The Excuses That Just Wouldn’t Work

We’ve all been there. We have a child that says “why should I make my bed when I’m going to mess it up tonight anyway?” or “why should I need to clean my room since I’m the one who lives in it.”

We ourselves have probably made these excuses and more… “I’m not going to be in work today because I’m not feeling well.” Or “I’m not going to be able to go to our in-laws house because I have to clean the yard.”

Let’s look at a story about Moses who tried 6 different excuses to get out of going to the Pharoah that did not work and YHWH's responses for each.

Exodus 3:1-12

Exodus 3:1-12 (1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of YHWH, even to Horeb. (2) And the angel of YHWH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. (4) And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, YHWH called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (6) Moreover he said, I am the Elohim of thy father, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon YHWH. (7) And YHWH said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; (8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. (10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. (11) And Moses said unto YHWH, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (12) And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve YHWH upon this mountain.

Excuse 1: Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11 And Moses said unto YHWH, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

Answer:

Exodus 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve YHWH upon this mountain.

We see his first attempt is a display of his own feelings of a lack of insufficiently. He saw himself as unable to do what YHWH wanted him to do. I thank YHWH that He does not see me the way I see me. He sees me the way He sees me.

Excuse 2: What is his name?

Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto YHWH, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The Elohim of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

Answer:

Exodus 3:14 And YHWH said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

This scripture here has been debated by theologians and scholars for decades about whether the children of Israel knew His name. Now I'm not going to get into the theological debate of whether Moses and the children of Israel knew His name but you can see in these scriptures that YHWH gave Him a simple answer. He said, tell the children of Israel I AM has sent you.

Excuse 3: They will not believe me?

Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, YHWH hath not appeared unto thee.

Answer:

Exodus 4:2-9 (2) And YHWH said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. (3) And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. (4) And YHWH said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: (5) That they may believe that YHWH Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. (6) And YHWH said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. (7) And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. (8) And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. (9) And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

As we see the third excuse didn’t work either. Moses thought he could use the excuse of “they will not believe me”. But YHWH showed three things He wanted him to do to indeed show that YHWH appeared to him. Even though they were physical signs that YHWH wanted Moses to do He wanted to show His hand in them.

Excuse 4: I am not an eloquent man and am slow of speech and of a slow tongue

Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto YHWH, O my Adoni, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Answer:

Exodus 4:11-12 (11) And YHWH said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I YHWH? (12) Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

Here’s one that really didn’t work. Moses tried to explain to YHWH, like he really needed to explain it to Him, that he had a speech impediment. YHWH rebuked him harshly and told him that he would be with him and to go to Pharoh.

Excuse 5: By the hand of him who will thou send?

Exodus 4:13 And he said, O my Adoni, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

Answer:

Exodus 4:14-17 And the anger of YHWH was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 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. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of YHWH. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

This is the second excuse Moses tried to use that YHWH was angry with him about. YHWH tells Moses to bring Aaron, his brother, and YHWH would use Aaron's voice and his to speak to the people and the Pharoah.

Excuse 6: The children of Israel did not hear me how will Pharaoh hear me?

Exodus 6:12 And Moses spake before YHWH, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

Answer:

Exodus 6:10-11 (10) And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, (11) Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

And his sixth and final excuse that Moses tries to use: He tells YHWH that the people are not going to listen to Him. So how would Pharaoh listen to him? We see that YHWH doesn't even answer Moses' question here. He just tells him to go into the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to speak to him, never addressing the question Moses asked him.

In verse 13 we see YHWH's final command to Moses and Aaron to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

(13) And YHWH spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

In conclusion I want to ask: what does YHWH want you to do that you're making excuses not to do? It could be He wants you to go speak to someone: a relative, a co-worker, a boss. You don't want to do it because you fear the repercussions of what you might say and that they might not accept your words. We see what happened with Moses and his excuses as to what YHWH wanted him to do and the results of that.

Today ask YHWH what you want me to do and be obedient without hesitation and without questioning YHWH.

