Exodus 6: Lessons in Hope from God’s Rehabilitation of Moses’ Faith

Introduction: Exodus Chapter 6 is about hope. Here, God revealed His character to Moses to restore his hope in Him. Until this point, Moses’ life had been like a yo-yo. He went from being a slave to a prince. He then lost everything and went into exile. When God selected him to deliver His people, Moses was a lowly shepherd in a foreign land without his own flock. God convinced this reluctant and beaten down man to travel back to Egypt to free the Jews. Moses’ hopes were raised when the Jewish elders believed that God had sent him, just as God had promised. But his hopes were dashed when Pharaoh rejected Moses’ requests and retaliated against the Jews, even though God had warned him in advance that this would happen. Exodus Chapter 5 concluded with Moses feeling defeated and questioning God’s decision to use him.

Moses’ struggle is a struggle that most believers share with him. It is easy to profess faith in God when things are going well. It is harder to process an assurance that God is in control when everything around you feels like it's falling apart. But that is the Biblical definition of the word hope. Hope is the assurance that God is sovereign and in control, even when all the physical evidence around you suggests that He is not: “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?” (Ro. 8:24). “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1). Believers struggle with the meaning of the word hope because it has a different meaning in normal English speech. To most, to hope for the best is merely a wish without any expectation regarding the outcome. By contrast, hope in God has absolute confidence in the outcome, even if you do not live to see it. From this chapter, He reveals seven lessons in hope for every believer.

First, when all seems hopeless, God wants you to find hope in His inerrant Word. Learn from Moses’ failure to find assurances in God’s promises that you can trust in His Word. Second, find hope in His revelation in your life. He told Moses that he was special because the patriarchs only knew His name, not the meaning behind it. You are special as well because He has also shared the meaning behind His name with you through His Word. He also speaks to you through the Holy Spirit. Third, from His revelation of His desire to form a covenant relationship with His people, take hope that He desires such a relationship with you as well. This includes a spiritual marriage to Jesus in heaven. Fourth, from His repeated promises to give the Jews the physical Promised Land, find hope in His promises to bring you to the eternal Promised Land. Fifth, from Moses’ ongoing doubts (even after God revealed more to him than any other person previously), He reveals that He wants you to find hope in His faithfulness. He is faithful even when you are not. He sees you for what you will become, not for what you are. Sixth, from His call to Moses to return to the spiritual battle field to free the Jews, take hope that He will never leave you or forsake you. Finally, from the partial genealogy listed in this chapter, He reveals that He wants you to take hope that He can use you even if you come from humble origins.

1. Find Hope in God’s Inerrant Word. Ex. 6:1.

  • God’s repetition of His promise to free the Jews. Exodus Chapter 5 concluded with Moses expressing doubt in God’s plan. From Moses’ point of view, everything seemed to be going wrong: “Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.”’ (Ex. 5:22-23). Rather than rebuking Moses for his lack of faith, God sought to give Moses hope that everything was progressing according to His plan. God’s power would force Pharaoh to release God’s people: “1 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.’” (Ex. 6:1). God’s words should have come as no surprise to Moses. Because He knows and controls the future, He told Moses at the burning bush exactly what would happen: “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.” (Ex. 3:19). You also have been told in advance what will happen in the future. Satan will lose. Jesus will restore the Earth. He will create a new home for you to live with Him in heaven. Yet, before that day comes, you will encounter trials and tribulations (Jo. 16:33). These are all opportunities for God to be glorified. As one commentator observes: “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity of helping and saving.” (Matthew Henry on Exodus 6).1 Even when your physical world is crumbling, take hope in His promises. The countless fulfilled prophecies in the Bible prove that His Word is inerrant. No other religious text can make this claim. Does your life reveal a rock solid faith that God is in control?

