“Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail. So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.” (Ex. 4:3)
Why did God tell Moses to do that?
The above passage seemed very odd to me the first time I read it. That’s because God told Moses to do something extremely dangerous—the very opposite way you should pick up a snake. Anyone who knows anything about handling poisonous snakes knows not to grab a snake by the tail because it will turn and bite you. The correct way to pick it up is by the head; then it will be completely under your control and cannot bite you.
An act of obedience and an act of faith
Remember that a snake’s power is in its head. Moses surely knew not to pick up a snake this way. When God told him to grab the snake’s tail, Moses had to put aside what he knew and trust God, having faith that God would control the snake's head.
It represented a transfer of power and authority
Remember that the snake started out as Moses’ staff, which represented Moses’ own power and authority—he leaned on it as he walked, and it was what he used to control his livestock. From now on, however, God was going to use his staff in a very different way: to free the Hebrew children from slavery and to perform many miracles like parting the waters so the entire group of Hebrew children could cross over on dry land. This was a big assignment, and now Moses needed to trust and obey God completely by faith, especially when things looked impossible from a human standpoint, like picking up a deadly snake by the tail, for instance.
Therefore
Learn from Moses’ example and trust and obey God with faith, especially when things look scary. And He will bless you and make your paths straight. He has great plans to give you hope and a future!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV)
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8 ESV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:1)