Chapter 4

4:2  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

rod Sign of the rod = power Psalms 110:2 ; 2:9 ; Revelation 2:27 . It was Moses' shepherd's crook, the tool of his calling. Cast down, it became a serpent; taken up in faith, it became "the rod of God" ; Exodus 4:20 ; 7:12 . (See Scofield "Exodus 7:12")

4:6  And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

Put now thine hand

The sign of leprosy. The heart ("bosom") stands for what we are, the hand for what we do. What we are, that ultimately we do. It is a sign of Luke 6:43-45 . The two signs, rod and hand, speak of preparation for service:

(1) consecration--our capacity taken up for God;

(2) the hand that holds the rod of God's power must be a cleansed hand swayed by a new heart.

4:14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

Aaron the Levite

(Cf) Exodus 28:1 . (See Scofield "Exodus 28:1") .

4:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

harden his heart

(Cf) Exodus 8:15 Exodus 8:32 ; 9:34 . In the face of the righteous demand of Jehovah and of the tremendous attestations by miracle that He was indeed God, and that Moses and Aaron were His representatives, Pharaoh "hardened his heart." Instrumentally God hardened Pharaoh's heart by forcing him to an issue against which he hardened his own heart in refusal. Light rejected, rightful obedience refused, inevitably hardens conscience and heart. Romans 9:17-24 .

4:24  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

kill him

(Cf) Genesis 17:14 The context ( Genesis 4:25 ) interprets v. 25. Moses was forgetful of the very foundation sign of Israel's covenant relation to Jehovah. On the eve of delivering Israel he was thus reminded that without circumcision an Israelite was cut off from the covenant. Joshua 5:3-9 .