This is not the picture we usually have of Moses. Usually, we see Moses, with long white hair and beard, commanding the Red Sea to part a la Charleston Heston. We do not see him, staff in hand, leading his wife and child on a donkey, as they slowly make their journey back to Egypt. Slowly and reluctantly, because Moses is not that sure of being the one to lead God's people out of bondage.
Oh yes, he was great once, the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. Once he was zealous, so zealous that he killed an Egyptian for fighting with an Israelite. And he even spoke with God and witnessed the burning bush. But none of these events gave Moses any confidence. He was tired and weary and wanted someone else to do the work. God was so frustrated with him that he would have killed him if it had not been for Zipporah.
So God sent Aaron to meet Moses, someone to help him bear the burden, someone to be the mouthpiece for the stammering Moses, someone to speak the words that God gives.
Together, they return to Egypt and prepare the elders for what the God that Moses met, the 'I am who I am' intends to do. Triumphal entries often take place on a donkey.
2010 Post - Exodus 1-4: The Mountain
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