EXODUS 4
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 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. 4 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— 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.” 6 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. 7 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. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” – Exodus 4:1-9
EXODUS 4 FIRST TWO SIGNS GIVEN TO MOSES
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Moses doubted that he could do what God asks him to do
The Lord asked him to put his hand inside his cloak
Then God made Moses’ hand full of leprosy as white as snow
But when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his skin
God told him that if the first sign didn’t make them listen to him
He can do the second sign to turn the Nile water into blood.
We are given a glimpse of the little faith Moses had when God asked him to deliver the Israelites. He was an old man and probably insignificant at that time that he was a shepherd. Interestingly, some commentaries said that the Pharaoh that time was his step-brother. He was probably thinking of the circumstances of his fleeing Egypt and how Pharaoh would not be able to trust him at all. But God showed him two powerful signs that should be able to assure him that it is not his work, but God’s power in him.
REFLECTION
- Share an instance when you felt unworthy of a calling that God asks of you to do?
