Most readers of the Old Testament book of EXODUS are familiar with the ten plagues or signs which the LORD wrought before Pharaoh and the his court (priests, magicians, wise men, astrologers, etc.) as well as among the Egyptian people to free the Israelites from 400 years of slavery, but little attention is paid to the “signs” that Moses had to perform among his own people to prove that he was the Deliverer that the LORD God sent to free them.
Exodus 3-14
Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, ‘and they say to me, ‘What is His Name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh).” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM (Ehyeh) has sent me to you.’ ”
Exodus 3: 15a-16a
Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you will say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. “Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God [YHVH (Yod-He-Vav-He) Elohim] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me.
Exodus 4: 1-5
Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD (YHVH) has not appeared to you.’ ” So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” (1) So he cast it (the rod) on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 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), “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.
Exodus 4: 6-7
Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” (2) And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous [white], like snow. And He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.
Exodus 4: 8-9
“Then it will be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, then you shall take water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry land. (3) The water which you take from the Nile River will become blood on the dry land.
COMMENT: The part about the water becoming blood on the dry ground is reminiscent of Luke 22: 41-42, 44, which says:
And He [Jesus-Yeshua] was withdrawn from them [the disciples] about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” And being in [great] agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat [water] became like great drops of blood falling down to the [dry] ground.
Exodus 4: 28-31
So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he (Moses) did the signs [at least the first two if not all three of them] in the sight of the people. So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 9, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com
