What is that in Your Hand? - Lessons From a Devotional Study of Exodus 4:1-17

WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND? - LESSONS FROM A DEVOTIONAL STUDY OF EXODUS 4:1-17 

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

Does God help us to succeed or does He enable us to succeed? 

I came across this question in a social media forum. This question sounds clumsy at first instance until one discovers the intention of the author in attempting to dichotomize between two closely related divine interventions. God's help can also be understood in the context of His divine enablement. In enabling us by His grace, God also helps us in our limitations or circumstances of need. 

Whether God helps us or enables us in a particular context is beside the point. My view is that both interventions are biblically valid and legitimate. God can enable us to succeed by empowering us in a particular context through specific gifts and skills. In this context, God's help has been extended to us. 

God empowered Joseph with both the gift of interpreting dreams and the gift of wisdom and the two divine endowments ultimately lifted him to the Egyptian palace where he served as the second in command after Pharaoh. God used Joseph to save countless number of lives of people, including his native Hebrew people, through his prophetic gifts and wisdom. 

God can also make direct interventions in certain circumstances through people or means that He has appointed for the purpose. God can even use strangers to fulfill His purposes for our lives. He used King Cyrus, a heathen monarch to facilitate the return of the Jews from captivity and the reconstruction of the ruined temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4).

In the case of Esther and her Jewish people in captivity, God used her outstanding beauty to lift her from an orphan to Queen of Persia. By God's enabling grace, Esther rose to the apex of one of the greatest empires in human civilization. We shall shortly discover that this unusual elevation would later serve God's purposes. 

God also lifted her uncle Mordecai to the royal courts of Persia under unusual circumstances, given that he was a member of the Jewish captivity. God later used the two members of the Jewish nobility in Persia as divine agents through whom He rescued His people from a planned extermination or holocaust that had been discreetly planned by Haman, a wicked senior officer at the royal courts who hated the Jews in the manner that Adolph Hitler did during WW2. The two native Jewish leaders were instrumental in averting this pogrom in Persia.

Under both instances, God was gloried.

These illustrations serve to remind us that the skills, resources and opportunities at our disposal are God-given. They are intended for godly purposes and for rescuing and lifting others to the glory of God. We should never despise or withhold what we have no matter how insignificant it may appear in the eyes of men. God has placed you where you are for a divine reason. 

We now return to our text of context... 

We learn from the passage of Exodus 3-4 that God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. At the time of his calling, Moses had fled the Egyptian palace after killing an Egyptian while seeking to defend a fellow Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-25). He was later employed by Jethro, his father in law, as a shepherd. Several decades must have elapsed between Moses' flight out of Egypt and his calling by God. 

Moses' calling and commissioning is recorded in Exodus 3-4. It was preceded by a dramatic scene and a captivating discourse. He witnessed a burning bush and drew close to the scene out of curiosity. God used this incident to authenticate His divine presence to a man who had perhaps never witnessed the power of God in person. God sent an angel to speak to Moses (Exodus 3).

Moses' calling and commissioning by God was clearly outlined for him (Exodus 3:14-22). In Exodus 4, Moses' accepts the calling but doubts continued to linger in his mind (4:1). God assured him that those who sought his life in Egypt were dead (Exodus 4:19) but Moses still had more doubts. Thankfully, God responded to him with clarity in each instance. Those who have received their calling to serve God will confirm that they went through various stages of introspection and doubts before they arose to serve. 

God employed another dramatic incident to assure Moses about his prophetic mantle. He picked out Moses' shepherd rod - an apparently insignificant instrument that was at Moses' disposal. It is instructive that Moses held a shepherd's staff in his hands when God appeared to him (Exodus 3-4). God turned Moses' shepherd staff into a critical tool in his prophetic ministry. He used the shepherd's rod to affirm Moses' calling. 

Notice the discourse... 