  • God won’t act when the glory will go to others. In Exodus Chapter 5, God allowed Pharaoh to mock Moses after telling him that God had sent him. He also allowed Pharaoh to retaliate against the Jews by forcing them to meet their daily quota of bricks, but without straw (Ex. 5:4-19). He waited before acting to make sure that He received the glory. If He forced Pharaoh to free the Jews earlier, Moses might have received the glory: “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.” (Is. 42:8). Most believers are tempted to accept the glory that others give them when success comes in their lives. As your example, the Apostle Paul always tried to give the praise to Jesus whatever the circumstance (e.g., 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13; 3:9; 2 Thess. 1:3; Ro. 1:8). If God has allowed you to struggle before answering your prayers for help, He might be trying to teach you to turn the glory to Him.

2. Find Hope in God’s Revelation in Your Life. Ex. 6:2-3.

  • God’s revelation of His unchanging and eternal nature to Moses. To restore Moses’ hope, He revealed to Moses that he had learned things about the meaning behind His name that none of the patriarchs knew previously: “2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the Lord; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them.” (Ex. 6:2-3). At the burning bush, God revealed His name to Moses: “14  He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Ex. 3:14(b)). The name “I AM” referred to His unchanging nature: ‘“I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” (Rev. 1:8). He revealed Himself Abraham as: (1) God Most High (Gen. 14:22); (2) “HaShem” (Gen. 15:7-8); (3) “El-Shaddai” or Almighty God (Gen. 17:1); (4) Everlasting God (Genesis 21:33); and (5) The-LORD-Will-Provide (Gen. 22:14). The patriarchs also knew the name “YHWH,” or Yahweh or Adoni. In the book of Genesis, that name appears 160 times. They accepted Yahweh’s promises by faith: “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” (Heb. 11:13). Moses was unique amongst men because God revealed the fulfillment of His prior promises to him. For example, God told Abraham that he would be the father of countless descendants and a great nation (Gen. 15:13-14). But Moses would see the fulfillment of this promise.

  • God has also revealed His unchanging nature to you. In the New Testament, Jesus revealed that He is the “I AM” who spoke with Moses: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.’” (Jo. 8:58). He also does not change: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8). Like Moses, He has revealed His unchanging nature to you through His Word. Like Moses, He also speaks to you. He does so today through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18; 26-27). When your world feels like it is crumbling, are you turning to the hope of His eternal promises?

3. Find Hope in God’s Desire to be in a Covenant Relationship with You. Ex. 6:4-8.

  • God’s Covenant promises. After repeating the eternal nature of His promises, God revealed part of His Covenant relationship with His people: “4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. 5 Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Ex. 6:4-8). For centuries, the Jews have recited the verses that begin with the words “I will” during their annual Seder to observe the Passover. Each verse speaks to a part of the character of “I AM.” To remember these revelations about God’s character, Jews throughout the world drink four cups of wine or juice called the “Kos Yeshu’ot” or the “cups of sanctification.” Christ showed that each of these verses pointed to Him. During the Last Supper or Seder, He had the disciples drink from the cup of salvation of His blood: “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:25).

“Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel,” (Ex. 6:5)2

  • The first “I will”. The first cup remembered how God freed the Jews from their burdens: ‘“I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,”’ (Ex. 6:6(b)). Christ promises that His yoke is easy when you follow Him (Matt. 11:30). Through faith, He can also free you of your burdens or sorrows if you give them to Him. If you are struggling with a burden, have you given it to Jesus in faith?

  • The second and third “I wills”. The second cup remembered how He freed them from bondage. Here, God used “I will” twice to confirm His promise: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage.” (Ex. 6:6(c)). “[T]hen watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Dt. 6:12). “Through faith, He can also free you from any addiction (Phil. 4:13). If you are struggling with an addiction, have you turned to Jesus to deliver you from bondage?

