“I am
YHVH, the Elohim of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?”
Yirmyahu -
Beloved He who is able to create the heavens and
the earth can do anything and He who was able to overcome what was at that time
the greatest power on the earth, when He brought Israel out of Egypt by great
signs and wonders, for did Elohim not say … “Is anything too
hard for Me?” Yirmyahu -
As we contemplate
We might as well stop here as this study may
well be over for we have already found the truth. But there is so much more to
be learned in the life of our beloved Moshe!
But first, let me briefly return to chapter 3 verses 16 to 22 and discover what the Word was teaching all of us there.
In those verses our Heavenly Father was giving
Moshe instructions for when he returned to
Then in verses 18 & 19 Elohim states that they
shall hear and believe what Moshe would say and that he would go before pharaoh
and demand the release of the children of
“But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment.”
Both the KJV and the NKJV uses the word “borrow,” whereas all other Bible versions use the word “ask.” The sad fact is that the King James Version was originally translated by those who loathed the Jewish/Hebrew people and thus they used certain words throughout their version to implicate them in one way or another and that can be seen in other verses and books as well. Many swear by this version, yet it has well over 100,000 major Scriptural errors in its translation!
The actual Hebrew word used in the Tanach
(Hebrew for Old Covenant) is “
All the above was Elohim assuring Moshe that all would be well and this was an absolute promise that Israel would be redeemed and returned to the land of their fathers.
Now as we enter chapter 4, we will look at Moshe’s third excuse, why he could, or would not be suitable doing what the Almighty was asking of him.
“Moshe answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'YHVH did not appear to you?’” Shemos - Exodus 4:1.
As we have just read, Moshe said, “What if they won’t believe me,” to which YaHVaH answered in verses 8 & 9,
“They will believe you because of the works that accompany your words.”
The sad fact is this; so often people will only believe the Words of Elohim, if they can SEE the Works of Elohim! And that is so tragic!
People then, as so many today tend to have their eyes on the miracles, rather than on Him who does them. They tend to spend more time with the creatures and creation, rather than with their Creator.
However, as the Word describes when Messiah
Yahushua was in the midst of
But the sad truth is that not even the miracles could make the Pharisees believe, why? That is simple; these wicked and powerful men were just like so many men of “the cloth” today, for they were simply men that had good incomes and men of the world. Considering faith is the requirement to believing, but it was obvious that these men just had none! Yahushua stated about those who did believe …
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have believed.” Yochanan -
YaHVaH said to Moshe, “I will do things with Words and Works.” Thus, at
this point,
Miracle number 1 - “A Rod” – “
“So, YHVH said to Moshe, ‘What is that in your hand?’ Moshe replied, ‘A Staff.’”
“Staff: is used by the following
versions - New International Version, New American Standard Version,
Sadly beloved, some Bible versions such as the New International Version, New American Standard Version, Darby Bible, etc, and this just proves, just like the KJV and others there are so many Bible translation that have so many vital details wrong and just cannot be 100% trusted, which is really sad! I certainly do not get any joy having to say that, but it is my duty to clear up any error and make the Word a light to the world, for the word Staff or Rod does make a huge difference in this study!
Thus, we should ask the question, “what was this staff and what was its purpose?” Let us read this verse again, but in a more reliable version!
“And YHVH said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ And he said, ‘A rod.’” The Scriptures – Note: This is one of the best translations available to date!
You will note several major differences between the KJVversions mentioned above and “The Scriptures.” 1. The name of Moshe is nowhere to be found It is just “he,” whereas it is found twice in the KJV and most other Bibles. Considering Moshe is addressed in Verse 1, his name is not needed in verse 2! 2. We do not find a “staff” but instead there is as “Rod.” You can take my word for it, as you will soon discover Scripturally this makes a massive difference, for know that in certain churches they carry around a staff - a crook and believe me, these are not Scriptural and have nothing to do with the Word, but the “Mat’teh” – “Rod” has! I did state that those other versions had it wrong, but believe me, it is the KJV that is the very worst of them all, for it has over 100,000 Scriptural errors I have shown just several minor ones in our studies, if you visit the study “Easter” you will find one that has plunged the church into full-scale paganism!
In Hebrew the word used is “
A “Rod” represented the shepherds and their family’s authority and it was also used as a weapon to be used against the enemies of the sheep, such as the wild beasts, it also kept the family safe from intruders. Thus the Rod was in reality a weapon, but it was also very much the tribes or the families “Sceptre,” as well as the shepherd’s staff when walking. In those days, it was the shepherd’s most precious possession.
