Grabbing Your Fear by the Tail

Okay, so maybe Moses doubted God and expressed as much in Exodus 3-4, but let’s give the guy some credit. In Exodus 4:3, God told Moses to throw his staff on the ground. So Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake (NIV). It’s the last part of this verse I really identify with: “and Moses fled from it (NASB).”

Just to make it clear, I hate snakes. Did you get that? I hate snakes! When I see a large snake, I do exactly what Moses did, FLEE! This is why I like the NASB translation of this verse — because it uses the word flee instead of “run” which is used by the NIV. Flee means: “to move swiftly; fly; speed,” according to dictionary.com. Exactly!

Ask anyone who knows me. If I see a snake, I flee. Even a small garter snake will make me “move swiftly; fly; speed.” Which brings me to the next verse, Exodus 4:3, where God told Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” Now if that was me, I would’ve said, “You want me to do what?” I mean, I would’ve been miles away by that point, fleeing from the snake. I would’ve told God, “Can’t you just get me a new staff?”

But Moses shows me how tough he really is compared to me. The later part of verse 4:4 tells it all: “So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.” To me that shows some definite faith in God. Notice God only told him to pick it up by the tail. He didn’t tell him what would happen. Moses trusted God and followed his instruction. Let’s give the man some credit for this demonstration of faith in God.

© 2020 CGThelen

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. – Matthew 8:26 (NASB)