God asked Moses “...What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”" (Exodus 4:2). Moses could never have comprehended the significance of a shepherd's rod or staff until God commissioned him to prophetic ministry! He perhaps found the question laughable at first instance! What was so significant in a shepherd's rod that it could catch God's attention? 

Whatever God has placed at our disposal is not there by chance. It is intended for His divine purposes. This extends to our professional skills, intellect, resources, spiritual gifts, positions of influence both in society and our Christian community. I dare add that even our ethnic or racial identity serves God's purposes in its context. 

The next impediment raised by Moses was of an innate nature. Moses' speech impediment is captured in Genesis 4:10 where he laments thus: "...  “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (NKJV). 

God found a solution to the speech impediment. He did not use it to reverse Moses' calling. Instead, He complimented it by allowing Aaron his brother to serve as his spokesperson (Exodus 2:14-17). This was a temporary arrangement because Aaron would later take a distinct office in the priesthood and Moses would continue to serve as Israel's prophet and judge. 

Who was Moses? This is a significant question for which we shall briefly attempt a response. 

Bible scholars say that Moses was the last born son of a humble Levite family of which Miriam and Aaron were his elder siblings. Moses' father was Amram (see Exodus 7:7; 1 Chronicles 6:3). The fact that Miriam is not mentioned in other texts of Scripture where Aaron and Moses appear is perhaps consistent with Jewish cultural etiquette where females are rarely mentioned in family lineage. Bible scholars believe that Miriam was the girl mentioned in Exodus 2:4 and was therefore the eldest of the three siblings of Amram. 

This could perhaps explain why Miriam and Aaron later attempted to challenge Moses' prophetic authority under a sibling rivalry that broke its domestic bounds! By questioning Moses' authority, Miriam had overstepped the divine boundary and was decidedly defying God. (See Numbers 12). Miriam was punished by God with leprosy, forcing the people of Israel to encamp for a further seven days but Aaron was spared perhaps because he expressed remorse for his sin. Miriam's punishment was perhaps tampered with God's mercy, given the gravity of her transgression and her privileged position as a prophetess. She perhaps deserved to die! Notice the similarity between Miriam's confrontation and the Korah rebellion recorded in Numbers 16. We should never dare to defy God's authority!

It is emerging from Exodus 4 that Moses may have been stigmatized because of his speech impediment but God was determined to use him as he was for His glory. God does not call perfect people to ministry. He calls us as we are provided however that we are willing to serve with diligence and obedience. He then molds and chastises those He calls into vessels of honor. Moses faithfully served God and led Israel through the wilderness until the plains of Moab where his prophetic journey was concluded. God did not permit him to cross the Jordan because of his transgression at Meriba Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin (see Numbers 27:12-13).

Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that Jeremiah the prophet considered his youthfulness as a great impediment when God called him to ministry but God overlooked this limitation (see Jeremiah 1). God called Jeremiah when he was a young man, perhaps only a teenager who had no cultural standing among the elders. God however assured him of his prophetic calling and his fears were assuaged. 

Scripture reveals that God had set apart this servant of God long before he was born. Jeremiah 4:5 says: 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (NKJV). 

Jeremiah's calling had been determined by God while Jeremiah was still in His mother's womb! (Jeremiah 1:4-19). This effectively confirms that his calling was ordained by God before he was conceived in his mother's womb! Jeremiah, like Moses, went on to serve God faithfully. 

CONCLUSION 

Our study of Exodus 4:1-17 draws several questions that beg for answers. 

Have you received God's calling to His service? What skills, resources and abilities has God bestowed upon you? Could you be procrastinating about God's calling and service? Are you constrained by the negative views of people around you? Could you perhaps have slackened in your calling or service to God in your specific context? 

You are not alone. Great men and women of God had their doubts too but God assured them of His calling for them and they went on to serve God in their day (cf. Acts 13:22 concerning David). You too can arise and serve God in your time. You ought to break forth and reach out to God today and serve Him. He is a faithful God. 

Isaiah 60:1 says "Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you."