He, or his forefathers usually had it handed down, but not in the case of Moshe of course, but Moshe very early when he commenced his new career as a shepherd, he would have taken a great deal of time selecting a suitable tree and finding a long straight branch without any knots in it, a piece of wood that was strong and straight. Many weeks if not months would have been spent carving and smoothing it. This Rod would never ever leave his side for it was his most entrusted weapon and dearest possession and he would slowly carve it with the events of his life as they occurred! But now the Almighty tells Moshe,
“Throw it on the ground.” chapter 4:3.
Moshe’s
mind would have almost exploded … “What
my Rod, no, no, not my most precious possession! No way!”
“No, not my Rod Elohim. I have worked on it for so long, I even carved the events of my life on it and anyway a Rod never leaves a man’s side, you know that? Not my Rod, Elohim.”
Sadly too many believers hold onto the past and past disappointments. This, beloved is the self, and yes, I do mean the “I, me and myself,” those who frequently look back and sadly this will often lead to depression. And I have really bad news if this is the case for you, for depression automatically tends to open the door to the enemy HaSatan - and yes more often than not - to sin!
Beloved, having been in ministry since the
early 1980s I have seen far too many “christians” and even good and
faithful believers in Yahushua who have held onto the past in various degrees,
be it the self or something else and that may have held them back spiritually
or doctrinally. Sadly some are being held back to a considerable degree because
of this! Most tragically churches have been so very good at holding onto the
doctrines and the teaching of that evil pagan
“Do away with the traditions of men” and “get rid of anything that is not from Me.”
Let me tell you beloved if you are holding
onto the past and continually looking back, it will also hold you back from a
blessed future in the “
We must go forward into the Word of Elohim and trust Him, for He will never deceive us. HalleluYah!
“YHVH said, ‘Throw the Rod on the ground.’ Moshe threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.” Vs 3.
As Moshe threw his beloved Rod down, YaHVaH who is the Creator can create anything He desires and in an instant He turned the Rod into a serpent, a snake. As Moshe beheld it, sadly fear entered into his mind and he ran from it. I find this so sad, for Moshe is standing in the very presence of the Creator, the Almighty Elohim, and he knows this, and yet he fears this snake, which he must have realised Elohim has turned into a snake. But, he was still on a learning curve!
Verse 4 then sates:
“Then YHVH said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.”
Elohim sort of said; “come back Moshe, fear not and pick up this serpent by the tail.” I am not sure if you know this, but most in Australia certainly do, for if you pick up a snake up by the tail that snake may well turn his head right back and attack and bite you on the hand! But praise YaHVaH, it was at this point that Moshe began to trust his Elohim, thus he went forward and picked up the snake as commanded and immediately it became his trusted Mat’teh, Rod again.
In verse 5, Elohim says
“‘This is so that they may believe
that YHVH, the Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of
Yitzchak -
What YaHVaH was really saying is …
“Moshe, I am going to send you back to
You see, something very important had
occurred, for the
“Moshe said to Yahushua -
Beloved, if we give our Rods, our lives to Him, we also become His instruments and then we can be used by Elohim in His service.
But, like Moshe during his time of arguing with the Almighty, many will continue to hold onto their past, their possessions and their stubborn ways, rather than being shaped by the Almighty!
Miracle number 2 – “Leprosy” - Exodus 4:6.
“Then YHVH said, ‘Put your hand inside your garment.’ Thus Moshe put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, white like snow.
Leprosy is considered in most parts of the
world as being “unclean.” This miracle absolutely proves that the
Elohim, who is able to create, is also the Elohim who is able to destroy. We
should understand that our beloved Elohim of love has also to be an Elohim of
anger and wrath, for the Word clearly teaches that during the time of the
“Great Tribulation.”
Then YaHVaH said to Moshe in Shemos - Exodus 4:7.
“Now put it back into your cloak,’ Thus Moshe put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.”
Here we see that our loving Heavenly Father is
a healer, but in this case it would be for a sign to
Miracle number 3 – “Water into Blood” (future tense) – Shemos - Exodus 4:8 & 9.
Then Elohim said to Moshe.
“If they do not believe you or pay attention
to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not
believe these two signs, or listen to you, take some water from the
Did you know beloved, that each one of
these three miracles are miracles of destruction and a powerful threat? We
already know that
First, there was the snake. No wonder Moshe ran away for it was a deadly serpent.
