This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you
Exodus 4:5
There were two signs that God showed Moses during his encounter. While they may appear like two separate signs on the surface, they are more connected than you think. Let’s look at the text again, shall we?
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Perhaps the first thing to remember is that Moses did NOT want to go back to Egypt, and understandably so. He was raised in Pharaoh’s house and had seen the powers of the gods of Egypt firsthand. He knew their deadly capabilities and the power a Pharaoh wielded with a host of demons backing them up. Not to mention, he had fled Egypt as a fugitive. Right now, every fibre of his being was searching for excuses to never return. So, he began cooking them up. First, he argued that God’s appearance wouldn’t be believed, secondly, he felt he wasn’t eloquent enough, and finally, he worried about being slow of speech and tongue. It was clear: he desperately wanted to stay away from Egypt.
God was giving Moses these powerful signs to show him that God would do all the work and Moses was just the messenger. Moses had a confidence issue so God imbued him with miraculous signs to overcome it. What God was communicating to Moses here is simply a message of “I GOT YOUR BACK, trust me.”
Another reason was that God knew the Israelites required a sign to believe Moses. Having been enslaved by Egypt for 400 years, the Egyptian gods had replaced the one true God in their hearts. Moses was sent to bring them back and free them from that oppressive situation both physically and spiritually. They were so far removed that they would not believe him and would need a miraculous sign.
Like Moses, we all have things we don’t want to do, most of which come from God. He may want us to share the Gospel with someone, pack up our family and move to a strange place to be a witness for Him, take a job that pays less but brings glory to the Kingdom, and things like that. We are creatures of comfort and security, and change to us is worrisome because of the unknown. Here’s the thing, though: we don’t need to know what the future holds, just have a relationship with the one who does – God. Like Moses, we have to trust that if God calls us to do something, He’s got our back. He will make it happen, and our task isn’t to know how, why, be comfortable, or secure, but to simply say, “Here am I; send me.”
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for the abilities you have given to me. Please, help me to lay them down at your feet so that your spirit can breathe upon them for your end-time revival mandate
