Moses said to the Lord, “Suppose the Israelites do not believe me nor listen to what I say. What shall I do if they say that You did not appear to me?” The Lord asked, “What are you holding?” Moses said, “A walking stick.” The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” When Moses did that, the stick had turned into a snake, and he fled away from it. Then the Lord declared to Moses, “Reach down and pick the stick up by the tail.” When Moses did it, it became a walking stick again. The Lord told Moses to do this to prove to the Israelites that God has appeared to him. The Lord told Moses to put his hand inside the robe, and when he put his hand out, it was white like snow. Then Moses put out his hand again, only this time, it was healthy. The Lord said, “If they won’t believe you by the first miracle, this one must be convinced by them. If they don’t believe in these two miracles nor listen to what you say, take the Nile water and place it on the ground. Then the water will turn into blood.”
Moses said, “No, Lord, don’t send me; I’ve never been a good speaker, slow and hesitant.” The Lord said, “Who gives man the mouth, is deaf or dumb, gives sight or blindness? I do. Now go! I will tell you what to say before you speak it out.” Moses declared, “Lord, no. Please send someone else.” The Lord became angry and told Moses, “What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? He is coming to meet you and he will be glad. I will help and tell both of you what to speak and do. Aaron will be your spokesman and speak to all of his people for you. Moses, you will be like God, telling him what to say. Take the walking stick with you so that you will perform miracles.”
Moses returned to Jethro and said, “Please let me go back to Egypt to see my relatives if they are still alive.” Jethro agreed and said goodbye. Moses was in Midian, and the Lord was there, saying, “Return to Egypt, for those people who wanted to kill you are now dead.” Moses brought his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and carried his walking stick to return to Egypt. Then the Lord told Moses, “Perform before the king all the miracles. I will make the king stubborn, and he won’t let all the people go. And you must tell him that I, the Lord, said, ‘Israel is my first-born son. I already talked to you about letting my son go, but you refused to let him worship Me. Now, I am going to kill your first-born son.’ On the way to Egypt at the campsite, the Lord tried to kill Moses, but Zipporah, his wife, took a stone to cut off the son’s foreskin and touch Moses’ feet. She said, “You are a husband of blood to me.” The Lord spared Moses’ life.
The Lord told Aaron to go to the desert to meet Moses at the holy mountain, and he did. Aaron walked to Moses and kissed him. Moses told Aaron about everything that the Lord had said when He told him about returning to Egypt and miracles that the Lord had ordered him to perform. Aaron told the Israelite leaders everything and Moses performed miracles in front of the people. The people believed. When they heard that the Lord was coming to the people and saw how they were being treated cruelly, they bowed down and worshiped Him.