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The subject that I desire to bring before your attention is that of appointed instrumentality. God accomplishes the purposes of His grace by instrumentality. Blessed are they who are enabled to give themselves up with all that they have and all that they are to be employed in the Lord's service. We are not employed to be writers of God's revealed will, nor to be leaders of God's people, nor to be in other respects what Moses was. But he was a pattern to believers in Christ, as far as instrumentality went, in the work to which he was called.

I. Now consider PREPARATION FOR USEFULNESS. In the case of Moses we see very remarkably a course of preparation going forward for many years, both as respects the dealing of God's providence with him, and also as respects the blessing of God's grace bestowed upon him.

II. But this brings me now to the second particular, namely, ENCOURAGEMENT IN GOD'S SERVICE AS HIS INSTRUMENTS, You will observe our text brings Moses before us, after all this lengthened preparation and when God was calling him to begin his work, as one who was making excuses and objections. As if he had said, '"Well, but what good can I do? There is no use in my going on this errand; I am not fit for it." If you read the remaining part of this chapter, you will see that this conviction of his mind was expressed again and again. And here we may observe, by the way, that there is such a thing as false humility. Humility, when it is genuine, the work of God's Spirit, cannot be overprized. But there may be what looks like humility, that is not the fruit of God's Spirit. If God calls me or you to any particular service, and we think that we are very humble and say, "No, I cannot attempt that service, I am not fit for it," this is false humility, because God never gives work without giving strength and wisdom to do it. God never brings a trial upon us without providing grace to enable us to bear the trial; so that believers in Christ may say, under all circumstances, "All is well." But without dwelling further upon this, the point I wish to notice is, how God removed Moses' objection. "The Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And the Lord said, Cast it on the ground." He did so, and then the circumstances occurred which you will read in the following verses. Observe, Moses had but a simple rod in his hand when he came to that point in his history on which the Lord was telling him to enter upon the special work for which he had been prepared. And yet if Moses' heart were right with God, he had that in his hand which might be useful in God's service, though it was only a rod. Man's wisdom is here utterly at fault. If man had been asked, "Now, what means should be used in order to deliver out of the iron bondage of a powerful monarch a nation such as Israel?" man would have formed some plan by which an army might be raised, and furnished with suitable weapons of war, and a suitable opportunity taken in order to throw off the yoke of Pharaoh's government and rule. But here was Moses, God's instrument, and he had neither sword, nor spear, nor army; he had a simple rod, a shepherd's rod in his hand. Observe, God does not require of Moses, when He tells him to go to His work, that which Moses has not. He does not require of Moses sword, and spear, and shield, and armies, in order to go forth to be a deliverer of Israel. The question is not to him, "What canst thou do? Canst thou Obtain those who will go forth under thy command to fight a battle of loyalty and for liberty? Canst thou get together, ammunition and other things which they will need for their warfare. Moses might have then said with truth he could not engage in the work. But all that God said to him was, "Moses, what is that in thine hand?" — not, "What canst thou get?" but, "What hast thou got?" Now, we learn from this, that God can use any instrument which He pleases for His work, and that those are altogether wrong who suppose that they are not called upon to do anything in the service of God because, perhaps, they are not distinguished as others of their fellow-creatures — have not so much money, not so much influence, not so great learning, not so much time on their hands, and so on. It is not to be looked at in this way, as if God demanded of us that which we have not, but simply that He requires of us that which we have. Observe, next, the Lord said unto Moses, "Cast it on the ground"; and upon its being cast on the ground, the rod, we are told, "became a serpent." Afterwards he was told to put forth his hand, and "it became a rod in his hand." God, by this double miracle, laid hold of that rod of Moses as His rod; it was no longer the rod of Moses only; it was the rod of God.

(W. Cadman, M. A.)

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KJV: And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

WEB: Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."