It is time to arise and serve God faithfully in whatever area of calling that He has assigned us. 

MORAL LESSONS

1. God is not a respecter of persons. He is not influenced or constrained by our biological, cultural or socioeconomic impediments. He is also not influenced by social class and nobility. He used three members of an obscure Levite family to serve Him. 

2. God confirms His calling to His servants. He confirmed his calling to Moses and Elijah and to several other servants of God whose ministries are recorded in Scripture. We should not shy away from seeking assurance from God even during the most difficult circumstances. 

3. God uses the skills, resources and opportunities at our disposal for His divine purposes. We should never despise what we have. Moses' shepherd rod became handy at the hour of his calling. His shepherding skills were later tested and refined as he led Israel through the wilderness journey for 40 years. 

4. Our ministry skills are complimentary rather than absolute. No one has a monopoly of skills. We need one other for Christian edification, service and support. Aaron complimented Moses' speech impediment because he was more eloquent than his younger brother. Moses however remained the overall leader for God's people. Little is known about Miriam's prophetic ministry except perhaps for her role in Exodus 15:20-21 and the implications of her claims in Numbers 12. Some say that she ministered among the women but this claim is not expressly affirmed in Scripture. It is only safe to presume that God spoke through her on some unspecified occasions that are not recorded in Scripture. The three Amram siblings demonstrated teamwork in serving God. 

5. There are no ideal circumstances under which we should respond to God's calling. We should be prepared to serve God at all times even under unpleasant circumstances. Moses had no advance warning on God's calling but he responded to God and served God in faithfulness (see the special tribute to Moses in Numbers 12:3). 

6. God is not seeking for perfect people to serve Him. We all fall short of God's divine standards. Moses had a difficult past. He killed an Egyptian man and later married an Ethiopian woman in violation of God's law. Yet God graciously used him. Do not be held back by your stained past. God can cleanse it and use you for His glory. In His own words, God proclaims in Isaiah 1:18-19: 

Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;

Shalom

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023

 

The Grand Finale - Lessons from a Devotional Study of Ezra 6:1-22

THE GRAND FINALE - LESSONS FROM A DEVOTIONAL STUDY OF EZRA 6:1-22

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND ANALYSIS 

Reading through the Book of Ezra is like going through a screenplay script that takes the reader through the various stages of the artist's depiction of his fairy tale. The difference however lies in the fact that Scripture narratives are far from fiction. They project true historical events that occurred in the past in biblical times.

Starting right from the decree by King Cyrus of Persia on the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple (Ezra 1), and the return of a section of the Jewish people, including a number of priests and influential Jewish nobility to Judah (Ezra 2), the restoration of worship (Ezra 3:1-7), and the resistance to the temple works (Ezra 4), the historical narrative by Ezra depicts a scenario driven by divine intervention and resisted by evil forces in equal measure. 

Scholars estimate that the reign of Cyrus falls between 600-530 BC. The return of the first set of Jews to Judah is generally dated approximately 538 BC. 

The moment the Jewish returnees commenced the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple, opposition from foreign people who had been forcefully resettled by the Babylonians following the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC, set in. Bible scholars say that the works were frustrated for about 18 years until 520 BC when God spoke through Haggai and the reconstruction work was eventually completed (cf. Haggai 1-2). 

We learn from Ezra 4:1-5 that the foreign settlers initially offered to join the Jewish returnees in the temple works but their offer was respectfully declined by the Jewish leaders on the basis of the royal decree by Cyrus that exclusively concerned native Jewish people. Besides, these foreigners had done nothing concerning the sorry state of the ruined temple during the nearly 50 years of their occupation of Judah! Their claim to the covenant worship of God was highly doubtful. They could not have been worshipping the God of Israel for that long under a ruined temple and a broken altar! 

