Did Moses Lack Self-Confidence?

The question has been posed, “Did Moses lack self-confidence?” When Moses was 40-years-old, he had the confidence that he could lead God’s people, even though God had not told him to begin that task yet (Acts 7:23-29). However, 40 years later, at the age of 80, Moses was not prepared to lead the people of God, though God at that time called upon him to do just that (Exodus 2; Acts 7). Moses made a series of excuses that caused God to become angry with him (Exodus 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10, 13-14).

Moses had been humbled 40 years earlier when he was ready to lead Israel, but when God was not ready for Moses to do so. For 40 years, Moses lived an isolated life in exile to a barren land as a shepherd. At an age when few people take on such momentous responsibilities, God called on the old man Moses to lead a vast nation of perhaps up to two million from slavery into the wilderness (International). It is little wonder that Moses lacked self-confidence. Which modern man under comparable circumstances would have exhibited substantially more confidence than Moses?

Works Cited

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1996.