May 18, 2025 - How God Trains His Servants (Exodus 4:1-9)

How God Trains His Servants (Exodus 4:1-9)

Rev. Myung-Sin Choi

1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ” 2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out 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, has appeared to you.” 6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” 

Introduction

On the mountains, there are useless rocks but if they meet a great sculptor then they can become a great sculpture. Even an old violin can produce great music with a great musician. Right now, we are reading the book of Exodus and God called Moses who was nothing at 80 years old at that time. But God used the 80 year old Moses to make great works arise. As you know, Moses was a fugitive and seen as a failure. Not only that but he was lost in scars. But God healed all of that. And, God raised up Moses as one of the greatest leaders of all time. How did God train Moses in the land of Midian to become a great figure? There are three main points on God’s training on Moses. This was not a mere miracle but there was a method on how God raised up Moses as a great leader and healed him. When we take this as our message then we can participate in this great work as well. Last week we spoke about how God gave Moses an answer with each problem that he encountered. Moses who heard God’s plan, what was Moses’ response? 

1. God's Training

(1) The first thing He heals: faith

Verses 1-5 - In other words, just because you met God, you shouldn’t lie. This was what the Israelites would say to him, this was what Moses thought. The fact that Moses doubted that the Israelites would listen to him, this meant that he was living with his scars of his past. This meant that God’s command to Moses was just a nuisance to him. 

But at that time, God spoke to Moses in verse 2 - The rod that Moses had in his hand was the rod that Moses held onto for 40 years in the land of Midian while shepherding. 

Verse 3 - God commanded Moses to throw the rod onto the ground and it turned into a scary serpent. The rod that Moses was holding onto for 40 years, it turned into a scary snake that was capable of killing Moses in an instant. Naturally, Moses ran away from the rod that turned into a serpent. The reason why Moses probably ran away was because the snake was trying to bite Moses. What does this mean? Because of Moses’ rod that he was holding onto for 40 years, he was on the brink of death. What does this all mean? When Moses fled Egypt and came to Midian, what did he do there? For 40 years, in the wilderness, all he did was do the work of shepherding. Why did God make Moses have him do this work of a shepherd? This was all part of God’s training for Moses. But God commanded Moses to throw the rod onto the ground, the rod that he was holding onto for 40 years to do the work of a shepherd. What does this mean? The work of shepherding that Moses did, God was commanding Moses to give all of that up. The moment he let go of that rod, it turned into a serpent. It says serpent but this was the same serpent that word that was used in Genesis 3, the serpent that deceived Adam and Eve. The serpent that deceived Adam and Eve saying that they will not die if they eat the forbidden fruit. This was the serpent that made Adam and Eve spiritually die. This was the same serpent. Moses’ rod turned into a serpent. There is a prepared message here. The work of shepherding that Moses did for 40 years, all of his skills and talent, God was telling him to give all of that up. The reason why God made him do the work of shepherding was so that Moses could make a living but what was all of this training by God? Moses used the work of shepherding to just make a living but this was all of Moses’ misunderstanding. 

When God saw this heart of Moses, God said in verse 4 - God commanded Moses to take hold of the serpent by the tail. But when you catch a snake, you need to hold it by the head so that it doesn’t bite you. Moses knows how to catch snakes since he lived in the wilderness but Moses obeyed God. He laid down all of his knowledge and trusted God, and held the tail. The moment Moses did that, the serpent turned back into a rod. 

Verse 5 - This miracle that God showed Moses was all so that God could fulfill His covenant. It was so that Moses could believe. For 40 years, God made Moses realize why he did shepherding for that long. This rod was not just used for shepherding but this will be the rod that will give glory to God and will lead the people of God. Our remnants and church officers, you must hold onto this. You need to think about why God gives you the things in life. It is so that you can give glory to God and when you realize this, then God will be glorified. It is not so that you can make a living. If you think like this then you will lead a life of failure. The job and talent that God has given to you, it is all for God’s glory and so that you can be used by God. When you think like this, then you can be used by God like Moses. Moses firmly held onto this. 

(2) The second thing He heals: spiritual state

Verses 6-7 - God commanded Moses to hold out his hand and when he did this, his hand turned leprous. This means that God was showing the spiritual state of the Israelites to Moses. In other words, God was showing Moses that his spiritual state was in a state of curses like the leprosy disease. The Israelites didn’t know that their spiritual state was in ruins and spiritually diseased. You may go to church but you don’t know how spiritually diseased your spiritual state is. These people think that they will go to heaven but this is the big misunderstanding that they have. You need to look at this carefully. The Israelites had confidence that they were the chosen people of God, the descendants of Abraham and they thought that they were guaranteed of their salvation. But what is important is that because of their ignorance and arrogance, it leads their children into destruction. 

