Exodus
Chapter 4
Moses replied to the Lord:
“What if they will not believe me or listen to me? Maybe they will say: ‘That’s not true. The Lord did not appear to you.”
The Lord then asked him:
“What is that in your right hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
God said:
“Throw it to the ground.”
He threw it, and it became a serpent, and Moses drew back from it.
The Lord said:
“Take it by the tail.” Moses took it, and it was a staff again in his hand.
Then the Lord said:
“With such signs, they may believe that the Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to you.”
Again, the Lord said to him:
“Put your hand on your chest.” He placed his hand on his chest, and when he took it away, his hand was covered with leprosy, white as snow.
And God said:
“Put your hand back on your chest.” So he put it back, and when he took it away again, his hand was healthy like the rest of his body.
The Lord added:
“If they don’t believe you and are not convinced by the first sign, they will believe you when they see the second.
But if these two signs are not enough to make them believe you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground, and the water from the river will turn into blood.”
Moses said to the Lord:
“But, my Lord, never have I been a fluent speaker before or after you have spoken to me. I cannot find words to express what I want to say.”
The Lord said to him:
“Who gave man a mouth? Who makes him dumb or deaf, with sight or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
But Moses insisted:
“My Lord, I pray you, why not send someone else?”
At this, the Lord became angry with Moses and said:
“What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he speaks well. Look! He is coming to meet you,
and he will be glad when he sees you. You will speak to him and tell him what I have told you to say. And when you tell him or he speaks, I will be with you and teach you what you have to say.
Aaron will speak for you as a prophet speaks for his god.
You will perform miraculous signs with this staff in your hand.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him:
“I am going back to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.”
Jethro replied to Moses:
“Go in peace!”
The Lord said to Moses in the land of Midian:
“Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.”
Moses took his wife and sons with him. He loaded them onto a donkey and set off for Egypt, holding the staff of God in his hand.
The Lord said to Moses:
“You are returning to Egypt, and you will perform all the miraculous signs that I have empowered you to do in the presence of Pharaoh. I will, however, make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go.
You shall then say to Pharaoh: ‘This is the Lord’s message: Israel is my firstborn son,
and I said to you: Let my son go that he may worship me. But you have refused to let him go, and because of this, I will take the life of your firstborn son.”
At a lodging place along the way, the angel of the Lord approached Moses and tried to kill him.
But Zipporah took a flint stone, cut her son’s foreskin, and touched the feet of Moses with it, saying:
“You are now my husband by blood!”
And the angel left him. Zipporah referred to him as ‘husband by blood’ because of the circumcision.
The Lord said to Aaron:
“Go into the desert and meet your brother, Moses.”
So Aaron went and met him at the Mountain of God and kissed him.
Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had said to him and all the signs he was commanded to perform.
Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the Israelites,
and Aaron shared everything the Lord had told Moses. He also showed all the signs to the people, and they believed him.
When they heard that the Lord had visited the Israelites and seen their suffering, they bowed down and worshiped him.
Commentaries
Moses’ Vocation.
This extended encounter and dialogue between God and Moses is full of meaningful content. The God who reveals Himself to Moses is the same God of the patriarchs (3:6.14-15). He cares about the situations of the weak and marginalized. Moses—and humanity—approach Him with respect: he must remove his sandals and cover his face in a gesture of reverence. Verses 7-15 describe Moses’ call and the mission he is given. They also reveal the intimate nature of God (3:7f).
This revelation gained new significance during the Israelite exile in Babylon (587-536 B.C.). Here’s the Good News: the god or gods who justified the pharaoh’s oppression and policies are unrelated to the God of justice and freedom; “I am” is the God who rescues, the God who risks everything for the life and freedom of his oppressed people.
Moses Returns to Egypt.
This final part of the chapter includes at least three sections.
1. Moses returns to Egypt with his father-in-law’s consent (18), followed by God confirming that decision (19) and declaring Pharaoh’s future stubbornness, which will lead to the plagues, with the last one causing the death of the firstborn.
2. The second describes a confusing situation in which the Lord tries to kill Moses. This led Zipporah, his wife, to quickly circumcise their son and call Moses a ‘bridegroom of blood’ after touching him with his son’s blood (24-26). This unusual practice, related to Moses and the rite of circumcision, is not entirely clear to the authors of the text. Verse 26b attempts to explain the ritual but ultimately fails to do so.
3. The third section describes Moses and Aaron’s meeting with the Israelite authorities, who urged them to prepare for their meeting with Pharaoh. God will take care of his people; he has taken note of their oppression (31). This is the key that must also inspire the faith of our peoples. God is with us; he notices us and cares for us.