Moses, the Great Leader

When we think about Moses we usually think about the man who freed the Hebrews from slavery. We think about the great leader who led the Hebrews out of Egypt and through the desert for 40 years while they awaited the promised land. We think about the great prophet, lawgiver, and judge. We think about the man who spoke “face to face” with God.

All of these things are true. But how often do we remember that when Moses met God at the burning bush that Moses did not want to obey God?

How often do we remember that Moses was a reluctant leader?

Moses, the Reluctant Leader

The Angel of the Lord called out to Moses when he saw him approaching the burning bush. Moses answered, “here I am.” God explained to Moses that he was going to free his people from slavery and bring them to a land of milk and honey.¹

God then told Moses that he would be the one to lead them out of slavery. God told Moses that he wanted him to go to Pharaoh and to demand he let his people go. At this point Moses is probably shocked and in disbelief. Moses did not want to obey God and he gave God four excuses on why God must have been mistaken.

Today we are going to look at the excuses Moses made and what we can learn from this.

Moses’ Excuses

Moses’ First Excuse

Moses’ first excuse was, “who am I?”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”²

Moses was basically saying, why me? Who am I to lead a nation out of bondage? I am a nobody who fled from the Hebrews to Midian. Why would anybody listen to me?

Moses did not have faith in himself and he feared Pharaoh, but God’s response to Moses was reassuring, “certainly I will be with you.”³ God was telling Moses he would not be alone.

Moses’ Second Excuse

But this was still not enough for Moses. Moses went from asking “who am I” to basically asking who are you? He wanted to know the name of this God who would be walking with him. This is when God gave Moses his personal, covenant name:

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”⁴

God’s name is more than a name, God’s name describes his being, his essence, his wholeness, his completeness. God is the eternal, he is the I AM who always was, always is, and always will be. He is the Alpha and the Omega.

At this point in his life Moses probably knew of God, but now God was offering him a personal relationship.

Next God tells Moses to gather the elders together and explain to them that God appeared before him, and then he reassured Moses the elders will listen to him.

Moses’ Third Excuse

Moses now knew that Yahweh was the God who would be walking with him, and yet he was still reluctant. Despite God reassuring him that the elders would listen to him, Moses asked God, “what if they will not believe me?”

4 Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘Yahweh has not appeared to you.’” ⁵

Moses is again unsure of himself, and he is afraid the people will not believe him. This also shows us that Moses did not fully trust God.

God tells Moses he will work signs and wonders through him if the people do not believe him, and he showed him a couple of examples.

Moses’ Fourth Excuse

Despite seeing examples of the power of God, Moses still hesitates. He tells God that he is not a good speaker.

God previously promised Moses that he would be with him, now he promises to give Moses the words to say.

¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”⁶

Moses is still wavering and now we are told that the anger of Yahwey burned against Moses.⁷

God tells Moses to take his brother Aaron along to speak for him. God will still be giving Moses the words, but Moses will pass them along to Aaron, and Aaron will speak to Pharaoh.

Moses is now out of excuses and finally agrees to do God’s work.

Sound Familiar?

We have all been tasked with spreading the word of God throughout the world. Each and every one of us has been given the great commission. And, like Moses, many of us are reluctant also.

Do any, or all, of Moses’ excuses sound familiar to you? I know they sound familiar to me because I have used every one of them myself for failing to spread the word of God when I had the opportunities. I know that I am not alone in this.

We, the Reluctant Leaders

Our First Excuse

We also ask, “who am I? Why would people listen to me? I am just one of them myself, and I don’t have a theological education. There must be somebody more qualified than I who can do this job.”

So we hesitate.

Our Second Excuse

We might not say it in the same way as Moses did, but we sometimes ask “who is God?” By this I don’t mean that we don’t know who God is, but rather that we don’t think we know enough about God to proclaim his word. We are afraid we might not have the answers to a person’s questions.

So we hesitate.

Our Third Excuse

“What if they don’t believe me?” This is probably our biggest fear, at least this is mine. It is the fear of rejection. Nobody wants to be rejected, nobody wants to be laughed at or ridiculed, and nobody wants to be shunned or ignored.

So we hesitate.

Our Fourth Excuse

“But I am not good with words, sometimes I stammer around when under pressure to answer a question. If I can’t speak eloquently who is going to listen to me? Who is going to believe me?”

So we hesitate.

Responding to the Excuses

Response to the First Excuse

Jesus didn’t say that only the most qualified people should speak about him, he tasked us all with this responsibility. And sometimes it could be that the testimony of a “regular” person could be more effective or relatable to somebody than all the words the most learned theologians can come up with.

Response to the Second Excuse

We don’t know all there is to know about God, nobody does, but we know enough about him to begin the conversation with people. It is okay if we don’t know all the answers because nobody has all the answers. Our first goal is to get people to start thinking about God.

Response to the Third Excuse

Many people will not believe us and that is okay. Remember it is not us they are rejecting, but God. If we are rejected we should move on to the next person. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.⁸ We are needed out in the fields.

Response to the Fourth Excuse

It isn’t always about how well you say something. Sometimes the emotion you show, or the passion you display, when talking about God and what he has done for you will be enough for some people to think maybe there is something to this after all. That can be more valuable than the words you speak.

Conclusion

Excuses are just that, they are excuses, and they come from our fear, but they are not legitimate reasons. This does not mean the fear is not real or daunting, but we must remember God’s answers to Moses because they hold true for us as well.

God promised Moses he would be with him and he would not be alone, and Jesus gave us the same assurance. God promised Moses to give him the words, and Jesus promised us that the Spirit would give us the words.

Sometimes those who are reluctant or hesitant to lead can make the best leaders because they are not doing it out of selfish ambitions or vain conceit.⁹ Moses is the perfect example of this.

Now, like Moses, we are out of excuses and it is time to get to work.

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1. See Exodus 3:2-10 ↩︎
2. Exodus 3:11 ESV ↩︎
3. See Exodus 3:12 ↩︎
4. See Exodus 3:13 ↩︎
5. Exodus 4:1 LSB ↩︎
6. Exodus 4:12 ESV ↩︎
7. Exodus 4:14 LSB ↩︎
8. Matthew 9:37 ESV ↩︎
9. See Philippians 2:3 ↩︎