The Branch of Moses

The story is found in Exodus 7:9 -14:

“and given that Paroh will speak to you saying, give for you a wonder, and you will say to Aharon, take your branch and throw it out to the face of Paroh, he will exist as a crocodile. And Mosheh came, and Aharon, to Paroh, and they did so, just as YHWH directed, and Aharon threw out his branch to the face of Paroh and to the face of his servants, and he existed as a crocodile. and Paroh also called out to the skilled ones and to the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Mits’rayim, also did so with their blazings, ( The word “BLAZING” is the same word used for the sword of the Keruv (cherub in most other translations, Genesis 3:24) and each threw out his branch and they existed as crocodiles, and the branch of Aharon swallowed their branches, and he seized the heart of Paroh and he did not listen to them, just as YHWH spoke, and YHWH said to Mosheh, heavy is the heart of Paroh, he refuses to send the people. from The Torah: A Mechanical Translation- Benner

The branch of Moses typifies that thing external to Moses, that thing not proceeding from his person. In Exodus 4, we have a contrasting story. “…and YHWH said to him yet again, please bring your hand in your bosom, and he brought his hand in his bosom, and he made her go out, and look, his hand was being infected like the snow, …and he said, make your hand turn back to your bosom, and he made his hand turn back to his bosom, and he made her go out from his bosom, and look, she turned back like his flesh.” verse 6 and 7

The picture in Exodus 4:6-7, seems to point to the leprous nature of what was inside of Moses bosom. “To have in one’s bosom indicates kindness, secrecy, or intimacy ( Genesis 16:5 ; 2 Sam 12:8 ). Christ is said to have been in “the bosom of the Father,” i.e., he had the most perfect knowledge of the Father, had the closest intimacy with him ( John 1:18 ).” Easton’s Bible Dictionary

A person’s bosom relationship with their self could be construed as intimate, secret — The subjective part of a man. But, to use another description, that natural man is “…faint, no soundness in it, but wounds, bruises and putrefying sores. See Isaiah 1:6

So from the two passages in Exodus we can surmise: The use of the branch, (the objective ) is superior to using the (subjective), leprous self. We might say that the branch, when thrown in the face of Pharaoh, defeated even his “blazing” comeback, as Moses crocodile ate up that of Pharaoh’s magicians.

The Branch is a picture of Christ, a prophetic reference to the coming Messiah –

— His Person as The Word of God. Fully God and fully man.

Isaiah 4:2  and Isaiah 11:1  tell us “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:” “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. “

Jeremiah 23:5-6  says this, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. ”

A reference to the future Millennial kingdom, The Branch, our Righteousness, covers us as spoken by Isaiah:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 

Isaiah 59:17 tells us ” For he put on righteousness as a breastplate,”

Friends, we have a robe of righteousness, Isaiah 61:10, a breastplate of righteousness. Ephesians 6:13, a righteousness without works, Romans 4:5, a gift of righteousness, Romans 5:17, a faith counted as righteousness, Genesis 15:6. Our own righteousness is filthy rags to God. Isaiah 64:6

But we have a promise:

Isaiah 54:17  “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

” …and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

Beloved, we, through childlike faith can wear the badge of righteousness. We throw it into Pharaoh’s face, and even if their is a blazing comeback, our righteousness eats up the empty words and accusations. Fear is overcome in righteousness, guilt also. Weakness becomes our strength, grace becomes sufficient.

Finally, let us not forget that ” He was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Romans 5:21 The price for the God-Man was severe, the benefit for us, great.

Lastly, “The work of righteousness shall be peace, the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” Isaiah 32:15

love ya