Aaron spoke all the words of the LORD and Moses did all the signs of the LORD and the children of Israel believed. When they heard that the LORD had visited them and had looked upon their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD. They recognized His messengers Aaron and Moses, His message, “Let My People Go,” and His Divine Presence. So, they ‘Got down and worshiped!’ Its been a long time, the affliction has been very severe but the LORD had visited the children of Jacob and looked on their affliction. In Exodus 2:23-25, God said He, “Heard their groaning, He remembered His covenant, He looked upon them and He acknowledged their plight.” Then in Exodus 3:7, “He said, “He saw their affliction, He heard their cry, He knew their sorrows and He had come down to deliver them and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey.”

So, now in Exodus 4:31 they bow their heads, a sign of humility and obeisance. To contract or bend the body or neck in deference and they worshiped, to depress or prostrate oneself in homage to royalty or to God. Or to use an, ‘Old time expression,’ “They got down and worshiped!” When you finally recognize and realize God’s Almighty Presence and Power, what else can you do but fall down and worship Him. The signs merely verified Moses’ position and authenticated his office and the words of God did the same for Aaron. The Jewish people are referred to as a ‘stiff-necked’ people by nature, according to God’s word and they require a sign for authentication, I Cor. 1:22; Matt. 12:38; and they were going to get them, one after another for many years to come. However, they bowed, worshiped, praised and prayed to the LORD. Sometimes it takes the unusual or supernatural to bring us to the point of prostration and brokenness so we too can, “Get down and worship!”

Eliezer got to this point in Genesis 24:26 after finding Rebekah in Mesopatamia in the city of Nahor/Haran, 468 miles from Hebron where Abraham was when he sent him to find a wife for Isaac. Imagine traveling for 18 days with 10 camels and coming to a town and kneeling down by a well outside the town and asking God for direction by bringing you the (beshertah), the soul mate, He had chosen for your master’s son out of all the women in the city coming to draw water and He does. No wonder v. 26, “He got down and worshiped!” However, v. 27 says, “I being in the way, the LORD led me…” The key is, ‘Being in the way;’ And the key to that is, ‘Availability not Ability!’ The other occurrence of this phrase is in Exodus 12:27 in Egypt, on the night of Passover, after the children of Israel got their instructions and just before midnight when over two million people in Egypt will be struck dead for not obeying God’s Word. And v. 27 says, “And the people bowed the head and worshiped.” (They got down and worshiped) wouldn’t you?

What will it take for us to, “Get down and worship?” A rod turned into a serpent? A hand turned into leprosy? Water turned into blood? Frogs covering the land, three days of darkness that can be felt, or the death of the first born? Does it matter what it takes as long as it happens? We must, get down on our knees and faces  and worship the God who created us and saved us. We must spend time in His word and in our prayer closets and gardens alone with Him. Without it we will dry up like an old creek bed in the hot summer and be of no use to anyone except to gather some smooth stones from our dry beds. But without His Word and much prayer we won’t have the courage or insight to throw them at a grasshopper let alone a giant.

The Jewish people are accused of being stiff-necked, but are Gentiles any different? At least they “Got down and worshiped!” Have you lately? Have you? What will it take, blood, frogs, lice, leprosy, serpents? We need to bow our heads and our hearts and worship, ‘The LORD!’ The One Who gave us the greatest sign of all, His Son, crucified, risen and coming again! Our sign, the sign for any of today’s stiff-necked people, Jew or Gentile, ‘The Empty Tomb!’ Now let us, “Get down and worship the LORD of the empty tomb!”

Now watch the next verse, Ex. 5:1 “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let My people go!” And Pharaoh said, “NO!” That went well! And the people just, “Got down and worshiped!” So don’t think that everything is going to go your way right after you, “Get down and worship!” The other side won’t see it that way. So, Moses returns to the LORD after both Pharaoh and the Israelites reject him and his message and he prays in v. 22, “LORD, wherefore hast Thou so badly treated this people? (and) Why is it Thou hast sent me?” So, this is where ‘Mission Impossible’ got its name! Have you ever asked ‘Why’ of God before? Even when you know something was His will and it didn’t go the way you had expected? “Why God?” Why me, why this, why now, why here…? Did you realize that the word ‘Why’ is the first step to disobedience, self-will is the second and rebellion is the third and final? You better watch this with your children. When you ask a child or someone under your authority to do something and they say ‘Why?’ Many times they are saying, “I wouldn’t do it that way stupid, I have a different idea.” Or, “If I were in charge, I would use a totally different plan than your silly plan.” But you are not in charge and Moses isn’t God.

So, Moses returns to God and questions Him but in prayer, like we do. 🙂 It is not the way Moses thought it should be done, we do this often too, question God’s ways, or reasons, or motives. Someone at ‘Prayer Meeting’ would think we are the chairman of the ‘Ways and Means Committee’ for God. God answers Moses in Ex. 6:1 and reveals why He is doing it His way. Also God reveals Himself to Moses in a new way and by a new name (YHVH) JEHOVAH, “The Self Existent One!” “He That Is Who he Is!” Therefore the “Eternal I AM!” Jehovah is distinctly the redemption name of Deity and He is about to redeem His people from Egypt. Moses is somewhat impatient with God in chapter 5 because it wasn’t working according to Moses’ plan. In Numbers 10:11-15, Moses has the same problem with the people over the Manna(What is it? – “Just shut up and eat it!”), we are no different! God meets our impatience with patience! Why do we get so impatient when it does not go the way we planned? Someone would think we created the universe or we died on a tree for the Church. ‘True Prayer’ results in obedience to God’s perfect will which we will see in Ex. 7:20. Prayer, real prayer, fulfills the will of God! It doesn’t change His will, it conforms us to His will, Moses had to learn this lesson, he is 80 now and at 120 he is still learning, so don’t give up hope. God had to reveal Himself to Moses as Jehovah, the Self-Existent, Eternal One. He did not need Moses; Moses needed Him! Do you think God could have delivered His people without Moses? Yeah, me too! He could have just used the stick. Listen when it doesn’t go the way you planned, don’t go to pieces, ‘Go to God!’ In prayer, seek His face, His will, His grace, ‘Why God?’ So that He may be ultimately glorified. God will share His glory with no one, ‘NO ONE!’ Not me, not you, not Frank!  “…Between The Lines…”

“O LORD, don’t let us rob You of Your glory. If You can use us, use us, if not let us be patient and don’t let us get in the way of Your perfect will for our lives. In Your Word in Isaiah 28:16 You said, “He that believes shall not make haste.” Lord we believe, help Thou our unbelief. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen!”

“Portraits of Prayer in Exodus”  ‘Get Down & Pray – Ex. 4:31’