Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!'”
So God said, “What’s that in your hand?” “A staff.”
“Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!
God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
-Exodus 4:1-5 (MSG)
A shepherd’s staff: a 3 to 6 foot wooden rod with a curved hook at the end. It was a like a Swiss Army Knife for shepherds, having a variety of uses like guiding sheep, balancing while walking and killing snakes.
It other words, it was a stick.
Here in Exodus, Moses was finding himself at a crossroads. Does he let God use him despite his overwhelming doubts, or does he cower, run away and hide?
Naturally, Moses was scared and objected. He felt like the piece of wood in his hand — your average, humdrum, run-of-the-mill shepherd. Definitely not the type of guy God would use. He didn’t feel worthy to do God’s amazing work, even when personally called to do it.
God, however, felt otherwise, and wanted to teach Moses an important lesson. He told him to take his shepherd’s staff, throw it on the ground, and watch it become a snake. Then he told him to pick it up and watch it turn back into his staff. And it happened. Incredible.
In other words, God was saying watch as I use a simple stick, something no one would expect, and watch something unbelievable happen.
God loves using the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
