From time to time all of us wrestle with passages in the Bible. Things we read seem strange and we don’t always understand fully. A truth to remember in these times is very simple. What we don’t understand, we chalk up to our own limitations. It isn’t a problem with the Bible it is our finite minds. But the more we read and study the more these hard passages begin to unfold right before our very eyes. Exodus 4:24-26 is one of those passages for me. Exodus 4 is a chapter packed with excitement. A staff into a snake and back to a staff (4:1-5). Leprosy then no leprosy (4:6-9). Excuses from Moses as to why he can’t do the job. God sends him anyway (4:10-17). Moses returns and then leaves Jethro, his father-in-law, taking his family with him (4:18-23).
The next three verses, 4:24-26, are difficult to understand. I want to give you my take on it today. “And it came to pass by the way of the inn…”. The word “inn” simply means a resting place. A good place to stop for the night. “That the LORD met him.” God called a meeting for some particular reason. Notice I used caps for LORD. The scripture does that also. It is the Hebrew name Yahweh, our Jehovah. This next phrase is curious, scary, difficult to understand. “…and sought to kill him.” God is seeking to kill Moses. He is the spokesman of God to go before Pharoah. It seems as if he is living in obedience. What had Moses done or perhaps the greater question. what had he not done?
The answer seems to be found in the next verses. Zipporah, Moses’ wife, takes center stage. Moses has been smitten with an illness from God and is near death. Zipporah knows exactly what is happening and acts quickly. “Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son…” I don’t think anyone can dogmatically state the age of Gershom, the first-born son, at this point. I think it is safe to assume he is at least a little boy and not a baby. Circumcision was practiced by a few ancient peoples. The Hebrews’ practice of circumcision was different from other people such as the Midianites. The Hebrews’ circumcised when the boy was first born, but the Midianites performed the rite when a young man was about to marry. The ritual act would take place. Next would be a time of healing and finally, the young man would go into his wife and consummate the marriage. Moses had fled to Midian. Jethro and his family were Midianites. That means Zipporah, Moses’ wife, was a Midianite. It seems as if Moses was willing to live under the Midianite culture instead of the Hebrew way of life as commanded in Genesis 17.
Zipporah goes on to say twice that Moses is a bloody husband. I personally think this is a way of saying “you were a bloody husband when we first married.” Remember the Midianites circumcised just before the marriage not at birth. The second time she uses “bloody husband” is in 4:26. The verse begins, “So he let him go.” God doesn’t kill him; he allows him to recover because of the quick action of Zipporah. She then says you are a bloody husband “because of the circumcision.” There are a couple of ways to think about this. One, she is thanking God she has been given her husband back a second time. Remember that Midian culture when the marriage was taking place. Moses was raised up to her. Two, there could be some anger on her part because she didn’t want to adhere to the way of the Hebrews concerning circumcision. But she did it in obedience to save Moses’ life.
What are some take-a-ways for us today? I’ll share two.
- Husbands and wives need to do right at home to have the blessings of God. Moses was a Hebrew. He knew what was right according to Yahweh. He knew about Abraham and he knew the ways of the Hebrews, yet he chose to “just go along to get along.” He accepted the culture of Midian. His sons Gershom and Eliezer should have been circumcised on or near the eighth day after their birth. They weren’t and God wasn’t pleased with Moses’ lack of commitment. The world’s culture isn’t the Christian’s culture. We are strangers and pilgrims just passing through. The values the world embraces are always the one the child of God is to embrace. Teach the children from an early age the ways of God.
- Obedience to God and the Bible is always best. Once you realize you are living in disobedience, act quickly to correct the problem. Zipporah was quick to know what needed to be done saving her husband in the process. We should also be quick to make things right with God. I John 1:9 is a favorite verse for me. I committed this verse to memory over fifty year’s ago and it has served me well.
What do you think about this story? Did you know that God intended to kill Moses before today? What are some more truths the Lord has given to you from Exodus 4:24-26?