The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff” (Exodus 4:2 NASB).
In the 40 chapters of Exodus, the word hand is used 64 times.
Over half (36) occur from 3:19 to the crossing of the Red Sea (14:30). It was there that the LORD’s mighty—but invisible—hand was seen through Moses and his hand as He said:
“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go” (Exodus 3:19-20, emphasis mine).
So, how were Moses’ hands made ready for the Lord’s work?
1. Humility
The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff” (Exodus 4:2).
Moses’ staff was that of a shepherd. The Bible tells us that every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians (Genesis 46:34). Thus, as Moses stood before Pharaoh and all of Egypt, the staff in his hand would be a constant reminder of Egypt’s total distain for him because of his vocation.
This, in turn, would continually remind him that without God, he could do nothing.
Pride would struggle to manifest as Moses, outside of God’s favor, could do nothing to please Egypt with his ever-present reminder of the lowly stature grasped in his hand. In himself, he was an outcast, a pariah in the world’s most dominant nation.
…But the most dominate nation would soon learn that there was One more powerful!
In Moses’ might, the staff was simply that of a lowly shepherd.
However, as the staff of God was used in this man’s surrendered hand, the wooden stick became symbolic of all authority.
Again, the words of the Psalmist ring true: “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God” (Psalms 62:11).
2. Obedience
And he said, “throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail.” So he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand” (Exodus 4:3-4).
“Regardless of the method, tailing is an advanced technique that is potentially risky. The strike range of some snakes is quite impressive even when they are being held at a very steep angle. Bitis in particular (Gaboons, rhinos and puffs) are capable of extremely high strikes and should never be “free tailed” without a hook angled over the neck to block a sudden upwards move. Smaller and lighter bodied snakes can also launch a strike well past their own tails regardless of the angle they are held at” (originally cited here).
Thus, Moses’ initial fear to run was compounded with the command to grab it by the tail—an action that could easily result in a fatal strike. But Moses obeyed the word of the Lord, overcoming his fear. And the snake returned to the staff in his hand.
3. Righteousness
“Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh” (Exodus 4:5-7).
Putting his hand inside his cloak was symbolic of Moses putting his hand over his heart. The heart represents what a person is and what he speaks.
The hand is associated with a person’s activity; thus, it represents what a person does.
When Moses pulled his leprous hand out of the cloak it showed him that because man’s heart is evil, so too will be the work of his hands. But when Moses returned his hand the second time and it was clean, it signified that the hand that holds God’s staff must be cleansed, a cleansing evidenced by a clean heart.
Now, with a pure heart and a pure hand, the Lord is saying: take my staff and do my work!
From Staff to Cross
The characteristics of humility, obedience, and righteousness necessary for Moses are the same for us today. However, the foolishness of a shepherd’s staff used to deliver people has been transformed into the folly of a cross. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Any humility, obedience, and righteousness for us can only be attained through Jesus Christ; who “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
