Man must be dethroned

       This message you are reading, about freedom from Babylon, from exalting man over God, is found throughout scripture and is the predominant theme of all scripture, along with what we are being restored to, fellowship and right standing with our Holy, loving God.
       "And he said, draw not nigh hither: Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground"(Ex:3:5). Why did God command Moses to remove his shoes? Haven't you ever wondered? It was because his shoes were MAN MADE and he wants NOTHING OF MAN to come between him and his prophets, between him and his people. Also, God, his holiness, his very presence must make contact with human flesh, with our flesh. We must personally be impacted by, touched by his holiness. The purpose of religion is to keep us apart from God, to not bring us in to contact with Him.
      "And the Lord said unto him, what is that in thine hand? And he said, a Rod. And he said, cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent: and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, put forth thine hand and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it and it became a rod in his hand" (Ex:4:2-4)
       Up until this point, Moses had been walking in his own authority and strength, which the rod represents. Moses struck the Egyptian instead of speaking to him, just as later he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, as God commanded. Both times he had it in his heart to deliver his people, to be a blessing to them, but he tried to do it his way, through his own strength and wisdom, and his way ended in death, both times. The rod becoming a snake shows us the real authority behind man's efforts to use his own strength and authority and wisdom (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) - Satan. We should all react the same way Moses did when this is revealed to us, we should flee from it (flee and escape out of the land of Babylon)Jer:50:28. Then he picked it up by the tail and it became a rod again. This is showing Moses and us that we have authority over Satan because we now walk in God's authority. See, the rod Moses now holds is unique in all the earth for it is now the result of a miracle; it is now God made and not man made. Now, Moses is using, is walking in God's power and authority, not his own.