2026年2月8日 / グレース・トロント日本語教会
13 すると彼は言った。「ああ、わが主よ、どうかほかの人を遣わしてください。」
14 すると、主の怒りがモーセに向かって燃え上がり、こう言われた。「あなたの兄、レビ人アロンがいるではないか。わたしは彼が雄弁であることをよく知っている。見よ、彼はあなたに会いに出て来ている。あなたに会えば、心から喜ぶだろう。
15 彼に語り、彼の口にことばを置け。わたしはあなたの口とともにあり、また彼の口とともにあって、あなたがたがなすべきことを教える。
16 彼があなたに代わって民に語る。彼があなたにとって口となり、あなたは彼にとって神の代わりとなる。
17 また、あなたはこの杖を手に取り、これでしるしを行わなければならない。」
18 そこでモーセは行って、しゅうとイテロのもとに帰り、彼に言った。「どうか私をエジプトにいる同胞のもとに帰らせ、彼らがまだ生きながらえているかどうか、見させてください。」イテロはモーセに言った。「安心して行きなさい。」
19 主はミディアンでモーセに言われた。「さあ、エジプトに帰れ。あなたのいのちを取ろうとしていた者は、みな死んだ。」
20 そこでモーセは妻や息子たちを連れ、彼らをろばに乗せて、エジプトの地へ帰って行った。モーセは神の杖を手に取った
February 8, 2026 / Grace Toronto Japanese Church
13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.” 18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
Moses fled from Egypt when he was 40. And Moses is now 80. Forty years have passed. And forty years is a long time. He’s settled in the desert. He’s a shepherd. He has a family. And he’s old. And God appeared to him and gave him a surprising mission: Go back to Egypt and bring Israel out of there.
Moses said “No” five times, to God.
Can you even imagine that? How can a man refuse to obey God five times in a row?
- First: 3:11 “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
- Second: 3:13 If . . . they ask me for your name, what should I say to them?”
- Third: 4:1a “They will not believe me.”
And every time Moses disobeyed, God was gracious and patient. He always comforted him and encouraged him.
Now, his excuse #4 was about his language. His first language was Hebrew. But he grew up in the Egyptian palace, speaking the Egyptian language. So, until he was 40, his primary language was Egyptian. And for the past 40 years, living in the Midian desert, he switched back to Hebrew. So, when God told him to go to Egypt, Moses said,
- Fourth: 4:10 “I am not eloquent . . . I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
And to this, God answered, Who made man’s mouth? Is it not I? Now go—I will be your mouth. When Moses said he was not a good speaker or communicator, God assured him by saying that God himself would be his mouth.
Honestly, if I had been Moses, at this point, I would have said “Yes” and would have obeyed. Would you not?
So far, Moses said every reason he could think of not to obey God’s call—four times! And each time, however, God graciously responded and comforted Moses and gave him promises: I will be with you; I will help you. And when Moses said he was not confident about his language, God even said to him, I will be your mouth.
And what did Moses say?
13 すると彼は言った。「ああ、わが主よ どうか ほかの人を遣わしてください。」(“Oh my Lord, please send someone else”)
After all those encouraging promises of God, Moses again says, I’m not that great; I’m not capable; I will stay here; so, send someone else!
What do you think? Is this humility? Or is this disobedience? Clearly, it was disobedience, not humility. In a way, it’s even pride because Moses is not listening to God. One of Moses’ problems is that he is too self-conscious. What do I mean by that? Moses keeps putting focus on himself, not on God—he is concerned more about the things he cannot do than the things that God can do for him (Moses: I can’t do it because I am not capable vs. God: You will do it because I will be with you). And Moses doesn’t listen to God.
What’s true humility? Some wrongly believe that
- One is humble as long as that person doesn’t brag or show off.
- Humility is all about putting yourself down.
- Humility is having a low evaluation of myself.
True humility is trusting God with who you are—true humility is seeing yourself as God sees you. In other words, it is having an accurate evaluation of yourself from God’s perspective. It is knowing yourself by the name God gives.
- If God calls you “my child,” that is exactly who you are.
- If God says he will be with you, that is exactly what he will do for you.
Do you trust it? That’s humility.
In that sense, when God said, “Moses, go to Egypt and rescue my people” and Moses said, “Send someone else, please,” Moses was not humble at all; rather, he was disobedient and even proud because he kept refusing to trust God’s word and promises.
So, again, Moses refused to go. It was his fifth objection. And this time, God’s response was somewhat different.
14 すると、主の怒りがモーセに向かって燃え上がり、(God’s anger was kindled against Moses)
Here, some mistakenly think that (1) God tried hard to be patient, but (2) he finally lost it and exploded with anger against Moses. Absolutely no. That’s not what’s meant here.
First of all, please remember Moses disobeyed 5 times so far, and God was always patient with him.
