Title Exodus 04:1-8 Moses' Human Existence
Contents
Moses' human existence (Exodus 4:1-8)
When you obey, you fulfill a great mission.”
Weak human Moses, reborn before God
As the son of a princess in the palace of Pharaoh in Egypt, Moses, who was raised by his mother's milk, failed as a physical and bloody spirit, but there is no trial and error or failure in God's work and providence.
God came to Moses, who had been expelled from the royal palace as a murderer and had been living in exile in the wilderness of Midian for 40 years, and spoke to him in the flames of Mount Horeb.
It was a command to go back to Egypt and rescue the people, not to be discouraged here. But Moses was not confident in carrying out God's commands. So I made extreme specifications. Moses, who had self-confidence by his own strength 40 years ago even if God did not command him, now has no courage to step forward even if God commands him and guarantees that he will be with him. So, God showed Moses two miracles to give him courage and confidence.
The text records the two miracles God showed Moses. In the context of this miracle, we get a glimpse of Moses' serious human existence.
First, God said to Moses, “What is in your hand?” (verse 2).
And commanded to throw it to the ground (verse 3). At this time, Moses had only one staff made of dry sticks in his hand. He took this staff and fed sheep in the wilderness of Midian as a servant for 40 years. Therefore, this staff is an indispensable tool of life for Moses. Disposing of this is a command that is difficult to obey as it means to throw away the tools of life you have lived with.
But Moses obeyed God's command and threw his staff and turned into a serpent. Moses was afraid of snakes and fled. It is the most precious thing I have, and when I threw it away in obedience to God's command, it was the fact that it was harmful to me.
God, who appeared to Moses 1500 years ago and commanded, “What is in your hand, and throw it to the ground,” gives us the same question and command today.
Because what we have is the most precious thing, it may seem that we cannot live if we throw it away, but whether it is really useful and good for us must be put before God and tested. It was such a precious thing to me, but when I put it out before God, I came to realize that it actually harmed me.
Second, God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab the serpent by the tail” (verse 4).
The serpent symbolizes the devil, iniquity, and Pharaoh the king. At first, Moses was afraid of the serpent and fled. In fact, Moses was afraid of King Pharaoh, so he escaped here. But God commanded Moses not to be afraid of the serpent, but to grab the serpent's tail.
But for Moses to catch the serpent by the tail is a scary and dangerous thing. Likewise, it is an adventure and a difficult task for Moses to go back to Egypt and challenge Pharaoh. However, in obedience to God's command, he grabbed the serpent's tail, and the serpent became a staff again. By that way, Moses went to Egypt and challenged Pharaoh to victory.
The secret to victory lies here. When God tells us to throw it away, we obey it, and when God tells us to take it again, we catch it. Today, we cannot overcome the devil with our own strength, we cannot overcome sin, and we cannot solve problems, but we only need to obey God's commands.
Third, God said to Moses, “Put your hand into your bosom” (verse 6).
As God had commanded, Moses put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out again, he had leprosy. Then, as God commanded, I put it back in, and when I took it out, my hands were clean.
What kind of hand did God tell Moses to put into his bosom? That hand is the hand that struck and killed the Egyptian 40 years ago. It was a bloody hand, a bloody hand. You cannot rescue your people with such a hand, so put them in your arms. When I put it in my arms and took it out, it was a hand that couldn't really do anything.
Moses thought that his hand was the strongest and swung his fist, but when he put it out before God, he realized that it was the worst hand, the hand that couldn't do anything. But as God had commanded, he put his hand back into his bosom, and when he pulled it out, it turned out to be clean.
Today, we saw the human existence of Moses who appeared before God through these words.
Growing up in a royal palace in Egypt, Moses was the strongest and most capable person at the time. He possessed the highest academic rank at the time, and was a warrior with strong stamina that could instantly kill a person with one fist. But when Moses came to stand before God, he was as insignificant as a staff made of dry sticks. And he was ugly as a leper, wicked and unclean as a serpent. We should remember that Moses was such a weak and ugly human being, but he obeyed God's commands and was able to carry out such a great mission.
Sermon notes
We humans are weak creatures like earthenware. And it's an ugly sinner. However, it is saying that when we obey God's commands, God sets us up as people who can carry out great missions.