Why did Moses claim he was not eloquent when the Lord called him?
Obviously from the scriptures below the prophet Moses apparently had speech difficulties in expressing himself and which he eventually ovecamed. God would have known if Moses was lying , and most likely punish him for it, notice that God did not refute Moses, and instead said to him :“Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently.(Verse 4:14) And so Aaron became Moses' mouthpiece.Exodus 4:10-17 (NASB)
Moses did not give up and to a large extend overcame his speech difficulties, on later occasions he spoke with confidence to the Israelites himself. Deuteronomy 1:1-5 (NASB)
Exodus 4:10-17 (NASB)
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been
eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken
to Your servant; for I am [c]slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11
The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute
or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go,
and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to
say.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now [e]send the message by
whomever You will.”
Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece
14 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is
there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [a]he speaks
fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he
sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You are to speak to him and
put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and
his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16 Moreover, he
shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you
and you will be as God to him. 17 You shall take in your hand this
staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”
Moses speaks with confidence to the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 1:1-5 (NASB)
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the
Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite [a]Suph, between
Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven
days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses
spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had
commanded him to give to them, 4 after he had [b]defeated Sihon the
king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan,
who lived in Ashtaroth [c]and Edrei. 5 Across the Jordan in the land
of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,