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Signs of Deliverance

Writer's picture: Christopher DieboldChristopher Diebold

As God continues to speak with Moses through the burning bush in Exodus 4, he addresses a series of objections from Moses that suggest that Moses was less than interested in fulfilling God’s calling on his life. The first objection comes in verse 1 as Moses skeptically responds to the revelation of God’s name and purpose in Exodus 3. Perhaps we can appreciate a bit why Moses struggles to believe God’s word. Roughly 40 years prior, Moses had made a start at delivering God’s people but was rejected by them. It is likely that this was a factor that played into Moses’ response to God in which he flatly denied that the people would either believe him or listen to his voice.

In the several verses that follow Moses’ denial of God’s word, God provides for Moses three signs that will reinforce the authenticity of the message that Moses was to proclaim, including the fact that the God of their fathers had appeared to him. To summarize the general significance of these signs, the first sign communicates God’s power over created things as an inanimate staff is turned into an animate snake. The second sign communicates God’s power over life and death as Moses’ hand is turned leprous and then healed. The third sign communicates God’s power over Egypt and its gods because the Nile was the origin of the gods and the lifeblood of Egypt. Importantly, each sign is described as having its own “voice” (v8) which speaks in support of the message that Moses has already received. That is to say, these miracles were not given for a “wow factor” but to authenticate the previously given message of deliverance, to help to overcome a lack of faith or hesitation in believing the “voice” of God’s word already given.

However, there is more to the choice of these signs than meets the eye. These signs are also significant because they foreshadow the coming confrontation between the one true God and the so-called gods of Egypt. In his commentary on Exodus, John Currid points out this deeper significance. Regarding the first sign, he notes that it “is a polemic against Egypt because its magicians prided themselves on being able to change inanimate objects into animate beings by means of a magical rod. … Numerous Egyptian scarabs attest to that practice by depicting scenes of magicians holding rods in their hands that could instantly be turned into snakes.”[1] For the second sign, Currid notes that “in Egypt, such a disease would be seen as a judgement and curse, the punishment of the gods on the person smitten with it.”[2] Finally, Currid comments that the third sign “would be particularly damaging to Egypt because the Nile was considered to be the life-blood of Egypt. From the Nile creation was believed to have sprouted, and it was the Nile that maintained and sustained life in Egypt. Herodotus even called Egypt ‘the gift of the Nile.’ The fact that God could transform Nile water into blood reflects his sovereignty and power over the life-giver of Egypt.”[3]

The deeper significance in the selection of these specific signs suggests to us that God intends for his mighty deeds to reinforce the content of his message. Word and work are integrally related in manifesting the glory of God, especially over divine pretenders. This point carries through the earthly ministry of Jesus, whose own mighty deeds always served the purpose of reinforcing the good news that the kingdom of God was near in and through him. None of Jesus’ miracles were the equivalent of parlor tricks. In fact, when the crowds asked for signs for the sake of signs, he refused them. For Jesus, word and work were integrally related in manifesting his glory as the savior of the world. Finally, this point carries through the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on God’s people in abundance. The signs and deeds that the disciples were able to perform, the gifts of the Spirit that were manifest among the followers of Christ, were designed to reinforce the message of the gospel. They were signs of deliverance, whose “voices” rang in harmony with the gospel message. When Simon Magus attempted to commodify the Spirit and his work, it only brought condemnation to him.

The point, then, is that at all times, God’s words and works have worked together to proclaim a single message of deliverance that brings glory to God and not to man.


[1] John D. Currid, A Study Commentary on Exodus, vol. 1, EP (Welwyn Garden City: EP Books, 2000), 92.

[2] Currid, 1:94.

[3] Currid, 1:96.

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