Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Exodus 7:7
“Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.”
Although Moses and Aaron did not succeed in securing the freedom of the Israelites the first time they spoke to Pharaoh, with Moses even complaining to God that the task was impossible, the Lord did not change their mission. He charged them again to speak to the king of Egypt so as to win Israel’s release. Moses would be “like God” to Pharaoh, and Aaron was to be Moses’ prophet. In other words, Moses would be the visible figure of authority demanding Israel’s freedom, while Aaron would speak for his brother (Ex. 5:1–7:5). Our Lord’s recommissioning of Moses and Aaron, as it were, evidently worked, for they “did just as the LORD commanded them” (7:6).
But before telling us just how they addressed Pharaoh again to bring him the Lord’s demands, Moses pauses in today’s passage to tell us how old he and Aaron were when they went to the king of Egypt. Incredibly, as we see in Exodus 7:7, God did not send the brothers to Pharaoh in the prime of their strength. Instead, the Lord tapped Moses and Aaron for their arduous task when they were elderly men, age eighty and eighty-three, respectively.
Why did the Lord wait until Moses and Aaron were old men to send them to Pharaoh? The text does not tell us directly, so admittedly we must engage in a bit of speculation, though it is speculation grounded in the text. First, we know that the brothers would be calling for the release of an entire nation that they would be leading. It makes sense, then, that God would wait until they were old men to call them because they would have learned much from their life experience that could help them in their governing of God’s people. Furthermore, one of the Lord’s purposes in securing the freedom of Israel was to reveal Himself in all His glory and power to Egypt (7:5). By using elderly men weakened by age, God would make it clear that the great work of the exodus was from Him and not from the strength of men.
Finally, let us not miss an important application for our own day that we may conclude from God’s choice of Moses and Aaron in their old age. This shows us that we are never too old to be useful for the kingdom of the Lord. While our life circumstances change as we age and there can be an appropriate resting from decades of work, there is no retirement in God’s kingdom. The aged among us have much to contribute to the work of the church.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
As we age, we may sometimes feel less useful to the kingdom of God. Yet in many ways we are more useful to God’s kingdom than we ever were before. Elderly saints can pray fervently for the church, mentor younger believers, volunteer during the workweek to help the church staff, and much more. All of us, young and old, must strive to serve the Lord and His church as we are able and as the Holy Spirit has gifted us.
For Further Study
- Psalm 71
- Isaiah 46:3–4
- 1 Timothy 5:5
- Titus 2:1–6