Moses' Snake

The story of Moses at the burning bush is one that is probably familiar to most of us, but there is one detail that may get overlooked. In Exodus 4:2 the Lord asks Moses to throw his rod on the ground, and when he does the rod becomes a snake. The Lord next asks Moses to pick up the snake, and again Moses obeys. When he grabbed the serpent it was immediately transformed back into Moses’ walking stick. The point of this exercise was to demonstrate God’s sovereignty to Moses, proving to him that this call was real and that God would empower Moses to stand before the most powerful man on earth.

But here is the detail that may often get overlooked: “So he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it (v.3).” Moses was scared of the snake; scared enough to actually run away from it. Yes, Moses grabbed the snake when God told him to, but we must not think Moses was a snake person. He was not the kind of guy to keep a pet python in a terrarium in his bedroom. Moses is a man after my own heart—I once dialed 911 when I found a snake in our bathroom. If God told me to pick up a snake I’d like to think I would obey, but until then, I’ll keep a safe distance.

Moses not only obeyed God’s instruction to pick up the snake, but he even did in it the specific way God told him to: by the tail. Snakes are not normally grabbed by the tail, unless you just want it to turn around and bite you. But that is what God told him to do, and his obedience caused the snake to turn back into a harmless rod. This was God’s way of getting Moses to trust Him. After all, if he could not confront a snake, he would never be able to confront Pharaoh. No one promised that obeying God would always be easy, but when we trust Him, good things happen. Even if we do not understand what God is doing in the present, it could be that He is equipping us to do something in the future. When you are tempted to run from your problems, stand in God’s strength and face them. What looked like a deadly snake may just turn out to be a harmless walking stick.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Last week I wrote about the fake obedience in the family of Isaac, which centered on the deception of Jacob; the younger son pretended to be his big brother in order to receive the blessing his father meant to give him.

Jacob’s brother Esau was furious and sought to kill him, so Jacob fled to his mother’s hometown. There he met Laban and arranged a deal: he would work seven years on his farm for the right to marry Laban’s daughter Rachel. The seven years flew by because of the love Jacob had for Laban’s younger daughter. The morning after the wedding, however, Jacob realized he had been tricked.

Laban instructed his older daughter Leah to pretend to be her sister (the custom was that the younger daughter could not be married until the older daughter was). Veiled during the ceremony and hidden by darkness in the bedchamber, Leah tricked Jacob into fulfilling the marriage with her.

Note the irony: Jacob tricked his father, but now was tricked by his father-in-law. Jacob pretended to be the firstborn, and now accidentally married the firstborn. Jacob, assisted by his mother, once dressed like his brother in order to deceive; Leah, assisted by her father, dressed in her sister’s bridal gown in order to deceive Jacob.

Jacob’s deception and subsequent victimization provide a perfect example that we reap what we sow. Jesus told Peter that he who lives by the sword will die by the sword; we may add to that, “He who lives by deception will also be deceived.” Lying, scheming, and manipulation are no way to live; honesty is always the best policy.

So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”

Genesis 29:25

Fake Obedience

Did you know that it is possible to obey the wrong way? Genesis 27 records an event that some say is all about disobedience, but in it I actually see obedience. Just the wrong kind of obedience.

In the story God told Isaac to pronounce a blessing on his son Jacob, but Isaac decided to bless his favorite son Esau, and Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspire to trick the patriarch into accidentally blessing Jacob. Think about it:

Isaac accidentally obeyed God and blessed Jacob; Rebekah cleverly obeyed herself and tricked Isaac; Jacob willingly obeyed Rebekah and lied to Isaac; and Esau gladly obeyed Isaac to undermine God. They all four obeyed, and yet they all four disobeyed.

Accidental or partial obedience is not obedience at all. Isaac blessed the right son, but accidentally; Rebekah made sure the right son was blessed, but dishonestly; Jacob knew the blessing was his, but acquired it deceptively; and Esau obeyed his father, but did so sinfully.

We must obey God with the right heart, the right attitude, and the right spirit. If we obey God and choose not to indulge in some type of sin, only to look down our noses and judge others, we are not really being obedient.

Think about the way you obey: is it full, complete obedience to God from a right heart, or is it done with some ulterior motive? God only delights in proper obedience.

“But Isaac said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.’”

Genesis 27:35

Hearers and Doers

Imagine walking into your classroom on a Monday morning and your teacher asking you to hand in the report she assigned over the weekend. “I didn’t do it,” you tell her. She might ask, “Well did you know the report was due?”

If you tell her you knew about the homework but simply chose not to do it, do you think she would say, “That’s ok; as long as you heard me give the assignment then I don’t care that you didn’t complete it”? Obviously, hearing the assignment is only half the battle. We need to do the assignment to get credit for it.

The same illustration could be made when it comes to obeying parents or taking orders from an employer. Hearing the instruction is good, but accomplishing it is the goal.

The same is true when it comes to the Bible. James 1:22 tells believers to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Naturally, hearing the word is still an important part of the process.

