Well I want you to come with me to Exodus chapter 4 this morning, and as I said at the start we might not continue right the way through the book but we'll do a few until it seems right to have a break. But this book of Exodus, this second book of the Bible, is the divinely inspired record of the liberation of God's people from slavery in Egypt, from bondage in Egypt, from cruelty in Egypt, to the liberty of the promised land.

And it pictures, it actually historically happened, but it pictures in the purposes of God his redemption of his people his multitude, the multitude he chose in Christ, his redemption of them from that curse of sin that would keep them from his kingdom into his kingdom. Do you believe God? Do you follow Christ? Do you aspire to eternal life?

Exodus is rich with God's wisdom for that life and that journey. It's rich with it. It is so rich. As I said earlier, I think in my prayer, I said that The longer I go on digging in this book, and I'm only still scratching the surface, but the more I dig in this book, the more utterly profound I find it. And the true people of God always do find that. You cannot plumb the depths of it. You never get close. It's just so full of wisdom at every turn. It cannot possibly be. the ideas of even the cleverest, the most intelligent of people, fallen people. It's the word of God.

In Exodus 1 and 2, we saw the preparation of Moses from a baby to God. going into the palace and then out of the palace of Egypt, and his preparation for God's work. And then, having fled and spent 40 years as a shepherd in the desert of Midian, in the worst part of it, God met him in Exodus chapter 3.

He met this 80-year-old shepherd who had been a prince in the palace of Pharaoh in Egypt, who had been brought up as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. He was a prince. In all probability, he was the heir to the throne of Egypt. But in rashness, he made his choice to go to the people of God, and in rashness, he killed an Egyptian, and therefore had to flee in fear from that. And he had a 40-year preparation by God as a shepherd, a shepherd, that which is an abomination in the sight of the Egyptians.

And God commissioned him and promised him. God commissioned him there when he met him at that burning bush in Exodus chapter three. He commissioned him but he promised him, certainly I will be with thee. Exodus three verse 12. Certainly I will be with thee.

But Moses was reluctant. He was doubting. Tell me what your name is that I may tell the people that you're sending me to who has sent me. He's doubting. But this, but that. God says to him, you tell them, I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am that I am.

Israel will hear you. God will do great things. So we move into chapter four. So you would have thought that Moses had got the message by now that yes, God is with them and he's got a clear commission and he's going to lead them out of Egypt. He's going to Pharaoh to tell him, let my people go. Surely, surely he's going to obey now. And Moses answered and said, but behold, they won't believe me. God had told him, they will hear you. They will hear. It's back in verse 18 of chapter three. They shall hearken to thy voice. God had said it. They will hear you. He will make his people willing in the day of his power to hear you.

But Moses said, they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice. For they will say, the Lord has not appeared to me. You know, you would have thought that he's, lining himself up for a severe rebuke from the Lord, for not believing God. But God didn't rebuke him. You see, most commentators say that this was a terrible thing that Moses did, but God didn't rebuke him. He didn't. What did God do?

He gave him three signs. He gave him three signs. He gave him a rod that became a serpent that became a rod. He gave him a healthy hand that became a leprous hand that became a healthy hand. And he told him that if they didn't believe that, he was to take water out of the river Nile and pour it on the ground and it would become blood in their sight.

This is rich truth. There's rich assurance for believers today. You see, we're not just talking about events three and a half thousand years ago that you might you know, be interested like you might be interested in a historical documentary on the TV. It's not like that.

This is relevant to the people of God today in this world, because why? The people of God are on that journey. The true people of God are on that journey to eternal glory. On that journey to the celestial city, it's pilgrims' progress through this world, just like Egypt was to be brought out of slavery and taken to the liberty of the promised land. The people of God, we're just passing through.

As, you know, some of those old songs that we used to dismiss as trivial, I more and more find it going through my mind. This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. If heaven's not my home, Lord, what can I do? And then it goes on in a bit of sentimentality. But you can imagine that the people that wrote those things had a real experience of what it is to live in this life, on this earth, in these bodies of sin, and yet have a hope of heaven. Anyway, let's move on.

