The Sheep was Moses’ primary assignment and what gave him his livelihood. It was his base profession and what woke him early in the morning to get busy. If he didn’t do that, then his well being is not guaranteed because there will be no labour demanding reward. This was obviously what life dealt him far out in the wilderness of uncertainty and was a normal course he followed in order to make the best of his days. This sounds a lot like the story of most people who have a predetermined direction for their lives. Most times it’s usually not your choice if you go to school or not, it is a given. Until you finish from a university, you are usually following a determined course for your life because it is assumed that you must of necessity follow through if your life is going to have any relevance. Some of us were born into a family of lawyers and are beclouded by that reality that it is usually not a choice if you become a lawyer, since the family business musts be preserved. Moses encountered Shepherds and was catered for by the same, thus it was only natural that he fell quickly into the profession of a Shepherd.

This was one chance Moses had to prove how much of an apprentice he could be. The Sheep were there to prove his humility to learn and be taught by other, and also his willingness to follow the leading of others. The Bible is silent on the entire process, but I can tell you that being engaged in this newly found profession after escaping Egypt was not an overnight transformation. It was a process indeed. A process similar to what we go through silently, when circumstances demand that we be humble and learn a profession if we are going to be weaned off parental control, and advance into the uncertain life of hard knocks. Yet one thing was his symbol through the process of learning and taking care of the Sheep: his Rod. It was his comfort and his stay. With it, he encouraged his occupation and secured his property, as well as ward of strangers who may want to pilfer his goods. It is through this Rod that we identify with Moses in our lives. We also have a Rod in our hands through which we progress through the primary assignments which we have to undertake. It is the will with which we are determined to slowly and painstakingly progress through the ladders of life, and come out with a tangible proof of our existence. The taking up of this Rod is what signifies that you are giving permission to throw at you whatever it will. Moses carried the Rod and agreed to a Shepherd’s role.

But beyond the relationship between the Rod and Sheep, was another level of encounters which Moses had to confront. When Moses complained to God about his inabilities and the nature of the people God was sending him to, God had to show Him something he didn’t know he had. At God’s command, he cast down his Rod and it became a Snake and Moses fled from it. The Rod he had in his hands suddenly became something that was dangerous to him just like we confront certain things about us that scare us. We get to certain point in our lives that we are worried about the kinds of things we are willing to do and the extent we can go. To some it becomes a thing of pride to say “this is what I have the ability do” and to others it becomes a thing of worry. Moses could have swung either way. He could have become haughty with the sense of what he carried in his hand, and he could move with fear because who knows then the Rod will sneak off his covers and turn into a destroyer. However, in Moses’ case, the Rod was something that became somewhat of a saviour. Moses’ on obeying God, cast down his Rod before Pharaoh’s magicians and his Snake swallowed up theirs. So the Rod was not just a tool for his occupation, it had translate to become a tool against his enemies. Amazing! I am going somewhere with this.