And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Israel had just refused to listen to Moses, and Pharaoh had only made their work harder. At that exact point God speaks to His servant again — so why repeat an errand that has already failed, and what does He do with a messenger who no longer believes he can carry it?
Everything up to this moment has gone wrong on the human side. God's answer is to speak again:
On the surface, this section ends in complete failure. But the Lord is not affected by human weakness or human resistance. His purposes come from His own heart, and His own power carries them out, so they never change... The deafness of His people, the failure of His servant, the open hostility of Pharaoh — none of it moves Him. He calmly goes on to bring about the redemption of His people... That opening period is now past, so the Lord begins again, and this is why He repeats the charge to Moses and Aaron, covering the whole aim and scope of their mission.
The same writer names the mistake in that reply:
Moses is then sent again to Pharaoh to demand freedom for the people. His mission to the Israelites had achieved nothing, and in his disappointment he replies, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"... he goes back to his old objection. He knew something of his own natural inability, but he had not yet learned that everything he needed was in the Lord. It is always a fatal mistake to measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is. The difficulties that loom like mountains through the mists of our unbelief are nothing to Him. They are only an occasion for Him to display His almighty power.
God does not simply overrule this hesitation. He uses it:
We see also here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses this to work out His own plans, to put Aaron in his place, and to show where true power was... Yet God uses our weakness, and puts everything in its place this way; He who glories must glory in the Lord.
Moses calls his own lips uncircumcised. One writer takes that word seriously:
It is obvious that Moses had grasped the true meaning of circumcision. It is not just an outward rite to be observed, but an inward reality affecting the use of the lips. Was it a sense of his own unworthiness to speak for God that made him draw back, or was it fear of man? It is hard to say... What God asks for is circumcised lips, that is, lips that speak for Him apart from the activity of the flesh.
Another writer sees this discouraging start as training:
So this was a disheartening start for a new servant. He had made a fair appeal, and he knew his message was from God... This was a moment for that special discipline in a servant's life. When it does its work, it lets him carry on his service whatever the results are. Most people judge service to be good when the results are good, and poor when they are not. But the real servant must keep his eye only on his Master's word and leave the result to Him.
Three verses later God gives Moses and Aaron a charge for both Israel and Pharaoh. The same writer explains what such a charge does for a servant:
But the Lord will make His servant perfect and happy in His work. So He now gives Moses and Aaron a "CHARGE about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt." The CHARGE is the first thing in service. Being sure of your own character or purpose is no substitute for it. "What has been entrusted to you," as Paul wrote to Timothy, is what gives distinctness and point to our service. A man who does not know what his line of service is can never expect to fulfil it... But when he knows the Lord has given him a definite charge or line of work, he feels both the trust placed in him and the responsibility that comes with it.
- God speaks again. Deaf people, a hesitant servant and a hostile king change nothing. He goes on with the redemption He intends.
- The servant looks inward. Moses measures the job by his own record and his own lips. That is the fatal mistake. The real question is what God is.
- Weakness gets used. God uses the unbelief left in Moses. It gives Aaron his place and shows where the real power lies.
- Lips must be circumcised. God asks not for fine speech but for lips that speak for Him free of the activity of the flesh.
- A charge steadies everything. The servant stops judging his work by results. His eye is on his Master's word and on the task his Master gave him.
Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Exodus 6 opens with God declaring who He is and what He will do. Then comes the order: Moses must go in to Pharaoh and demand that he release Israel — an errand Moses at once tries to hand back.
Moses had already spoken to Pharaoh. The result was heavier burdens for Israel and complaints against Moses. God's answer to that setback is not a new plan. It is the same errand, repeated.
God brings this before Moses and Aaron. Soon after, we find the message given: "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land." They were not to lose heart at the first replies. They must not be disheartened even by the growing troubles of the children of Israel. They had this warrant to go on in the name of Jehovah.
The demand is not for easier work, or for freedom to worship inside Egypt. Israel must leave the country.
There was no meeting-place in Egypt for Jehovah and His redeemed. For them, redemption and separation from Egypt were one and the same thing. God had said, "I have come down to deliver them," and nothing short of this could either satisfy or glorify Him. A salvation that would have left them still in Egypt could not possibly be God's salvation.
Moses answers with an objection. Behind it lies a habit of measuring the job by his own ability.
God then sends Moses again to Pharaoh to demand freedom for the people. But his mission to the Israelites had failed, and he was disappointed. He replies, "Behold, the children of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?" He falls back on his old objection. While he knew something of his own natural incompetence, he had not yet learned that the Lord was his all-sufficiency. It is always a fatal mistake when we measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is. The difficulties that appear as mountains, looming through the mists of our unbelief, are nothing to Him but the occasion for the display of His almighty power.
The phrase Moses uses is unusual. He borrows the language of circumcision and applies it to his mouth. What drove him to say it is not clear.
It is obvious that Moses had grasped the true meaning of circumcision. It is not just an outward ceremony to perform. It is an inward reality that affects the use of the lips. Was it a feeling of his unworthiness to speak for God that caused Moses to draw back, or was it the fear of man? It is difficult to say. But whatever it was, the vital message for us is that he understood the real meaning of circumcision. God calls for circumcised lips — lips that speak for Him, apart from the activity of the flesh.
