WHAT IS IT THAT IS IN YOUR HAND?
Exodus 4:2 - And the LORD said unto him, what is that in thine hand?
Moses after killing the Egyptian ran away from Egypt and the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the Land of Midian. He married Jethro’s daughter Zipporah and lived tending to his father-in-laws sheep. When we read the last verses of Exodus Chapter 3, we read how God heard the groaning of the people of Israel and he remembers the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Now while Moses was tending to the sheep, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire. Our Lord enters again into the life of Moses with a Question. A simple question-What is that in thine hand?
When we look at the life of Moses, we see that Moses lived for 120 years. The first 40 years of his life, he lived as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. (Acts 7:22) The next 40 years he spent in the Land of Midian as a shepherd & the last 40 years of his life, he led the people of Israel out of bondage as God’s servant.
Moses might have expected and desired to carry the Golden Scepter of Pharaoh in Egypt. But he was left to carry the shepherd rod for 40 years. The shepherd’s rod was abomination [disgrace] to the people of Egypt. When we look at the Bible, we can see lot of questions being asked. According to Dakes, in the Old Testament there are 2272 questions and in the New Testament there are 1022 questions. The first question that the Lord asked was to Adam – Adam where are you? Not only did that question made Adam think, but it also makes us think.
Today, the question is - What is it that is in your hand?
When we look at the scriptures, we see that Moses had the Shepherd staff in his hand, David had a sling and five stones, Samson had jaw bone in his hand and Gideon had pitchers and lamp in his hand, the prophet’s wife had a pot of oil, in the New Testament we see the small boy had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, the poor widow had two penny and all these brought miracles in their life.
My dear Bro/Sis, for God to use you mightily in this word, what is there in your hand? Will you give that to Jesus / will you surrender that to Jesus. In those days Peter had the name of God with him. We read in Acts 3:6, that using the name of Jesus, Peter was able to cure the man who was born crippled. When Peter preached in the name of Jesus, thousands and thousand were added to the Church.
Isaiah 61:1, we read - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
When you submit your talent to God, then the Holy Spirit will start using you, the old things will pass away, everything will become new.
When Moses told God that what he was carrying was a rod. Immediately God told him to drop it down. Hearing God’s word Moses would have anguished within himself, saying all I have is this shepherd’s rod and even this God wants me to put it down.
We read as soon as Moses dropped the staff he was holding, it turned into a snake. Moses saw that and ran away in fear. [Exo 4:3 - And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it] The rod of staff denotes authority and when Moses cast that authority down, it turned into a snake. Moses was holding a staff which he considered to be authority, but all along it was a snake that he was holding. Snake denotes SATAN.
Moses lived in the land of Midian the life which he chose and not the life that God had given him. That means the selfish life that Moses was leading was a life that he was living for Satan and not for God. May be it was the same rod that Moses used to kill the Egyptian. He might have done that because he got counsel from Satan.
My Dear Bro/Sis throw away your self wisdom, self knowledge, self will, self advice. You need not have your own plans and own ideas. The ways and plans of the Lord is thousand times better then all yours ways and thoughts. [Isaiah 53:8,9]
God commanded Moses lift the serpent by its tail. Never take Satan by its head, always hold it by its tail, because the responsibility of crushing the head belongs to God. When Moses lifted the snake by its tails, we can see that the snake was hanging upside down. By this meeting with God, we know that the life of Moses was also turned upside won. The staff turned into a new staff; it became the staff of God.
When we surrender our self in the hands of God, we are changed into a new creature. Amen.
What is the staff that God has given in your hand?
We read in Isaiah 11:1 - And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Jesus the son of David was the one who came into this world from the stem of Jesse.
He is the Good Shepherd [John 10:11 / I am the good shepherd],
He is the Chief Shepherd [I Peter 5:4 - And when the chief Shepherd shall appear] His rod and staff will satisfy us. [Psalms 23:4 - thy rod and thy staff they comfort me]
The staff that was leading the sheep’s in the Land of Midian is now going to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Just like a shepherd leads his flock to green pastures and still waters, Moses was going to lead the people of Israel to the land flowing with Milk and Honey. What a change?
Today, I want to talk how God used the staff that was in the hands of Moses and what we can learn from that. We should be able to understand how we can start using what we have in our hands for the glory of God.
1. THE STAFF OF SIGNS & WONDER
Exodus 4: 17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
We see here that God instructs Moses to take the staff and go and meet Pharaoh. God tells Moses that with this Staff you will do signs and wonders.
