And the LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? And the LORD said to himThis phrase introduces a direct communication from God to Moses. The Hebrew word for "LORD" here is "YHWH," the sacred and personal name of God, emphasizing His eternal and self-existent nature. This divine name is a reminder of God's covenant relationship with Israel and His authority over all creation. The context is God addressing Moses' hesitance and self-doubt, reassuring him of divine support and empowerment. Who gave man his mouth?
The rhetorical question highlights God's sovereignty in creation. The Hebrew word for "man" is "adam," which can refer to humanity in general. The "mouth" symbolizes communication and expression, essential for Moses' mission. This phrase underscores that God is the creator and designer of human faculties, and thus, He is fully capable of equipping Moses for the task ahead. Who makes him mute or deaf
Here, God asserts His control over human abilities and disabilities. The Hebrew words for "mute" (ilem) and "deaf" (cheresh) indicate conditions that were often seen as limitations. In the ancient Near Eastern context, such conditions were sometimes viewed as divine judgment or fate. However, this statement emphasizes that God, in His wisdom and purpose, is the ultimate source of all human conditions, challenging the notion of randomness or mere fate. sighted or blind?
Continuing the theme of divine sovereignty, this phrase addresses physical sight and blindness. The Hebrew word for "sighted" (piqqeach) and "blind" (ivver) further illustrate God's control over human faculties. In biblical times, blindness was a significant physical and social challenge, often associated with spiritual insight or lack thereof. This rhetorical question reinforces that God has a purpose in all circumstances, whether perceived as advantageous or disadvantageous. Is it not I, the LORD?
This concluding question reaffirms God's identity and authority. The repetition of "I, the LORD" serves as a powerful reminder of His omnipotence and intimate involvement in human affairs. It calls Moses—and the reader—to trust in God's plan and provision, despite personal inadequacies or challenges. This statement is a call to faith, urging believers to rely on God's strength rather than their own limitations. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal existence and sovereignty. In this passage, God is speaking directly to Moses, asserting His authority over creation. 2. MosesThe central human figure in this account, called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses is expressing doubt about his ability to speak effectively. 3. Mount Horeb (Sinai)The location where God appears to Moses in the burning bush, calling him to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. 4. The IsraelitesGod's chosen people, enslaved in Egypt, whom Moses is being commissioned to lead to freedom. 5. PharaohThe ruler of Egypt, who will be confronted by Moses as part of God's plan to liberate the Israelites. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty Over CreationRecognize that God is the ultimate authority over all aspects of creation, including human abilities and limitations. Trust in God's ProvisionTrust that God equips those He calls, even when we feel inadequate or unqualified. Purpose in WeaknessUnderstand that God can use our weaknesses to display His power and glory, as seen in the lives of biblical figures like Moses and Paul. God's Personal InvolvementAcknowledge that God is personally involved in our lives, knowing our strengths and weaknesses intimately. Faith Over FearEncourage faith in God's plan and provision, overcoming fear and self-doubt by relying on His promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding God's sovereignty over creation impact your view of personal strengths and weaknesses? 2. In what ways can you relate to Moses' feelings of inadequacy, and how can you apply God's response to your own life? 3. How do other scriptures, such as Psalm 139, reinforce the message of Exodus 4:11 about God's intimate knowledge of us? 4. What are some practical steps you can take to trust in God's provision when facing challenges or tasks that seem beyond your ability? 5. How can you use your perceived weaknesses as opportunities to demonstrate God's power and glory in your life? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 1:27This verse connects to the idea of God as the Creator, who made man in His own image, emphasizing His authority over human abilities and disabilities. Psalm 139:13-16These verses highlight God's intimate knowledge and formation of each person, reinforcing His sovereignty over human faculties. John 9:1-3Jesus' healing of the man born blind illustrates God's purpose in allowing disabilities, showing His power and glory through them. Isaiah 45:9-12This passage underscores God's sovereignty and the futility of questioning His purposes, similar to His response to Moses. | God the Giver of Our Faculties | J. Orr | Exodus 4:11 | | Divine Supplements for Human Infirmity | H.T. Robjohns | Exodus 4:1-17 | | The Fourth Difficulty: Moses Alleges Defect of Utterance | D. Young | Exodus 4:10-12 | | Eloquence | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Fluency in Speech | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Gifts Other than Eloquence an Element in Leadership | Prof. Gaussen. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | God Can Make Use of Poor Material | | Exodus 4:10-13 | | God's Biddings are Enablings | | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Inspiration Better than Education | H. O. Mackey. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Lessons | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Natural Infirmities in Relation to Moral Service | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Self-Consciousness | J. Parker, D. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Slowness of Speech | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Speech, or Dumbness, from God | H. Melvill, B. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Strength not Always Appropriate | | Exodus 4:10-13 | | The Art of the Orator Undesirable in a Preacher | Spurgeon, Charles Haddon | Exodus 4:10-13 | | The Divine Creatorship | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | The Objections Made to Religious Service | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Uselessness of Mere Words | Robert Hall. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | Why was Moses not Gifted with Eloquence? | M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D. | Exodus 4:10-13 | | God's Wrath Will Fall Where His Service is Declined | J. Urquhart | Exodus 4:10-17 | | Slow of Speech | J. Orr | Exodus 4:10-17 |
People Aaron, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jethro, Moses, Pharaoh, ZipporahPlaces Egypt, Horeb, Midian, Nile RiverTopics Appointed, Appointeth, Blind, Deaf, Dumb, Gives, Hearing, Isn't, Makes, Maketh, Man's, Mouth, Mute, Open, Seeing, Sight, Takes, VoiceDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 4:11 1466 vision
4060 nature
5020 human nature
5134 blindness, natural
5147 deafness
5296 disabilities Exodus 4:1-13 7758 preachers, call Exodus 4:10-11 5193 tongue Exodus 4:10-12 5168 muteness
8422 equipping, spiritual Exodus 4:10-13 5102 Moses, life of
8726 doubters Exodus 4:10-14 6218 provoking God Exodus 4:10-15 5949 shyness Library January 13. "Thou Shalt be to Him Instead of God" (Ex. Iv. 16).
