What if Aaron and Moses Didn’t Like Each Other?

“But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.” Exodus 4:10-17

Moses and Aaron were brothers. We have lots of stories in the Old Testament about brothers. Cain and Abel were brothers, and that story didn’t end well. Jacob and Esau were brothers, and that story did not turn out that well for Esau. Joseph had eleven brothers, and all but Benjamin were a little snarky toward Joseph. Just as sisters can be kind, or mean, or even vindictive, brothers can be the same. Such is the case with family. But, sometimes brothers actually work together – such is the case for Moses and Aaron. But what if they didn’t like each other? What then would the Lord have instructed Moses to do? The Lord was getting angry with Moses with each denial he placed on the table as to why he wasn’t the one to take up the Lord’s request. And so when Moses says that he is not eloquent in speech, the Lord must be frustrated with this servant of G-d. We know that Moses will go on to do great things, but in this moment he sure does seem like a failure. So when he complains about his inability to speak clearly, the Lord finds a way around. “What about your brother, Moses, he can speak for you. His heart will be glad when he sees you.”

If the brothers were enemies, like Jacob and Esau once were, then supporting one another was out of the question. And, as many of us know, family relationships can sometimes be the hardest for us to maintain a level of civility. Why? I think it is because there is so much baggage that comes with sibling relationships. When we look at brothers like Joseph and his eleven siblings, Cain and Abel and the like, their relationships are very, very complicated. But not so with Moses and Aaron. They are able to work with one another and to defeat Pharaoh. Without Aaron, Moses may not have even accepted his call by G-d to lead the people. And without Moses, G-d would have had to find another leader – and there were few leaders like Moses.

Pastor Dave