YHWH bless.
The Excuses That Just Wouldn’t Work We’ve all been there. We have a child that says “why should I make my bed when I’m going to mess it up tonight anyway?” or “why should I need to clean my room since I’m the one who lives in it.” We ourselves have probably made these excuses and more… “I’m not going to be in work today because I’m not feeling well.” Or “I’m not going to be able to go to our in-laws house because I have to clean the yard.” Let’s look at a story about Moses who tried 6 different excuses to get out of going to the Pharoah that did not work and YHWH's responses for each. Exodus 3:1-12 Exodus 3:1-12 (1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of YHWH, even to Horeb. (2) And the angel of YHWH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. (4) And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, YHWH called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (6) Moreover he said, I am the Elohim of thy father, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon YHWH. (7) And YHWH said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; (8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. (10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. (11) And Moses said unto YHWH, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (12) And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve YHWH upon this mountain. Excuse 1: Who Am I? Exodus 3:11 And Moses said unto YHWH, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Answer: Exodus 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve YHWH upon this mountain. We see his first attempt is a display of his own feelings of a lack of insufficiently. He saw himself as unable to do what YHWH wanted him to do. I thank YHWH that He does not see me the way I see me. He sees me the way He sees me. Excuse 2: What is his name? Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto YHWH, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The Elohim of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? Answer: Exodus 3:14 And YHWH said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. This scripture here has been debated by theologians and scholars for decades about whether the children of Israel knew His name. Now I'm not going to get into the theological debate of whether Moses and the children of Israel knew His name but you can see in these scriptures that YHWH gave Him a simple answer. He said, tell the children of Israel I AM has sent you. Excuse 3: They will not believe me? Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, YHWH hath not appeared unto thee. Answer: Exodus 4:2-9 (2) And YHWH said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. (3) And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. (4) And YHWH said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: (5) That they may believe that YHWH Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. (6) And YHWH said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. (7) And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. (8) And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. (9) And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. As we see the third excuse didn’t work either. Moses thought he could use the excuse of “they will not believe me”. But YHWH showed three things He wanted him to do to indeed show that YHWH appeared to him. Even though they were physical signs that YHWH wanted Moses to do He wanted to show His hand in them. Excuse 4: I am not an eloquent man and am slow of speech and of a slow tongue Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto YHWH, O my Adoni, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. Answer: Exodus 4:11-12 (11) And YHWH said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I YHWH? (12) Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. Here’s one that really didn’t work. Moses tried to explain to YHWH, like he really needed to explain it to Him, that he had a speech impediment. YHWH rebuked him harshly and told him that he would be with him and to go to Pharoh. Excuse 5: By the hand of him who will thou send? Exodus 4:13 And he said, O my Adoni, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. Answer: Exodus 4:14-17 And the anger of YHWH was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 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. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of YHWH. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. This is the second excuse Moses tried to use that YHWH was angry with him about. YHWH tells Moses to bring Aaron, his brother, and YHWH would use Aaron's voice and his to speak to the people and the Pharoah. Excuse 6: The children of Israel did not hear me how will Pharaoh hear me? Exodus 6:12 And Moses spake before YHWH, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? Answer: Exodus 6:10-11 (10) And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, (11) Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And his sixth and final excuse that Moses tries to use: He tells YHWH that the people are not going to listen to Him. So how would Pharaoh listen to him? We see that YHWH doesn't even answer Moses' question here. He just tells him to go into the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to speak to him, never addressing the question Moses asked him. In verse 13 we see YHWH's final command to Moses and Aaron to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. (13) And YHWH spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. In conclusion I want to ask: what does YHWH want you to do that you're making excuses not to do? It could be He wants you to go speak to someone: a relative, a co-worker, a boss. You don't want to do it because you fear the repercussions of what you might say and that they might not accept your words. We see what happened with Moses and his excuses as to what YHWH wanted him to do and the results of that. Today ask YHWH what you want me to do and be obedient without hesitation and without questioning YHWH. YHWH bless.
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