Question: Why did Moses staff turn into a snake (Exodus 4)?
Profile: Male, Oceana, Under 19, No Religion
Answered by: James Young, who has been a volunteer with us since May, 2021.
Answer: In response to Moses, the LORD used visible evidence (called “signs” – Exodus 4:8-9) to confirm that what He was saying was true. In the first two objections, the LORD spoke to Moses. Here, He used miracles to drive home His point.
The first miracle (or “sign”) involved the shepherd staff that Moses used for herding the sheep. The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” Moses responded, “A staff.” This is the shepherd staff that Moses had probably been carrying around for a long time. To him, it was nothing but a piece of lifeless lumber used in shepherding the flock. The LORD instructed Moses to “Throw it on the ground.” Moses obeyed – he threw it on the ground. Then the miracle occurred when it became a serpent. Moses did what he thought was the smart thing when he fled from it. However, the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail.” Normally, one grabs a snake behind its head to avoid getting bitten. Grabbing a snake by its tail is a sure way to get a possibly fatal bite. In spite of this danger, the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail.” Amazingly, Moses stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. For Moses to do this took quite a bit of faith and courage. He had to overcome his fear of what could happen to him and trust that God is in control.
Snakes symbolized life and power to the Egyptians. On top of that, in the Bible, the serpent represents Satan (Genesis 3), the enemy of humankind. So, for the LORD to turn a staff into a snake and back again showed Moses (and later the Egyptians) that He is sovereign over the spiritual powers of the Egyptians and even the whole world. By having Moses grab the snake, the LORD was showing Moses that He had the power to show Pharaoh and the Egyptians that he is the true God’s representative.
Then the LORD repeated the purpose of this miracle – 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. It is important that the Israelites believed that the LORD had sent Moses so they would obey and thus get out of slavery and go to the Promised Land.
