Exodus 4:6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
It is in this section that what I can see as perfectly reasonable human need for reassurance turns into obstinance–the refusal to act. Moses is given three distinct signs that he can use to help convince the unbelievers that God has really spoken to him, yet he still hesitates.
Exodus 4:7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
Three signs feels like it ought to be plenty, yet fear can be insidious, paralyzing. And while I get Moses’s concern, I also get the fact that at some point he’s got to just figure out how to move forward–despite his fear, with his fear, or because of his fear. But I’m not going to lie, it is really easy to sit back and simply judge his fear. Jesus, Help me.
Exodus 4:8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.
Lord of the Fearful, Forgive me for my judgement of Moses and for the times when I act in the same manner. Fear can be paralyzing, but if You are with me–and I know that you are because You promise to never leave me nor forsake me–I have to figure out how to move past my fear. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
Exodus 4:9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
Have a blessed day.