EXODUS 4
The signs which God gave to dispel unbelief on the part of the people were signs of His intervention in relation to the conditions in which the people were found. The bondage in which they were held necessitated the exercise of power in grace for their [p. 24] deliverance; and their moral state necessitated the purification of their affections. These two things were suggested by the rod and the hand in the bosom.
In Genesis 1 man was set up in dominion; the rod of power was in his hand; but in Genesis 3 we might say that he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent. Power in this world became satanic; it took on the character of evil. But in Moses taking the serpent by the tail we see a figure of Christ taking up all the consequences of man’s sin and Satan’s power; being made sin, and going into death that He might annul him who had the might of death, and deliver those who were in bondage. Power has now been regained by Man in the Person of Christ, and it is being exercised for man’s deliverance from every power of evil. Christ is alive for evermore, and has the keys of death and hades; He is at the right hand of power, exalted by God’s right hand to be a Leader and Saviour (Acts 5). Power is in the hands of a Man for man’s deliverance, and it is available for all. There is no need for any one to remain in bondage now. The God who committed Himself in promise and covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has secured all power in the hand of Christ for the fulfilment of every promise; and the complete deliverance of man.
We need Moses’ rod to the end of the wilderness; that is, the authority of Christ as Lord, and the power of the kingdom in His hand for our defence from every evil power.
Moses fleeing before the serpent would indicate that man, as such, cannot face the power of evil. Only Christ could do that. We see Him as the perfect Servant in Mark’s Gospel, able to meet and overcome all the power of Satan, and the result of His service is [p. 25] that those who believe are able to “take up serpents”. The Spirit has come down to make all the power of the One who sits at the right hand of God available; men in the Spirit can use that power.
But there is another question. The moral state of man needs to be met. His affections are corrupted; his bosom is the seat of leprosy. “From within, out of the heart of men, go forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickednesses, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, injurious language, haughtiness, folly; all these wicked things go forth from within and defile the man” (Mark 7: 21 - 23). The leprosy that attached to Moses’ hand when taken out of his bosom would speak of the fact that man is corrupted in his affections, and must be cleansed and purified in those affections before he can serve God or be pleasurable to Him. The dominant influences in man’s heart naturally are connected with self-gratification and wickedness and impurity of every description, as the Lord said; morally this is leprosy.
God has come down to deliver men from bondage with a view to having the free and happy service of sons; that is, of those who respond in affection to Himself. The object of the revelation of God in grace is that He may have man for Himself, for the pleasure of His love. Coming into the light of that revelation by faith man is morally purified in his affections. “The heart-knowing God bore them witness, giving them (the Gentiles) the Holy Spirit as to us also, and put no difference between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15: 8, 9). The knowledge of God in forgiving grace purifies the affections so that God can give the Holy [p. 26] Spirit to those who believe. It is really knowing what is in God’s heart that purifies man’s heart; so that instead of looking to self-gratification for happiness, one looks to God as known in grace. God knows every heart that thus looks to Him; He is “the heart-knowing God”. A purged conscience and a purified heart go together.
When Cornelius and his friends believed what Peter said, the blessed light of God in grace entered their souls and purified their affections, and God could bear witness to the reality of this by giving them the Holy Ghost. There was a condition of heart there that God could connect His Spirit with. God delights to bear witness to that purification of the affections which He has Himself brought about through faith. Divine love has been fully and blessedly expressed with a view to our affections being purified. God would bring about genuineness of heart on our side. It is the pure in heart who see God, and we are exhorted to follow righteousness, faith, love, peace “with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. Lydia’s heart was opened by the Lord, and her affections were purified so as to be henceforth identified with the service and testimony of the Lord.
As we follow the teaching of this book we shall find God speaking in chapter 20 of “thousands of them that love me”, and in connection with the offerings for the tabernacle they were to be taken “of every one whose heart prompteth him” (25: 2). God was making Himself known that He might be served by a free people with purified hearts in full and glad response to His holy love. That God is revealing Himself in grace in order to bring this about ought to touch every heart. “It shall come to pass, if they will not believe [p. 27] thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the other sign”.
The third sign — the turning of the water of the river into blood — was indicative of judgment, which would come in if the two previous signs were not believed. There is no suggestion that the third sign was given that the people might believe. “God speaketh once, and twice”. After God has spoken twice there is no more to be said. The two signs speak of Christ in power at the right hand of God, and the Spirit given as God’s witness to purified hearts down here.
The third sign is one of judgment. The apostle did not fail to sound a warning note, “Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets: Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish” (Acts 13). A warning to flee from the wrath to come is really the voice of mercy. The wrath of God has been revealed from heaven at the cross, and this cannot be preached without making known that wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. A ministry of supreme grace has come in, but if it is not received, judgment is inevitable. The brighter a light is, the darker the shadow which it casts; and the bright light of divine grace casts a deep and fearful shadow when it only shines on an unbelieving heart. God is appealing to men in tender grace. Paul will not quite say that God is beseeching, but he goes as near to that as possible. “As though God did beseech by us”.
God is telling man of a power that is active to deliver him from all the power of evil, and that He has made provision for the purification of man’s [p. 28] affections. It is as much as to say, I have such interest in you that I am prepared to deliver you, and to purify you so that I may have your hearts for myself. If such an appeal will not affect man, nothing will, and judgment is inevitable.
In the nest section weakness is apparent in Moses, and reluctance to go, and in this he could not be a type of Christ. But I think this portion is suggestive in that he gets another as his mouthpiece. Christ is the great Speaker, but He gets a voice in others. Paul could say, “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me”.
Personally Moses was ready to retire through unbelief from the position to which God was calling him, and we never do that without being losers. Weakness often runs into self-consideration; faith considers for God. Then, later in the chapter, we find that Moses had not given circumcision its place in his household. His neglect in this matter was a serious thing in the sight of the Lord. “Jehovah ... sought to slay him”. If the service of God is to be taken up, there must be the practical cutting off of the flesh. All weakness is more or less connected with what we are as in the flesh, but circumcision signifies the setting aside of the flesh and giving place to the power of the Spirit. There must be this for service and testimony.