Just like those great deceivers over the centuries that have attempted to destroy the true faith with pagan traditions they are all men who are led by that Satanic serpent! Follow these sinners, be they called “christian” or not, but death will be certain, unless there is a “RETURN to the one and true YHVH Elohim” and He who is The Word, Yahushua THE Messiah, but this must come with heartfelt repentance!
Second, there was that leprous hand. Leprosy that in those days meant a certain and a guaranteed death, as the flesh would rot and the person would suffer a painful and horrific death.
Third, water is a symbol of life, for water is the source of life. Once it is turned into blood then death must follow for there will be nothing to drink!
All this reminds us that we should not only
speak of the “
“For the wages of sin is death!” Romans 6:23.
Note: The Hebrew word “Sheol” translates as “Grave,” – the “Pit” and the KJV and in some other Bibles translates incorrectly as “Hell,” which is a misnomer!
With Moshe being told that the people would believe him, he had finally run out of the “they won’t believe me” excuses, thus he changes tack and takes another stand against going back to Egypt, as he declares in chapter 4 Vs 10.
“O YHVH, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past, nor since You have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
Oh Moshe, Moshe, Moshe, why don’t you just GO and DO what the Almighty has asked of you!
We are getting nearer and nearer to the reason to why Moshe did not want to go and the very truth of it! As I think of Moshe’s excuse relating to his speech impediment reminds me of a man I knew, who had a dreadful speech impediment and to my knowledge, he was never healed of it. Yet, whenever he prayed, he spoke so beautifully and with great clarity. Now that is what I call a great witness!
Those who base their faith only on what they think what they can or cannot do will never get anywhere, but those who believe without seeing will be blessed!
Moshe more or less said, “YaHVaH I
can’t be your spokesman, I am simply not good enough for the job, I
cannot speak well.”
All excuses fall to the ground. Let your excuses and your Rods go and do what Elohim wants you to do and take a stand in faith! Then you will discover what we are really capable of and serve our Redeemer Yahushua, and if He calls you into His service, you will know that our Father will be in it.
Chapter 4:11-12.
“YHVH said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, YHVH? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
Having heard all this, Moshe plays his very last card, his Fifth Excuse.
Exodus 4:13.
“But Moshe said, ‘O YHVH, please send someone else to do it.”
What - “Send someone else.” Beloved we have discovered the real problem, for that was the real trouble all along! We have finally reached the bottom line. Moshe simply did not want to do it. We might ask the question but why? Could it be that he did not want to go back to the place where he had been a failure 40 years earlier! Elohim must have said, and I am paraphrasing,
“Yes Moshe,
you were a failure back in
Remember what Moshe said when Elohim first
called Moshe, Moshe, and he replied “Hinei” - “Here I am,” but
here he was already saying - “Send
someone else.”
Chapter 4:14-16 Elohim states …
“Then YHVH's anger burned against Moshe
and He said, ‘What about your brother,
YaHVaH our Elohim had become angry and thus said (Paraphrased).
“All right Moshe, you could have had the honour and the prestige of being My sole leader in this, but now I will send your brother to do the talking, if that is what you want. You can tell your brother what to say and now it will be him who will have the great honour to speak for Me.”
How humiliating for Moshe, now his brother is going to stand before Pharaoh, although Moshe would always be with him.
Now, what was wrong with all of Moshe’s excuses? The problem was that Moshe was questioning two things. 1. YaHVaH’s ability to use him and 2. YaHVaH’s authority to go and Moshe was questioning both.
If we produce excuses when Elohim calls us, it is either because you doubt His ability or His authority – and beloved that is a SIN!
In the next verse 17, YaHVaH says “Go.”
“But take this Rod in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”
Finally
Moshe realised that there was no option, for the Elohim of his fathers
had called him and finally he obeyed and made ready to go back to
Up to now we have studied Moshe’s five excuses why he did not want to go back to Egypt and do Elohim’s work. Now as we progress in chapter 4 we discover five very different reactions to his decision to go and obey the will of his Elohim!
Sadly what I am about to state has proven to be so true even in these times, for if YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, calls you to do something such as into a specialised ministry, do not expect everybody to shout “HalleluYah how wonderful!” For amazingly the reactions to Moshe’s call are what the next 14 verses are all about.
The truth is this; there will be many people in your life who will not be as thrilled as you are. Worse still they will tell this and worse still quite dramatically so.
However, in this case Moshe’s father in law Jethro as we know from the Word approved of his going. Jethro was a good man, a Midianite who believed in the One Elohim and the Creator, although he was not a descendent of the Children of Israel.
