11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Moses had just been called by God to do a wonderful thing, but his response shows great hesitancy. This is interesting, because previously Moses had sprung into action on a whim to save a slave being beaten. Now he shows caution and doubt. Perhaps Moses was only able to be brave when caught in the spirit of the moment, or perhaps the years and disappointments had tempered his fire. In either case, he suggests to God that he should not be the one used to save the people of Israel. He has no faith in himself.

God, however, doubles down on the calling. In fact, He goes further, giving a vision of Moses’s future success. God assures Moses that one day he and all the Israelites will stand together in this very mountain, free from the Egyptians and serving the Lord together. This seems an impossible feat, or at least one that would occur slowly, over the passing of many generations, but God says that Moses will see it with his own eyes.

This promise is terrific, and as we will see in the next verse, it seems to give Moses a moment of courage.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

In verse 7 God had said that he heard the children of Israel, seen their oppression, and had come to free them. In today’s verse 9 God repeated that He has heard the children of Israel and seen their oppression, but now He proclaimed that He would send Moses to bring them out of Egypt! Thus, God was saying the same thing twice, but the second time with more specificity. Yes, He was here to free the Israelites, but He was here to do it through Moses.

This was God calling Moses to be an extension of Himself, calling Moses to be the Lord’s hands. It was an incredible vote of confidence in Moses, and an incredible amount of responsibility for him. Thus far Moses has shown inklings of fearlessly standing up for what is right, but this is on a whole other level. As we will see, this lack of qualification is not lost of Moses. God knows what Moses can become, but Moses is only aware of who he is now.