After reading chapter 4:
*Moses very practically asks what he should do if the Israelites don't believe him. So, Yahweh shows him how to magically turn his staff into a snake and back again. Then he learned how to turn his hand leprous and back again, as well as turning water into blood. These magic tricks were supposed to convince the people Moses had talked to God.
*Moses's next big objection was his lack of public speaking skills. God says he is personally responsible for whether people can speak, hear and see! (Don't complain if you are deaf, mute, or blind. God did it, no matter what the doctor says.) Moses really doesn't want to speak to the Israelites and tries to beg off. God suggests Aaron, Moses's brother, do the speaking. God will tell Moses what to say and Moses will tell Aaron. Gee, why couldn't God speak straight to Aaron?
*So, Moses, asked his father- in- law for permission to go back to Egypt. Then he loaded his wife and sons on a donkey. He also took the magical staff, which is now called "the staff of God" but had once been just a plain old staff.
*Yahweh tells Moses to perform the miracles for Pharoah. However, Pharoah will not let the people go because God will harden his heart! This heart hardening is the subject of lots of speculation and theological debate. We will not philosophize, but assume that it means what it says: God was responsible for Pharoah's heart being hardened and everything else that followed. Nevertheless, Pharoah is to be held responsible for not letting the Israelites, God's metaphorical "firstborn son," go to worship him. So, God will kill Pharoah's literal first born son. Harsh.
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