Aaron, Moses' Prophet

When Moses offered his fifth and final excuse to God to try to avoid having to return from Midian to Egypt and guide the Israelites out of bondage, "O my Lord, please send someone else" (Exodus 4:13), the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and the Lord retorted: "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 [Yahweh] will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do." (Exodus 4:14-15).

At this point, God says something very significant in Exodus 4:16: "He [Aaron] indeed shall SPEAK FOR YOU [Moses] TO THE PEOPLE; he shall serve as MOUTH FOR YOU; and you shall serve as GOD FOR HIM."

Later, after Moses and Aaron arrive in Egypt and begin speaking with Pharaoh, a similar incident occurs in Exodus 6:28-7:1: "On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, he said to him, 'I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you.' But Moses said in the Lord's presence, 'Since I am a poor speaker, why would Pharaoh listen to me?' [Note--the same argument Moses made to God at the burning bush on Mount Horeb=Sinai in Exodus 4:10]. The Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have made you like GOD to Pharaoh, and YOUR BROTHER AARON SHALL BE YOUR PROPHET.'"

Aaron plays a significant role in the story of the exodus from Egypt and the wilderness wanderings. Exodus 6:20 states that Aaron was Moses' brother. Later, we will learn that Miriam was 13 years old when Moses was born, and Aaron was 3 years old when Moses was born.

In Exodus 4:16 and 7:1, Yahweh compares Moses with God, and compares Aaron with Moses' prophet. A close reading of these two texts shows that according to the Bible, a prophet is a "speaker" or "spokesman" or "mouth" or "mouthpiece" for God.

Many people believe and teach that a "prophet" is a person who "predicts" the future. In essence, this is not true. Prophets in the Bible spoke of the past, the present, and the future, depending on the context. But the fundamental idea of a "prophet" is a "spokesman" or "mouthpiece" of God. A careful reading of Jeremiah 1:4-9; 15:18-19; 1 Corinthians 14:2-3 bear out this understanding.

What do you think? Why? I need help.

John Willis