Articles
The Staff of God
There was nothing strange about Moses’ stick the morning he awoke in the wilderness of Horeb. For the past 40 years it had served him well as a shepherd’s staff, and there was no reason for him to think it would do anything more remarkable than that on this particular day. Yet, when Moses turned aside to gaze upon the burning bush God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” When Moses glanced at what he was holding, he saw an ordinary stick with all its knots, cracks, splinters, and burn marks. But God told him to throw it on the ground and immediately it became a serpent! When Moses picked it back up by the tail (imagine the faith of Moses to do so), it returned to being nothing more than a rod of wood.
Moses needed courage to stand before Pharaoh and preach God’s word. Several times he tried to squirm out of this responsibility, but God stamped out each measly excuse why he should not go. God patiently provided Moses all he needed to carry out this daunting task: the assurance of His presence (Exodus 4:11-12), Aaron as his spokesman (Exodus 4:14), and a staff (Exodus 4:17). It might appear strange to send a prophet to a mighty king like the Pharaoh of Egypt armed with nothing more than an ordinary stick, but with this staff Moses would work wonders. Of course the power came from God, but it was with this rod that Moses executed God’s judgment on Egypt. With it he struck the Nile River which became blood; with it he stretched out his hand to cause the dust of the earth to become gnats and call down hail from the sky; with it he parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape slavery on dry ground.
It is no wonder the writer of Exodus notes this seemingly minute detail of Moses’ return journey to Egypt: “Moses also took the staff of God in his hand” (Exodus 4:20).
Having the “staff of God” did not make Moses a perfect man, though. In fact, Moses abused its power at Meribah when God told him to take the rod and speak to the rock to provide water for the ungrateful, complaining Israelites. Rather than giving God the glory, in anger Moses lifted up his hand and “struck the rock twice with his rod” (Exodus 20:11). Yes, water came out of the rock, but Moses was forever prohibited from entering the Promised Land. The rod was only to be used as God directed.
I cannot help but wonder how often Moses’ courage was strengthened by looking at the staff in his hand. There was nothing inherently special about it that gave it magical powers; nonetheless it became a symbol of God’s divine power to deliver His people. Not only that, it was tangible evidence of God’s promise to always be with Moses even while he risked his life standing before Pharaoh proclaiming, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let My people Go!’” Even after the Exodus God worked miracles through Moses’ staff, giving His people an overwhelming victory over the Amalekites as long as Moses lifted up his hand holding the staff of God (Exodus 17:8-13). When Moses’ faith wavered (and it did at times) all he had to do was look at the staff in his hand and remember what God had said.
You know, there is nothing special about the paper upon which the words of the Bible are printed. The ink is not magic. Its binding is not divine. Yet it contains the words of the Mighty God, the great I AM. Jesus defeated the devil’s every temptation by quoting His Father’s words, “It is written.” With the words of Scripture, Paul persuaded the Jews and God-fearing Greeks of Thessalonica that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 17:2-4). By preaching the gospel of Jesus Paul was “destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). He likewise commanded all Christians to take the sword of the Spirit in the raging battle against the rulers and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:17). It is this same word that Paul charged young Timothy to preach, even in times when people would prefer to have their ears tickled (2 Timothy 4:1-5). To me, what is most remarkable about this is that Jesus, Paul, and most of the early Christians did not have a leather-bound and indexed copy of the Bible, neatly arranged and printed by a state-of-the-art printing press. Yet they used the word of God powerfully, just as Moses wielded the staff of God, because they trusted the power of the One who gave it. We have the whole Bible at our fingertips, even in electronic format, but do we really trust it? If we did we would read it as often as we could, remember it when tempted, and tighten our grip upon it when the enemy assails our faith. It is our “staff of God,” and leaning upon it we will overcome.
