2011-02-27 (am) Exodus 6:28-7:7 Aaron Speaks for Moses

Last week, our series started with Moses encountering God at the burning bush. We noticed that God hears his peoples prayers and he rescues them. We also saw God call Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. A monumental task, intimidating, frightening. Moses was afraid to speak to Pharaoh. Strange, he was able to talk to the creator of the universe, but afraid to speak to a mere man. That was back in chapter 3. What has happened in the intervening chapters is a genealogy showing Moses and Aaron are bona-fide descendants of Israels son Levi. As we saw last time, but also two more times, Moses protested Gods assignment. He was afraid for his life; he was worried about his ability to speak. He didnt think the Israelites would listen to him, let alone Pharaoh. God went with Moses, the Israelites listened to him but Pharaoh did not. Pharaoh thought the Israelites were lazy for wanting to take time to worship God in the wilderness. So, he punished them. He stopped giving them straw for making bricks, told them they had to gather their own straw and still produce the same number of bricks. This got the Israelites wondering. Sure, Moses could turn a staff into a snake, make his hand leprous and healed, and pour a bucket of water from the Nile out as blood. But as soon as he goes to Pharaoh, their lives get worse! Didnt he say he was going to lead them out? Didnt he say they were going to the Promised Land? Now things are far worse! How is this Gods will?

This is an important point. God doesnt promise instant gratification. God doesnt promise to take all our sorrows and pains away immediately. He didnt even fix Moses speech problems; instead, he gave Moses Aaron to help him. He does promise that one day there will be no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more tears. He cares for his people; he suffers with and for his people. He hears their cries and he answers them. But we mustnt be surprised when things get worse before they get better. Whenever people trust God, Satan tries to beat them down. He uses oppression, fear, pain, difficulties, suffering, doubt and lies to try to destroy Gods people. We counter those attacks by simply trusting in God, knowing that our lives are in his hand, knowing that his love is beyond comprehension and that he is slow to anger and abounding in love. In fact, we see Gods love and grace demonstrated to Moses. Moses was afraid to speak to Pharaoh, though not, apparently, afraid to speak to God. Three times he tries to get out of his responsibility. God says no, Ive called you. Then God gets angry at Moses. Incidentally, disobeying Gods commands usually goes poorly. Moses resists, God gives him Aaron, and Aaron makes the golden calf. Jonah resists, runs away, gets swallowed by a whale, eventually does what God told him to do, remains unhappy about it. The apostle Paul refuses to hear the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, but through a miraculous encounter with him, where for a time he is completely blind, he comes to see the truth.
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One thing we ought to keep in mind is this; Moses wasnt expecting a God moment. Moses wasnt expecting to meet God in the burning bush. He was merrily tending his sheep, he was merely curious about the bush; never did he think that God would be telling him to go lead his people out of Egypt. With that in mind, it makes sense why Moses resisted. He wasnt prepared. He wasnt ready. He wasnt given any warning whatsoever. Furthermore, he wasnt even able to get out of it. He tried to come up with things that he thought would disqualify him, but God wouldnt budge. He was going, he would be the leader, he would be the one. While God did grow angry at Moses protestations, at Moses lack of confidence in himself, and in God, after all, God promised to do the work through him, God showed abundant grace. God provided Aaron, Moses brother to be Moses spokesman. Think about that. This shared the work, didnt it? Wouldnt it be easier to go before a Judge, or ruler with someone else rather than alone? Didnt God state that it wasnt good that Adam was alone, so he made a helper for Adam? Were not a bunch of lone gunmen when it comes to the Christian faith. Were put together, built together to support, encourage and challenge one another. God has it all planned out. All he asks of us is to trust him and to be obedient through the person and work of the Holy Spirit. What we have in Aaron is not simply a spokesman, but also a companion for Moses. Not only that, in Moses and Aaron, we get a glimpse of God himself.
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Consider these words, See I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. A prophet is like an ambassador. The prophet brings the kings words to the people, to the other kings and nations. We could look at it this way. The Prime Minister of Canada delegates his

