Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

Exodus 4:14

To this point in the story, Moses had several miraculous signs of God’s power. First, there was the burning bush that was not extinguished. Then God spoke from the bush. Then he turned a stick into a snake and back, and a healthy hand to a leprous one and back. You might think this was enough to convince Moses of God’s power to help him deliver the Israelites from Egypt, but if you did, you’d be mistaken. Even after experiencing so many evidences of God’s power, Moses was still trying to talk God into sending someone else. Now his ploy was to point to his natural inarticulateness. When the Lord reminded Moses of his power over speech and promised to help him, Moses still resisted. “Lord, please! Send someone else” (v. 13).

It comes as no surprise that “the LORD became angry with Moses” (v. 14). His insecurity and lack of trust were getting quite tedious. But the surprise in verse 14 and following is not God’s anger, but what God did in anger. God did not smite Moses. He did not reject him. He did not even rebuke him. Rather, God offered to send Moses’ brother Aaron as Moses’ “mouthpiece.” Even though God knew he could supply everything Moses needed to be successful, God was still willing to accommodate Moses’ fears by sending Aaron. What a wondrous display of grace!

I wonder how many times God has done this very thing with me. I expect more times than I realize. When my fears have kept me from following God’s will for my life, he’s found a way to help me to move forward. In his mercy, God offers us amazing accommodation. He works with us in spite of our fears, weaknesses, and failures. His mercy is greater than anything we can do to thwart him. Oh, to be sure, our disobedience sometimes brings unhappy results. But God is able to work all things together for good, both his and ours. What a wonder!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever experienced something similar to Moses’ encounter with God in Exodus 4? When? How has God accommodated you? How has God stretched you?

PRAYER: Gracious God, I can certainly understand your anger with Moses. What stuns me is how you acted in your anger. You did not punish him, but rather made a way for him to move forward, even though you knew it was unnecessary. You were so willing to work with Moses, in spite of his weaknesses and hesitations.

Thank you, dear Lord, for the ways you have done this in my life. I’m sure I don’t know the half of them. But you have been so gracious in accepting me as your servant, even though I’m quite sure I make you angry sometimes because of my hesitation.

Even as I thank you for accommodating my weaknesses, I ask you to strengthen me so that I might trust you more fully and obey you more readily. Help me to step out in faith, confident in your strength.

All praise be to you, God of amazing accommodation! Amen.