In this message we shall consider God’s further training of Moses (6:1—7:7). After the first conflict with Pharaoh, Moses felt that he had failed. God had sent him to speak His word to Pharaoh. However, instead of hearkening to this word, Pharaoh became even more evil in his treatment of the children of Israel, and the people complained to Moses. Moses, feeling defeated, complained to the Lord, saying, “Wherefore hast thou so badly treated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all” (5:22-23, Heb.). Moses’ reaction indicated that he needed further training. God would not send him to Pharaoh again until he had received more training from Him.
We have pointed out that God’s calling of Moses in chapters three and four of this book is the most complete call in the Bible. At the time He called Moses, God spent much time with him, and Moses received both revelation and instruction. He took God’s word and did all that God had charged him to do. However, things did not turn out as Moses expected. To his surprise, he was defeated, Pharaoh was victorious, and the children of Israel suffered all the more. This was the reason he complained to the Lord about the situation.
In His further training of Moses, the Lord sought to impress him with His name and His covenant. He reminded Moses that He is Jehovah, the One who was, who is, and who will be. He also reminded him of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding the good land. He told Moses that He had lifted up His hand to give the land to their seed. In speaking to Moses about these two matters, God was training him to know His person and His faithful word in His covenant.
In addition to speaking to Moses regarding His name and His covenant, the Lord gave Moses further training concerning six other matters. The first of these matters was God’s word of assurance. We must pay attention to God’s word of assurance, the word that He speaks to us again and again. If we would follow the Lord today to carry on His testimony in His recovery, we must learn to regard God’s repeated word of assurance. But not many servants of God recognize such a word when it comes.
The second matter was the unbelief of the children of Israel. According to our natural concept, those to whom we are sent should be like the household of Cornelius, properly prepared and ready to receive our word. We think that if God sends us to speak to people in a certain place, their hearts will be open to receive whatever we may say. Nevertheless, due to their unbelief, the children of Israel did not hearken to Moses. Instead of being encouraged by the children of Israel, he was distracted, discouraged, and disappointed by them.
There is a lesson for us here. If we are appointed by God to lead certain people, we should not expect them to be positive toward us. Suppose God establishes you as an elder in a particular church. Do not think that those in that church will be positive toward you or will believe everything you say. On the contrary, be prepared to face the unbelief of those to whom you are sent.
Thirdly, Moses had to be trained in relation to Pharaoh’s stubbornness. Pharaoh was not easily subdued. If we had been Moses in that situation and had had to confront the stubbornness of Pharaoh, we would no doubt have been very discouraged.
In the fourth place, Moses had to be trained regarding his natural concept. This is seen in his cleaving to his uncircumcised lips and neglecting God’s assured word. In 6:12 Moses asked the Lord, “Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?” This question caused the Lord to give Moses a lengthy word of assurance. But, even after that word was given, Moses still said, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?” (v. 30). This indicates that Moses was cleaving to his natural faculty and neglecting God’s word of assurance. We have seen that neither the children of Israel nor Pharaoh hearkened to the Lord. Here we see that not even Moses hearkened to Him.
In His further training of Moses, God also spoke to him strongly concerning His ordination of him. Moses had been chosen by God and commissioned by Him to be His representative.
Finally, God trained Moses concerning His strong hand and His great judgments (7:4). Thus, the last item of God’s training is God’s hand, which backs His name, His covenant, and His word of assurance. It is this strong hand that defeats Pharaoh and the Egyptians and that convinces everyone, including the children of Israel, that God is Jehovah.
On the positive side, God’s further training of Moses covered five things: God’s name, God’s covenant, God’s word of assurance, God’s ordination, and God’s strong hand. On the negative side, this training covered three matters: the unbelief of the children of Israel, the stubbornness of Pharaoh, and Moses’ natural concept. As sent ones, we all must know these five positive things and three negative things. We need to learn that God’s chosen people are full of unbelief, that the enemy is stubborn, and that we are natural. Nevertheless, we have God’s name, God’s covenant, God’s word of assurance, God’s ordination, and God’s strong hand.
After the further training given to Moses in chapters six and seven, Moses did not receive any additional training. It seems that Moses had graduated from God’s training at the end of chapter four. However, he did not have any experience. Due to this lack of experience, he had to undergo further training. In chapter seven Moses truly graduated from God’s training school. In order that we all may learn from the further training given to Moses, let us now consider one by one six aspects of this training covered in 6:1—7:7.