The rod. The rod. Moses' rod. In verse 2 of chapter 4, God says to him, what is that in your hand? And he said, a rod, a rod. He said, throw it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent. And Moses fled from it, he was scared of it. And the Lord said to him, put forth your hand, stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail, grab it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod. in his hand. You see, Moses had said, they're not going to listen to me, they're not going to believe me that the Lord has spoken to me. So God says to him, what's in your hand? A rod, a rod.

What had he been for 40 years? You remember, he's an old man now, he's 80 years old, and he'd been a shepherd for 40 years. And in that country, in that environment, in that culture, The shepherd's rod. I mean, we're talking a strong staff. We're talking a strong pole that he used to support him. He's 80 years old. He used it to support him as he walked. He used it to defend, because there would be wild beasts that would come and try to take the lambs away. And he would use it as a weapon of defense in shepherding. He was helpless as a shepherd without it.

This rod. speaks of our God, who is the rod of his people. Look at Psalm 23, you know these verses. Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff. they comfort me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me the rod of god the rod of god's strength the rod of god's strength is the comfort and support of his people in the valley of the shadow of death it is comfort in the face of all evil it is promised protection and it's in god alone it's in god alone that we trust As Philippians 3 verse 3 says, we worship God in the spirit, we rejoice in Christ Jesus and we have no confidence in the flesh because our confidence, that which we lean upon, is the rod of God.

And how do we do it? We do it by faith. We do it by faith. Is God alone what you lean on? You know, we make use of all practical things, we trust God to provide the food that we need and the care and the comfort that we need for daily living. But we rest in God for we know it is all of him. It's practical, is this, in daily living by faith in this world. And here he is, this is a picture of the believer leaning on God and God tells him, what does God tell him to do? Cast it on the ground. Throw it on the ground. Let go of its support and protection, because I'm going to teach you something from this. Let go of that support of God and protection.

And what does it become? It becomes a deadly serpent, a poisonous serpent. And he's scared of it, and he runs from it. without God's rod, without faith in all that God is, Moses faced Satan alone. You see, the serpent was the symbol of Satan. Moses faced Satan alone. And all the power of the four, he faced it alone without that rod. Such a simple thing as a shepherd's rod portrays life in dependence on God. dependence on the arm of the flesh in the fear of Satan.

If Satan is to be overcome, believer keep leaning on the rod which is God. Again and again he says that he is that rod. In Psalm 2 verse 9, Christ the Son is that rod of iron that will smash in pieces all the opposition of Satan. In Revelation 2, 27, and again in Revelation 12, verse 5, this one, this God manifest, will rule with a rod of iron, the strength of God. But in the fall, in the Garden of Eden, God's power over all creation, which was delegated to Adam, was cast into Satan's power. It was cast into Satan's power. And thereby, sin entered.

What was Moses to do now? Here he's got this picture, that that which was to him the support he needed, the support of God, when he lets go and it's on the ground, it's a serpent that's going to kill him. What was Moses to do? What did God tell him to do?

In verse four he said, take it by the tail. I think, Any snake charmer, I don't think I've seen one for a long time, seen them on TV once or twice, but I don't think I've ever actually seen one in reality, but any snake charmer will tell you that if you're gonna handle a snake, the thing not to do is grab it by its tail because it'll swivel around and it'll bite you.

I remember when Peter had those corn, what was it, a corn snake or a ribbon snake, wasn't it? Was it ribbon? Very good. And that thing used to whiz round and bite your hand like mad. It wasn't poisonous, but never mind. You don't grab them by the tail.

But when he did, when he did what God told him to do, the grasping, as you see, is the faith in God. It became the rod of God's strength in his hand once again. And what does this prove? Oh yes, Satan's there. He's like a prowling lion seeking whom he might devour. and beware of him and resist the devil and he'll flee from you.

But this is the thing, he's no free agent, but he's under God's control. It was God that said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? Not Satan who said to God, I'm going to have a go at Job. No, God said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job?

This thing that happened with this rod becoming a serpent and then him picking it up, clearly it was miraculous. Clearly, it was contrary to what normally happens. Normally what happens is you'd be bitten and you'd die of the venom. And the reason it was done was a sign of authentication. This is it.