Moses' hesitation does not cancel the mission. God uses it to give Aaron his place and to show where the power really lies.
We see here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses this to bring about His own plans, and to put Aaron in his place, and to show where true power was... God uses our weakness, and puts everything in its place through this. He who boasts must boast in the Lord. It took forty years to cure him of Egyptian confidence in the flesh, though his heart was right.
God sends Moses back to a king who has already refused. That kind of start trains a servant in a hard lesson.
Here was a discouraging start for a servant in his early days. He had made a just appeal, and he knew his message was from God. All it seems to achieve is an open denial of God's rights and an increase of the people's sorrows... This was a moment for that particular discipline in a servant's life. When it works, it lets him carry on his service whatever the results. Most people judge service by its results: good results mean good service, poor results mean poor service. But the real servant must keep his eye only on his Master's word and leave the result to Him.
- Command. The word to go in to Pharaoh comes after a first failure. It is a warrant to keep going in the name of Jehovah.
- Content. The demand is that Israel leave the land itself. A rescue that left them in Egypt would not be God's salvation.
- Objection. Moses answers by measuring the errand against himself; the real question is not what he is but what God is.
- Lips. God looks for circumcised lips — a mouth that speaks for Him, not one driven by the flesh.
- Discipline. God uses the weakness instead of dropping the servant. He trains him to watch his Master's word and leave the results with Him.
And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips?
God has just told Moses to go back to Pharaoh, and Moses answers with a question instead of obedience. If his own people would not listen, what hope is there with the king of Egypt — and with lips like his?
Israel had already turned deaf under the weight of their slavery. One writer traces how their silence landed on Moses:
Moses took the message he had received and delivered it to the children of Israel: "but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery." They were reduced to complete hopelessness. Their misery darkened all their souls, and they are deaf to the gracious voice that announced liberty and blessing. Moses is sent again to Pharaoh, but the failure of his mission to Israel has left him unwilling to go on. He recalls his old objection. He knew something of his own natural weakness, but he had not yet learned that all he needed was found in the Lord.
The same writer draws out the lesson. Moses was measuring the task against the wrong thing.
It is always a fatal mistake when we measure the difficulties of service by what we are. The question is what God is; and the difficulties that look like mountains, looming through the mists of our unbelief, are nothing to Him but an occasion for the display of His almighty power.
Circumcision was the outward sign that marked Israel as God's people. Moses applies that word to his own mouth. One writer weighs what drove him to it:
It is obvious that Moses had grasped the true meaning of circumcision. It is not just an outward rite to be observed, but an inward reality affecting the use of the lips. Was it a feeling of his unworthiness to speak for God that made Moses draw back, or was it the fear of man? It is difficult to say. But whatever it was, the vital message for us is that he understood the real meaning of circumcision. What God requires is circumcised lips, that is, lips that speak for Him apart from the activity of the flesh.
Commentators differ on how much faith was in Moses' words. One writer sees unbelief still left in him, and shows what God did with it:
We see here the remains of unbelief in Moses; he is of uncircumcised lips, and cannot speak to Pharaoh. God uses this to bring about His own plans, to put Aaron in his place, and to show where true power really was... God uses our weakness, and puts everything in its place through this. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. Forty years were needed to cure him of Egyptian confidence in the flesh, even when his heart was right.
Moses is further into the work than when he began, yet he feels less able, not more. God's answer to that is not a rebuke but an assignment:
Forty years earlier he had tried to deliver his people in his own strength, and he suffered so much from it that he is now more inclined to despair. The further he goes into service, the more he discovers its difficulties and his own lack of qualifications for it. But the Lord will make His servant complete and happy in His work. So He now gives Moses and Aaron a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh, king of Egypt: to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. The charge is the first thing in service... A man who does not know what his line of work is can never expect to carry it out.
Moses asked how Pharaoh could listen to him. God answers that question directly, and the answer has nothing to do with improving Moses' speech:
Though Moses had protested that he was of uncircumcised lips, God assured him that He was making Moses a god to Pharaoh, so that Pharaoh would not be able to ignore Moses completely. Aaron was to be Moses' prophet and would speak everything Moses passed on to him as the command of God... There was no reason for Moses and Aaron to be discouraged by Pharaoh's refusals, for God was in perfect control of this.
- Deaf — Broken spirits and harsh slavery closed Israel's ears to the promise of freedom. Moses reasons from their silence to Pharaoh's.
- Diagnosis — "Uncircumcised lips" is not a speech defect. It is inward. God looks for lips that speak for Him without the flesh at work.
- Discipline — Forty years cured Moses of confidence in himself. The further he goes into service, the more he feels his own lack.
- Charge — God's reply to that sense of weakness is a clear commission. Knowing your assigned work is the first thing in service.
- Answer — Moses asked how Pharaoh could hear him. God made him a god to Pharaoh and gave him Aaron's mouth. The measure was never what Moses is, but what God is.