ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Falaite Fepueli 26, 2021

I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak

te u ‘i ho ngutu ‘e au, pea te u fakahinohino kiate koe ‘a e lea te ke fai

'Ekisoto 4 (Exodus 4)

(v. 11-12) 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

(v. 11-12) 11 Pea folofola ‘a Sihova kiate ia, Ko hai na‘a ne ngaohi ‘a e ngutu ‘o e tangata? Pea ko hai na‘a ne ngaohi ‘a e noa, pe ko e tuli, pe ko e ‘ā, pe ko e kui? ‘Ikai ko au, Sihova? 12 Pea ko ia ke ke ‘alu pē, pea te u ‘i ho ngutu ‘e au, pea te u fakahinohino kiate koe ‘a e lea te ke fai.

*Commentary: David Guzik Study notes on Genesis*

Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? This is a dramatic statement revealing the sovereignty of God, and God revealed it in the context of an invitation to trust God and to work with Him.

There is not the slightest sense of fatalism in this declaration of God’s sovereignty. It is never “God is so mighty we can’t do anything,” but it is always “God is so mighty, He can work through us if we make ourselves available.”

Makes the mute, the deaf…the blind: Some think this is cruel of God. Nevertheless the point here was not to analyze the origin of evil, but to show that God is so mighty that He can even call the mute, deaf, and blind to do His work. Moses’ perceived inadequacies didn’t matter at all.

If Moses was a poor speaker, was this news to God? Does God have trouble keeping track of who is deaf, who is blind, and who is mute? Does Moses really think God made a mistake here?

If Moses was a poor speaker, it didn’t matter – the mighty God said, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” By extension, God is sufficient for us, no matter what real or imagined inadequacies we have.

*Tohi Vete: Ngaahi lesoni ako ‘a Tevita Kuisaki ‘i he Tohi Senesi*

Pea ko hai na‘a ne ngaohi ‘a e noa, pe ko e tuli, pe ko e ‘ā, pe ko e kui? ‘Ikai ko au, Sihova? Ko e taha eni ‘i ha lea mamafa ‘oku ne fakahā mai ‘a e pule aoniu ‘a e ‘Otua´, pea ‘oku ne fakaeʻa mai ‘a e moʻoni ko eni´ ‘i ha fakaafe ke falala ange kiate Ia mo ngaue fakataha mo Ia.

‘Oku ‘ikai ‘aupito ha sio ulungia pe foʻi ‘i he fakalea ko eni fekauʻaki mo e tuʻunga pule ‘o e ‘Otua´. ‘Oku ‘ikai ‘aupito te tau pehē, “ ‘Oku malohi fau ‘a Sihova, ka ‘oku ‘ikai te tau lava ‘ekitautolu ha meʻa.” Ka ko eni, “‘Oku malohi fau ‘a Sihova, pea ‘oku malava ke ne ngaue ‘iate kitautolu ‘okapau te tau fakaʻatā kitautolu kiate Ia.”

ngaohi ‘a e noa, pe ko e tuli…pe ko e kui. ‘Oku tala ‘e he niʻihi ‘oku kovi ‘a e ‘Otua´. Ka ‘oku ‘ikai ko e ‘uhinga ‘a e lea ko eni´ ke tau ‘analaiso ‘a e tupuʻanga ‘o e kovi´, ka ke fakahaaʻi ‘a e tuʻunga malohi ‘o e ‘Otua´, ‘i heʻene ui ‘a e noa´, tuli´ mo e kui´ ke fai ‘Ene ngaue´. Ko e tuʻunga vaivai ‘o Mosese (‘i heʻene vakai fakaeia´), naʻe ‘ikai ko ha meʻa ia ki he ‘Otua´.

Meʻa´ nī ‘oku taʻe ʻafioʻi ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘a e ngutu vale ‘a Mosese´? Meʻa nī ‘oku ‘ikai ‘afioʻi ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘a e faʻahinga noa, tulip e kui´? Pehē ko ā ‘e Mosese kuo hala e maʻu ‘a e ‘Otua´? (tapu mo Ia).