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe it? You know, these sentimental pop songs, I believe in miracles. I really do believe in miracles. Why? because I believe the God who, it tells us in Hebrews chapter one, upholds all things by the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, the manifestation of God.

He upholds all things. He didn't just set it going and leave it to itself. He actively now upholds all things by the word of his power. And therefore, if this If this lectern is only standing up because Christ is upholding the forces that keep the molecules in their places, He is the one that has the power to change that. He is the one that could make this become a serpent on the floor. He is the one that controls these things.

And that would authenticate, as it did in the early church, the signs of the apostles, the signs of authentication. How do we know that what you're saying is the truth? Because they did those miracles. How do we know that Christ was the word of God when he was in his earthly ministry? He said, look, the works that I do, the miracles that I do, the miracles of healing, of raising the dead, of feeding 5,000, of making somebody born blind have eyes that work straight.

These things, you know, if you've ever been enticed to go to a charismatic thing like I put in that article last week, years and years ago it happened, they're saying, how can you deny it if you don't come and see for yourself? Well, you go and see for yourself and it's nothing, it's trivial, compared with the miracles that Christ performed. that the apostles performed in the first century.

They were signs. What were they for? They were to say that what these guys are saying is the truth of God from heaven. And that would be the case with Moses. This is a sign to those people. This doesn't happen except by God who controls all things making it happen. and it would be a sign of authentication of Moses as the envoy of God. But it also conveyed more. You see, there was a picture in it of the historical fact that Israel had been strong in the hand of God in Egypt when Joseph was raised to the second highest power in Egypt. And then, after he'd gone, they were cast down into satanic bondage, but then picked back up again in God's strength to come out in the exodus to the promised land.

Above all, this speaks of Christ. Why shouldn't it? These are they which speak of me, said Jesus, John 5, 39. The whole scripture speaks of him. You know, you're over-spiritualizing it. Those who tell us that we're over-spiritualizing the scriptures when we see Christ in everything, they don't know Christ, because if they did, they would see him there. How is Christ in this?

In Psalm 110, in verse two, Psalm 110, And verse two, the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule though in the midst of thine enemies. The rod of God's strength is Christ. He is the rod of God's strength. He was cast down from heavenly glory, wasn't he? Our Lord Jesus Christ was cast down from heavenly glory. He came in weakness and humiliation for a little while, lower than the angels.

He became obedient, obedient unto death, which death? Even the death of the cross. As Satan was cursed from the fall in the Garden of Eden, Christ was made a curse to redeem his people on the cross of Calvary. How did he redeem his people? By being made a curse for us. And think on this, Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter three, that the son of man, he himself, God manifest, would have to be lifted up like a serpent on a pole, like a serpent on a pole, to die, to redeem from the curse of sin, to conquer him who had the power of death, who is the devil, having appeared as a serpent Our Lord Jesus Christ, having appeared on that cross, lifted up as that pole with that serpent on, having appeared as a serpent, he came in the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin, but then he was made sin. He was made sin, so that there being made sin, he should pay its penalty, to redeem his people from that curse by being made a curse for them, and in the process He crushed the head of the serpent, Satan. And he rose to newness of eternal life. And his people did so in him.

We're all helpless regarding Satan in ourselves. Paul writes in his second epistle to Timothy that we are taken captive by Satan at his will. We're taken captive. We don't have strength to do anything about him. Our only strength is in the Lord. We're like Israel in slavery, needing a mediator, a mediator like Moses to take Satan by the tail to deliver from bondage and raise us up in the strength of God's rod.

And that is what Christ did. Such a simple thing as a shepherd's rod illustrates the divine wisdom. The fall in Eden and the recovery from it in the power of God's strength in Christ. And so he says to Moses, go confidently, Moses, and show them this, because I'm going to bring my people out from the power of Satan. When Israel sees this, they'll know that God alone has sent you. But if they don't, if they still don't believe, well, he says, here's another sign.

And in verses six to eight, we see this. The Lord said furthermore to Moses, put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he's put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, put thine hand into thy bosom again, and he put his hand, leprous hand this time, into his bosom again and plucked it out, and behold, it was turned as his other flesh, clean.