Although the text says 主の怒りがモーセに向かって燃え上がり、(God’s anger was kindled against Moses), God did not destroy or kill Moses. Rather, it shows God’s fatherly love and compassion toward Moses. Parents will understand this. As parents, sometimes, we can become quite upset or angry with our own children. But if you think carefully about it, you know that your anger is aroused because, deep in your heart, you love them and care about them. Ps 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
What’s amazing is that, even after God’s anger was kindled against Moses, he did not destroy Moses for his disobedience and look for another man to send to rescue Israel—again, God patiently answered Moses and gave him comfort:
14こう言われた。「あなたの兄、…アロンが.いるではないか。わたしは彼が雄弁であることをよく知っている。見よ、彼はあなたに会いに出て来ている。あなたに会えば、心から喜ぶだろう。(and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart)
God (1) had already prepared Moses’ older brother Aaron. And Aaron was already on his way to come see his younger brother Moses. (2) And Aaron will be glad in his heart because (a) he is reuniting with his younger brother after so many years; and (b) at last, he is expecting to see the rescue of Israel.
God’s love and compassion toward Moses continued. And God’s mercy and patience toward Moses was truly great: Because Moses was still afraid and hesitant to go, God gave him detailed instructions in vv. 15–16:
15 彼に.語り、 彼の口にことばを置け。(You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth)
Aaron will be Moses’ spokesman.
And not just that, God promises to be with both Moses and Aaron:
15 わたしはあなたの口とともにあり、また彼の口とともにあって (I will be with your mouth and with his mouth)
あなたがたがなすべきことを教える。(and will teach you both what to do)
Isn’t this almost a perfect promise? What else can you ask for?
16 彼があなたに代わって民に語る。(He shall speak for you to the people,)
彼があなたにとって口となり、あなたは彼にとって神の代わりとなる。(and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.)
God made Moses and Aaron one team. Moses will be God’s prophet. Aaron will be his speaker.
Now, God is bringing Moses’ attention to the staff that Moses was holding in his hand.
17 また、あなたはこの杖を手に取り、(And take in your hand this staff,)
これでしるしを行わなければならない。(with this, you shall do the signs)
Let’s go back a little bit. What was this staff? It was a shepherd’s staff in Moses’ hand. Moses was always using it when he was taking care of the flock. So, when Moses was talking to God, Moses was still holding his staff in his hand. And when Moses was still refusing to go, saying, “But . . . they will not believe me or listen to my voice” (4:1a), God showed him a miraculous sign.
- “What is that in your hand?” “A staff.”
- “Throw your staff on the ground.”
- It became a serpent. And Moses ran from it.
- “Catch it by the tail”
- It became a staff in his hand.
This staff used to belong to Moses. He used it for shepherding. It was just an ordinary staff. But now, using this staff, God showed his power. So, now this staff is not an ordinary staff—it will become a mark (symbol) of God’s power!
17b これでしるしを行わなければならない。(with this, you shall do the signs)
And Moses was finally convinced. He was ready to go. He was willing to go. So, 18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said, “Go in peace.”
It’s amazing that Jethro let Moses go. It is quite different from Jacob’s uncle Laban in Genesis.
And God said to Moses (v. 19): “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”
For Moses, God was opening all the doors so that he could return to Egypt for God’s work.
20 そこでモーセは妻や息子たちを連れ、(So, Moses took his wife and his sons)
彼らをろばに乗せて、(and had them ride on a donkey)
エジプトの地へ帰って行った。(and went back to the land of Egypt)
モーセは神の杖を手に取った。(and Moses took the staff of God in his hand)
Do you see the difference here?
In v. 17, it was still Moses’ staff (この杖). But here in v. 20, it is now God’s staff (神の杖).
Moses used his staff to take care of his flock. But now Moses is holding the staff of God in his hand when he was going back to Egypt for the work of God.
Also, Moses “took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey.” When you imagine a poor shepherd family from the desert riding on a donkey heading to the Egyptian empire, you know it’s not impressive at all. There’s no horses, no weapons—only Moses, his wife and sons, and a donkey. On the surface, there is nothing appealing.
However, I’d like to invite us to see v. 20 from God’s perspective. Yes, it was a poor shepherd’s family riding on a donkey, returning to the Egyptian empire. But Moses had the staff of God in his hand. It used to be Moses’ staff. But God changed it to God’s staff. It became a sign to Moses that the Almighty God was walking before him, walking with him, and staying with him.
Does it look impressive now? To me, yes, it does. It looks wonderful because we see God with Moses.
When you see Moses and his family entering Egypt on a donkey to save Israel, who are you reminded of?
Yes, Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem on a donkey to save sinners!
1 Cor 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
God chose Moses; he was what was foolish and weak in the world. God chose him to shame the strong, the Egyptian Empire.
The same was true with Jesus Christ. In order to destroy the dominance of sin and death, God didn’t send an army of angels. He chose what is foolish and weak in the world: the cross of Christ.
1 Cor 1:18 the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God!