Serpentine Tales: Snakes in the Sand
Exodus 7: 1-13 Rev. Marianne Niesen July 18, 2010
As I mentioned a week ago, last November, when I was working on worship and preaching plans for the first 6 months or so of 2010, I came across an idea to do a series of sermons on lessons learned from stories in the Bible that include serpents. I thought it sounded interesting and I am always looking for interesting things to do - especially in the summer - so I planned it in. I also told you that planning for something that is 7 months in the future is considerably different from planning for something immediate. As the time for my ‘snake sermons’ came closer, I found myself wondering why on earth I had decided to do this thing! But I did and I’m most certainly into it now! Last week, I talked about the ‘snake in the grass’ in the Garden of Eden - which, you remember, was probably not a snake at all but a serpent. Serpents, we learned, were more impressive in the mythology of the ancient world. They would have lent far greater intrigue and import to a story than a mere snake. 1
This week, I have titled the sermon Snakes in the Sand because this week’s snake story takes place in a desert country - Egypt - a place very unlike the Garden of Eden. The history of the Hebrews has taken them from Ur to the Promised Land, from following Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to a time of slavery in Egypt. Life was hard - as it always is for slaves, and the people longed for freedom, as slaves always do. From that hopeless situation arose Moses, miraculously saved from death by his sister’s ingenuity. He was raised in the Pharaoh’s court, got himself into some big trouble and so, eventually, became a fugitive from Pharaoh, settling down in the obscure land of Midian to live his life in peace, far from the intrigues and dangers of the palace. While tending his father-in-law’s sheep, he heard God’s voice from a burning bush and found himself heading back to the proverbial ‘lion’s den’ charged with confronting Pharaoh himself with a message from God to let my people go! God, we are told, had heard the cries of the slaves and chose Moses as the one to secure their freedom from oppression. Moses protested this heady assignment by claiming he was not a very good communicator and God responded to his protests by making it a team assignment. Moses would receive the inspiration and the words and Aaron would do the talking. That’s a point often overlooked, by the way. Even the great Moses needed help. Why do we so often think we don’t? (Ah, but that’s another sermon!)
You’ve undoubtedly heard the story of the plagues that eventually led to the release of the Hebrews and their subsequent escape through the Red Sea and the 40 year journey through the desert to the Promised land. Today’s text concerns what took place immediately before the well-known plagues. This is from The Message:
God told Moses, "Look at me. I'll make you as a god to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell it to Pharaoh. Then he will release the Israelites from his land. At the same time I am going to put Pharaoh's back up and follow it up by filling Egypt with signs and wonders. Pharaoh is not going to listen to you, but I will have my way against Egypt and bring out my soldiers, my people the Israelites, from Egypt by mighty acts of judgment. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country." Moses and Aaron did exactly what God commanded. Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh. Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, "When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, 'Prove yourselves. Perform a miracle,' then tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh: It will turn into a snake.'" Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what God commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake. Pharaoh called in his wise men and sorcerers. The magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their incantations: each man threw down his staff and they all turned into snakes. But then Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. Yet Pharaoh was as stubborn as ever - he wouldn't listen to them, just as God had said.
Interestingly enough, scholars indicate that here too – as in the Garden - the snake was probably not a mere snake but was a ‘serpent.’ Some Bibles even translate it that way. I must say, however, that from the reactions I’ve gotten around here to my snake series, this serpent/snake distinction doesn’t impress you all that much. For us who live in the 21st century, we don’t need serpents to get our attention. Snakes have enough of an ‘ick’ factor to be plenty impressive all by themselves! More than a few of you have indicated that you are glad we are not using the big screen to illustrate the sermon. You don’t want or need picture of snakes and you for sure don’t want any show-and-tell snakes. Serpents may have been a bigger deal than snakes in the ancient world but for us in the modern world, let’s face it - snakes freak us out!
And, trust me, I get that! I’m with you! I don’t like snakes. I don’t like to be around them. I don’t want to look at movies about them. I couldn’t even watch the preview for Snakes on a Plane! And while I know there are seemingly perfectly normal people who have snakes as pets, the overwhelming response to snakes in general is ambivalent at best. Consider that, for the most part, while you can find children’s stories about “fuzzy bunnies, fluffy bears, hungry caterpillars, naughty puppies, happy duckies, runaway kitties, talking trains, trucks, cars and airplanes,” there is a dearth of books about happy, cheerful, loving snakes. 2 Now, I’m sure there are some - they just aren’t common. The same is true with stuffed animals - there are fuzzy versions of a wide variety of animals but there are not many cuddly cushy snakes. Dan R. Dick observes:
It has been well documented by behavioral psychologists that the vast majority of people on the planet have an innate aversion to snakes and snakelike animals. This isn’t hard to believe. It is more than a little difficult to develop warm feelings for a creature that can hide almost anywhere, climb almost anything, wait indefinitely, and then either bite and poison you or squeeze you to death. Certainly not all snakes can do this, but how many do we actually need? 3
It hasn’t always been this way. In ancient times, snakes have also represented rebirth and transformation as people contemplated their shedding of skin. Their venom, while poisonous, has also been found to have medicinal qualities so snakes have been associated with healing. And, as people have reflected on the almost hypnotic gaze of pythons and cobras and their ability to lie in silence for hours, seeming to ponder options, the snake has been associated with wisdom. Thus, these quiet, patient, hypnotic, transformational creatures have inspired awe and respect as well as fear. Given all that, we can say that from earliest times, whether a snake engendered respect or fear, awe or caution, veneration or disgust, it is almost universally a symbol of power. Whether used for good or ill, snakes represented power – often a power over life and death.
