The two signs of Moses, and the two signs of Christ

In Exodus chapter 4, the Lord appears to Moses as he is tending to a flock in the wilderness. From within a bush, appearing as fire, the Lord calls out his name. In one instant, Moses is elevated from his humble existence as son-in-law to a Midianite priest, to leader of the Israelite people. Moses is concerned that his arrival will be less than welcomed. The Lord responds by granting Moses the ability to perform two “signs” to substantiate his leadership:

• Turning his staff into a snake
• Making his hand leprous and “white as snow”

 “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail”…Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. “Now put it back into your cloak again,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak again, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.” – Exodus 4:2-4, 7-8

The first sign (Turning his staff into a snake) was performed so that Israel would believe that the God of their fathers truly appeared to him:

“So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

The second sign was reserved to silence any doubt, in the case that some Israelites still remained hesitant to believe:

“Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” – Exodus 4:8-9

The first sign

The Hebrew word translated into English as “Staff” or “Rod” is “Matteh/Mattah” [Strongs: 4294]. This word is found in Psalm 110. It is universally agreed by Jews and Christians alike, that the subject of the psalm is the Messiah:

“The Lord said unto my Lord (The Messiah), sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod [04294] of thy strength out of Zion, saying, ‘rule in the midst of your enemies.’” – Psalm 110:1-2

The action of Moses casting the Rod down, is indicative of Jesus voluntarily casting himself from heaven to become man. In turn, Jesus is cast down in the pejorative sense by taking upon himself the sins of the world, and at the same time, by becoming the subject of the scorn and contempt of his people. Since the Messiah takes on the sin of the world, the snake becomes an apt image of what the Rod becomes as it is cast down. In John chapter 3, Jesus compares himself to the Bronze serpent found in the narrative of Numbers 21:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up…” – John 3:14

Interestingly, Moses is so unsettled by the transformation, the text states that he ran away. This is prophetic of the Jewish people “running away” so to speak, by rejecting Jesus and his message. They are not only destined to turn away, but the rejection is also emotionally charged. Just as Moses retreated in the opposite direction in fear and disgust, the Jewish people will do likewise.

When Moses approaches the snake from behind, he is able to safely grab a hold of it. Once firmly held in Moses’ hand, the snake returns to a rod. In the same manner, after his death, Jesus is raised to life and returns to his place at the right hand of the father.

The second sign

Moses was instructed to reach inside of his cloak. When he pulled his hand out, his hand was turned leprous and white in color.

Leviticus chapter 13 addresses procedures for dealing with cases of this disease, should the plague appear within the community. When leprosy was confirmed, the afflicted were banished from the community and forced to live “outside the camp.” Leprosy as a symbol, is therefore tantamount to exile.

The presentation of a discolored hand, ravished by leprosy, would signal the fate of the Jewish people after their rejection of the Rod/Snake – the Messiah. As a consequence, like in the case of leprosy, they would be cast “outside the camp”, turned away, and exiled from the land. This exile is not permanent, but restoration is possible under the condition of repentance:

“Now put [7725] it back into your cloak again ,” he said. So Moses put [7725] his hand back into his cloak again, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
– Exodus 4:8-9

The Hebrew word translated as “put” or “return” is “Shuv”. This word is related to the Hebrew word “Teshuvah” (Te-shuv-ah) which means to repent; in the sense of regretting an action, and resolving to return to God and away from the sin. When Moses performed the act of returning/repenting, the hand was restored back to health. This is a prophecy of the Jewish people repenting of two thousand years of defiance against the Messiah. As Jesus states in Matthew 23:29, restoration will not happen until he is welcomed by his people.

The two signs of Christ

The sect of the Pharisees came to Jesus requesting a supernatural sign so that they would believe. Jesus replied that no sign would be more adequate than the sign of his death and resurrection:

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12:38-40

This is in perfect agreement with the first sign of Moses:

• Moses’ Rod is cast down, turned into a snake – Jesus dies, and takes upon himself the sins of the world.
• The snake is raised, turns back into Rod – The resurrection of Jesus.

Notice that in Exodus 4, the Lord knew that the first sign of the Rod/Serpent would fail to fully convince the Israelite community. If the first sign was enough, there would be no reason for the second. In the same way, even after the sign of the resurrection, the great majority of the Jewish people failed to believe. Instead, they ran from the truth, just as Moses ran from the snake. Instead, it was God’s will that the second sign would do the job; that the Nation of Israel would believe, but only after a period of exile.

Jesus reveals the second sign in Matthew 24, and Luke 21. The second sign is his return from heaven, in “power and great glory”:

Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. – Matthew 24:30

After some consideration, one can discern how the second sign of Moses is connected to the sign of the second coming:

• Hand turns white with leprosy – Spiritual and physical exile as a result of rejecting Jesus
• Hand is “returned” – The Jewish people repent and embrace Jesus as Messiah
  • This triggers the second coming
• Hand is restored – Jesus restores National Israel

In Luke 21, Jesus links his second coming with the redemption of the Nation of Israel:

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” – Luke 21:27

Appearing in glory (the second coming) and the revival of National Israel go hand in hand:

“When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” – Psalm 102:16

Just as the father is glorified in the son, Jesus will bring glory to himself by glorifying his people Israel:

“Sing O ye heavens; for the Lord has done it: shout ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” – Isaiah 44:23

“And said unto me, You art my servant O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” – Isaiah 49:3

A revival of National Israel is incomplete without an effort to bring back the “outcasts”, the dispersed of Judah, and descendants of the lost tribes of the North. When God “builds up Jerusalem” the gathering takes place:

“The Lord does build up Jerusalem: he gathers together the outcasts of Israel.” – Psalm 147:2

The Messiah will stand as a “banner” to gather Israel and Judah:

Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a banner for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. – Isaiah 11:10-12

The Messiah is not only a “banner”, but his arrival serves as a sign that triggers the regathering of Israel to the land. Therefore, the second coming of Jesus in glory, the revival of the Nation, and the regathering of the tribes, all constitute the same one sign:

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the LORD. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels.” – Isaiah 66:19-20