Exodus 4
BSASBMoses is afraid the Israelites will not believe God has sent him, so the LORD gives him three signs. Moses then pleads that he cannot speak well, and God answers by giving him his brother Aaron as a helper. Moses sets out for Egypt, a sobering night encounter over circumcision follows, and the elders believe and worship when they hear that God has seen their suffering.
Exodus 4:1
At the burning bush God had promised that the elders would listen (3:18). Moses now doubts it. He fears people will say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ His worry is about credibility. He is afraid of being a man with a story no one accepts.
BSA: believe (“have faith in me, trust me”): The worry is not only whether they will accept a claim, but whether they will put trust in Moses himself.
See also: Exodus 3:18.
Exodus 4:2
God answers the doubt with a question about something ordinary: ‘What is that in your hand?’ Moses holds only a shepherd’s staff. God often starts with what a person already has and puts it into His service.
Hebrew: מַטֶּה (matteh, H4294) — “staff, rod.” This is a shepherd’s walking stick, also a symbol of authority. By the end of the chapter it is called ’the staff of God’ (verse 20).
Exodus 4:3-4
The staff becomes a snake, and Moses runs. Then God tells him to grab it by the tail, which is the risky way to take hold of a snake. Moses obeys, and it becomes a staff again. Obedience came before understanding, and the power was God’s, not Moses’.
BSA: snake (“serpent”): The word suggests something frightening and dangerous. Egypt’s royal crown also carried a serpent emblem, so this sign would speak to Pharaoh’s court.
Exodus 4:5
The purpose of the sign is stated plainly. It is so that Israel will believe the God of their ancestors has truly appeared to Moses. The sign does not make Moses important. It points past him to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who keeps His promises.
BSA: appeared (“been seen, revealed Himself”): God is not hidden or distant. He makes Himself known to people, and the sign backs up that claim.
See also: Exodus 3:6.
Exodus 4:6-7
God has Moses put his hand into his cloak. It comes out white with a serious skin disease, and then it is healed. The sign shows that God has power over sickness and health, and over life itself. Moses sees both the danger and the cure in one moment.
BSA: cloak (“bosom, the chest area, a place of intimacy”): The hand is touched and then healed close to the heart, which hints at the nearness of God’s power.
Hebrew: מְצֹרַעַת (metsora’at, H6879) — “afflicted with a serious skin disease.” This Hebrew word covers several skin conditions, not only what we now call leprosy. It left a person unclean and cut off from the community, which makes the healing even more striking.
See also: Numbers 12:10.
Exodus 4:8-9
God is patient with unbelief. If the first sign fails, there is a second, and if that fails, a third: Nile water turning to blood on dry ground. The Nile was Egypt’s lifeline and an object of Egyptian reverence, so this third sign points ahead to the plagues.
BSA: blood (“the liquid that flows through the body”): The water that sustains life turns into the sign of death, a warning of judgment to come.
See also: Exodus 7:19-20.
Exodus 4:10
Moses now offers a new excuse: he has never been a good speaker. He calls himself God’s servant, yet he is saying that God has picked the wrong man. Honest weakness is real, but here it becomes a reason to hold back from what God asks.
BSA: slow (“heavy, difficult”): Speech feels like a heavy load to Moses, something that drags and does not flow. servant (“Your bondslave”): Moses uses the language of complete belonging, yet he is hesitating over what his Master asks.
Exodus 4:11-12
God answers with a question: who made the mouth, and who makes people mute, deaf, seeing or blind? The answer is that He did. The One who made Moses’ mouth can use it. God promises to be with his speaking and to teach him what to say.
BSA: mouth (“the ability to speak, communicate”): Speech itself is God’s gift, so no one can say it is beyond His reach to supply. teach (“guide, instruct”): God does not only send Moses out. He promises to direct what he says.
Hebrew: וְהוֹרֵיתִיךָ (vehoreitikha, H3384) — “and I will teach you.” This comes from the same root as ‘Torah,’ which means instruction. God Himself promises to be Moses’ teacher.
See also: Psalm 94:9; Matthew 10:19-20.
Exodus 4:13
This is the plain heart of the problem. Moses is no longer saying he cannot. He is saying he would rather not, and asks God to send someone else. His fear has turned into refusal of a clear call.
BSA: send (“dispatch, commission”): Moses asks God to commission anyone but him, which shows he understands exactly what is being asked.
Exodus 4:14-16
God’s anger burns, yet He still gives mercy. He names Aaron, who is already on his way and glad to see him. Moses will speak to Aaron, and Aaron to the people. Moses will stand to Aaron like God, as the source of the message.
BSA: burned (“was kindled, ignited”): God’s anger is like a fire that has been lit. It is a real response to Moses’ refusal. God (“Elohim, the supreme Authority”): Moses will have God’s authority as the one whose words Aaron carries. He is not made divine.