“Then Moshe went back to Jethro his
father-in-law and said to him, ‘Let me go back to my own people in
1. Jethro was a wise man and said “go and take my blessing with you.” This father gave his blessing, even though he also had to say goodbye to his daughter Zipporah. He said to Moshe “Go, your Elohim has called you.” Blessed is the parent who sends their children with their blessing, when they realise that YHVH, blessed be He, called them for His work, even if it means saying goodbye to them.
2. Moshe’s wife Zipporah. Now remember she was not an Israelite
and she was a real problem for she did not share the faith of Moshe. In fact it
was she who raised the children in her own faith and here is Moshe going back
to his people
We learn from verses 24 to 26 that on their way to Egypt Moshe fell desperately ill and close to death and that is what was meant by the Hebrew word “Mith’ow” which is written in most Scriptures as “About, or sought to kill him.” But we all know that Elohim was never going to kill Moshe for he had a job to do and thus Elohim was not going to make a liar out of Himself! Whilst Moshe was very ill, YaHVaH convicted Moshe about his sons. He might have said,
“Moshe you are not doing as you should. Circumcise your sons, and remember you are the leader of your family, not your wife.”
This is one of the big problems these days for so many wives tend to lord it over their husbands and yes sadly that includes far to many wives who claim Messiah as Saviour! Let me tell you this, according to the Word this is a grievous SIN and is not to be tolerated in the house of the faithful in Messiah Yahushua. Wives are to be subject to their husband, just as their husband are to be subject to Yahushua, for there has to be an order in the world, once you break that order it means chaos!
To be the Virgin BRIDE of Messiah we must live according to the will of YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, and live according to Yahushua’s commandments! Therefore we must please Him, for it is not a matter of “the self,” or “the I me and myself,” but it is a matter of obedience in faith. As the Word states, “for faith without works is dead.”
“… faith, if it has not works, it
is dead, being alone. Yes, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works:
show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works.”
Moshe told his wife, that his son had to be circumcised. She was so furious she took a sharp stone and did it herself and displayed her anger in a most disgusting way. She called Moshe names, “You are a bloody husband,” and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast the son’s foreskin at Moshe's feet.
It is most important that you note: From this point Zipporah is not mentioned again until Moshe
returns to the Sinai after he has led the Children of
Thus, Moshe went on towards
This can happen to you if you are called into Elohim’s service. Somebody near and dear unto you may well turn against you and that is a difficult situation. And believe me, when I came to know Messiah as an orthodox Hebrew in 1977, I also lost a great deal in my personal life, in fact it was my wife and that was a great tragedy, as well most of my friends, by business, all my possessions, yet beloved, in Messiah I have gained so much more! There is more to this story, but this is not the place.
3. Now the reaction of Moshe’s brother. Here we see affection.
Elohim must have told
Zipporah departed and his brother came and
filled the gap in Moshe’ life and together they went to face the great
Pharaoh. From here, they became joint workers in the service of Elohim.
4. We also see Pharaoh’s reaction. Elohim had said that he would be stubborn and would not approve. Pharaoh with his hardened heart stood firm against Moshe.
5. The fifth reaction came back in
Thus, Moshe had the people accepting what Elohim had told him to do. Although it was an up and down road due to the harshness of Pharaoh and they did rebel against Moshe at times as we know.
You will find that frequently this is the unusual pattern when Elohim calls a person. You will find a variety of human reactions. Some will say “I will come with you in this.” Others will say, “I don’t understand what’s got into you.” Or “You’ve got religious mania, you’ve gone mad.” Some will say “go in peace, and accept your service.” Others again, will stand against you. More often than not, it will be your own family or those close to you.
Yet, in these reactions you will find the confirmation that YaHVaH has really called you, for usually it is never a smooth path.
Now notice as we close what the Israelites did
when Moshe and
“They bowed down and worshipped Elohim!” Vs 31.
They blessed Elohim, because they now knew
that
The faithful of
YaHVaH is here with us and He is speaking to
us through His Word and through His servant Moshe. Place
“your Rod” before
YaHVaH NOW and He will turn it into “His Rod.” Beloved, are you
willing to be the “Rod of
If you are sure that Elohim is with you when you pray then you can thank Him in the precious Name of Yahushua, for He is with all the faithful in Him right now!
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“Teach me Your way, O YHVH. I will
walk in Your truth.
UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR YOUR NAME!”
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Yahushua said; “No one can come to Me unless the Father who
sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in
the Prophets: They will all be taught by Elohim. Everyone who listens to the
Father and learns from Him comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except the
One who is from Elohim; only He has seen the Father. I tell you the truth he
who believes has everlasting life.” Yochanan (
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