This passage talks about Moses being afraid of the calling of God, as God wants him to take on the empire of Egypt. Nonetheless, Moses was hesitant.
Exodus 4:1-2 “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.”
Moses did not have a big army, great inventories or neither was he eloquent in speech, but he had a rod in his hand, which God would use it for His glory to fulfill His calling for Moses.
Similar to our church, considered as the minority, and not having the best of facilities, etc, we have God on our side, God can use us just like how He uses Moses and the rod in his hand.
Exodus 4:3 “And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.”
God tells Moses to cast the rod on the ground, and turn it into a serpent; just as God wants us to cast all our ambitions, our goals, our agenda on the ground, and then allow Satan to interfere or mess with our ambition, so that God can teach us how to deal with the devil.
Exodus 4:4 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:”
Even though Moses charged the serpent upfront, he had to do it wisely and grab it by the tail. The Bible tells us that we need to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he shall flee away from us.
Facing the serpent’s attack will teach us how to one-up Satan, and get right with the Lord, to keep pressing forward and eventually conquer our enemy, just like how Moses conquered Egypt through God.
Exodus 4:20-21 “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.”
This passage should encourage us that even if on the outside it may seem like we are at a disadvantage, but with God’s rod in our hands, we can easily beat up the enemies.
Exodus 7:12 “For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”
This verse refers to the enemy, the false preachers, the devil who tries to imitate God’s rod, and defile His truth to deceive people, showering people with watered-down and false doctrines. Nonetheless, God’s rod will eventually triumph over the false and wicked ones.
Exodus 14:16,26-27 “But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.”
Here we see how through God’s mighty power, His rod can do such wonder of destroying the enemies.
Even though the rod we are given is just a piece of beaten-up wood, not as fancy looking like the glamorous one as shown by the wicked. This rod has saved more souls, bring us to the truth and righteousness than ever.
Exodus 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.”
Sometimes all we need is to be beaten by the rod, so that we may bear spiritual fruits for the Lord, to have that water that grows in the Lord. If God never struck that rock, we will not have any water to drink.
Exodus 17:9-13 “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. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 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. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”
Here is another passage of God using the rod for His glory, and how He helps Moses and Joshua to conquer their enemies.
Deuteronomy 34: 9,11-12 “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel. “
At the end of the day, a rod is just an object. Rather, it is the hand of the person holding the rod that God uses mightily.