ON THE VANGUARD

SNAKE-EATER
“Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”
Exodus 7:12

When Moses was standing before the burning bush, God gave him two signs showing His might. The first was displayed when Moses laid his staff down on the desert sand. Instantly his staff turned into a snake. As Moses went to pick it back up by its tail, the snake turned back into a staff. A second sign was displayed when Moses placed his hand inside his cloak. When he pulled it out, his hand looked as though it had been infected with a leprous disease. These signs were only a forecast of what God would unleash upon Egypt in the days to come.
It was now, as Moses and Aaron stood before the Pharaoh requesting the release of the Israelites, that the first of God’s signs would be seen by Egypt. Aaron placed his staff on the floor of Pharaoh’s kingdom and the staff became a snake. Unmoved, Pharaoh called his magicians to him to repeat this ‘trick’. Sure enough, the staffs of the Egyptian magicians also turned into snakes. But there was one difference. The staff of Aaron which was now in snake form slithering on the ground ate the snakes of the magicians.
It is easy to quickly read over this verse. And why not? Pharaoh saw it first hand and even he looked over the incident. But we should not overlook this verse. It is in this verse that we see a marker of God’s strength. It is from this verse that the plagues stem. Beginning with this verse, Egypt starts to fall. It is from this verse that God wants to get our attention. The snake of God’s servant devoured the snakes of the enemy. So then, the acts of God through us should overtake the acts performed by our enemy.
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord, according to Matthew 28:18. But He has given us His power. This is not so that we can boast or become great in our own eyes, but rather that God can be glorified through us and people brought to a relationship with Him. Moses was not able to transform a staff into a snake on his own. It was done through God’s power. Pharaoh’s magicians were also not able to perform this ‘trick’ on their own strength. They too were assisted, but by the enemy, the devil. In the end, however, God’s power was greater than the devil’s as was seen by the snake of God’s elect devouring the snakes of the enemy.
Let us consider what we can gleam from this verse for it is in the Bible for a reason. It is written for us so that once again we may realize God’s strength. John 16:33 tells us God has overcome the world. Will we have trouble? Yes. We will be put in positions where we will face our own Pharaohs and magicians. But with God on our side, as we place the staff down, we too will see His might as He devours and eats our enemy. The singing duo of Hall and Oates may have sung about a “Maneater”, but my God is a snake-eater.