  • The fourth “I will”. The third cup remembered how He “redeemed” them: “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Ex. 6:6(d)). “Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?” (Dt. 4:34). Jesus paid the redemption price for you at the cross (1 Tim. 2:6). But He did not pay for your freedom so that you could pursue your own self-interests. By paying the ransom for you, He has bought you (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). This means that you are to be holy for Him (1 Peter 15-16). You are to be holy so that you can stay in fellowship with Him. Have you lived your life holy and pure by renewing your mind each day for His use? (Ro. 12:2).

  • The fifth “I will”. The fourth cup recited the format of the lines that couples in the Near East would say to each other to be married: “I will take you for My people, and I will be your God .. .” (Ex. 6:7(a)). At a wedding, a couple would say, “I take you to be my wife, and I take you to be my husband.” God was betrothed to Israel (Jer. 2:2). He was faithful to His bride (Ps. 18:25). He therefore implored the Jews to return to their husband: ‘“Return faithless people,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I am your husband.’” (Jer. 3:14). At Mount Horeb, God made a marriage contract. The Jews accepted God’s marriage proposal: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Ex. 19:1-8). Yet, a wedding contract must be signed by a friend of the bride and a friend of the groom. Moses was a friend of the bride, Israel. But God did not allow him to sign the contract. Instead, Moses broke the Ten Commandments (Ex. 32:19). The sin that caused the people to break the wedding contract was spiritual adultery and idolatry. Rather than accepting their bridegroom and waiting on Him, they made for themselves a new bridegroom out of a golden calf (Ex. 32:24). The marriage will be completed when Jesus, the bridegroom, marries the bride (the Church) in heaven (Rev. 19:9). Are you preparing yourself to be a pure and faithful bride to Christ in heaven?

  • The meaning of the four cups. The four cups representing the first five “I wills” are deep in meaning: “The Jerusalem Talmud offers several explanations of the symbolism behind the four cups. The four cups correspond to the four expressions of redemption, they correspond to the four times the word “cup” is mentioned in the dream of Pharaoh’s cupbearer, they correspond to the four kingdoms that have subjugated the Jewish people in exile, they correspond to the four cups of punishment that the Holy One, blessed be He, will pour out upon the nations, and they correspond to the four cups of consolation that the Holy One, blessed be He, will give to Israel in the future.” (First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vol. 2, Shadows of the Messiah Va’era (2015) p. 267; y. Pesachum 82b).

4. Find Hope in God’s Promise to Bring You to the Eternal Promised Land. Ex. 6:8.

  • The sixth and seventh “I wills”. God concluded His revelation about His character by repeated His promise to deliver the Jews to the Promised Land. To confirm His promise, He twice repeated the phase “I will”, making a total of seven times that He said it: “8  I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’” (Ex. 6:8). He had repeatedly promised to turn the Jews into a great nation and give them the Promised Land (Gen 15:5; 17; 22:17; 26:4; 28:3; 28:13-15; 35:11; Dt. 10:22; Heb. 11:12). By reciting this promise, He showed that He is faithful to keep His promises: “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; in Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.” (Ex. 15:13). The final “I wills” are represented during the Seder by a fifth cup of wine called the “Cup of Elijah.” The attendees at the Seder, however, do not drink from this cup. Instead, it is poured out at the end of the Seder after the children go to the door to see if the prophet Elijah has returned after his rapture (2 Kin. 2:11). In the Bible, five is the number of grace. The Jews understood that they could not drink from the fifth cup of grace until the Messiah had come: “But the final and culminating level of redemption - its ‘I will bring you’ element, which shall be fully realized only in the era of Mashiach [Messiah] - is something that transcends our human efforts. This is not a cup we can drink on our own. We can only bring ourselves to the threshold of this Divinely perfect world, through our active realization of the first four ‘expressions of redemption.’ The drinking of the fifth cup awaits Elijah, the herald of the final and ultimate redemption.” (Tauber, Yanki, The Fifth Cup, Chabad.org 2013). Although many Jews do not understand it, Jesus drank the fifth cup for them at the cross. By His mercy and grace, those who believe in Him will see the eternal Promised Land in heaven.