When you live your walk of faith, you need to ask yourself if you have assurance of salvation. You will respond that you are absolutely saved. But you think to think about if you are responding out of ignorance and arrogance. Many church goers think that they will go to heaven because they go to church. But this makes the same misunderstanding of Pharisees. Then how do you have assurance of salvation? You may say that you have assurance but how can you guarantee this? It is very simple. Do you just believe that you are saved because you think you have salvation or do you believe because you know you are saved. Do you try to believe or do you believe? Do you believe in the word of God in the Bible or do you have to try to believe that the word of God is the word of God? It is important to have spiritual healing. 

Matthew 7:3 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” - You need to examine yourself first. Are you really okay? Are you really saved? Those who have this assurance, then your life will completely be changed. Why is that? 

Verse 7 - Moses placed his leprous hand back into his pocket and it was healed. Your hand doesn’t become healed or clean out of your own efforts but you cannot heal and clean yourself. You need to learn to have thanksgiving. There is no reason for us to be arrogant. We need to always live a humble life before God and always give thanksgiving. Why did God choose you and heal you? What have you done that God chose you and chose to save you? What have you done to deserve all of this? When you discover yourself in Christ then true healing and peace will come into you. Always examine yourself just like Moses. 

2. God's Judgment

(1) The third thing He heals: culture

Verse 9 - This Nile River was a river that provided a lifeline to the land of Egypt. This Nile River provided transportation and agriculture in Egypt. This Nile River was basically like a god to Egypt. The Egyptians believed that the river provided a god of life so they worshiped this river as sacred. The river was turned into blood but it was never written that this river never turned back into water again. This Nile River was considered as a god for the Egyptians and we can see that the Israelites were influenced by idolatry by Egypt. The fact that it never turned back into water means this was God’s judgment towards Egypt. Through the 10 plagues that God put on Egypt and one of the plagues was the Nile River turning into blood. We can see that God made Egypt into complete ruins through the 10 plagues. God destroyed all of the gods and idols of Egypt. The message that God has given to the Israelites and is giving to us is that we need to discard our idols in our lives. If we don’t do this, then this will destroy our lives. This is the only way we can be freed in our lives. 

(2) Moses' three offices

Exodus 4:20 “Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” - The rod that shepherded sheep for Moses was now the rod of God. This rod that was used for 40 years for shepherding was now used by God to raise up Moses as a prophet of God to lead God’s people out of Egypt. 

Exodus 13:15 “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.” - This is important. Moses will do the work of redemption. How? Through the blood sacrifice. When Moses was used, he was being used by God as a priest of God. 

Exodus 12:29-30 “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” - The key point here is Pharaoh. The Egyptians worshiped the god of the Sun and this was seen as the highest god in Egypt. The Egyptians saw Pharaoh as the son of the god of the Sun. Pharaoh was seen as a god before the Egyptians. He was considered a living god before the Israelites. The fact that Moses overcame the Pharaoh meant that Moses broke down the power of Satan. Through the blood sacrifice of the young lamb during the Passover, he broke down the power of Satan. When we do the three roles of Christ in our lives, then we will receive the same works and answers of Moses. 

3. The Unprecedented Answer

(1) The start of answers

Joshua 10:8 “And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.’ ” - We need to hold onto the accurate covenant. Hold onto the accurate gospel and answers will start in your life.

(2) The process of answers

Joshua 10:12 “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel.” - What was the content of the prayer of Joshua? He was enjoying the prayer of the power of heavenly throne of God. How was that? He truly understood God’s absolute plan. When we hold onto God’s absolute plan and pray for God’s heavenly throne then absolute answers will come upon you. 

(3) The absolute answers

Joshua 10:13 “So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.” - Unimaginable answers of 25 hours will come upon you. Our remnants and church members must enjoy this answer. Then God’s lifelong answers will come to you. 

Conclusion

Hold onto Joshua 10:14 “And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.” - The answer that Moses couldn’t receive, Joshua was able to receive it. Joshua enjoyed this unprecedented answer. It was possible because Joshua held onto the covenant. Hold onto this message as your covenant. Just like God used Moses and Joshua, God will show you the eternal masterpiece.