Exodus 4:15-25

15 And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what ye shall do.

16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be unto thee as thy mouth, and thou shalt be unto him as God.

17 And thou shalt take this rod in thy hand with which thou shalt do the signs.

18 Thus Moses went and returned unto Jethro, his father-in-law, and said unto him, I shall go now and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 And the LORD also said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead who sought thy life.

20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, The LORD hath said thus: Israel is my son, even my firstborn.

23 And I have said unto thee, Let my son go that he may serve me, but thou hast refused to let him go; therefore, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet, saying, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

Exodus 4:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 4

This chapter is a continuation of the discourse that passed between God and Moses; and here Moses makes other objections to his mission; one is taken from the unbelief of the people of Israel, which is removed by giving him power to work miracles, by turning the rod in his hand into a serpent, and then into a rod again; and by putting his hand into his bosom at one time, when it became leprous, and again into the same place, when it became sound and whole, and by turning the water of the river into blood, Ex 4:1-9, another objection is formed from his want of eloquence, which is answered with an assurance, that God, that made man's mouth, would be with his mouth, and teach him what to say; and besides, Aaron his brother, who was an eloquent man, should be his spokesman, Ex 4:10-17 upon which he returned to Midian, and having obtained leave of his father-in-law to depart from thence, he took his wife and his sons, and returned to Egypt, Ex 4:18-20 at which time he received some fresh instructions from the Lord what he should do before Pharaoh, and what he should say unto him, Ex 4:21-23 then follows an account of what befell him by the way, because of the circumcision of his son, Ex 4:24-26 and the chapter is closed with an account of the meeting of Moses and Aaron, and of their gathering the elders of Israel together, to whom the commission of Moses was opened, and signs done before them, to which they gave credit, and expressed their joy and thankfulness, Ex 4:27-31.