5 The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
It is important to carry the past with us. Many say that we must leave the past in the past. But I think we cannot fully live in the present until we have fully embraced the past, including our sin and the pain it has caused. The past is where the “school of hard knocks” holds all its classes. If we try to skip class, we will have to repeat it. Some classes, most classes in that school are worth passing the first time. No one likes to have to repeat a difficult spot in life simply because they did not learn the lesson the first time around. But many of us are slow learners! Often younger siblings see the mistakes and punishments of their older siblings and chose to not get in trouble in the same manner as their sibling. They often discover other ways to get in trouble! Moses leads the leaders with his staff in his hand. That staff had been in his hand when each of the ten plagues was announced to Pharaoh. That staff came to symbolize the Lord’s power. When the staff was pointed, things happened. And now Moses leads the elders away from the crowd. I wonder if the leaders were thinking that they were going to end up at the wrong end of that staff. Did they think judgment was coming upon them? I don’t know, but I think I might have been worried if I were in their shoes. Those who oppose the Lord get themselves in some pretty thick trouble.
The Arnold Journey 