Snakes and Sticks - Exodus 4:1-5

On the timeline of LDS Bible chronology, between Exodus 3 and 4 comes Moses 1, which is the vision that Moses had while on a mountain. As far as I know, it doesn’t specify that it was the very first initial vision that Moses had, but it probably was. I would go through it, but honestly, it’s just too deep for me to think about right now. It’s long and very dense and I’m tired, so I’m just going to plow on to Exodus 4.

4:1-5 - Even though chapter 3 ended, the conversation with God is continuing in chapter 4. God has assured Moses that the Hebrews will listen to him, but Moses is still doubtful, which is understandable considering all his experiences with them previously. Moses states emphatically, “they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice.” So the Lord answers, “What is that in thine hand?” Moses, of course, had a shepherd’s staff. God continued, “Cast in on the ground,” and when Moses threw it on the ground, “it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.”

I’ve spent my entire life terrified of snakes, so I understand Moses’ response, and would consider that especially back then when they didn’t have medical grade anti-venom, snakes would have been a bigger deal probably. Just as a side note, I looked at pictures of snakes wearing funny hats and became educated about snakes’ place in the ecosystem, etc and now I like them quite a bit.

Anyway, with Moses’ stick on the ground having turned into a snake, God says, “put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail,” and when he did, the snake became a rod again. TB has a lot to say about the significance of this, first that it was a shepherd staff used to tend flocks of sheep, “but, God was going to transform the purpose of both Moses and his staff: instead of shepherding sheep, Moses was about to lead Israel.” He also notes the significance of transforming “a piece of dead and dried-up wood,” into something living, thus God giving life to what was once dead, but then also turning it back into a dead piece of wood, thus removing the life.

Finally, and this was very interesting to me, is that the choice of a snake was no accident. Honestly, God could have turned the stick into a squirrel or a fish or something, but the choice of the snake is significant because the snake “was the official Egyptian symbol for royal power and authority, both religious and civil. Pharaohs usually wore a golden serpent symbol on their heads… Moses as a former prince of Egypt, must have instantly recognized the symbolism of the serpent. For Moses was indeed going to, with God’s power, overcome Egypt, whose very symbol was a serpent… and that Old Serpent, Satan himself, who guided Egypt. A simple shepherd was going to grab the serpent, Egypt, by its tail and shake it.”

This is the first sign that God gives Moses to show the people “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers… hath appeared unto thee.”