Lessons From a Burning Bush—God Sends Help, but Not to Replace You
In this final part of Lessons from a Burning Bush, we conclude our journey through Exodus 3 and 4. In Part 1, we explored the sacred name “I AM” and God’s self-revealing identity. In Part 2, we looked at Moses’s insecurities and how God meets them with presence and power. Today, we explore God’s response to Moses’s resistance: the introduction of Aaron as a helper. But even as help arrives, God doesn’t remove the mission from Moses. The staff—the symbol of authority and calling—remains in his hand. We’ll also connect this moment to discipleship and the Great Commission, because God still uses imperfect people to carry out His perfect plan.
But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.” . . .
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. The LORD said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do.” . . .
The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the signs He had commanded him to perform.
Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed.
Exodus 4:13-17, 20-21, 27-31
Even with a team, some responsibilities are yours to carry. Don’t confuse help with a handoff. Aaron supported Moses, but the staff stayed in Moses’s hand. God sent Aaron to speak—but He still sent Moses to lead. God will send people to support you, but He won’t outsource your obedience.
After all of his excuses—his inadequacy, his fears, his speech impediment—Moses’s resistance reaches a breaking point: he just doesn’t want to go.
“Please send someone else.” – Exodus 4:13
This is more than just insecurity. Moses is reluctant, some may even say rebellious. And yet, even in His righteous anger, God responds with compassion and grace. He doesn’t revoke his calling or change his mission—He simply brings in the help of Moses’s brother. Aaron isn’t a replacement. He’s a reinforcement. Notice the distinction:
“You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.” – Exodus 4:15-16
Aaron may be the mouth, but Moses is still the ultimate message-bearer. God allows Moses to lean on Aaron’s gift of speech, but Moses is still called to walk in obedience by leading the mission. God tells him:
“Take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.” – Exodus 4:17
What once was a shepherd’s staff became a symbol of Moses’s authority and leadership, God’s power, and the miracles he would perform to confirm his calling to others. God gave words to Aaron, but Moses still carried the staff. Even when we have helpers and a shared mission, the weight of obedience to our singular responsibility still rests in our hands. Some jobs just can’t be handed off; assistance isn’t an excuse to check out of your calling. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 confirms the power of partnership: “Two are better than one. . . If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” God loves community! Every person He sends is an addition to His Kingdom mission, never a substitution.
When Jesus presented His disciples with the Great Commission He sent them together, but also personally. Spreading the gospel message is a shared mission, but it requires every believer to say “yes” for themselves. We are called the same way—as leaders, speakers, teachers, or servants. We’ve all been given different gifts, different callings, and named as different parts of the body of Christ. God may surround you with Aarons, but no one can say “yes” to your calling for you.
You may not feel equipped.
That’s fine. God is.
You may need help.
Okay. He’ll provide it.
But obedience is yours alone.
How to Apply This Lesson:
o Remember that accepting help isn’t weakness. Sometimes that’s what obedience looks like. God didn’t shame Moses for needing help. He sent Aaron as a way to move forward.
o Don’t delegate your calling, but carry it with humility. Getting support is not the same thing as surrendering your God-appointed assignment. Be faithful to what only you can do, and trust Him with the rest.
o Identify your “Aaron.” Who encourages you, strengthens you, helps you speak or stand? Send them a big, fat thank you!
o Reflect: What is your “staff”? What weight has God placed in your hand? Is there a role, responsibility, or gift you are meant to carry?
o Make a “Support Map”: Draw a circle with your name in the middle. Around it, add the names of people God uses to support you (your “Aarons”). Pray over each one. Ask yourself, who is in your life that needs you to be their Aaron?
God’s help doesn’t relieve you of your mission—it strengthens you for it. The call is still yours. The staff is still in your hand. And just like Moses, God will be with you every step of the way.
God, thank You for the people You’ve placed around me to help and support me. Remind me not to lay down what You’ve specifically asked me to carry. You didn’t choose me by accident. Strengthen my grip and steady my heart. Show me how to be both a Moses and an Aaron—to lead where You’ve called and support where others are called. Give me eyes to see my roles clearly in Your Kingdom work. Amen.