Moses couldn’t talk well yet he was the man God selected to liberate the Hebrew slaves. Why did God choose an imperfect man to do the job? Moses pleaded with God to choose someone else. He said, “I don’t talk well. How can I speak to Pharaoh? How do I make my point heard?” God insisted it be Moses in spite of his speech disability. “Moses,” he told him, “You must use your brother Aaron as your spokesman.”
Why did God do this? I think for several reasons. First of all, Moses was a great man, perfect in spirit and values. He fought for justice. He yearned for fairness, and he was a free soul inside. He was a slave’s son and a prince. He knew freedom and he was not limited by fear of the whip.
I think God also wanted to show that perfect in His eyes is not the same as perfect in man’s. That is, God looks to the core, not the shell. Moses was not sure he could do it because he saw the shell. The core was revealed gradually as he led the slaves to freedom.
Moses amazed the world in his challenges. Who was he, this speech impaired shepherd, to challenge Pharaoh, thought to be an embodiment of the gods at that time? Moses assumed he was right when he insisted on freedom because God insisted it was right. Pharaoh assumed he was right when he insisted on slavery because no one dared challenge Pharaoh. That is, until Moses, the reluctant spokesman stuttered, and Aaron repeated the command to let the slaves be freed.
Moses taught the world that God rejects slavery. No matter how this idea has been ignored, no one can argue after the Exodus, that God approves of enslaving others. This was the first time that humanity saw a mass liberation movement and it has inspired people for thousands of years to aspire to be free.
There is also a lesson in mutual support. Moses had a helper, and this, I think, shows that we should not take too much on alone. Aaron and Moses are a team. I am sure Aaron needed Moses as much as Moses needed Aaron, and God relied on both of them to convey his instructions of liberation.
The message of Moses is that one leader doing what is right, with the right support, can change a terrible situation to one of hope and promise. I get inspiration from Moses. I faced a terrible situation without hope in my childhood. But, despite my inability to speak, I have reluctantly seen that if I don’t say the truth it may be years before change occurs. So, I face my pharaohs- autism experts- to see if we can’t find a way to liberate autistic people from the solitude they face.
Somewhere in the Scriptures I recall reading that Moses was the most humble man on earth. God gives grace to the humble. It is so painful to be humbled by a body and more specifically a voice that does not cooperate but that is most often the place where God chooses to show His power. It’s hard being “chosen” but you are fulfilling your mission so well. My nonverbal son’s name is Ephraim. There is a line in the book of the prophet Hosea that says “When Ephraim spoke all Israel trembled”. I can hardly wait for the day when via RPM I am able to hear his thoughts. Please keep persevering for this cause. No one can advocate in the same way that you can.