Devotional: Being Christ’s emissary; what do the signs of Moses teach us?
I know that on occasion, I am sent into a situation as an emissary of Christ. Surely it happens more than I realize, but there are times when it is crystal clear, and I need to be confident that I will speak as Christ wants me to speak. This morning, I was reading through Exodus 4, and I was struck by the symbology of what God told Moses when he hesitated to act as God’s emissary to the slaves in Egypt. Exodus 4:1-4 reads:
4:1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “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.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
There were three signs that Moses was to show the Hebrews, to prove that he was truly God’s emissary. Now, God has given me signs to show people when I have been sent to represent Him, but honestly, I think those signs were meant for Moses to see as much as for the Hebrews. In the respect, those signs are for us as well.
The first thing I notice is that there were three signs. Whenever I see God do something in 3’s, it is often a sign of the Trinity. I am not sure that is the case here, but there is an interesting pattern to the three signs that I will discuss further down. Hidden within the signs, could be hints of the Trinity, though it does not appear to be Trinity per se.
The first sign is the snake. Moses was to throw down his staff, and it would become a snake. Afterwards, he was to pick it up by the tail and it would become a staff again. This strikes me as symbolic of Satan, who would later manifest himself as a serpent in the Garden of Eden within scripture (Genesis had not been written yet). The sign was meant to demonstrate that God was with Moses, and if the symbolism was understood to mean the devil back then, then this could have demonstrated that Moses had been given some limited power to act over Him, as God’s emissary. Whether it meant that to the Hebrews or not, it means that to me. God’s power, flowing through me, will thwart the devil.
The next sign is the leprosy. Leprosy is sign of being unclean, which is a frequent symbol of sin. After Satan manifested himself as a snake in the Garden, sin entered the world. But, notice that God acts through his emissaries to overcome sin. That is a good reminder to me, when I feel helpless over my flesh; through Christ, all things are possible, even the conquering of my uncleanness before Him.
Finally, the last sign is blood… and here is something awesome. Where the snake was defeated by picking it up by the tail, and the leprosy was removed, the blood was left covering the ground. As such, Christ’s blood forever covers my sins. The reason I believe this points to Jesus, and not to the sacrificial law is because God didn’t have Moses turn the blood back into water again, which would have represented a need for more blood later. Animal sacrifices were repeated, where Christ’s sacrifice is once, and for all. Hence, the blood was left.
I love the historical significance here: First man was tempted (the snake), then became sinful and unclean (the leprosy), then was covered by Christ’s blood (water to blood). But is this also a sign of the Trinity? Well, on this point, it could be stretch. But, consider this: The snake in the garden showed man’s need for the Father’s protection. The leprosy showed our need for the Son’s sacrifice. The blood covering shows our need for the Holy Spirit, as we proceed as Christ’s emissary in all we do.
In other words, the signs given to Moses are not a representative of the Trinity per se, but our need for all three aspects of God’s Trinitarian nature: God the Father for protection, God the Son for redemption, God the Holy Spirit to guide our witness. We cannot worship only one aspect of Him, but all three aspects, because God is One. He is given His all to us; we owe no less to Him. But no worries, and no pressure, for through Him, we can serve Him.