Exodus 4 · Grade 5
Excuses and God's Patience
Read and Think
Exodus 3-4 records five objections from Moses. He asked who he was to go, asked for God's name, worried that the people would not believe, said that he was not eloquent, and asked God to send someone else. God answers each with patience. The signs of the staff, the leprous hand and the water turned to blood show God's power over creation, disease and even the Nile.
God's reply to Moses' fear of speaking is profound: Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh? God is sovereign over every ability and disability, and He can work through any weakness. But Moses' final plea, Please send someone else, is not humility but reluctance, and God's anger burns. Even so, God provides Aaron.
On the journey, God calls Israel my firstborn, a precious title. A brief and mysterious episode follows (4:24-26) in which Moses' son had not received the covenant sign of circumcision; Zipporah performs it, and Moses is spared. The leader of God's people needed to obey God's covenant in his own home. The chapter ends with joy: the elders believe, and when they hear that Yahweh has visited them and seen their affliction, they bow and worship.
Show What You Know
What were Moses' five objections?
What did the water turned to blood show?
What does God's question about the mouth teach?
Why did God's anger burn?
What did the episode in 4:24-26 teach about leadership?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
- God answers each patience.
- is sovereign over every ability and disability, and He can work through any weakness.
- Even so, God provides .
Think About It
God patiently answered each of Moses' fears. Which of Moses' objections sounds most like you?
How is true humility different from refusing to obey?
Memory Verse
“Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.””
Exodus 4:12 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
Take It Home
For families: talk about these together.
- How can you serve God with the gifts He has given you?
- When do you make excuses instead of saying yes to God?
- How can you lean on others God gives to help you?
Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.