God promised to be faithful to redeem His people3

  • God has promised that you will reach the eternal Promised Land. Like the Jews, God has also promised to bring every believer in Christ to the eternal Promised Land. No matter how bad you sin, you cannot lose your salvation through sin: “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Jo. 10:28). “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (Jo. 6:37). “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (Jo. 6:39). Thus, no matter how bad your sins, you can find hope in Jesus’ promise of eternal salvation.

  • Satan’s counterfeit promises. In an effort to compare himself to God, Satan made five “I will” statements of his own: “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly. In the recesses of the north.’ 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 ‘Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.’” (Is. 14:13-15). One commentator observes: “the great difference is that Satan was powerless to make any of his ‘I wills’ come to pass; God was more than able to fulfill each of His promises.” (David Guzik on Exodus Chapter 6).4 Satan may offer things that seem tempting. Yet, he can only offer counterfeit promises.

5. Find Hope in God’s Faithfulness, Even When You Are Not. Ex. 6:9-12.

  • The Jews and Moses’ continued lack of faith in God. Even after God tried to build up Moses’ faith, Moses continued to express doubt in Him. This was Moses’ sixth objection to serving God: “9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage. 10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 ‘Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.’ 12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, ‘Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?”’ (Ex. 6:9-12). Neither the Jews nor Moses proved themselves to be faithful. But God proved that He remained faithful even when they were not. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:9). “ . . . He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;” (Dt. 7:9; Nu. 23:19).

Moses complained to God5

  • God sees you for what you will become, not for what you are. God addressed every objection that Moses raised. He promised to be with him, He promised to perform miracles through him, and He allowed Aaron to speak for him. He even showed Moses what would happen in advance before his encounter with Pharaoh. Yet, none of these things cured Moses’ doubt. If a committee of elders were to select a leader, they would never have picked Moses. A committee of elders also would have never picked Jesus’ Apostles. Yet, with the exception of Judas, all grew to be great men of faith. They also would not have picked Jesus. He was not politically correct. He called sin for what it is. The message is that God sees you for what you will become, not what you are. Is there any reason why God cannot use you to serve Him? Likewise, are you judging believers by their past sins as opposed to their potential as new creations in Christ?

  • Satan’s tactic to distract you: oppression and the cares and concerns of the world. The Jews would not listen to Moses because they felt distressed by Pharaoh’s oppression. Pharaoh had made them too busy creating bricks without straw to listen to God’s servant. In the parable of the sower, Jesus warned that Satan still uses this tactic today: “18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. . . . .20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Matt. 13:18-22). In what ways are you making your life “too busy” to hear God?

  • Don’t cling to the idols of the world when God is ready to rescue you. When faced with persecution, the Jews turned toward the Egyptian idols that they knew and trusted. God only freed the Jews through the plagues to keep His name from being profaned: “7 I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.” (Ez. 20:7-9). From their mistakes, God reveals that He never wants you to trust in the things of the world when you face hard times. If God is with you, none can stand against you (Ro. 8:31-32). Where is your hope in tough times?

  • God gives sinners multiple chances to repent. God previously told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Jews go (Ex. 3:10). Pharaoh already said no (Ex. 5:4). God could have struck Pharaoh down. By giving Pharaoh a second chance, He shows that He gives even the worst of sinners second chances. Will you forgive those who have wronged you? If not, should you expect God to forgive your sins? (Matt. 6:15).

6. Find Hope that God Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You. Ex. 6:13.

  • God’s charge to Moses and Aaron to free the Jews. After Pharaoh failed God’s test of allowing His people to worship Him in the wilderness and after he retaliated against the Jews, the time had come for the Jews to obtain their freedom. Thus, He sent Moses and Aaron to return to Pharaoh to demand the Jews’ freedom: “13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 6:13.) From God’s faithfulness to free His people, each believer in Christ can find hope.

