After we see the vision of the burning thorn-bush and after we come to know who God is and what God is, we still need the three signs. The first sign is that of the rod becoming the serpent. The subtle serpent who poisoned Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is exposed in Exodus 4. This sign helps us to know the Devil. It indicates that anything we rely upon apart from God is a hiding place for the serpent. Through the years I have learned that whenever I trust in something, the serpent is hidden in that thing. We have pointed out that the rod which Moses had used for many years was a hiding place for the usurping serpent. However, Moses did not realize this until, at the word of the Lord, he cast the rod to the ground. Then the hidden serpent was exposed.
The second sign is that of the hand that became leprous. This sign is for knowing the flesh of sin. We are not only leprous, but we are leprosy. This means that we are sin, not just sinful. When Christ died on the cross, He not only bore our sins (1 Pet. 2:24), but He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Because we were sin, Christ was made sin for us. Every called one must have the subjective knowledge that his flesh is a flesh of sin and that nothing good dwells in it. Our flesh is a constitution of sin, rottenness, and corruption.
Furthermore, the called one must realize that the world is filled with death. This is revealed in the third sign, the sign of the water becoming blood. To the people of the world, enjoyment comes from the supply and entertainment of the world, signified by the Nile that watered the land of Egypt. However, in the eyes of God’s called one, the world is not filled with living water, but filled with the blood of death. What the world has to offer is not water to quench our thirst; it is death that poisons us and kills us.
As God’s called ones, we must know the Devil, the flesh, and the world. Paul had this threefold knowledge. Regarding Satan, Paul said, “We are not ignorant of his thoughts” (2 Cor. 2:11). Regarding the flesh, he said, “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells” (Rom. 7:18). And regarding the world, he said, “The world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Again we see that what Moses experienced in type, Paul experienced in reality.
After all this, Moses still needed the male help and the female help. The male help is that of matching. This kind of help balances us, restricts us, and humbles us.
Through his brother’s matching Moses learned to let others do what he was able to do. Do not think that Aaron was more eloquent than Moses. Whatever Aaron did, Moses was able to do also, but he was restricted from doing so. In the church life the Lord will often raise up an environment that forces us to allow others to do what we can do. This should be a principle of our functioning in the church. If a brother is able to do a certain thing, let him do it, even if you can do it better. This will humble you. However, I have seen many, especially sisters, who insisted that they alone be allowed to do a particular thing. According to our natural makeup, we do not want others to interfere with what we are doing. Nevertheless, we all must learn to let others do the very thing we are able to do.
I do not believe that Aaron was more capable than Moses. Nevertheless, God sovereignly arranged a situation that allowed Aaron to do what Moses was able to do. In the church life we should not do everything ourselves. Instead, we should let others do what we can do. This does not mean, however, that we should be idle. On the contrary, it means that in a matching relationship we are restricted, balanced, and humbled.
This restriction is a safeguard and protection. Nothing is a greater protection in our spiritual life than the brothers’ matching. The more we are matched with others, the more we are protected.
In 4:24-26 we see that Zipporah was used by God to cause Moses to be a “bloody husband.” The matching is objective, but the cutting is very subjective. In the Bible the male represents objective truth, whereas the female represents subjective experience. Thus, Aaron’s matching was outward and objective, but Zipporah’s cutting was inward and subjective.
If we would be used of the Lord in His recovery, we must bear a sign of having been cut. This does not mean that we should talk about the cutting we have experienced. On the contrary, it means that we should silently bear this sign. Let others say we have been cut. In Exodus 4 it was Zipporah, not Moses, who said that he was a “bloody husband.”
Both in the church life and in married life we need to be such a “bloody husband.” If a brother is to be truly God’s called one, he needs to be cut in a subjective way. We learn a great deal through the cutting. Sometimes my wife cuts me by restricting my eating. This cutting keeps me healthy and prevents me from indulging myself. Because of her helpful cutting, I am not permitted to give in to fleshly indulgence in eating. Thus, the cutting keeps us from living according to the natural life.
Outside the recovery it is difficult for a group of Christians to stay together longer than fifteen years because no one is willing to be cut. Instead of the cutting, there is the playing of politics. Only those who are willing to be cut can be useful to God. Every useful one is a “bloody husband.” Daily and even hourly we need to experience the circumcision of the natural life. It is not sufficient merely to see that we are sinful. Our natural life must also be circumcised, either by those in our family or by the brothers and sisters in the church. I am willing to be cut. I gladly present myself to those who cut me. This cutting is the last aspect of God’s calling. Only after we have been cut can we carry out God’s commission. After Moses had been cut, he was truly useful in the hand of God.
When we compare the aspects of God’s calling in Exodus 3 and 4 to the record in the New Testament, we see that whatever Moses experienced, Paul experienced also. Furthermore, all this must be our experience today. We need to see the vision of the burning thorn-bush: the Triune God burning within and upon His redeemed ones. This is the focal point of the divine revelation in the Scriptures. Then we need to know who God is and what God is. Furthermore, we must know the Devil, the flesh, and the world. Following this, we need the matching and the cutting. If we are willing for the subjective experience of the circumcision of our natural life, then we shall live by the resurrection life, we shall become useful in the hand of the Lord for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose, and we shall be prepared to carry out God’s commission. May every aspect of God’s calling be our experience in the Lord’s recovery today.