So he says, here's another sign. Leprosy speaks of sin. Leprosy then, I know we've got antibiotics that deal with it now, where it occurs, it can be treated with antibiotics, but then in that culture, it was a death sentence. Leprosy speaks of sin. It was deadly, it was incurable.

And the hand, the hand, the right hand especially, I know some of you are left-handed, but the right hand especially is the instrument of work. It's the symbol of the instrument of the strength of man, the instrument of work. Put your fit hand is what God says to Moses. Put your fit hand, the one that grasps that shepherd's rod, the one that does the work, put your fit hand into your bosom. What he means is next to your heart. Put it next to your heart. and take it out, leprous, leprous, symbol of sin. The heart infected the hand.

Whatever power was in the rod in the hand of Moses, his sinful heart disabled his hand with leprosy. You'll hear people say about somebody making a mess of things, oh, but he has a good heart. That's not what the scripture says. The scripture doesn't say we have a good heart.

The scripture says this, Jeremiah 17 verse nine, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? You think of the person or the people that you hold in the highest esteem as human beings. Yeah, think of it, think of it, right? The testimony of scripture concerning all of them is that their heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Jesus said in Matthew 15 verse 19 that out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, blasphemies, The scripture says, concerning all of us, there is none righteous, but he's pretty, no, none righteous, no, not one, in the sight of God. In the power of flesh, God's law declares all leprous, all sinful.

In Romans 7, Paul says this, in Romans 7 and verse 9, I was alive, I was living, not conscious of any guilt, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, When I became aware of the law, sin revived and I died. It killed me. The law killed me. The Lord killed me as far as eternal life is concerned. But look, in verse 7 of chapter 4, he said, put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again and plucked it out of his bosom and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. How was that?

How did that happen? answer, God cured it instantly. There it was leprous, but God cured it instantly. It's a picture of the grace of God. It's a picture of the cleaning, cleansing, the healing that God has accomplished by the gospel of his grace, by the blood of his son, by the redemption that he has accomplished.

So that in John 15 and verse 3, Jesus says to his disciples, You know, he's washed their feet earlier from the defilement of this world. And Peter says, wash me all over. He says, no, no, no, you've been washed all over. And in John 15, verse 3, he says, now are you clean through the word which I've spoken to you. You are clean. You are clean. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6.

And verse 9, we're warned that the unrighteousness shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. That's antinomianism. That's why I put that article in the bulletin.

But, he says, verse 11, and such were some of you, but you're washed. but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. That's what we were, that's what we are by nature in this flesh, but we are washed and cleaned by all that has been accomplished in the gospel. In Titus chapter 3 and verse 3, we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Do you see? This is what it's saying. It's the leprosy that is cleansed.

This is what God's grace has done by means of Christ being made the sin of his people to pay its debt. Sinless, He was loaded with sin to pay its debt with precious blood, his broken body, his precious blood. He was perfect, but he was made leprous for three hours on the cross, that three hours of darkness, that three hours of separation. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The perfect, sinless Son of God was made leprous for three hours of separation in order to pay redemption's price. leaning on that rod of God's strength by faith, we are clean from sin's curse.

Believing on that rod of God's strength and all that he has accomplished, leaning on that rod that was made a serpent to then be picked up again as the rod of God. It's deep, it really is deep. Words fail me to try to get across what I believe that this scripture is saying. There are far more eloquent people than me have attempted it and done a better job. But, you know, it's picturing all that God has done in the redemption of his people by what he undertook in Christ when he became man to take on him the sin of his people that he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. And the result of it is this. This is a verse I love.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, in chapter 9 and verse 7, God says to his believing people, on the strength of the redemption he's accomplished, he says, Go thy way, what is the way? Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works. God accepts your works. When you believe on him whom he has sent, that's the work, what is the work that we must do?

Believe on him that he has sent. The Christian, so-called religion all around us. It's Easter Sunday today. It's really just a big pagan festival with Christian trappings added to it. They make a big fuss of Easter today, but they know nothing of this truth. This is the truth of what God has accomplished.

