Exodus 4:21-26

The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”

Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood”—because of the circumcision.

The question is an awful one to our ears. And the answer is given in the text itself – the circumcision – but somehow we want to hear more.

Some of the “more” is found in Genesis 17 in the story of Abraham and the original command of circumcision:

And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.

Did Moses know this? After all he was raised in Egypt, and was now just a shepherd in the wilderness. What source would he have had for learning the laws of God? That we can answer in one word: Mom. Recall, it was his own Jewish mother who raised him in the Pharaoh’s palace. And if we need further help here, remember that the Midianites/Ishmaelites among whom he now sojourned were also descended from the venerable patriarch, and knew this particular tradition well.

Moses knew.

But for reasons we are not told, he had not followed through. Some speculate that this son at the encampment was not firstborn Gershom, but a second-born, who actually entered the world on their way to Egypt. The eighth day came and went, and God here intervenes to put things in order. Perhaps. But it is speculation.

The point of the story is the seriousness of keeping the ordinances of God. The holiness of God. The God Who is no respecter of persons. The God Who can find another leader, and values obedience above all.

Most want to isolate this incident (verses 24-26) from the words that precede it (21-23). Perhaps. But the Holy Spirit has seen fit to place the accounts side by side, and I think it is for a reason.

First, Moses’ commission. He is to tell Pharaoh that Israel, the people who have occupied Egyptian territory for these many years, is really God’s. Not just God’s property, but God’s very “son”. An entity precious to the heart of God.

Tell him, Moses, that this “son” of God is not to serve him (Pharaoh) any longer. Tell him I want my son Israel to come and serve Me. Refuse to let him go, and I will kill your son. Your firstborn son, Pharaoh!

The very next thing we know, Moses is on his way. In this, his obedience was exemplary. God spoke, Moses did hesitate awhile, but eventually he packed up wife and son, and off to Egypt. And on the way, God stops him and tries to kill him. Not Pharaoh. Not Pharaoh’s son. But Moses!

Some suggest that Moses had a sudden seizure. Others that he became violently ill. Still others, that something akin to the flaming sword with accompanying angel as in Balaam’s case, appeared to him and threatened to slay him on the spot.

All we know for sure is that in the ensuing moments it was revealed to Moses and his wife that they were living outside the covenant, and as such, had no right to live. Moses was to be cut off from his people by this flagrant disobedience. It seems that his son would have suffered the same fate.

If Moses had any doubt before this incident, with the words of God ringing in his ear about how God was going to wipe out the prince of Egypt if Pharaoh did not comply, surely there was no doubt now about the severity of the One with Whom we must perform our duties. Our holy God expects perfect compliance. “You shall be holy,” He tells us, “for I am holy.”

Only through the death of Jesus and the power of God’s Spirit can this command be kept, but let none of us think that the command is no more.

Recall Hebrews 4:13,

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

No one, nothing, escapes His notice. That which seems to be the slow moving of God will speed up before our fearful eyes one day. God will judge, and that judgment will be severe, and it will begin at the house of God. And maybe your house. And maybe mine. God is patient, He waits for the change, for the repentance, but seeing nothing, one day the tree is removed from where it has been simply taking up space and bearing no fruit.

In Moses’ case, the judgment was about to come sooner, rather than later. This is His chosen man, and this man who will represent God’s Covenant to Egypt cannot have in his own family one who is breaking that covenant.

Sickness. Near Death. Message delivered. Zipporah does the bloody operation. In her eyes, perhaps, she was risking the life of her child, especially if this is a young boy, and not a baby. She loathes the task, but – and again we speculate – Moses is very ill at the moment, quite incapable of handling a serious medical procedure.

The deed is done, and the product of it is thrown at Moses’ feet, as he is now able to rise and recover. An unwilling obedience, some would say, is better than no obedience. But we do not see much of Zipporah after this. She may not have even gone beyond the encampment, so incensed is she at her husband’s strange religion and even stranger ministry. Back to the desert. She had loved this man, but had no idea what a marriage to him might mean.

Such is the case for many, but the call of God says, Follow Me, regardless. Wise men still follow Him, letting all other calls fall behind.

Moses is well now. When he and Aaron face the might of Egypt, it will be with yet another tool in their box: the awareness that this God for Whom they speak means business. What He says, He will do. Whether it is the leader of Egypt or even the leader of Israel, to stay in covenant relationship with Him is everything. Step out of line, and expect to hear from God personally. Moses would have to experience this harsh reality one more time in his life.

For us, it is good to remember the warning of Hebrews 12:

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.”

And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.”