Moses grew up in Egypt and the practice of magic was passed down to him as to all Egyptian children from generation to generation. “Moses was instructed in all the science of the Egyptians, and he was a mighty man in word and deed.” -Acts 7:22) [NASB]
There was no room for doubt, only for practice and faith. God not only works through man, God also works through nature. Moses, this “man” of God parted the Red Sea. What words did he use? There are no recorded words for this miracle. Moses had learned that the wooden rod that he carried with him had power to perform miracles before Pharaoh and his magicians. He had come to rely on the rod (magic wand, staff), so when he came to a critical situation, he used the rod and his intention to part the waters of the Red Sea. Considering the tools he used and his experience in Egypt, Moses was probably considered a magician or a man of magic.
After leading a group of cranky people in the desert for many days, I’m sure Moses was tired of the congregation complaining and wondering why God signed him up for the task. The people were thirsty and demanded that the “Man of God with the Magic Wand” do something to remedy the situation. You will remember in an earlier account when God first spoke to Moses and told him that he would lead the people out of slavery, that Moses had a bit of a reservation about his speaking abilities. God allowed Moses’ brother Aaron to go with him on the mission and be Pharaoh’s spokesman. In the situation of providing water for the Israelites, God told Moses to speak to the rock. Moses spoke to a rock and it made water sprout for the people to drink. The next time the people (still complaining and rowdy) needed water, he was to speak to the rock again to perform the miracle and manifest water where there was none. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses hit or hit the rock, probably with his staff. What kind of faith did he have at that time? His faith was in his magic wand or staff.
The Bible mentions that God was upset about this. Why? Moses had gotten used to using divination tools to perform miracles, but at this point, God wanted to teach Moses and show the complaining people that our WORDS have the power to create. They were creating more misery for themselves by complaining instead of being thankful that they were no longer under Pharaoh’s control! So, they manifested for themselves several more “renewals” in the desert instead of moving to the land that had been promised to them. Can you believe that they actually blamed God for what they were manifesting? God wants us all to know that no matter what kind of tools we have at our disposal, our most powerful tool is the spoken word. wow! Something to ponder. Attitude plus the spoken word manifests results. There is more to come on this topic in chapter eight.
I have had the experience of speaking things into existence. I never doubt God. In California, we had a tree in our backyard that we heard about was supposed to have beautiful shaded pink flowers with a white border, but we never saw them in the first seven years we lived there. After teaching a white magic class one night at my house, I went out on a full moon and put myself in the position of a 5-pointed star (earth, air, fire, water and spirit – arms, legs and head). I verbally called or “summoned” the energy of the goddess to come into me and let this poor tree blossom and play her part in nature. Two days later, it bloomed. My heart was filled with gratitude. We have amazing divine parents.
