By turning the staff into a serpent, the Lord revealed that he is able to make a humble shepherd’s tool used to care for sheep, into a dangerous snake or cobra that the Egyptians often used as symbols of power in their designs and adornments (headdresses). The Lord had power over all creation, and the same God who gave the king of Egypt the power he had could also grant the same power to Moses his humble servant and the enslaved Israelites.
3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.