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Exodus 4:27–31
“Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” (vv. 29–31).
Patience emerges as a key attribute of God in Scripture, especially when we consider the story of the exodus. In due time we will see the Lord’s exceeding patience with His people Israel even when they have committed great sin (e.g., Ex. 32–34). However, a foreshadowing of that patience occurs in the initial calling of Moses, which is quite appropriate given that he is in many ways the representative of the Israelites before God. We have seen the Lord’s great patience with Moses in the Lord’s not abandoning him when he told God that he did not want to go to Pharaoh (4:1–17). It has also been evident in God’s not immediately putting Moses’ son Gershom to death but in allowing Zipporah to intervene and save his life (vv. 18–26). These episodes reassure us that the Lord is patient with those whom He chooses, though we must not take this patience for granted, and that He makes great saints out of those who are hesitant to serve Him, for Moses is one of the most highly commended figures in the Bible.
These evidences of divine patience confirm what the Lord elsewhere reveals about His own slowness to anger (34:6). Given that God is a God of truth, we are not surprised to find what He says confirmed in the events of history. In today’s passage, we read of another occasion on which what the Lord said was confirmed in history. We see in Exodus 4:27 that God commanded Aaron to go out to meet Moses in the wilderness and that Aaron went out to be reunited with his brother after Moses spent many decades away from Egypt. The Lord told Moses in verse 14 that Aaron would be coming to him, and now we see the truth of His words made manifest.
After a brief family reunion, Moses then told Aaron of their joint commission to go to Pharaoh and call for the release of the Israelites from slavery (v. 28; see vv. 10–16). Evidently, Aaron believed his brother right away, for they went to speak to the elders of Israel and told them what the Lord was about to do, performing the miracles that demonstrated the calling of Moses as their leader (v. 29; see vv. 1–9). What is perhaps most notable about this is the response of the people, who worshiped the Lord when they heard that God had seen them and was coming to save them (vv. 30–31). They trusted that God was going to rescue them. God’s Word had been spoken to them, and they had believed, though soon they would find their faith sorely tested.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
As the story of the exodus unfolds through the rest of the book of Exodus and on into Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, Scripture is clear that many of the Israelites did not persevere in their trust. True, saving faith is persevering faith, and if God gives it to a person, that person will never lose it. The sign that our faith is true is that we persist in believing in the Lord even when things become difficult (John 10:1–29).
For Further Study
- Exodus 7:1
- 1 Chronicles 23:13–14
- Psalm 31:7
- Hebrews 3:7–4:13