Exodus 4:13-17

Back to Exodus 4

13 And he said, Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. 14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God. 17 And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

Classification

The Command

This passage contains a series of positive commands, with immediate relevance, directed toward Moses:

• "thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God."
• "And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs."

The commands are a response to Moses's persistent request that God choose someone other than Moses to perform these works (see Exodus 4:10-12). God does not amend his command -- Moses is still the mouth of God -- but he appends to it the additional member, Aaron, who acts as the mouth of Moses.

Categories

These commands are part of the Principles and Definitions. They are relevant to an understanding of the Creator-Creation Distinction, as God makes the roles clear by in verse 16, "thou shalt be to him as God".

Fulfillment

This command was fulfilled by Moses and Aaron. They delivered the messages of God to Egypt and Israel, and Moses performed many signs with the staff (see verses 28-31).