(Volume 1, Issue 2: )
The earth’s wealthiest resources are universally accessible yet ubiquitously exclusive to all but the casual collector or curator. Its soil’s surface is but the first of many layers representing thick boundaries and barriers that obscure the secure treasures within, as with its sea surfaces, which though largely transparent, often appear translucent or opaque, correspondingly obfuscating the fine treasures buried in its depths. Earth’s priceless riches are thus extracted, excavated, or extricated from ocean depths through a series of intentional, systematic, and exacting processes. These are embarked upon by the relative few who set their sights, skills, and passions to do so as a professional or other equally persistent pursuits. Casual observers or persons with fleeting fancies will rarely enjoy the thrills of unearthing precious stones or other sources of wealth. It takes focused intentionality, determined fervor, a strong sense of purpose, and an ardent, unrelenting persistence to uncover the earth’s richest treasures.
Likewise, man’s greatest and most priceless treasures often lay incognito, dormant, untapped, and obscured in the mundanity of daily living and the depths of mindless details, activities, and minutiae of day-to-day existence.
Recent God-encounters tasked us with examining some fascinating questions God asked His people in certain climactic situations. He asked because He wanted to open their understanding to the great possibilities embedded in several dimensions of their lives and environs, not because He was clueless, ignorant, or directionless on what to do.
Join me in this adventurous quest to discover the priceless assets these ordinary folks unearthed in their attempts to answer these questions, and uncover with me the great treasures and invaluable merchandise we also have at our disposal, enabling life experiences, blessings, and performances at God’s highest and best!
What Is In Your Hand?
That Moses had no idea where the answer to such a seemingly innocuous question would lead, or that it would blast open all sorts of limiting barricades to usher into unimaginable adventures is obvious to any reader. His response was likely automatic; unthinkingly uttered as he wondered why God was asking such a question. Even if He was uninformed about humanity’s ways or his shepherd’s trademark tools, surely, He could see and hear the bleating sheep just a few yards away and make the necessary deductions! There was no doubt that He could see what Moses was holding, yet still felt the need to inquire. Was it possible that the Creator of the universe was somehow ignorant of the existence or utility of a Shepherd’s rod? Moses was baffled.
“A rod”1 was his bemused reply. God proceeded to give him a series of instructions (including one involving a slithering snake stunt that more than rattled his normally placid countenance!) – before pronouncing a final edict regarding its use; “Now take this rod and use it to perform miracles.”2. Thus informed, trained, and equipped, he went his way to begin his new life’s assignment.
In the first volume of this series, we established the fact that God’s questions to man are not born of curiosity or a state of ignorance, but to open the subject to the possibilities, plans, or provisions available to them that they might be missing. In Moses’s instance, there was more than met the eye than an ordinary shepherd’s rod.
Not surprisingly and certainly not rocket science, a rod in Moses’s day was exactly just that – a rod, or simply put, a stick. It was often the product of a thin but sturdy, broken or chopped-off tree branch that had been divested of its leaves or mini branches and shaped into a smooth, long, implement. For shepherds, it served the dual purpose of ambulation and weight-bearing assistance as they traveled the distances necessary to find good pastures for their sheep. It was also a handy tool for redirecting straying sheep back to the herd, sometimes requiring a gentle (or not-so-gentle) whack on their back or backside to get them back on track.
In Bible terminology, the designation was used synonymously and often interchangeably with “staff”, “walking stick”, and “scepter”. Scepters were ornamental rods carefully forged from metals, colorfully decorated, and skillfully bejeweled by superior craftsmanship for regal bearing and display by rulers. This latter type of rod was considered a special distinction of royalty and rulership, an open exhibit of the bearer’s sovereignty.
Psalms 23:4 reveals the classic symbolism these terms depict, the clear nuances of their distinction, and the significance of their existence and delineation. Bible scholars indicate that the term “rod” is a symbol of authority, power, and dominion; it alludes to sovereign leadership and rulership, the ability to discipline and defend/protect those under one’s care. It also asserts the ability to ward off, discipline, and destroy any who would dare or attempt to attack those in one’s charge (see Psalms 2:9; 110:2, 5-6; 72:4; Isaiah 11:1-2; 4; Rev 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15), and even acknowledges the tragic instance of wicked rulership wielding and enforcing evil power and dominion on its unfortunate victims (Psalms 125:3; 89:22; Isaiah 10:5, 27; 14:5-6; 25, 29, etc.).
