A Tale of Two Rods

How God establishes His Reign

I recently started reading through the book of Exodus, and as always, it has been quite the experience.

As I read, I had a another look again at the prominent rod of Moses in his encounter with the Lord.

[1] 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.

[2] And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

[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.

[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:

[5] That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

Exodus 4:1-5 (KJV)

We find in the above verses, how the transformation of the rod of Moses was brought to Light, so that it could be a tool – a sign – to engineer belief in the hearts of the Israelites that the things that Moses was saying were true.

Essentially, the rod was supposed to serve as proof that, indeed, God had encountered Moses. And it should suffice for that purpose.

However, God gave Moses some added signs, just in case the hearts of the people had become so calloused and cold  so as to require multiple witnesses.

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

Exodus 7:9 (KJV)

Notice this verse.

Most times, when we read this, we assume (quite understandably) that the rod in this chapter was the rod of Moses. Because last time we read of a serpent-turning-rod, it was the rod of Moses. So read again; this was Aaron’s rod. Why does this matter?

Two words: Encounter and Purpose.

Here we find Moses and Aaron standing side by side, each holding a rod in their hands, and apparently each rod has the capacity to become a serpent. For Moses, the capacity was acquired by an encounter from God in response to his concerns. For Aaron however, this same capacity would be acquired by the act of obedience to an instruction.

This is significant. We often assume a straitjacket rule of thumb with regards to developing certain capacities in God. There is a sense in which it all starts with God – however, how God decides to engage each person will differ. So: same God, same principle, differing processes.

Then there is the matter of purpose. Whilst it’s true that the rod of Moses could turn into a serpent, it wasn’t meant to be used in the palace of Pharaoh. It was for use before the children of Israel to foster their conviction. 

God gives the possibility and ability, and also determines how and to what end they are used. They must be used as instructed to achieve his own end. That it can be done doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done.

The rods of Moses and Aaron could do the exact same thing, but we have seen that the process that birth that possibility and its purpose were not the same.

This also means that we don’t not judge things solely based on their manifestations. We must cultivate that attitude of looking beyond actions into the processes that birth them and the purposes they are meant to serve.

God intends to, by His Spirit working in and through believers in Christ, establish and advance His kingdom, but He doesn’t do it by mindless replication. He is able to do a unique work in each one of us to attain His results.

Stay with God, your life can still make a difference.