When you sit under the teaching of your pastor, do you pay attention, or do you text, plan lunch, think about your fantasy football lineup, or snicker about Betty Lou’s hat? We have to be hearers of the word, and that applies to the written word as well. Do you read your Bible with comprehension, or do your eyes read words off a page while your mind wanders, while still allowing you to check the block next to “devotions?”

Hearing is good, but are you also a doer? Do you follow through with what you heard? Do you practice what the pastor preached?

Verses that tell us to be honest, trustworthy, loving, forgiving, kind, compassionate, gentle, pure, and faithful are all good to know, but they also need to be obeyed.

Finally, if you are not a Christian, then there is something that you may have heard but not done. You need to depend on Jesus alone for your salvation.

Imagine standing before Jesus on the day of judgment, knowing you never trusted in Him as your Lord. “But I heard the message about salvation” won’t cut it. You’ve got to be more than just a hearer. You have to be a doer. 

Hate Speech

 I don’t hate many things, but one thing I hate is hate speech. The Bible tells us that no corrupt communication should come out of our mouths, and that we should only use our tongues to lift up (Ephesians 4:32). That is why I am bothered when people choose to use their tongues to senselessly tear others down.

But let’s not be confused. Proverbs 8:13 gives us a green light to a certain type of hate speech. The verse says that “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” Based on this verse, there are some things I should hate, and I should make it known that I hate them. I hate evil in all of its forms, for all evil is against God and leads people away from Him. Ultimately, evil brings destruction and ends in death.

You might think I am fanatical for hating evil, but I just view it as obedience. I am not advocating hate speech, but I am calling for Christians to stand up and call out what we hate: evil, and the evil one.

Grand Prix Cars

Every year we have our AWANA Grand Prix at church where the kids make cars for a big race. Every person gets a kit to make a car, which includes a block of wood. From there each racer has some decisions to make: will they make their car fast, or will they go for design?

In past races I have focused my cars on design. Once car resembled the Florida Gators logo, and this past car was a replica of my Gator-themed pick up truck. Both of those cars were rewarded with 3rd place in design. 

Just as each contestant begins with a plain block of wood, so each person begins life with a clean slate, and we all have choices to make. Hebrews 11:6 says that God “is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” We each have to choose if we are going to seek God or not, and if we do, then we have another choice to make, and that is if we are going to obey Him. 

Some people explore who God is, but they never commit their lives to Him, and God does not reward those people. We must choose to submit to Him, repent, deny ourselves, and obey the Lord. At the Grand Prix, some cars are very fast, and yet they do not place; others have awesome designs, and yet they receive no trophy. But that is not how God works. He doesn’t just reward the richest, smartest, or most talented; He rewards all who diligently seek and obey Him. 

Good Soldiers

Over the last few weeks we have looked at the fact that Christians are in the army of the Lord, called into battle against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Today we are going to look at how to be a good soldier. These verses tell us to endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Many people wrongly believe that once they give their lives to Christ they will no longer have to worry about facing hard times. In reality, the opposite is true. If you do not believe in God, or you are not living for Him (praying, reading His word, witnessing, living righteously, etc.) then Satan will not waste his time on you. But once you become sold out for Christ the enemy will put a big target on you. This is for the same reason that armies would rather take out a general than a private. If Satan is not tempting you or trying to make you doubt or give up on God, or trying to entice you with some false doctrine, then you have to ask yourself, “Why not?”

Our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have to endure hardships: they miss children’s birthdays, their wedding anniversaries, Christmases, etc. But they cannot give up because they are good soldiers and they have their orders.

II Timothy 2:4 says “No soldier entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who has chosen him to be a soldier.” A soldier cannot get wrapped up in what is happening back home—whether politics, sports, or family, because he has to focus on his mission. Today, many of God’s soldiers get entangled with the things of this life, and they forget their orders. This does not please the One who called us to be soldiers.

So stay focused on the mission. Love God and love others. Tell people about Jesus and pull them from the fire. Pray. Read God’s word. Be sanctified. And don’t let the non-essentials distract you from your orders. Next time God leads you to tell someone about Him, respond with a “Sir, Yes Sir!”

Get in the Way

Any time in life when we feel like we are in the way it is usually a bad thing; no one wants to be in the way or to be told to get out of the way. You can probably think of a time when you were told to get out of the way, or when you felt like you were being a pest for being in the way.

But being in the way is not always a bad thing.

In Genesis 24 the very elderly Abraham commissioned one of his workers to go to Abraham’s home country and find a wife for his son Isaac. So the worker decided that when he saw a young woman he would ask her for a drink, and if she volunteered to draw water for his flock, then he would know that he found the right girl.

The first girl he sees is Rebekah, and sure enough, when he asks her for a drink, she offers to give water to all of his animals. In verse 27 this servant thanks God for what has happened and said, “Blessed be the Lord…the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brethren.”

It is always good to be in the way if we are allowing the Lord to lead us, and if we are obediently following Him.

After all, Jesus said of Himself, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

So ask yourself today, am I in the way going God’s way, or am I saying “no way” and going some other way?

You might not have heard this much growing up, but get in the way!