Which brings us to today’s scripture text. This is a story about power – who has it, who wields it and how it works. And it is the story about power told against the backdrop of powerlessness – the powerlessness of slaves. This is the story of hope triumphing over despair. Life overcoming death. In a sense, the battle of snakes alerts us to the import of what takes place here.
First note something interesting . . . before the event described even happened, we – and Moses and Aaron - are told the outcome . . . Pharaoh is not going to listen to you. No matter what you do Pharaoh’s heart will be hard. No matter what you do, the answer will be no. No matter what you do, things will be rough. That would be a familiar feeling for anyone in the midst of slavery, right? No matter what they have ever done, no matter how hard they work, they go to bed at night as slaves and wake up as slaves in the morning. They live in a hopeless situation. Which God understands. That’s important. At the outset, we know that God knows how encumbered, enslaved, overwhelmed, oppressed people feel. And since all of us have felt that way at one time or another, this is our story too. God gets how it is with humankind.
You’re right, my friends, the pharaohs of the world seldom listen but (and here’s the important thing) do what I say anyway because I will have my way against Egypt. Their Egypt and ours. And so, Moses and Aaron are asked to move forward in faith, in trust even while knowing that this encounter will not do the trick. But they also know – or are at least asked to trust - that no matter how it looks on the outside, God will triumph. This is a classic confrontation scene between the most powerful person in the world and the shepherd-turned-prophet of the God of an enslaved people. Moses couldn’t even speak for himself and yet he was emboldened to confront the powers of the world with nothing more than words and the promise that God would be with them.
As Dan Dick observes . . .
At it’s most simple and basic, this is a classic my-God-can-beat-up-your-God story . . . Moses requests the release of the Hebrew slaves and Pharaoh says, in effect, “Prove to me why I should,” and Aaron tosses his staff on the ground (as he had been instructed to do) and it turns into a snake. Cocky old Pharaoh summons his sorcerers and magicians; they toss down three of their own rods, which also turn into snakes. Probably thinking , whatever you can do, my guys can do better, Pharaoh is ready to call the contest a draw, but then Aaron’s staff consumes the other three snakes - game, set, but not match. The Pharaoh’s heart stays hard.4 (Just like it always does!)5
The snake trick didn’t work with Pharaoh. But something changed for Moses and Aaron – something changed in Moses and Aaron. Imagine the moment when Aaron threw down his rod. He probably held his breath . . . I hope I did this right . . . I hope it works. . . what do I do if it doesn’t? Imagine watching that snake appear . . . imagine knowing that the wisdom and the power of God really was with them. The story of the snake, you see, is about all of that. Wisdom. Power. Promises kept. God’s presence. This is a moment of transformation and power despite all the other evidence to the contrary –and there was plenty of other evidence.
From here, of course, we know the ‘rest of the story.’ There were plagues – twelve of them. Pharaoh shouldn’t have taken so long to release them - but that is how it is with human beings. We are slow learners. And eventually the people did go free, only to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness. As they wandered, they complained - about the food, the water, the wandering, their leadership - until they eventually once again entered the Promised Land. The journey shouldn’t have taken so long – but that’s how it is with human beings. We are slow learners. So, whether Pharaoh or slave, the ones in power or the ones without, God is eternally patient - and that is the most important lesson we are to learn in this story. It isn’t really about snakes or Pharaoh or Moses. This is a story about God and God’s power and it is the story about the lessons we human beings need to learn in our journey of faith.
Fundamentally, the lesson the Hebrews had to learn over and over in the wilderness was the same lesson they learned from the rod-and-snake incident with Pharaoh. And it is quite simple. No matter how it looks, no matter how many snakes the other guy throws down, God is God. Focus on God and not on Pharaoh. The snake from Aaron’s rod ate the others. You’ll notice that no big deal was made of that fact. It just happened, reminding all observers and listeners that God’s wisdom, God’s power can be trusted. No matter how it looks to the contrary, God is God.
And what does that have to do with Christmas in July which we celebrate today? Even I admit, it is a bit of a jump! And yet, as I pondered it all, this is what came to me. For Christians, our belief that God cared enough about humanity to become one of us in the coming of Jesus – who was born on the day we celebrate as Christmas - is an amazing claim. It is even more amazing than the rod-turned-snake before Pharaoh thing. And the challenge for us if we really take hold of what Christmas means - is every bit as life changing as the challenge that faced Moses, Aaron and the Hebrew slaves. It is the challenge to leave behind those things that enslave us and journey to the land – the life - to which Jesus calls us. A life characterized by loving service and generosity, as his was. Let’s face it - we still spend a lot of time in Egypt, enslaved by greed and fear and so many other things. But, God is patient. And God can be trusted. And celebrating a little Christmas in July might be just the thing we need to encourage us on our journey of transforming our world through the love of Jesus and the power of generosity and service. And that’s my best shot at snakes and Christmas in July!
1 Dan R. Dick, The Subtleties of Serpentry, found in The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2010, David N. Mosser, ed., Abingdon Press ©2009, p. 187
2 List found in sermon by Dan R. Dick, The Happy, Funny, Silly Snake, found in The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2010, David N. Mosser, ed., Abingdon Press ©2009, p. 193.
