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| Exodus 4:1-5 |
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Lesson # Exodus 4:1-5 Study Material - Exodus 4:1-5 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Ex. 4:1-5 1 Then Moses answered and said, 'What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.' 2 And the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' And he said, 'A staff.' 3 Then He said, 'Throw it on the ground.' So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 But the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail'-- so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- 5 '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.' Moses still has doubts. God has already stated that the Hebrews would listen to him. That Pharaoh would not listen. That God would bring miracles upon Egypt, not to convince them but to prove their stubbornness. That in the end, Egypt would release the Hebrews. This was all stated with certainty and finality. Everything would happen as God said it would. Now Moses is still not paying attention. Look at the scene. Here Moses is talking to a bush. He is out in the middle of the desert, probably on Mt. Sinai, and talking to a bush. Not just any bush mind you, but a bush that was on fire yet not itself burning. And the bush was talking back to Moses. Not exactly something you encounter everyday. Some might say that Moses has been out with the sheep a little too long. But here he is, face to face with this bush, this talking bush. God has identified himself and God has identified himself several times. The God of his fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob. Moses knows full well the stories of his ancestors, of their various encounters with God and the details of their lives. But now, no one has seen God for over 400 years, at least with respect to the nation of Israel and the line of Christ. Job is another story, and Job probably lived prior to Abraham by about four or five generations based on his life span relative to others in that time frame. But Moses did know the prophecies. Moses did know that the Hebrews had been in the land for over 400 years and that they were due to leave. He knew the story of his own birth and remarkable upbringing. He thought he was to be the one called. At least 40 years ago he thought that, but then he was disappointed and sent into exile. Here he is face to face as it were, with God, the creator of the universe and he has heard the certain statements of God as to what would happen. He is still light in his faith. He emphatically states, not just a 'what if', but that they 'will not' listen. Moses is convinced that the Hebrews will not believe him, nor will they take him seriously. God in His patience demonstrates his power. 'Throw that stick down.' Moses does. He has a common stick which a man in his upper years would most likely use to assist in his walking on uneven ground. Moses knows where he got the stick, and that it was indeed a common stick. Further God already knows that this is a stick, but asks Moses what he has in his hands, just to place emphasis on the stick. It is a dead thing. Certainly not a living thing. The stick turns immediately into a snake, and a very dangerous one at that. Moses sees it, recognizes it and quickly backs away from it. Several things have just occurred. God has no limits. God can do anything. God can accomplish anything, and what God says He will do, will in fact occur. Moses has been carrying this stick probably for quite some time. It was probably his favorite walking stick. But now it is a venomous snake. One that could kill you just by looking at you, so to speak. One that you just do not mess around with. Moses has been in the desert for 40 years now and most likely knows of all of the natural wild life that there is, including this particular snake. The snake is not specified, but Moses reaction is the clear indication of the extreme danger of the snake. Yet another test for Moses. Pick up the snake (not by the neck), but by the tail. When grabbing a snake by the tail it can whip around and nail you. Most professional snake handlers when dealing with poisonous snakes grab them by the neck to have greater control, and for greater safety. Don't try this at home..... Moses grabs the snake by the tail and it immediately returns to its former state as a stick. No magic spells, no incantations, but pure power of God. Is Moses convinced yet? Not quite. But he is listening and obedient with respect to compliance with all of the commands he has been given thus far. 'Remove your shoes.' 'Throw the stick down.' 'Pick up the snake.' The first two are easy to comply with. The third probably took a little more courage, and a deep breath. How many of us would grab a cobra, for example, by the tail? How many of us will actually go further beyond our daily Bible study and begin to believe what it is we are reading? In the security of our little homes at night, we really don't face too many threats. But we have to get up and go our to work, pay the bills, meet people, go to meetings, face the public, look for work, or whatever we have to do daily. This generally serves us a greater portion of fear than reading our Bibles at night. So Moses is reluctant to go to Egypt and face the Hebrews as well as Pharaoh. They are greater realities of fear to him, than God is security. In contrast, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego trusted God more than they feared the king. So in our daily lives we have a choice. We can continue in our hustle and bustle world, crusading or fearing whatever it is we do not like in the world. We can continue in our life's carnal pattern of sin - gossip or just plain apathy of Gods Word, or whatever else we do that is not in compliance with Gods will. Or, we can wake up and get with the program and start to believe and apply Gods Word to our lives. Faith, without application is useless. God has to become greater in our lives than anything else in this world. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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