When God called Moses, Moses had a rod that he relied upon. Perhaps when he was talking to God, Moses, an elderly man, was leaning upon that rod. His rod was his support. Hence, the rod signifies what we rely upon.
Moses was reluctant to accept God’s calling; he protested that the children of Israel would reject him and say that the Lord had not appeared to him. Therefore, God said to Moses concerning the rod, “Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it” (v. 3). When the rod was cast to the ground, the serpent hiding there was exposed. Even before the rod was cast down, the serpent was already there, but in a very hidden way. The Bible reveals that the serpent always tries to hide himself in something, behind something, or under something. The rod Moses relied on was actually the serpent, Satan. In the eyes of Moses, the rod was simply a rod that he could lean upon, but in the eyes of God, it was the serpent, whose aim is to usurp man.
Anything we rely upon is a rod. For example, if a brother relies upon his job, that job becomes a rod to him. But to God the serpent is hidden in that job, because from his hiding place within the job, Satan, the serpent, seeks to usurp the brother. We may rely upon many persons or things: our wife or husband, our parents, our children, our ability, our education, our property, our bank account. The Bible shows us that whatever we rely upon becomes the usurping serpent. Today Satan is usurping all of mankind by concealing himself within the rods that people rely upon.
Anyone who has been called by God must realize that anything we rely upon is a hiding place for the serpent. The usurping enemy of God may be concealed in any matter, any thing, or any person we rely upon. Throughout the years I have been learning to trust in the Lord and not to rely upon any kind of rod.
Please note that God did not tell Moses to throw away his rod. Rather, He commanded Moses to cast it down in order that its true nature might be exposed. The point here is that whatever our rod may be—our husband or wife, our education, our job, our ability, our bank account—it needs to leave our hand temporarily. If the rod stays in our hand with the head on the top, the serpent will not be exposed. But if we cast it down, then we shall see with our own eyes that our rod is actually a serpent. Exodus 4:3 says that when Moses’ rod became a serpent, “Moses fled from before it.” That rod may have been in Moses’ possession for many years, and it may have been precious to him. But when it was cast down, it was no longer lovable to him because the serpent who had been concealed within it all the while was exposed.
Verse 4 says, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.” The Lord wants us to cast our rods down, not to throw them away. Do not throw away your education or your savings— cast them down. After the hidden serpent has been exposed, we need to pick it up by the “tail.” This is the best way to deal with the serpent. If you take a serpent by the head, it may bite you. But if you pick it up by the tail, it will lose its power and hang limp.
The picture of Moses taking the serpent by the tail shows that we should deal with things in a way opposite to the practice of the people of the world. What the people of the world do and have is for themselves. But everything we do and everything we have should be for the Lord. For example, when the worldly people get married, their married life is for themselves. But our married life should be for the Lord. In the same principle, when the worldly people attend college, they do so for their own interests. But the young people in the Lord’s recovery should attend college and study diligently, not for themselves, but for the Lord. This principle can be applied to our relationship with everyone and everything. All should be for the Lord.
If we have a certain thing or do a particular thing in the common way, that is, by doing it or having it for ourselves, then our rod has the head of the serpent at the top and the tail of the serpent at the bottom. But if we take the serpent by the tail, we handle it in a way opposite to the way of this world. We need to have a proper married life and a good education; however, we should not have these things in the common way, in the way of the world, but in the Lord’s way. The Lord’s way always causes the serpent to become powerless and limp.
In the 1930s I visited one of the outstanding universities in China, a university noted for its fine medical school. Many brothers in the Lord were medical students there. However, after these brothers were married, almost all of them were distracted from the Lord, mainly by their wives. These brothers did not know how to take their marriage by the “tail.”
The Bible by no means requires us to forsake our human living. On the contrary, we need to have a proper living. For example, the Bible does not forbid that young people get a good education. But the young people must learn to pick up their education by the “tail.” The young people also need to get married. However, in doing so they should not take the serpent by the head; instead, they should pick it up by the tail. This means that they should not get married according to the common way, but should get married in a way that is not common, in the way that is for God. This way is opposite to the common practice of the people of the world. All married brothers must love their wives, but they should not love their wives in a common way—that is, by taking the serpent by the head—but by the uncommon way—by picking up the serpent by the tail. In every aspect of our human living, from shopping to getting a haircut, we need to take things by the “tail.”
Anything can be a hiding place for the serpent. Even in every detail of our practical daily living, the usurping serpent is lurking, ready to bite the one who takes it by the head instead of by the tail. One who claims to be sent by the Lord must know that the serpent is hiding in every person, in every matter, and in every thing. Furthermore, he must know how to cast that hiding place to the ground and then he must know how to deal with that situation by the “tail.”
Eventually, the serpent that is picked up by the tail will become a rod of authority (4:4, 17; Luke 10:19). When Moses took the serpent by the tail, the serpent became the rod by which Moses was able to perform signs (4:17). This indicates that in the hand of Moses the transformed rod became a rod of authority. If we are those who handle every situation by the “tail,” we shall have power, authority. The rod we have then is not a natural rod, but a transformed one. Such a rod is now in an upside-down position. It is this kind of rod that is our authority.
Many Christians today are talking about power. But the more they talk about power, the less power they have. They do not have the power to deal with the hidden serpent. We who are ministers of Christ have authority only by handling situations by the “tail.” For example, if a brother knows how to handle the situation with his wife by the “tail,” he spontaneously will have authority. However, I have known a number of good brothers who were gifted and qualified, but they had a serious weak point: they gave too much place to their wives and allowed them to become the head. As a result, these brothers became powerless and useless.
To be called by God and sent by Him we must learn how to handle our husbands or wives, our children, and all situations, not in the ordinary way, the common way, the natural way, but in an altogether different way—by the “tail.” If we handle a person or a thing in a natural way, that person or thing will become a hiding place of the serpent.
Moses did not use his rod in a common way. If he had used it in an ordinary way, the serpent would still have been hiding within it. But after he cast down the rod, the hidden serpent was exposed. This indicates that often we need to keep our hands off a situation and see what comes out. By keeping our hands off those things we rely upon, their true nature will be exposed. Then we shall say, “This is not dear or lovable—it is a terrible serpent.” At that very time God will tell us to take the serpent by the tail. If the rod-become-serpent is our wife, we should take her up again and love her in an entirely new way; we should take the whole situation by the “tail.”
Once you get married, you cannot give up married life. Those who do so become useless as far as the Lord is concerned. You must stay married, but not in the common way. Either to be married in the common way or to give up married life is easy. This is the reason that there are so many divorces in this country. Instead of taking either of these courses, we should take our marriage by the “tail” and handle it for the Lord.
The sign of a rod becoming a serpent is a picture of a very subjective experience. Those persons or things we rely upon must eventually be cast down and then taken back again at the word of the Lord. When young saints are disappointed with a particular situation, they may want to deal with it by throwing it away. We should strongly encourage them not to do this. Instead of throwing it away, they should keep it, not by themselves or for themselves, but by the Lord and for the Lord. Do not handle situations by your natural ability; handle them by grace. To deal with them by grace is to take them by the “tail.” May we all learn to deal with things for the Lord and by His grace. If we have learned this lesson, this is a strong sign, strong evidence, that we have been called by God and sent by Him. As His sent ones, we know how to handle every situation as if it were a hiding place for the serpent, and we know how to deal with the serpent by taking it by the “tail.” In this way we have authority.