So God says to Moses, show them these miracles and they'll believe, because it couldn't happen any other way, they'll believe that I have sent you. But they didn't. But he says, if they don't, look in verse eight, he says, if they don't believe this, then they'll believe that. And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land. and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood on the dry land. He says, if they don't believe you for these two miracles, the rod and the leprous hand, here's a third one, warn them of their peril by a third sign, Nile water turned to blood.

If their heart is in the world of Egypt, despite being slaves there, oh, how much is the natural man's heart in this world, despite being a slave of sin and bound there as far as the spiritual life of God is concerned, if the people, the Israelites, if their heart is in the world of Egypt, despite being slaves there, they're depending on Egypt's lifeblood.

What was Egypt's lifeblood? It was the River Nile. It was that water. There was very little, if any, rain that came down from heaven. It wasn't the rain from heaven that watered the ground and gave the fruitfulness. It was the irrigation from the River Nile and its flood, overflowing the banks and fertilizing the ground with the silt that it brought down. That was the lifeblood of Egypt.

It's such a picture of this world, isn't it? It's such a picture of this world getting all that it wants from the things of the world. Well, he says, warn them that if that is their settled state, if that is their settled state and their comfort of mind and that which they're happy with, then warn them that that which is their lifeblood, they think, the water of the river Nile, it shall become a death curse to them because when that water's poured out and it's blood on the ground, that means death in that situation.

Like, you remember the story of Lot and his wife and Sodom and Gomorrah and the angels came to take Lot and his wife and two unmarried daughters out of Sodom and others stayed but he had to prize him out and bring him out, and they were told not to look back. But of course Lot's wife was physically out of the city of Sodom with Lot and the two daughters, but Lot's wife's heart was in Sodom still, and she turned round and looked back, and God turned her to a pillar of salt. This is speaking of the first plague that we'll come to later in Exodus chapter 7. When that river Nile in the first plague, for not letting the people go, the river is turned to blood. If Israel in Egypt refused to believe Moses, their earthly fount of life, which was the river Nile, would become death to them. That's what God is warning here.

Oh, how unbelieving the natural man is. Are we not? How... Sometimes... I'm staggered at how unbelieving I am in my flesh by nature. We know that God is all-powerful. We know that God rules over all things. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to the people that he loved from before the beginning of time. But how easily we doubt him. And like that man, do you believe? He said, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. How readily How readily we trust the things of space and time and the arm of flesh.

We seek refreshment from the stagnant water of our broken cisterns. You know that, Tim? I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but the cisterns failed. And even as I stooped to drink, they mocked me as I wailed. You see, it's stagnant water is that water of this world. It isn't the water of life. We cannot do this in our own strength.

But leaning on the rod of God's strength in Christ, he has power over all flesh. He said that, John 17, verse two. He has, the Father's given him power over all flesh. He has power over all flesh. He is Lord of all. At the fall, in the Garden of Eden, Adam effectively In illustration, Adam cast the rod of God on the ground and Satan slithered through creation.

But with that rod of God in hand by faith, we're assured, we're assured. There's some strange verses that some people have taken. to their own hurt, very literally. But we're told that you will tread, the people of God by faith will tread on the lion and the adder, the thing you shouldn't do.

But it's by faith. That's Psalm 91 verse 13. In the end of Mark's gospel, you know, there's a whole little cult in the United States that have poisonous snakes in their meetings and they pick them up because it says, you will take up serpents without being hurt. A lot of them have been hurt, have been bitten and poisoned by these snakes. It's talking spiritually.

It's saying that you will, by the power of God and the faith of Jesus Christ and all that he has done, leaning on that rod of God, you will take up serpents without hurt. In Romans 16 verse 20, Paul assures believers, the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

This is the truth of the division that there is in this life. There's a division between eternal life and eternal death. And it's about the choices you make. You say, God is sovereign over all. Yes, he is, but he does say this. He says, choose you this day whom you will serve. He says you're going to make a choice. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Choose the way that you will go.

Is it the narrow way to life or the broad way that leads to destruction? Is it building your house on the sand that will shift or is it on that solid rock which is Christ? Which is the banner that you will fight under? The banner of Satan and this fallen world or the banner of Christ? This makes all the difference. It makes all the difference in this world and in that to come. Well, may God teach us by his word. Amen.