“And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.”
God gives Moses a second sign: put your hand inside your cloak, and when Moses does and takes it out, his hand is leprous — white as snow. Leprosy in the ancient world was not merely a skin disease but a state of ritual uncleanness, a visible judgment, a mark of separation from community. The hand that will deliver Israel is for a moment the hand of the cursed. This mirrors a pattern that runs through Scripture: the deliverer bears the condition of those he comes to save. Isaiah 53:4 says he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Moses' hand becomes diseased so that he can then show — when God heals it — that the same power that can afflict can restore. 2 Kings 5:27 shows leprosy given as judgment; here it is given as a sign of mercy. What God can do for a leprous hand He can do for a nation in bondage. The sign is its own argument.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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