Hebrew: חָרָה (charah, H2734) — “to burn, to be kindled with anger.” The Hebrew speaks of anger as something that heats up like a fire. Elsewhere the word is used when a person’s nose ‘burns,’ meaning rising anger.
See also: Exodus 7:1.
Exodus 4:17
The staff goes with Moses. He is told to take it so he can do signs with it. The simple shepherd’s stick becomes the visible mark of God’s working through him.
BSA: signs (“miracles, wonders, tokens of divine power”): These are not tricks. They are pledges that God’s power stands behind Moses.
Exodus 4:18
Moses asks his father-in-law Jethro for permission to go and see whether his relatives are still alive. He does not mention the burning bush or the mission. Jethro lets him go with a blessing of peace.
BSA: peace (“shalom, completeness and wellness”): Jethro’s blessing wishes Moses wholeness and well-being on a journey that will be anything but calm.
Hebrew: לְשָׁלוֹם (leshalom, H7965) — “in peace, toward wholeness.” Shalom means more than quiet. It means being whole, well and at rest.
Exodus 4:19-20
God tells Moses that those who sought his life in Egypt are dead, so it is safe to return. Moses sets out with his wife and sons on a donkey. In his hand is the staff, now called the staff of God, because God is the one who uses it.
BSA: sought (“searched for, tried to find”): Those men had actively hunted Moses, so his return to Egypt is a real act of trust.
See also: Exodus 2:15; Matthew 2:19-20.
Exodus 4:21
God warns Moses in advance that Pharaoh will not give in. Moses is to do every wonder God has given him, and yet God will harden Pharaoh’s heart. Scripture also says Pharaoh hardened his own heart, so both are true. Christians understand the relationship between them in different ways.
BSA: harden (“strengthen, make stubborn”): The word points to making firm, so Pharaoh’s resistance will be set and unyielding.
Hebrew: אֲחַזֵּק (achazzeq, H2388) — “I will strengthen, make firm.” The root means to be strong or to hold fast. Pharaoh will become firm in the stand he is already taking.
See also: Exodus 7:3; Romans 9:17-18.
Exodus 4:22-23
God calls Israel His firstborn son and demands that Pharaoh let His son go to worship. If Pharaoh refuses, his own firstborn will die. The warning fits the crime, because Pharaoh has been crushing God’s family. It also shows God’s tender claim over His people.
BSA: firstborn (“the first child or animal, often holding a special status”): Israel is not just a nation of slaves. It holds a place of honor and belonging in God’s household.
Hebrew: בְּכֹרִי (bekhori, H1060) — “my firstborn.” The firstborn held the place of honor and inheritance. By calling Israel this, God claims them as His own dear family.
See also: Hosea 11:1; Exodus 12:29.
Exodus 4:24
This is one of the Bible’s strangest moments. On the road, the LORD meets Moses and is about to put him to death. The text does not explain at once, but the surrounding verses point to a neglected duty of the covenant. Even God’s chosen messenger must obey Him.
BSA: kill (“put to death, destroy”): God treats the matter with full seriousness, since the leader of His people must keep His covenant too.
See also: Genesis 17:10-14.
Exodus 4:25-26
Zipporah acts quickly. She circumcises her son with a flint knife, and the LORD lets Moses go. Her words are hard to interpret, but the verse says they referred to the circumcision. The covenant sign had been left undone, and now it is done.
BSA: bridegroom (“a son-in-law, a husband”): She speaks of a close family tie bought with blood, since the act cost her son’s blood and spared her husband. circumcision (“the ritual of cutting, a sign of covenant”): The act marks a child as belonging to God’s covenant people, and it was not optional.
Hebrew: חֲתַן דָּמִים (chatan damim, H2859) — “bridegroom of blood.” The phrase is short and sharp. Its exact sense is debated, but it clearly ties Moses to his family through blood and the covenant act.
Exodus 4:27-28
God sends Aaron to meet Moses at the mountain of God. The brothers greet each other with a kiss, a sign of warm affection after years apart. Moses tells Aaron everything the LORD said and all the signs. He is no longer alone in the task.
BSA: wilderness (“the desert, a place of testing and spiritual growth”): The wilderness is where Moses was shaped, and now it is where the two brothers are joined for the work.
Exodus 4:29-31
Moses and Aaron gather the elders. Aaron speaks, Moses does the signs, and the people believe. When they hear that the LORD has visited them and seen their affliction, they bow down and worship. The good news for slaves is that God has noticed them.
BSA: attended to (“visited, overseen”): God does not merely feel sorry for them. He comes to them and takes charge of their situation. worshiped (“showed reverence, bowed down in respect”): Their response to hearing that God cares is to fall low before Him.
Hebrew: פָּקַד (paqad, H6485) — “to visit, to attend to.” This word describes God stepping in to act on behalf of His people. It means more than looking on from a distance.
See also: Exodus 2:23-25; Exodus 3:7.