Meʻa´ nī ne taʻe ʻafioʻi ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘a e ngutu vale ‘a Mosese´? Pea toki folofola mai leva ‘a e ‘Otua Mafimafi´, “te u ‘i ho ngutu ‘e au, pea te u fakahinohino kiate koe ‘a e lea te ke fai.”  Pea ko ia ai, ‘oku feʻunga ‘ānoa ‘a e ‘Otua´ ki heʻetau meʻa´, ‘o tatau ai pē, pe ko e hā ‘a e tōnounou pe vaivai moʻoni pe ‘oku tau fakakaukauʻi, te tau unga ai.

GOD IS . . . (KO E ‘OTUA, ‘OKU . . )

2        GOD IS SIMPLE

            Doctrine

          God's Simplicity Revealed in Christ's Death

In the person and work of Jesus Christ, wisdom shines forth with a luster seen nowhere else in God's dealings with creation (Col. 2:3). In this way, all that God is, Christ manifests as our Lord and Savior. For example, we observe God's wisdom through Christ's atoning death, which satisfies his justice, mercy, and love altogether. God punishes sin in Christ to satisfy his justice and holiness. God punishes sin in Christ to show us his mercy and

love. God demonstrates his patience (i.e., divine forbearance) by not destroying sinners immediately (Rom. 3:25) because Christ's death was a future prospect for saints in the Old Testament. God is glorified in the way he saves sinners because it displays the harmony of his attributes. Thomas Goodwin speaks of redemption as God's “masterpiece, wherein he means to bring all his attributes upon the stage.”

2        KO E ‘OTUA´, ‘OKU LAULOTAHA

            Tokāteline

            Fakahā ‘a e laulōtaha ‘a e ‘Otua´ ‘i he pekia ‘a Kalaisi´

‘I he pesona ‘o Sisu Kalaisi´, ‘oku Malama mai ‘a poto pea ulo makehe atu mei ha toe meʻa ‘oku hā ‘i he fakatupu ‘a e ‘Otua´ (Kolose 2:3). Pea ‘i he founga ko eni´, ko e ngaahi tuʻunga mo e kātoa ‘o e ‘Otua´, ‘oku fakaeʻa kotoa mai ‘e Kalaisi ‘i heʻene hoko ko hotau ‘Eiki mo e Fakamoʻui´. Fakatātā, ‘oku tau mamata ki he poto ‘a e ‘Otua´ fou ‘i hono huhuʻi kitautolu ‘i he ‘ene pekia´, ‘a ē naʻe fakafiemālieʻi fakataha ai pe ai ‘a e fakamaau, meesi mo e ‘ofa ‘a e ‘Otua´. Naʻe tauteaʻi ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘a e angahala´ ‘ia Kalaisi ke fakafiemālieʻi ai ‘a ‘ene fakamaau´ mo ‘ene maʻoniʻoni´. ‘Oku tautea´i ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘a e angahala´ ‘ia Kalaisi, ke ne fakahā mai kiate kitautolu ‘ene meesi´ mo ‘ene ‘ofa´. ‘Oku fakaʻaliʻali ‘e he ‘Otua´ ‘ene kataki´ (faitotoka faka-‘Otua) ‘i he ‘ikai te ne fakaʻauha ‘a e kau angahala´ ‘i he taimi pe ‘oku nau fai hala ai´ (Loma 3:25) he ko e pekia ‘a Kalaisi´ ko e ‘amanaki ia ki he kau lotu ‘i he Fuakava Motuʻa´. ‘Oku langilangiʻia ‘a e ‘Otua´ ‘i he founga ‘oku ne fakamoʻui ‘aki ‘a e kau angahala´, he ‘oku fakaʻaliʻali ai ‘a e fehūmalieʻaki ‘a hono ngaahi ‘ulungaanga´. ‘Oku pehē ‘e Tomasi Kutuini ko e huhuʻi ‘a e ‘Otua´, ko ‘ene “ngaue fakatalutalu ia, ‘oku ne ‘omi kotoa ai ‘a hono ngaahi ‘ulungaanga´ ke fakaʻaliʻali ‘i loto malaʻe.”