Exodus 4:1-9
Signs for a Reluctant Messenger
Read the passage
1Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
5“This is so 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.”
6Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.
7“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.
8And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.
9But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Moses answers that the Israelites may not believe him or listen to him, and that they may say the LORD did not appear to him. The LORD asks what Moses has in his hand. Moses answers, “A staff.” God tells him to throw it on the ground, and it becomes a serpent.
When Moses flees from it, the LORD tells him to reach out and take it by the tail. It becomes a staff again. God says this sign is so that the people may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, has appeared to Moses.
Next, Moses' hand becomes leprous and then is restored when he follows God's command. God also tells him what to do if the people reject both signs: take water from the Nile and pour it on dry ground, where it will become blood. This third sign is an instruction for his return, not something Moses performs here.
These signs answer a real question about Moses' credibility, but they are not entertainment or a license for anyone to claim supernatural authority. God gives signs for a particular mission and identifies their purpose: that Israel may believe he has sent Moses.
Moses remains a reluctant messenger. God does not erase his questions by demanding that he pretend to be confident. He gives Moses evidence that points beyond the messenger to the LORD, the God of Israel's fathers.
Questions
1 What is Moses afraid the Israelites will say?
AnswerThat the LORD has not appeared to him. He fears that they will not believe him or listen to his message.
2 What happens to his staff?
AnswerIt becomes a snake when he throws it down. At God's command he catches it by the tail, and it becomes a staff again.
3 What happens to Moses' hand?
AnswerIt becomes leprous when he puts it inside his cloak and takes it out. After he repeats the action at God's command, it is restored.
4 What are these signs meant to establish?
AnswerThat the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to Moses. If the people reject the first two signs, Moses is to give the further sign involving Nile water.
What This Means for Us
Moses worries that people will have only his word to go on. God supplies the signs and explains their purpose. The people's faith is to rest on the Lord who sent Moses, not on Moses making himself impressive.
That matters when someone asks us to accept a spiritual claim. A dramatic story or confident manner does not establish that God has spoken. Read the relevant Scripture carefully, ask honest questions, and seek sound counsel. A leader should be willing to direct attention to God's truth rather than demand trust on the strength of a personal claim.
Prayer
Lord, meet us in our doubts and make us discerning. Keep us from spectacle and manipulation, give us courage for tasks you truly assign, and help our household test every claim with truth and wisdom. Amen.