Upon receiving the negative response from the Jewish leaders, the foreigners opted for a different strategy by which they revealed their true intentions as saboteurs of God's work. They chose to radically oppose the temple works by seeking the support of the Persian imperial powers. They employed propaganda and outright falsehoods in painting the Jewish venture as a rebellion against the Persian authorities. They petitioned the royal authorities to order cessation of the works (Ezra 4:6-24).  

The temple works were eventually stopped when King Ahasuerus who succeeded Cyrus took over the Persian empire. The opposition to the temple works however persisted through to the reign of King Artaxerxes (see Ezra 4:4-5). 

COMPLETION OF THE TEMPLE WORKS

Ezra 6:1-22 can be considered as a Scripture narrative dedicated to the final completion of the Jerusalem temple works and the commemoration of two important Jewish festivals. It is significant that the historical background behind this passage is first understood by the Bible reader. 

PASSAGE OUTLINE & SUMMARY 

The passage of Ezra 6:1-22 can be summarized under five outlines:

A) The decree by Darius on a search through the royal archives (6:1-2).

B) The findings of the search and the vindication of the Jews on the temple works (6:3-5). 

C) The royal decree by Darius and the completion of the temple works (6:6-15).

D) The reinstitution of sacrificial worship in the Jerusalem temple (6:16-18).

E) The celebration of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (6:19-22).  

It was not until the reign of Darius II (522-486 BC) that the Jews received favorable support for the resumption of the reconstruction works. They wrote a petition to the new monarch requesting for a historical search through the royal archives to establish the imperial authority for the Jerusalem temple works (5:7-17). God touched the heart of Darius and he decreed that a search be done to verify the claims of the Jewish people. The search revealed that the reconstruction of the temple was backed by a royal decree issued under the reign of King Cyrus (Ezra 6:1-12). 

King Darius upheld the royal decree by Cyrus and authorized the completion of the temple works (Ezra 6:13-18). The Jews completed the temple works on the sixth year of the reign of Darius. Ezra's account historically coincides with the narrative conveyed in the Book of Haggai. 

Upon completion of the temple, the Jews offered sacrifices and proceeded observe two important religious calendar celebrations commanded by Moses  - the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ezra 6:15-22). These two festivals have clear moral implications for Christian living. We shall now conclude our study by examining five moral lessons that should inform our prudence as God's covenant people. 

MORAL LESSONS

The following moral lessons can be distilled from the passage of Ezra 6:1-22:

1. No matter how long it takes, God's purposes for His covenant people will be fulfilled at God's appointed time. The resistance to the temple works finally collapsed under Darius and God's purposes were accomplished. We should remain steadfast in serving God despite open or convert opposition to God's ministry. God will finally have His way in the end. We are His ministry vessels and stewards of His grace (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Peter 5:2-4). We should therefore keep our eyes on God even in the most unpleasant circumstances. 

2. God's work should be accomplished under the hands of His covenant people working in unity. This is their divine mandate. No other parties have the authority to serve God other than those He has called to Himself. We [believers] should therefore consider ourselves a privileged people who God called to serve and honor Him. The Bible proclaims "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV). Let us serve God with diligence and courage.

3. God often intervenes in the affairs of men for the sake of His covenant people. He did it for Ezra and his people; He intervened for Daniel, Esther and Mordecai in Persia. He will do the same for us in our generation and for His glory. God is the ultimate ruler whose divine authority towers above all earthly kings and rulers. No earthly royal is outside the purview of God's sovereignty. Scripture proclaims "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." (Proverbs 21:1, NKJV). 

4. The Passover celebration was a foreshadow of God's redemption work in Christ Jesus. Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God who gave His life on the cross of Calvary as a ransom for the redemption of sinful men who willingly turn to Him in repentance of sin (John 1:29, 3:16-17; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians. 5:21).  Do you know Jesus? 

5. The Unleavened Bread symbolizes sincere covenant living among God's people. God calls on us to uncompromising keep our garments free from the contaminating stains of this sinful world. The Bible exhorts "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:7-8, NKJV). 

Keep it Christ!

Shalom

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023