“Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” (Acts 7:22)
“Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” …Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” …Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”” (Exodus 4:10; 6:12,30)
There is a clear mismatch between the apostle Paul’s assessment of Moses’ verbal abilities (“powerful in speech” Acts 7:22) and Moses’ self-perception of his eloquence (“never been eloquent” Exodus 4:10, 6:12, 6:30) that has long intrigued scholars. My wife, a retired Speech and Language Therapist, recalls a lecturer mentioning famous people who had communication difficulties who had speculated that Moses could be the earliest recorded stammerer. I doubt it’s possible to give a clinical diagnosis from the biblical text, but Moses was certainly initially very reluctant to accept God’s calling on the grounds of a lack of eloquence. He even sparks God’s anger in his plea that God send someone – anyone! – else (Exodus 4:13). Moses clearly felt himself ill-qualified and incapable of doing what God asked. Yet later generations concluded there was never again a prophet like him who was so effective (Deuteronomy 34:10-12.)
His story reminded me of Mary Slessor, overcoming her own initial illiteracy and the prevailing misogyny of her times to leave a lasting legacy for the Lord. Of David Livingstone, regarded by many as a rather poor preacher and communicator and a dull speaker in person when on furlough: yet the ‘Universities Mission to Central Africa’ grew from one of his lectures in 1857 and gave a century of service and pioneered the training of black African priests. Of other evangelists and preachers at first rejected for service on the grounds of their illiteracy or perceived disability or lack of education, yet profoundly effective and fruitful in ministry.
In the old saying, truly, God sees in us abilities that no-one else sees and sees what we will become rather than what we are, and so He looks for our availability as much as our ability. Let us not hold back in coming forward for God’s service. Let’s not dwell on our own deficiencies and weaknesses but seek God’s equipping.