And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

Moses Sees God’ Power

In chapter 4 God begins to convince Moses that he is God’s man for the world changing task of bringing the Hebrews home. He begins by showing Moses three signs. Signs that would prove to Moses that God’s power would flow through Him.

1st Sign, God turns Moses’ shepherd’s rod into a serpent and then back again. Exodus 4:2-32 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. I think I fully understand Moses’ reaction here. I don’t care how cool you think you are, if a snake suddenly appears at your feet, you’re going to do some high stepping. But the Lord called Moses back and told him. Exodus 4:4-5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

The 2nd Sign was also just as shocking. Exodus 4:6-8 6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

At this point, I’m sure Moses isn’t needing any more signs from God. But God promises there will be one more if the people don’t listen to Moses. Exodus 4:9 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt 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.

At this point Moses doesn’t need any more convincing that God’s power will flow through him. I sure don’t blame him, at 80 years old his poor old heart was probably beating 200 beats per minute after that snake sign. Moses now has been assured that God can use him to deliver the Children of Israel from bondage.

Seeing The Signs of God Today

Signs from God, the Bible is filled with them and there are many that claim miraculous signs and wonders are all around us today. They make this claim to try and prove that they are God’s leaders, or that they are close to God, like a Moses or an NT apostle. Though when you think about it you don’t see any of these pseudo-prophets turning walking sticks into serpents or giving themselves leprosy. You know why that is? Because no one likes a snake at their feet, I just told you that.

Those who claim signs and wonders today in the same way that Moses, Elijah or the apostles did are charlatans and liars. I say that without any reservations or fear of contradiction. I do not say it to be mean, but it needs to be understood clearly. If you put your trust in one of these scam artists, you are even more naïve that someone who believes in man-made global warm or the benevolence of Big Pharma and the trustworthiness of the mainline media. Sorry is that political, I’ll stop.

Why can I be so sure these people are charlatan? Because I have a Bible and I study it. When you study it, fully, exhaustively, and systematically, which is the only way you should study it, then you find that God’s word clearly shows that miraculous signs are used by God only during critical, crucial times of His Plan of the Ages, His overall purpose for the redemption of mankind. Miracles, signs and wonder do not happen at the whim of someone putting on a show or trying to get rich so they can buy their next Ferrari or Rolls Royce.

The Time for The Signs. Here are those “times of signs” in the Bible.

Miracles of Creation.
Miracles of the Exodus and Conquest.
Miracles of Elijah and Elisha.
Miracles of the Messiah and early Church
Miracles of the Tribulation.

Yet these constitute a very small amount of the total time since creation. The vast majority of the Bible is not about people believing God by miracles but people believing God without miracles. Its called walking by faith, not by sight.

Signs of Our Times.

What of our own Biblical time? Do we live in a time of great signs and miracles or a time of faith in God’s promises? Should we expect God to prove Himself to us as he did to Moses, the Hebrews and Pharaoh or has He already done that and now we are expected to believe in what God has already proven?

What did Jesus say? Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed.

What did Paul say? Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

We are called not to seek signs but to walk by faith.

And yet, and yet that walk of faith is not a blind walk, but one built over centuries of God’s divine revelation of Himself. In the past, God has given us signs, but now those proofs of the past mean we are to walk by faith. God has proven Himself through His word to us, just as He proved Himself to Moses through a shepherds staff.

The signs of God’s reality, of his transcending His creation and involving Himself in the lives of mankind today are still very evident. They are still easily recognized and sometime just as shocking as a snake or a leprous hand.

Years ago, when I was going to Bible college there was a whole series of billboards signed by God do you remember those. I thought they were great.

One of them said, You know that love thy neighbor thing I said. I meant that. -sign God. Another said, “Don’t make me come down there. – God. And one that applies here said, “Here is your sign.” – God

When it comes to signs from God today, they aren’t written on billboards, but they are written down, here in His Word. You want a sign from God? Here is your sign, the Bible.

The Bible is God’s word, literally. It is His revelation, and it is the greatest sign ever given by God to mankind.  

The Bible took 1500 years to complete. It was penned through God’s inspiration over 40 generations, by 40 different authors, who wrote in 3 different languages on 3 different continents. It was the first book translated into another language. It has been translated into more languages than all other books combined. It has been printed more than any other book in all of history. It has been distributed more than any other book in history.

All this despite the facts that it has been prohibited, censored, burned, ridiculed and attacked more than any other book in all of history.

You want God to give you a sign, then open this book and read it. God has not hidden himself; He has revealed Himself, through creation, through His Son and for us today through His word.

And just like Moses when we have seen the signs of God, then we must take and show those signs to a world that needs to see God for themselves. Moses had his staff and you and I have ours, the staff of God’s Word. Share it, for God is seen in its pages, and through those pages the Holy Spirit begins to act upon lost hearts.

Here is Their Sign. Not only must we show them the Word of God in the Word of God, but we must also show them the Word of God in us, the Children of God. The world is looking for proof, for a sign that God is real and loves them. God intends that you and I would be that sign of His love.

1 John 4:7-16 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.  12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

As Moses was to be a sign himself to the Children of Israel that God had come to deliver them from slavery, you and I are to be a sign that Jesus has come to deliver the lost from sin.