Hello and welcome to today’s bible study on Exodus 4 where we will read about God demonstrating miraculous signs for Pharaoh to Moses. According to Bible scholars, the events of Exodus 4 took place in 1446 B.C. approximately.
As usual, I encourage you to turn to Exodus 4 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Exodus 4. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Exodus 3, we read about Moses and the burning bush and Moses’s God-given assignment. Well, in today’s Bible study on Exodus 4, we will learn about the God-ordained miraculous signs for Pharaoh through Moses. This chapter is a continuation of Exodus 3.
Backstory on Exodus 3
In Exodus 3, we read about Moses tending to his father-in-law’s flocks on Mount Horeb where he encountered God through the burning bush and God introduced Himself and sent Moses on assignment to deliver the Israelites from the hard labour and bondage under the Egyptians.
Without any further delay, let us study together Exodus Chapter 4, shall we?
Exodus 4 Summary
Moses was uncertain if the Pharaoh and Hebrew elders would believe that God had appeared to him. The Lord demonstrated His power by having Moses cast his rod on the ground, turning it into a serpent, which made Moses flee. God instructed him to grab it by the tail, and it returned to a rod. This would be a sign to them that the Lord had instructed Moses. The Lord also showed Moses a second sign: when he put his hand in his bosom, it became leprous, but when he put it back, it was restored. If they did not believe the first sign, they would believe the second. If they still doubted, pouring water from the Nile river on dry land would turn it to blood.
Moses told the Lord about his problem to speak eloquently. The Lord reassured him that He would guide his mouth. When Moses asked to be excused from the task, the Lord, angered by his reluctance, appointed Moses’s brother Aaron as his spokesman. The Lord promised to assist both of them in their mission.
Moses asks his father-in-law, Jethro, for permission to return to Egypt to check on his fellow Israelites. Jethro agrees. God then instructs Moses to go back to Egypt, assuring him that those who sought his life (for killing the Egyptian) are dead. Moses takes his family and the rod of God with him. God tells Moses to perform the miracles He had demonstrated before Pharaoh but warns that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart, making him reluctant to let the Israelites go. Moses is to tell Pharaoh that Israel is God’s firstborn son and warn that if Pharaoh refuses to let them go, God will take the life of Pharaoh’s own firstborn son.
As Moses is on his journey to Egypt, the Lord confronts him, and He seeks to kill him. Zipporah, Moses’ wife, intervenes by circumcising their son and casting the foreskin at Moses’s feet, declaring Moses a “husband of blood,” which leads God to spare Moses. After this, God instructs Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness. Upon their reunion, Moses shares God’s message and signs with Aaron, who then communicates them to the elders of Israel. The people believe in God’s presence and promise, responding with worship.
Exodus 4 Commentary
1. Exodus 4:10-14
Moses was chosen by God to speak to Pharaoh and the children of Israel, but he hesitated due to his lack of eloquence. Despite Moses’s shortcomings, God wanted to use him to demonstrate His power. Moses boldly pleaded with the Lord, which was a serious matter given God’s Sovereignty. Although the Lord was angry with him, He didn’t harm Moses but instructed him to take his eloquent brother Aaron along.
2. Exodus 4:19-21
The Lord guided Moses step by step on the miraculous signs that He would perform before Pharaoh and what Moses should say to him. The Lord’s(also being Our Father) guidance is similar to how a parent or teacher prepares a child or student for an exam. Moses faced an immense challenge: leading the entire nation of Israel in their exodus from Egypt. Speaking to Pharaoh while demonstrating these signs and wonders was not an easy task, and it came with a significant risk to his life and family. Moses needed extraordinary courage to speak up. While performing the signs was straightforward because God carried them out, having the bravery to express God’s message before the highest authority in Egypt was no small feat.
3. Exodus 4:24-26
As Moses was journeying to Egypt with his wife and son, they encamped at a certain place where the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Zipporah, Moses’s wife, took a sharp stone and circumcised her son, then cast it at Moses’s feet, saying that he was surely a blood covenant husband. A marriage is considered sacred to God because it is a blood covenant between a man and his wife. This concept parallels our relationship as believers with Jesus Christ, who we refer to as our Bridegroom. We are in a blood covenant with Him, having been redeemed by His blood.
Zipporah, a proficient woman, seemed to intuitively understand the reason behind God’s anger. The sign of the covenant between God and His people (The Israelites) in the Old Testament was circumcision. However, having lived in Midian for many years, Moses had not circumcised his son according to God’s command. Zipporah’s swift action may also suggest that she played a role in the delay of Gershom’s circumcision.
Moses, with an uncircumcised son, could not deliver the Israelites—who were circumcised and part of the covenant—from the uncircumcised Egyptians, who were not part of the covenant. It would have been hypocritical of him. Therefore, the Lord wanted Moses to set his house in order and be holy before Him before undertaking the task ahead. We must notice that the Lord only sought to kill him and did not kill him. He wanted him and his family to repent of their actions before they could do what God asked them to do.
Exodus 4 Lessons
1. Being God’s chosen requires extreme courage
Moses was chosen by God to fulfill His will. However, he had to mentally prepare himself and overcome his fears to confront the hard-hearted Egyptian Pharaoh and communicate God’s messages effectively. Moses had to keep performing signs and wonders as God instructed him. This challenge is similar for us as believers. It takes courage to enter a broken world filled with hardened hearts and speak about God, His righteousness, and His will and to demonstrate His Kingdom. Not everyone, including some of our unsaved family members, will be willing to listen. The fear of damaging relationships might tempt you to remain silent about your faith, but we must speak up nonetheless so that they also can be saved.
Furthermore, when God calls you to address the leader of a nation who is a non-believer and completely opposed to God, it requires even greater courage and some believers are called to that. Every sphere that God calls you to function in requires great faith in God that He would protect you and requires you to renounce the fear of man and fear God only.
2. We must be obedient to God
Moses was disobedient to God because he did not circumcise his son, which was a customary practice for the Israelites as part of their covenant with God. To fulfill God’s will, we must first be obedient and holy (separated unto God). When God tells us in His Word to be holy because He is holy, it implies that we are capable of being holy. If we weren’t capable, He wouldn’t put it in writing. He means everything He says. How can we accomplish being obedient and holy? By simply reading His Word and being obedient to God, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and repenting when we feel convicted. We are called to be holy and obedient to God if we want to exercise His authority in our lives and effectively demonstrate His kingdom, just as Moses was called to do.
3. The Lord will come through for you
When you belong to the Lord and are in covenant with Him, He will fight for you. He will deliver you from your circumstances, just as He did for the nation of Israel. God always has a plan, and He is not hiding that plan of deliverance from us. He will reveal it at the right time, and it is up to us to take hold of that plan and put it into action.
He heard the cries of the Israelites under Egyptian oppression and sent Moses to deliver them. And, He is not blind to our cries and tears. He hears us. The difference now is that we have the Holy Spirit within us to guide us and tell us what to do. We also have authority in the name of Jesus.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study lesson on Exodus 4. I hope you enjoyed this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with your friends and family. Also, share your thoughts and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Exodus 4. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until next time!