  • God also will not leave you or forsake you. He will never leave or forsake you (Heb. 13:5; Dt. 31:6). He is faithful to not forget His promises or leave His people in bondage: “For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining, bond or free.” (Dt. 32:36). ‘“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the LORD.” (Jer. 1:8). “But the LORD is with me like a dread champion; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.” (Jer. 20:11). No matter how far you fall into bondage, He will help you when you turn to Him.

7. Find Hope that God Can Use You No Matter How Humble Your Origin. Ex. 6:14-30.

  • The descendants of the first three lines of Jacob. After directing Moses and Aaron to free the Jews, God emphasized His grace in selecting Moses by recounting the genealogies of the three family lines that led to him becoming a leader for God: “14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households.” (Ex. 6:14(a)). These family lines were limited to Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. The story of each family line shows God’s mercy and grace.

  • The descendants of Reuben. The genealogy began with Reuben: “The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.” (Ex. 6:14(b)). Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son. He was born to Leah, the unloved first wife (Gen. 29:30-31). Reuben was entitled to a double blessing as the firstborn (Dt. 21:15-17). But Reuben defiled Bilhah, Rachael’s maid servant. Sleeping with a person’s step mother was forbidden under all circumstances (Lev. 18:8). It also violated the Seventh Commandment against adultery (Ex. 20:14; Dt. 5:18). The penalty for Reuben’s acts was death (Lev. 20:11). The consequence for Reuben’s actions was that he and his future generations lost their firstborn status (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chr. 5:1-2).

  • The descendants of Simeon and Levi. After Reuben, the genealogies continued with the tribes of Simeon and then Levi: “15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families.” (Ex. 6:15-25). Simeon and Levi were Leah and Jacob’s second and third sons (Gen. 29:33-34). After their sister Dinah was raped, Simeon and Levi plotted for revenge against the people of Shechem. Hamor, the father of the rapist, sought to make restitution for his son’s crime (Gen. 34:8-12). Simeon and Levi then tricked the people of Shechem to be circumcised to become part of God’s people. While the people recovered from their pain, the two killed the people in cold blood and stole their flocks (Gen. 34:25-26). Jacob later rebuked both tribes: “5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence. . . . 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.’” (Gen. 49:5, 7). Both tribes lost their firstborn status because of their actions. Neither tribe deserved to have God’s leader selected from within it. This shows His mercy and grace in using people with flawed backgrounds. Are you holding on to a checkered background as an excuse for failing to serve God?

  • Moses’ confession of his sin. After God recounted the genealogies of the lines leading to Moses, He repeated Moses’ sixth objection a final seventh time. Moses’ final objection was that he had “uncircumcised lips” (Moses raised his first five objection at the burning bush in Exodus Chapters 4 and 5): “26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, ‘Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.’ 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron. 28 Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘I am the Lord; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you.’ 30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am unskilled in speech [uncircumcised lips]; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?” (Ex. 6:26-30). In many English translations, Moses is alleged to profess that he was “unskilled in speech.” (Ex. 6:30). Yet, in Hebrew, his actual words translate as “uncircumcised lips.” (First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vol. 5, Depths of the Torah, Va’era (2015) p. 392). Moses had already protested about his allegedly poor speech (Ex. 4:10-12). Stephan also later made clear that “Moses was a man of power in words and deeds.” (Acts 7:22(b)). Thus, Moses may have exaggerated his alleged speaking difficulties to get out of being God’s representative. God nevertheless answered his prior objection by giving him Aaron (Ex. 4:13-17). Moses would not have offered the same excuse again. Instead, this time, he recognized his sins. Like Isaiah, he now protested that he was unworthy to serve because he was unclean: “Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; . . .’” (Is. 6:5). This was the one kind of objection that God could deal with. He could cleanse Moses. Today, Jesus is ready to cleanse the heart of anyone who repents and accepts Him as Lord and Savior (1 Jo. 1:9). Have you repented of your sins so that He can use you to spread hope in Him?