Articles
Moses and the Serpent Staff
At the burning bush, Moses is really meeting God for the first time (Ex. 3-4). Who is this God?
What is He like? Moses gets some answers when God told him to throw his staff on the ground.
Moses obeyed, though I doubt he had an idea where God was going with this. What sense did it
make to throw his staff down? But he did it. To his surprise, the staff became a serpent. Seeing
this, Moses did what any rational person would do. “Moses fled from it” (Ex. 4:3). But look
what God did next. God told Moses to pick up the serpent. Moses didn’t suddenly become
unafraid of serpents. He fled for a reason. But, at God’s command, he picked up the serpent and
it became a staff. Besides learning about God’s power, Moses had learned a few things about
God.
So, who is this God?
Moses discovered that He is a God who may ask you to do something that doesn’t make sense.
For some, baptism doesn’t make sense (I Pet. 3:21). For others, it’s that the wife should submit
to her husband (Col. 3:18) or that women aren’t allowed to speak in the churches (I Cor 14:34).
What sense does it make that not all widows can be fully supported by the church (I Tim. 5:9-
11)? Why can’t a man be an elder just because he has no children (I Tim. 3:2-5)? Why not use
instrumental music in worship? Why? Why? Why? Just about everyone who becomes a
Christian will be faced with some teaching or command that doesn’t make sense to them. That
shouldn’t surprise us. God has the right to do that, and sometimes that is exactly what God does.
Will you only obey if His command makes sense?
Moses also discovered that God may ask you do the very thing you are afraid to do. We are
mistaken if we expect God’s commands to be comfortable and enjoyable. It didn’t turn out that
way for Moses. Will you be as brave as he was and overcome your fear? What if God asks you
to confess Jesus publicly (Mt. 10:32-33), when you worry about how people will respond? What
if He asks you to teach others (Mt. 28:19), when you are afraid of not knowing what to say and
looking foolish? What if He asks you to trust Him (Mk. 5:36) when you are filled with doubts
and worried about money, health, relationships, etc?
Let us strive to be like Moses, obeying God whether or not His commands make sense or are
uncomfortably demanding.