The term “staff” as it relates to a shepherd bears the additional connotation of watchfulness, compassion, and guidance (often in the form of gentle nudging, whacking, or poking meandering sheep in the right direction), qualities most true shepherds possess as a natural byproduct of their calling and the sheep’s tendencies to wander off or to get entangled in dangerous, precarious situations.
The fact that God chose to use a simple Shepherd’s rod to perform the miracles that changed the trajectory of history and a great nation is very telling. One would have imagined that He would create some special instrument such as a spectacular magic wand or another impressive power showpiece like the dazzling lightsaber. A lackluster stick representing a lowly shepherd’s typical work ensemble is not what the average person would choose for such important and destiny-defining tasks. In Moses’s eyes, it was likely just an ordinary piece of equipment; one he took for granted or referenced as an after-thought. He probably never paid it any attention other than its rote utilization for his daily shepherding tasks. It was dispensable; the ease with which it was acquired was the same ease with which it could be discarded or replaced.
The unspoken message surrounding God’s choice of this seemingly unremarkable implement is unequivocal: God delights in using the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary, the mundane to confound the remarkable, and the disdained or disregarded to dumbfound the pomp and fanfare-inclined. The most explicit expression of this is in Paul’s opening admonition to the Corinthian church3.
The second unvoiced communication God’s choice conveys is just as poignant – He takes ordinary things and people and makes them extraordinary, doing with them previously unimaginable things! He does this by empowering the tools of His choice, sometimes by elaborate displays of His presence and power as seen in the Holy Spirit’s advent4, but mostly by declaring things to be the way He intends them to be (see Isaiah 55:11; Romans 4:17; Genesis 1:3; 6-7; 9, etc.). The empowering nature of the exercises God engaged Moses with when He first called his attention to the rod is seen, as is the reason He didn’t create a new tool or choose a more elaborate means of expression for the assignment. A simple power upgrade of the existing rod was all that was needed, especially one previously viewed as nondescript and unexceptional.
The third silent message God’s spotlight and accentuation of Moses’s rod communicates is the fact that God backs every assignment He gives with His empowerment and authority. No government, law enforcement agency, or employer would expect any in their workforce to perform their duties without the tools, capabilities, or authorization with which to do so. Neither will God fail to assign a task without equipping with the necessary empowerment and authorization requisite for the job. Almost always, the power tools He furnishes are commonplace aids already in the recipient’s possession, usually inconspicuously centered in the palm of the person’s hand.
The foremost of those power tools is the rod of His authority which He simply and effectively bestows by His Word. He instructed Moses as He commissioned him to his nation-delivering assignment, “Now take this rod and use it to perform miracles”5. He gave the following charge to the original Disciples and their ensuing followers, “All authority has been given to Me …. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …”6. He told those same disciples, “I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, …..”7.
He furnishes other tools as well, practical human and non-human accompaniments to synergize, accomplish and effect the changes necessary to optimally fulfill one’s assignment. He gave Moses the stammerer Aaron as his spokesperson, Sampson; indefatigable might, Solomon; unsurpassed wisdom & wealth, Joseph and Daniel; unrivaled wit and dream interpretation skills, Esther; matchless favor and beauty, David and Deborah; unparalleled battle strategies, Paul; unusual spiritual insights and pedagogic persuasive power, Phoebe, Lydia & Priscilla; the spiritual, social and economic prowess to stand as pillars of the early church despite the misogynistic times in which they lived; indeed the list is endless.
What is your assignment, and on whose authority do you operate? What tools do you have at your disposal; …. WHAT IS IN YOUR HAND?
Bibliography
- Exodus 4:3
- Exodus 4:17
- 1 Cor 1:27-29
- Acts 2:1-13
- Exodus 4:17
- Matt 28:18-20
- Luke 10:19