibility, Aaron for eloquence, and His own presence for courage. God’s anger only flares when Moses crosses from honest doubt into outright refusal.
“Sometimes our greatest qualification for God’s service is our deep awareness of our own inadequacy.”
This tension between divine calling and human limitation runs throughout Scripture. Think of Jeremiah claiming he’s too young, or Isaiah declaring himself unclean, or Paul describing himself as the worst of sinners. God seems to specialize in using unlikely candidates.
How This Changes Everything
Here’s what transforms this ancient conversation into something that speaks directly to us: Moses’ struggle isn’t unique. Every person who’s ever felt called to something significant – whether it’s ministry, parenting, leadership, or simply following Jesus more faithfully – knows this tension.
The chapter reveals that God’s calling doesn’t depend on our confidence or competence. Moses was absolutely right about his limitations. He wasn’t a polished speaker. The Israelites might not believe him. But God’s question cuts to the heart: “Who has made man’s mouth?” (verse 11).
The signs aren’t just ancient parlor tricks – they’re reminders that God provides what we need when we need it. The staff represents authority we don’t naturally possess. The healing represents restoration beyond our ability. The water-to-blood represents power over circumstances that seem insurmountable.
And that strange incident at the inn? Perhaps it’s a reminder that being called by God doesn’t exempt us from covenant faithfulness. If anything, it increases our responsibility to align our lives with God’s standards.
Key Takeaway
God’s calling doesn’t depend on your qualifications – it depends on His faithfulness to provide what you need, when you need it, to accomplish what He’s called you to do.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