Moses we read threw the staff down in the presence of Pharaoh. The Staff immediately became a snake. The magicians of Pharaoh also threw their rods and those rods too became snakes, but there was a difference. The staff of Moses that changed into a snake swallowed all of the other snakes. Yes! the staff of Moses became a staff of signs and wonder. Hallelujah!
God has given each and everyone of us a Promise in the Bible.
Luke 10:19 - Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
I John 4:4 - Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world
In the world we might come across lot of witchcraft and magic, but God has called us to have victory over all such things. The staff of Moses proved to Pharaoh & the people of Egypt that the God of Moses was greater than all the God’s & wise man & sorcerers of Egypt. [Ex 7:11]
As a child of God, we always have a struggle when we live in this world for God. With who is our struggle, our struggle is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [Ephesians 6:12]. But we should never be afraid when we face such dark forces, because we have Jesus as a staff with us. We can drive away all principalities and rulers of the darkness.
In Exodus 7: 1 –God tells Moses ‘And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh’.
God brought ten plagues against the people of Egypt by the staff of Moses. Why ten plagues? Ten plagues shows perfect [âýõ] judgment. It signifies the destruction and judgment that came upon the ten Gods of Egypt.
The Egyptians worshipped the River Nile as God. Early in the Morning, Pharaoh would come to the River Nile and fall down and worship the river. But, when Moses struck the Nile River with his staff, it turned into blood and all the fishes that was in the river died, the river stank. [Exodus 7:20,21]
Sun was worshipped as a God by the Egyptians. When Moses stretched his hand towards the sun, we read that darkness engulfed the son. Even if the whole world becomes dark, we have Jesus the Sun of righteousness with us. He is a loving God and he is also a God who judges.
My Dear Bro/Sis, what is that you have in your hand? You have Jesus, the son of David, whom came into this world from the stem of Jesse as your personal savior and you are in His hands, when Jesus is with us who can be against us. If you want to do something for God, first believe that He is with you and he can do mighty things through you. You will have to submit and surrender yourself to God and he will use you as God used the staff of Moses.
2. THE STAFF OF PROMISE
Exo – 14:14 - The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
This is a great promise from God to Moses. Isn’t it amazing, here we see the Israelites are happily walking away from Egypt and all the oppression that they had faced for 430 years and suddenly they see the army of Egypt following them? Afraid they turn to Moses and Moses turns to God. What does God say here? He says ‘Hold your peace’ I will fight for you’
Is it not amazing, you are faced with a great problem, for sure you know that you are going to be destroyed. In despair you turn to God and God tells you, just sit quietly and I will fight for you. What will be our response?”
But Moses knew that he could rely on the promise of God and he held his peace. We see that just like how an axe can split a wood into two pieces, God parted the red sea with the help of Moses staff. Yes! God has given a staff in each and every one of our hands that is the Bible, God has given us spirit filled words and mighty promises.
When we speak out those promises, even the mountains can be moved and thrown into the sea. When we speak those words the fig tree can wither from the roots. When those words are spoken the sun and the moon can stand still.
Some Bible pundits say that there are nearly 3000 promises in the Bible. Some say there are 7000 promises. What ever is the number of promises, the Bible says in II Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Numbers 23:19 we read - God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Just as the Lord has said we need to speak the promises. Then all yours problems will be solved, the red sea will split into two and God will show you a new way. All the stones that are a stumbling block to you will turn into a stepping stone. God says in Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert
When you start holding to the Staff of Promise, not only will he may way for you in waters, but also in the midst of fire. Even is the fire is heated up seven times, you walk in the fire with the Staff of Promise in your hand.
When you search the Bible you will find promises for different problems. If you are afflicted with sickness, then immediately direct the promises that God has given us against the diseases and they will leave you. [Isa 53:5, Ex 15:26, Ps 103:23, Mat 11:28, I Pet 2:24] Whatever be the problems, all we have to do is use the Staff of Promise against the problems and God will give victory.
How did God split the Red Sea? EX 15:8 - And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
With the same waters of the Red Sea, God destroyed the armies of the Red sea. One stone but two mangoes, One miracle but two acts. The parting of the Red Sea became a path for the Israelites to go to safety, but it became a path of destruction for the Egyptians.
My Dear Bro/Sis, The Gospel is one, but the preaching of the Gospel is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. [I Cor 1:18] For the saved the Promise of God are like fragrance, but to the foolish it is like a smell of death.
