Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
The Bible teaches us the importance of being well grounded. The only way to be well grounded is to know the Lord. Moses had a good foundation. His mother did what she could to help him to see the importance of knowing the true God. Moses spent a number of years in a pagan king’s house and there he did not have much opportunity to grow in his faith. As a young adult, he tried what he thought was best to fix problems he saw among his fellow Hebrews. He ended up getting into trouble. He had to flee from Pharaoh due to his wrong choices. However, God was not finished with him. God had a plan and He would work out His plan for both Moses and the nation of Israel. Moses needed to be separated from Pharaoh’s court for God’s next phase of training. The Egyptians would be introduced to the power and glory of the true God. Most of them never benefited from that teaching, but God loved them as much as He loved the Hebrews. God wants all to come to know Him. It is important to listen to what He says. It is important to be in a place where you can hear from the Lord. That place is in a God-fearing family and in a true church. If you do not have a God-fearing family, you can find a true church.
We know from the Word of God, that God chooses leaders for His own purposes. He proves Himself to be the Almighty God through all leaders. Even when a leader does not want to know Him, God proves Himself to be the Almighty God.
Moses lived in the house of an ungodly king for a number of years. He saw how a pagan king operates. He was given opportunity to see how ungodly royalty lives. He had a much easier life, at least physically, than the Hebrews did. Spiritually, life was a challenge for him as it was for them.
For the past little while, God had been working with Moses in the land of Midian. God had blessed him with a wife who honoured him. God blessed them with a son, and Moses was given the responsibility of looking after his father-in-law’s flock. While there, God began to spend more concentrated time with Moses. He met with him through a burning bush that was not being consumed by the fire. The fire was a picture of the LORD. Moses needed a much deeper view and understanding of the true God.
We ended chapter 3 with Moses making excuses for himself, and with God telling Moses what his task would be. Now in chapter 4 we find that Moses is still arguing with the LORD. God is patient, but He does have a plan for His children. He does not take no for an answer. He equips His child for the task He has for him, and He expects His child to agree with Him. Those who are saved need to look at life through God’s eyes.
Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Moses needed to understand that the task God has for His child is the only task worth pursuing. It is a waste of precious time to fight against the will of God. Moses was wasting his time with his excuses. He was assuming that the Hebrews would reject him as their leader. God had already told him that the elders would hear him. Moses assumed he was wiser than God.
We have the privilege of studying the Word of God and seeing how It is a mirror. It shows us who we truly are. I know in my life, that God has shown me many things about myself through His Word. He has shown me things that need to change and He has also shown me how to make the right changes. There is a big difference between being like a wave tossed to and fro with the wind, and being changed by God. Changes that God makes are for the good. They make the true child of God more productive in His sight.
God continued to work with Moses. In verse 2 He asked Moses what was in his hand. Moses acknowledged that he had a rod in his hand. The LORD told him to cast it on the ground. When Moses did so, it became a serpent. Moses fled from it. Moses was familiar with poisonous snakes. The rod he had was a useful tool for him as a shepherd. God showed Moses that He could take that wooden stick and turn it into something completely different, something to be feared. However, God did not want Moses to continue to be afraid. He just needed his attention. Next, God told Moses to take that serpent by the tail. Moses obeyed the LORD and did as he was told. That serpent became a rod in Moses’ hand once again.
That rod was like a third arm and hand for Moses. He needed to understand that God could use that tool for His own purposes. He used it for a purpose Moses never thought possible, prior to that. The LORD got Moses’ attention with that act. The LORD also told Moses that this sign would help the Hebrews to know that the LORD God of their fathers; of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had indeed appeared unto Moses. God knew the the Jews seek after a sign. He would demonstrate to them that He had indeed spoken to Moses and He had indeed given Moses an assignment that would benefit the entire nation.
The LORD was not finished with Moses just yet. Next He commanded Moses to put his hand into his bosom. Moses did so and when he took it out, it was leprous as snow. What a fearful thing. Next God told Moses to put his hand back into his bosom. We read that Moses “plucked” it out again. The Hebrew word translated as “plucked” has many meanings. Some of them speak of “pull out, shoot forth, spring out”. Those are very fitting meanings for what it seems that Moses did here. He wanted to know if he was a leper or if his hand would be restored again.
The text tells us that when he pulled his hand back out, it was turned again as his other flesh. God showed Moses that there was nothing impossible for Him. We will see that Moses was not yet ready to believe that fact in his heart. Moses was a very reluctant and stubborn man at this point. God’s people need to be people of Godly convictions. There is a vast difference between Godly convictions and stubbornness. Stubbornness is resisting God. Godly conviction is believing God and trusting Him without reservation.
We need God’s conviction today. Just this week it was reported that in the last federal election, 121,000 ballots were not counted. That is quite a large number of ballots. For all we know there were more that were ignored. I have said for a while now that we cannot trust the election system of this country. There are no fair elections in the political realm. In spite of that fact, God put in place the leader we have. He is a corrupt man. He is proving that every day. We can also see that the other parties are different, but not any better when it comes to that which truly matters.
True saints do not rely on the government for help. We do not look to the government for permission to serve the Lord. We need to be grounded in the truth and serve the Lord because we are convinced He is right. We need to demonstrate our faith in God by obeying Him regardless of what the naysayers want to say.
Moses needed to trust God for the moment. God told him that he would be successful in his task of bringing the nation of Israel out of Egypt. He gave Moses enough information about Himself so that Moses had no need to doubt God. However, Moses was dragging his feet. God would continue to show Him His power and authority. Moses would be able to do all that God wanted of him.
Today as well, we can be effective in our small part in the world. We can serve the Lord faithfully. We need to submit to Him and know His peace in our hearts. We have the privilege of showing those who are lost and dying, that there is a place of hope and help. That place is in God.
Pastor Bartel
