NOTES for Exo 4:13

How a man becomes a prophet? One could say that nothing depends from man himself here, that it is God's affair, and becomes prophet the one that God makes prophet. But things are apparently a little different here. God calls Moses for His service. He sees in Moses a prophet, His servant, to whom He confides a difficult and responsible mission: to bring out His people of Egypt and to conclude later an union-covenant with them, having begun a new era in His relationship with them, and in their history.

But Moses hesitates. He resists, as he can. He says directly to God: send somebody else, who you can find. He doesn’t doubt that God can find another person. He doubts not at all in God. He doubts in himself. But because Moses does not doubt that speaks with him nobody else, than the God of his fathers! Why then he doesn’t have confidence in himself? Maybe it was exactly because he knew well the God of his fathers? Also knows how should be the "real" prophets?

Oh yes, of course, they don’t match for him: from the young age they live separately from people, God speaks with them constantly, they know what is the prophetic ecstasy, the inspired prophetic sermon but Moses knows nothing of this, he cannot speak as the prophets speak ("I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue" - say Moses of himself to the Lord). In brief, Moses thinks that he is not a "bad" prophet. Send another one, he says to God. Indeed, there will be another one: in help to Moses God will send the "real", Aaron. And all the same it is God Who makes the prophet a prophet. And not always with human motives.