Always speak words of faith. Speak the promise of God, hold on the staff of Promise - for He is faithful that promised [Hebrews 10:23]
3. THE STAFF OF PRAYER
Ex 17:9,10 - And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Amalek means ‘desire of the flesh’. Amalek’s are the grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob. [Gen 36:12]. Amalek were born out of lust. There is always a spiritual warfare between the people of the spirit and people of the flesh.
When the Israelites went to fight with the Amalekites Moses went and stood on the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. When Moses lifted up the rod towards heaven it was a sign that Moses was lifting his heart towards God in prayer. We see that down below Joshua was fighting with the Amalekites with swords and up on the mountain we see the Spiritual warfare. Moses was lifting his staff and fighting a war in heaven with the darkness of the world.
Rev 12:7 – tells us ‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels’
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed [Ex 17:11]
Ex 17:12, 13 we read – ‘But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
What do you do when you face spiritual warfare? Are you running away and accepting defeat or are you lifting the Staff of Prayer and fighting the angels of darkness. God has given each and every one of us a staff of Prayer, all we need to do is lift it and get victory from the Lord.
4. THE STAFF THAT BROUGHT WATER – Ex 17:5,6
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
What was the rock that Moses hit with his staff/rod. Yes! It was Christ. [I Cor 10:4] and that Rock was Christ. Jesus is the rock that gives us living water. When we start believing Jesus then the river of living water will flow from his belly and will satisfy us. [John 7:37;38] As the people of Israel travelled through the desert, Jesus the spiritual rock also travelled with them. [I Cor 10:4] - And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ
The Staff of Moses has now turned into a staff of beating. Jesus was beaten on the cross for you and for me. Isa 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
It was also prophesized by Micah in 5:1 - they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. When Moses struck the rock with his staff we read water gushed out from the rock and this water quenched the thirst of all the Israelites. John 19:34 - But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water
The blood of Jesus washes us from our sins and gives us the joy of salvation, not only do we get the joy we also get the happiness that’s flows from it.
My Dear Bro/Sis, our sins turns into a staff in our hands. The staff of sin that we carry becomes an instrument to beat Jesus. Jesus was to be beaten only once. But we keep on beating him when we sin regularly. We are in the last days and we need to purge our self by the blood of Jesus everyday and lead a life of holiness.
5. THE STAFF OF JUDGMENT – Numbers 20:8
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
When God met Moses in the mountain, the first thing that God asked Moses to do is put the stick that he was holding to put it down, second God asked Moses to hold the over the Red Sea, third God when they came to war God asked Moses to lift the staff, fourth God asked Moses to strike the Rock. Now, here we see God telling Moses to speak to the rock holding the staff. But we see that Moses erred from What God told him to do. Moses disobeyed God. By disobeying God Moses brought his own judgment from God.
The fifth thing that we learn from the staff of Moses is that the Staff can become a Staff of Judgment for us. God tells Moses to hold the staff and speak to the Rock. What did Moses do? Moses beat the Rock.
Num 20:10,11 - And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
Jesus the Rock of Salvation is to be beaten only once. Jesus has to be crucified in the cross only once. We should not subject Jesus to the cross again and again. Once we receive the Joy of Salvation, we should always try and live a life pleasing God and not send him to the cross again and make him sorrowful and suffer.
Hebrew 6:5,6 we read ‘And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come’, ‘If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame’.
God the Father was not able to tolerate Moses, beating the Rock the second time. Moses, who led the people out of Egypt, is not able to see the Promised Land because of this. God tells him, you can see Canaan, but you will not enter it. What a shame for Moses?
The staff of Moses gives us a warning. Once we are saved by the blood of Jesus, we should try and live a holy life. We should not go back to the old sins and crucify Jesus again and again. If we do that even after we are saved, then the staff becomes a staff of judgment for us. We might not win the race that we are running in this world. We should live a life which is pleasing to the heart of God.
Doing what God asks might look like a small thing. But, if you want God to use you in the “big” things of life, you have to be obedient in those things that seem small. The Lord used what Moses had in his hand, and used it to bring Himself glory and honor.
The Staff of Signs & Wonder/ Staff of Promise/ Staff of Prayer/ Staff that brought out water/Staff of Judgment.
What is in your hand? What do you have to offer Him?
What opportunities has He given you to glorify Himself?
Let us pray.
