Exodus 4:2-4

"And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 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. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand)."

This is the very first in that tremendous series of miracles that would precede and precipitate the exodus of 2,000,000 slaves from the tyranny of Egypt, and which would never cease until they had crossed the waters of the Jordan into the Promised Land. This first miracle was for the purpose of removing the first obstacle, namely, the reluctance of Moses.

"A rod ..." Some have supposed that this was some special kind of staff, such as that seen in the hands of Egyptian royalty on monuments, but, inasmuch as Moses already had it, it could hardly have been anything else except the usual shepherd's crook distinguished as the invariable instrument of shepherds. How appropriate was such a choice on God's part! The Egyptians despised shepherds; and now, it was to be a shepherd's staff that would humble and overthrow the all powerful enemies of God's people. The might and glory of Egypt would be humbled and destroyed by it, yet it was merely an instrument in the hands of an instrument (Moses) of God!

"Take it by the tail ..." This was a test of Moses' faith. "Snake charmers usually take snakes by the neck to prevent their biting."[4] The almost certain way to be bitten by a serpent is to take it by the tail! As to what kind of a snake this was, we are not told, however, implicit in Moses' fear of it is the near certainty that it was a poisonous serpent. Many have supposed that it was the cobra, of the type depicted on the headdress of Egyptian kings.[5] Here again, the symbolism is most important, showing God's power as infinitely superior to the serpent-crowned rulers of Egypt. Although some have disallowed it, we believe that Keil was correct in seeing this also as a reminder that, "The serpent had been a constant enemy of the Seed of Woman (Genesis 3:15) and represented the power of the evil one which prevailed in Egypt."[6] Certainly the mission of Moses then beginning was a key factor in the bringing in of that Visitor from on High who would crush the serpent's head.