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Read Exodus Chapter 4

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1And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

8And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

13And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

14And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? 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.

15And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

16And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

18And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

25Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

27And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

29And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

30And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

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Explanation

Exodus 4

In short

God gives Moses three signs to prove to the Israelites that God has sent him: a staff that turns into a serpent, a hand that becomes diseased then heals, and water that turns to blood. Moses worries he cannot speak well, so God sends his brother Aaron to be his spokesman. Moses then travels back to Egypt with his family to confront Pharaoh.

What the text says

Moses doubts the people will believe him (verse 1). God shows him three signs. First, his rod becomes a serpent when cast down, and Moses must pick it up by the tail to make it a rod again (verses 2-5). Second, Moses puts his hand in his bosom and it becomes diseased like snow, then heals when he does it again (verses 6-7). If they do not believe these, a third sign is that water from the river will become blood on the ground (verses 8-9).

Moses objects that he is not a good speaker (verse 10). God answers that he made mouths and asks who makes people able to speak (verse 11), promising to teach Moses what to say (verse 12). Moses asks God to send someone else instead (verse 13). God becomes angry and tells Moses his brother Aaron speaks well and is already coming to meet him (verse 14). Aaron will be Moses' spokesman, receiving words from Moses and speaking to the people, while Moses will be as God to Aaron (verses 15-16). Moses will carry the rod to perform the signs (verse 17).

Moses asks his father-in-law Jethro for permission to leave, and Jethro agrees (verse 18). God tells Moses all who sought his life are dead, so he can return safely (verse 19). Moses takes his wife, sons, and the rod (verse 20). God tells him to perform all the wonders before Pharaoh but warns that God will harden Pharaoh's heart so he will not let the people go (verse 21). Moses is to tell Pharaoh that Israel is God's firstborn son and must be released to serve God, or God will kill Egypt's firstborn (verses 22-23).

On the way, the Lord confronts Moses as if to kill him (verse 24). Zipporah cuts off her son's foreskin and touches Moses' feet with it, saying he is a bloody husband (verses 25-26). God lets Moses go. God tells Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness, and Aaron does and kisses him (verse 27). Moses tells Aaron everything God said and the signs he must do (verse 28). Moses and Aaron gather the elders (verse 29). Aaron speaks God's words and performs the signs (verse 30). The people believe and worship, having heard that God has seen Israel's affliction (verse 31).

Takeaways

  • God equips Moses with visible signs so people will trust that God has really sent him.
  • Moses hesitates and objects, but God provides help through Aaron instead of excusing him from the task.
  • The passage does not explain the confrontation in verses 24-26, though it is usually understood as related to circumcision of Moses' son.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.