ambassador to go to a foreign land. The ambassador says, I want to go, but I dont speak their language well. Then the Prime Minister says, Okay, take so and so along with you. You will still be representing me, but this other person will be representing you. When they speak for you it will be as though you are me. It will be as though the Prime Minister of Canada were standing in their hall. Thats what you represent. That was Aaron for Moses. The original plan was for Moses to do Aarons work. But he was afraid, so God appointed Aaron to go with him. Notice were never told what Aaron thought of this arrangement? Aaron just does it. Anyway, God speaks to Moses, Moses speaks to Aaron, and Aaron speaks to Pharaoh. In Pharaohs mind, Moses represents God. Aaron is the prophet, the ambassador. This compounded to Pharaohs stubbornness. Pharaoh considered himself a god.

Everyone believed he was. So when Moses standing there, representing God, hes giving a physical divine intimidation to Pharaoh. Hes saying, theres nothing special about you. Anyone can claim to be a deity. Do you have the power and the authority to back it up? Well see in a few weeks. But this must have bugged Pharaoh to no end. He was being confronted, challenged, and belittled. He didnt like it one bit.

Not only that, Pharaoh had God working on him directly. Here we see what God will do. He says he will harden Pharaohs heart. That is, God will give Pharaoh over to his natural evil convictions. Remember what it says in answer 5 of the Heidelberg Catechism? I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbour. We know from the scriptures that everyone born into sin will sin, and will have this sinful nature. But unless God acts in that persons heart, bringing it from death to life, bringing it from hatred of God to love of God, that person will remain in their hard hearted, stone heartedness. So, when God says, I will harden his heart. What he is saying is, I will give him over to his natural tendency. He hates me. He loves himself. He thinks he is a god. He thinks he is more powerful than I am. He thinks he can deny me and get away with it. I will show him just how wrong he is. I will do mighty things, things that not even his magicians can do and it will frustrate him to no end. What I do will drive him deeper and deeper into his hatred of me. My power, my authority, my glory will make him more and more jealous, and he will resist, and fight and lie and cheat. All these things I am going to do through you. Aaron will do them for you. Trust me. Lean on me. Know that Im the one who goes before you, who goes behind you, who goes beside you. No one will harm you because I will watch over you. What Moses and Aaron represent, really is The Father and the Son. Jesus was compared to and found greater than Moses as a prophet. Jesus represented God before

the ruler of this present darkness. Jesus crushed him, as surely as God crushed Egypt through Moses. 2 Corinthians 5 says that we are ambassadors of Christ, that through us, God might reconcile sinful humanity to himself. Now, as well see in this series, Gods actions in front of Pharaoh awakened many Egyptians to reality. Their leader wasnt a god. There is one God, not many. There is one god who has power and authority over all things. These people saw the evidence and they believed. We are Christs ambassadors. We witness to Christ. We tell of his great power and authority. We tell people about how God heard his people in Egypt and he rescued them. We tell them that Christ came to rescue us not from earthly oppression, but spiritual oppression. WE tell them about Christs life and death on the cross as

atonement, a payment for the curse of sin. We tell them about the evidence, so that they may know God. So that they may turn from sin, repent, believe, be baptised and taught. We might well, like Moses, say, But what can I say? How can I tell them? Theyll reject me, just as Pharaoh did Moses. He was lucky to escape with his life! Just as God protected him, God will protect you. Just as God gave him Aaron, God will bless you with someone to help you. That person might be a friend, or he might be simply the Holy Spirit.

We have to learn to trust God. When God calls us to do the task hes laid before us, he will give us the courage and the ability to do it. Moses, even though he tried to get out if it three times, experienced Gods grace in Aaron. God worked powerfully in Moses and made him one of the greatest prophets, ever. This from a guy who at first said no. Isnt that Gods way? Jonah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul, all of them resisted at one time or another. And still, God worked mightily through them. God is calling us too. Perhaps not to such monumental tasks, but hes calling us to serve him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Every area of our lives must be given over to God. Not one part belongs solely to us. Trust in God to guide and lead you. Depend upon him, lean on him and experience his grace and power. Listen to God speak to your heart and mind today. Then trust in him as you follow. Amen.