When Moses said he was of “uncircumcised lips,” he was expressing his deep sense of unworthiness and inadequacy to speak for God, both due to his physical limitations and his spiritual disqualification. The phrase symbolized lips that were not yet consecrated, prepared, or fit to carry out a holy mission.
“And Moses said before the Lord, ‘Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?’”
(Exodus 6:30)
This statement followed repeated objections from Moses about his calling. He had already told God:
“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
(Exodus 4:10)
But the issue went deeper than speech. Moses felt alienated, not only from Pharaoh, but even from his own people. His objection came after the children of Israel had rejected him once again. He said:
“Indeed I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”
(Exodus 6:12)
This reflected a larger identity struggle. Though raised in Pharaoh’s house, Moses was born a Hebrew. But having fled Egypt and not even circumcised his own son, he seemed caught between two worlds. He was too Egyptian for the Hebrews and too Hebrew for the Egyptians. In Exodus 4, God had sought to kill Moses because his son was not circumcised:
“And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son…”
(Exodus 4:24–25)
This dramatic moment showed how seriously God viewed the covenant of circumcision. Moses, who was to lead God’s people, had failed to uphold a basic sign of that covenant. In light of that, he likely felt unworthy to speak as a representative of Israel, much less as God’s prophet.
Yet God’s response was not to replace Moses but to equip him. He gave Aaron as a spokesman and assured Moses of divine help:
“Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth…”
(Exodus 4:15)
God chose Moses not because of his natural qualifications, but because He would show His power through Moses’ weakness. His “uncircumcised lips” would become a vessel for God’s words, not because of Moses, but because of the Lord.