Getting to know you (Exod 4:1-9)

At one time I was listening to the conversation of some Christian friends from a charismatic background, who were bemoaning the fact that the initial glow of God’s presence seemed to have faded from their experience: they no longer had obvious signs and wonders from the Lord as when they first came to faith. While I am not from a charismatic background myself, I can relate to what they are describing because in those initial weeks and months the Lord often surrounds us with a more tangible sense of His presence and guidance. I am not convinced, however, that the fading of those feelings and experiences are necessarily a sign of God’s disapproval at our lukewarm attitude. Rather, there is ‘a getting to know you’ phase in any relationship, which is often more intense in its highs and lows. As things level out and we come to know the Lord more deeply, we learn to rely on Him and also grow in maturity in making wise decisions without needing giant road signs or constant encouragement to navigate the journey.

The story of Moses with all the spectacular signs are necessary because Israel as a people is at the beginning of their relationship with God. The last time they heard from Him was when Jacob’s family moved to Egypt (Gen 46:3), several generations ago. They have little knowledge or experience to draw on regarding their God. Likewise, Moses encounters Him for the first time in the burning bush and the enormity of his calling requires additional reassurance. The signs he is now given will be performed in front of Israel (Exod 4:30) and so build the people’s reservoir of knowledge about the power of their God.

As to their content, the signs are not random, but communicate something specific in their cultural context. Kings of Egypt wore a headdress with an upright snake (usually a cobra) at the front called the uraeus signifying a deity whose protection over Egypt was represented by Pharaoh. Thus, the snake in the first sign (Exod 4:2-5) symbolises Pharaoh’s authority and power. It is also clear from Moses’s reaction – his running away from the staff-turned-snake (Exod 4:3) – that he is not in control of the sign: God is. With the Lord’s empowerment, however, Moses will have authority over the fate of Pharaoh. The Hebrew word translated as leprosy or leprous in the second sign (Exod 4:6) is not Hansen’s disease but an umbrella term for various skin diseases. The comparison with snow is related to the flakiness of the skin rather than its colour. This phenomenon resembles the body’s boundaries breaking down in death and so even if such diseases were not life-threatening, they still carried associations of death (cf. Num 12:10-12). Again, the sign happens at God’s instruction underlining His authority invested in Moses to have command over life and death.[1] The background to the third sign (Exod 4:9) is that Egypt gets practically no rainfall in most areas and is therefore reliant on the yearly inundation of the Nile, which waters the crops. Turning this water into blood spells death for all the living. In the ancient world, gods were seen as territorial, but here God through Moses is Lord even over the territory of Egypt and controls access to life and death.

In contrast to Moses and the exodus generation, we as Christians have the testimony of all Scripture as well as our personal experiences about the God we serve. What are the aspects of God’s character that we need to remind ourselves of in our particular situation?

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[1] We must not conclude from this that people today who suffer from various skin conditions are under God’s judgement. God communicated with His Old Testament people in the language they understood, both linguistically (Hebrew, Aramaic) and culturally with imagery that made sense to readers/hearers within their world view and experience.