After we see
the vision of the burning thornbush 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
schemes” (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. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 117-118)
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