In particular we saw how Moses staff had to be thrown down. This staff would have been a status symbol, a
statement about Moses. It was his – it would
have his name carved on it (maybe other things too). It would have been cared for, carved and full
of character. On the ground it became a
venomous snake! Moses was allowed to pick
it up again – by the tail – and it became a staff in his hand. From then on it is called the Staff of God
and Aaron’s staff! Moses names it “the
Staff of God” – see Exodus 17.9.
Later, this staff springs to life and bears leaf, blossom and fruit in
testimony that God had chosen Aaron to be High Priest. After this it is kept in the Holy Place in
front of the Ark. We are brought into
the Presence of God and see that the Staff is now a picture of the Lord Jesus
and his resurrection.
Now, Moses had two other signs – one was that his hand would become full
of leprosy if he just placed inside his jacket and then drew it out again. This is a reminder of the danger of serving
God in the flesh. Also, he was told to
take water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground where it would
become blood. The word “blood” tends to take us straight to the Cross
of Jesus but, maybe here, the context is very different. The sign is that something the people
depended upon would become unpalatable to them!
In fact all three signs declare the warning that what we depend upon can
quickly lose its value and leave us – poisoned and plagued. So, the Hebrews would need to learn to depend
on God alone – equally, the Egyptians would be made to see that their power and
wealth were impotent in resisting God’s will.
I hope that we can learn something from all this? After all, the Scriptures are given so that
we can learn, be corrected, rebuked and trained in the way of life.
In my experience, church life can become unpleasant when people
with responsibilities use their “staff”
in pride or in the flesh. Every believer
has an anointing and is a priest of God – but not all have roles that involve
leading or organising others. It is
these duties where a servant decides to act as a “lord”. The reason for this is
probably something to do with finding value in what we do rather than in who we
believe in and who we are in Christ. A worldly character of criticism,
defensiveness and domination develops that usurps the authority of God. The work becomes “my ministry” rather than
belonging to God. The staff is snatched
away from God!
Take a look at how Pharaoh responds to the command that he let God’s
people go. He makes them work harder, he
is cruel, he belittles their efforts. He
makes them find their own straw. Later,
he tries to demonstrate how powerful he is and that his regime can do what God
can do . By this I mean that he tries to
show by turning sticks into snakes, or water into blood, or frogs in their
beds, that he was doing God’s work!
It is possible for sincere Christians to serve in their own strength,
bringing stuff out of their fleshly natures.
People like this are mentioned all through the New Testament. The extreme versions are likened to Cain,
Balaam and Korah. However, Paul writes
about fellow-Christians who had become, “false apostles, deceitful workers”. At the very basic level Paul warns about
serving with confidence in the “flesh”.
By this he means that a Christian can start to build a ministry around
the idea that he or she is earning God’s favour and is attaining some kind of
superiority. This is usually accompanied
by some “hobby-horse” or other – some claim to special revelation or superior
knowledge. It can also show itself in an
extreme expectation on others to conform to their idea of what “ought to be”!
I realise that I must challenge myself about all this. Do I serve with the “Staff of God” or have I
made it “my” rod to control and hurt the people of God? What about you?
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