"Thou shalt be to him instead of God" (Ex. iv. 16). Such was God's promise to Moses, and such the high character that Moses was to assume toward Aaron, his brother. May it not suggest a high and glorious place that each of us may occupy toward all whom we meet, instead of God? What a dignity and glory it would give our lives, could we uniformly realize this high calling! How it would lead us to act toward our fellow-men! God can always be depended upon. God is without variableness or shadow of turning. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth May the Eleventh but -- --!
"And Moses answered and said, But----" --EXODUS iv. 1-9. We know that "but." God has heard it from our lips a thousand times. It is the response of unbelief to the divine call. It is the reply of fear to the divine command. It is the suggestion that the resources are inadequate. It is a hint that God may not have looked all round. He has overlooked something which our own eyes have seen. The human "buts" in the Scriptural stories make an appalling record. "Lord, I will follow Thee, but----" There …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year May the Twelfth Mouth and Matter
"Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth." --EXODUS iv. 10-17. And what a promise that is for anyone who is commissioned to proclaim the King's decrees. Here can teachers and preachers find their strength. God will be with their mouths. He will control their speech, and order their words like troops. He does not promise to make us eloquent, but to endow our words with the "demonstration of power." "And I will teach thee what thou shall say." The Lord will not only be with our mouths, …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year A Bundle of Myrrh is My Well-Beloved unto Me; He Shall Abide Between My Breasts.
When the Bride, or rather the lover (for she is not yet a bride), has found her Bridegroom, she is so transported with joy, that she is eager to be instantly united to Him. But the union of perpetual enjoyment is not yet arrived. He is mine, she says, I cannot doubt that He gives Himself to me this moment, since I feel it, but He is to me, as it were, a bundle of myrrh. He is not yet a Bridegroom whom I may embrace in the nuptial bed, but a bundle of crosses, pains and mortifications; a bloody husband …
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon Preaching (I. ).
Earthen vessels, frail and slight, Yet the golden Lamp we bear; Master, break us, that the light So may fire the murky air; Skill and wisdom none we claim, Only seek to lift Thy Name. I have on purpose reserved the subject of Preaching for our closing pages. Preaching is, from many points of view, the goal and summing up of all other parts and works of the Ministry. What we have said already about the Clergyman's life and labour, in secret, in society, in the parish; what we have said about his …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren To the Saddest of the Sad
I often wonder what those preachers do who feel called to make up their message as they go on; for if they fail, their failure must be attributed in great measure to their want of ability to make up a moving tale. They have to spread their sails to the breeze of the age, and to pick up a gospel that comes floating down to them on the stream of time, altering every week in the year; and they must have an endless task to catch this new idea, or, as they put it, to keep abreast of the age. Unless, indeed, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888 The Sweet Uses of Adversity
Now, I propose to address myself to the two classes of persons who are making use of this question. First, I shall speak to the tried saint; and then I shall speak to the seeking sinner, who has been seeking peace and pardon through Christ, but who has not as yet found it, but, on the contrary, has been buffeted by the law, and driven away from the mercy-seat in despair. I. First, then, to THE CHILD OF GOD. I have--I know I have--in this great assembly, some who have come to Job's position. They …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859 "For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die; but if Ye through the Spirit do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live.
Rom. viii. s 13, 14.--"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The life and being of many things consists in union,--separate them, and they remain not the same, or they lose their virtue. It is much more thus in Christianity, the power and life of it consists in the union of these things that God hath conjoined, so that if any man pretend to …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Hardening in the Sacred Scripture.
"He hath hardened their heart."-- John xii. 40. The Scripture teaches positively that the hardening and "darkening of their foolish heart" is a divine, intentional act. This is plainly evident from God's charge to Moses concerning the king of Egypt: "Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not harken unto you, and I will lay My hand upon Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Flight into Egypt and Slaughter of the Bethlehem Children.
(Bethlehem and Road Thence to Egypt, b.c. 4.) ^A Matt. II. 13-18. ^a 13 Now when they were departed [The text favors the idea that the arrival and departure of the magi and the departure of Joseph for Egypt, all occurred in one night. If so, the people of Bethlehem knew nothing of these matters], behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise [this command calls for immediate departure] and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt [This land was ever the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant). …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah A Canticle of Love
It is not only when He is about to send me some trial that Our Lord gives me warning and awakens my desire for it. For years I had cherished a longing which seemed impossible of realisation--to have a brother a Priest. I often used to think that if my little brothers had not gone to Heaven, I should have had the happiness of seeing them at the Altar. I greatly regretted being deprived of this joy. Yet God went beyond my dream; I only asked for one brother who would remember me each day at the Holy …
Therese Martin (of Lisieux)—The Story of a Soul Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 4:11 NIVExodus 4:11 NLTExodus 4:11 ESVExodus 4:11 NASBExodus 4:11 KJV
Exodus 4:11 Commentaries
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