If Aaron did all the speaking for Moses, then why was Moses needed?

While this is a good question, the Bible does not give us a concise answer. However, we can see several reasons as to why God chose Moses over everyone else. Consider the following thoughts. 

There is no doubt that God would choose a person who was educated and thus had the ability to lead. We learn in Acts 7:22, that Moses was indeed an educated man. Luke wrote, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). While he may have been slow in speech, we should know that in his conversations with Pharaoh he was bold and mighty. Also, Moses had great convictions. The Hebrew writer states, “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25). Good leaders must have a desire to do right, this was a trait of Moses (Exodus 2:11-12). In this passage he came to the defense of a fellow Hebrew. I do not believe we should see the killing as a murder but as by the laws of his day he came to the aid of a brother; he would do so even knowing it would cost him dearly. Next, a good leader must have respect for God. According to Exodus 3:1-5, Moses had great respect for God. A great leader will also harken to wise men of council as Moses did when he headed Jethro’s advice in Exodus 13:24. As with most great leaders, Moses was a meek man, according to Numbers 12:3. Another reason God may have chosen Moses is that he was willing to delegate responsibilities to other faithful leaders (Exodus 18:25-26).

As we consider the life of Moses, we see that he was not perfect and made several excuses trying to avoid serving God in a leadership position. God’s remedy was Aaron. Even though God gave Moses a helper, I believe that Moses could have completed the job without Aaron as his spokesman. We must remember he was chosen by God. In all truthfulness Moses would eventually develop into a great speaker as he led the children of God.

We might also consider that Aaron himself did not have the ability to lead the nation on his own for at times he was weak and at other times he was full of jealousy and bigotry (Exodus 32:1-2). (Numbers 12:1).

(Tony Hoss is minister at the Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton.)