In verse 6 the Lord told Moses to put his hand into his bosom. Moses may have thought that by putting his hand into his bosom, he would find a pearl, a diamond, or some precious treasure. On the contrary, Moses’ hand became leprous. The bosom signifies what is within us, and leprosy signifies sin (Rom. 7:17-18). This indicates that in addition to knowing Satan, we must also know the flesh. The rod upon which we rely is a serpent, but the flesh is the embodiment of leprosy. We need to know that in our flesh we are lepers. In our flesh there is nothing good, only leprosy. If we touch the flesh, we shall become leprous.
In verses 2 through 6 the Lord seems to be saying, “Moses, you asked Me for proof that I have sent you. One proof is that you know how to deal with the serpent. Another proof is that you realize that your flesh is nothing but a composition of leprosy. Moses, put your hand into your bosom and see what will come forth from you.”
There is a saying that if a person regards himself as good. during the quiet of the night he should place his hand upon his heart and consider what he really is. If you do this, you will discover how evil you are. Perhaps when you are in the company of others, you may boast of your own goodness. But when you consider what is in your heart during a time of quiet late at night, you will see that within you there is nothing but leprosy, nothing but sin.
One who boasts of his goodness is not one who has been called by God. Every called one realizes that within him there is leprosy. After Moses was shown the sign of the hand that became leprous, he knew that his flesh was the embodiment of leprosy. Moses could have said, “Before the Lord showed me that sign, I thought I was quite good. But when God told me to put my hand into my bosom and to take it out again, my hand was leprous. This showed me that in my flesh there is nothing but leprosy.”
Everyone used by the Lord in the church today must have such a consciousness concerning his flesh. To know the flesh in such a subjective way is an evidence that the Lord has called us and sent us. As the called ones and sent ones, we must bear the sign which indicates that nothing good dwells in our flesh. We are all a composition of leprosy, the embodiment of sin, rottenness, corruption, and uncleanness. If you do not believe this about your flesh, I suggest that in the silence of the night, when you are all alone, you touch your conscience and listen to what it says about you. It will reveal that your flesh also is nothing but leprosy.
God’s sent ones must know the flesh to this extent. When Isaiah was called by the Lord, he exclaimed, “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). If we have been met by the Lord, that meeting will expose our flesh to ourselves. We shall know that within our flesh there is nothing but leprosy.
In these days we have heard that all the saints can be today’s apostles and prophets. But if we would be such gifts to the Body, we must know that our flesh is the incarnation of rottenness, corruption, uncleanness, and sin. It is the very embodiment of sin. None of our outward accomplishments and none of our natural abilities can qualify us to be a sent one. To be qualified we must see that in our flesh there is nothing good.
In verse 7 the Lord said to Moses, “Put thine hand into thy bosom again.” Then Moses “put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.” This indicates that Moses’ leprous hand was cleansed by his keeping the word of the Lord. To keep the word of the Lord is to obey the Lord. Disobedience to the Lord is the basic element of sin. When we obey the Lord by keeping His word, His cleansing power will be with us, and we shall be cleansed.
For the third sign, the Lord said to Moses, “Take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land” (v. 9). The river here is the Nile, which irrigated the land of Egypt. The water of the Nile signifies earthly supply and enjoyment. According to the Bible, Egypt is rich in the food and enjoyment produced by the Nile. What is produced by the water of the Nile is apparently supply and enjoyment. But in the eyes of God, it is nothing but death. All the supply, enjoyment, and entertainment of the world are death. But in order to realize this, we need to pour the water of the Nile upon the dry land. According to Genesis 1, the dry land is the source from which life is produced. When the worldly enjoyment and the earthly supply are poured out upon that which produces life, immediately the death, signified by the blood, will be exposed. If you keep the water of the Nile in a well, a vessel, or a pitcher, you will still regard this water as the source of supply and enjoyment. But if you pour it out upon the land, the death will immediately be exposed. Thus, the third sign reveals that all the earthly supply and worldly enjoyment are nothing but death. All the sports and entertainments people indulge in today are various forms of death. The very supply that the world affords us is also death.
The water of the world is not actually water at all; it is blood. The worldly people do not drink water; they drink blood, that is, death. Whatever they enjoy of the world is death. A called one must know what the world is. To the people of the world, the water of the Nile is wonderful, but to us it is blood. God’s called ones must be able to tell His people not to stay in Egypt to drink the water of the Nile, but to go out of Egypt into the wilderness to drink the water from the cleft rock.
In addition to knowing Satan and the flesh, we need to know the world. In the New Testament, Satan, the flesh, and the world are dealt with again and again. Those who have been called by God and sent by Him know the serpent, leprosy, and blood; that is, they know Satan, the flesh, and the world. According to the New Testament, Satan is against Christ (1 John 3:8); the flesh is against the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:17); and the world is against the Father (1 John 2:15). Hence, Satan, the flesh, and the world are opposed to the Triune God in His dispensation. Because of Satan, the flesh, and the world, God’s dispensation has not yet been carried out. In God’s economy as seen in the three parables of Luke 15, the Son comes to seek the fallen ones, and the Spirit enlightens them in order to bring them back to the Father. But the Devil works against the Son, the flesh strives against the Spirit, and the world frustrates people from coming back to the Father.
Anyone who is sent by the Lord must know how to take the serpent by the tail, how to deal with leprosy, and how to deal with the world with its supply and enjoyment. If we lack these three qualifications, then we have not been called by God and therefore cannot be His sent ones. In one whom God has called, Satan, the flesh, and the world have lost their ground.
The fact that Exodus 4 records these three signs is a proof that the Bible is divinely inspired. No human author would write of such things. In chapter three of Exodus God showed Moses a thorn-bush that burned without being consumed. Following this, in chapter four the Lord showed Moses three subjective signs to give him a realization concerning Satan, the flesh, and the world. This indicates that a called one must firstly have the vision of the burning thorn-bush. Then he needs some subjective experience to know Satan, the flesh, and the world.
Praise the Lord for the signs of one who is called and sent by God! We thank Him for the clear picture of these signs in Exodus 4. In these days so many saints are aspiring to be useful in the hand of the Lord. But, as we have pointed out in this message, if we would be useful to the Lord, we must know the serpent, leprosy, and blood; that is, we need to know how to deal with Satan, the flesh, and the world.