Contemplative Bible Reading

Exodus 4:3 (New Living Translation)

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

This is part of the (hi)story of God charging Moses to go to Egypt and be God’s spokesman to bring the people out of Egypt. God demonstrates some of what will happen in Egypt. God had Moses put his staff on the ground. God turned the staff into a snake.

Moses jumped back.

Some translations write, “Moses ran away.”

A stick is not a snake. If I were to drop my pocket knife onto the ground and it became a snake, I would jump back and … well, I don’t know what I would do next.

Context: Moses is talking with a voice that is coming from a bush that is burning but not burning down. That is not an everyday occurrence. I would think that Moses would be prepared for another supernatural thing to happen.

Still, Moses was startled and frightened.

God does amazing things right in front of me everyday. And then on top of those amazing things, God tosses in things that are … super-amazing or something. They are frightening. Someone in traffic is heading right for me and they swerve clear at the last moment. That is a staff-turning-into-a-snake moment.