16/03/2021
Faith Nugget #52
By Don Corcoran ([email protected]) Friday, March 12,2021
And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.(Exodus 4:24, NKJV) One commentator suggests that this was“the Angel of the LORD,”(who had appeared other times in the Bible) but this time with a menacing appearance. Another one wrote that Moses may have here experienced an overwhelming sense of mental distress or had developed a fast-onset life-threatening illness. That could explain why Moses didn’t perform the neglected circumcision himself right then (see verses 25,26). But obviously, the LORD wasn’t intent on killing him, for if that had been so, He just would have done it, and not merely threatened him. Plus,Moses was in the process of going where God had sent him to go,to do what He wanted him to do: rescue the Hebrews from slavery! Here,God was making a deep impression on Moses to make things right after his neglect to circumcise one of his boys. Zipporah saw that her husband’s life was in peril, and by the tone of her words in this passage we can see that it was her fault. Perhaps after witnessing the circumcision of their firstborn, she felt that it was horrible and barbaric, so vowed not to allow it if they ever had another son. But God had given this duty to all the sons of Abraham, and no one had the right to interfere.The LORD expected Moses to do it regardless of the objections of his wife. Circumcision was an important symbol that God was first in his life and in the life of the family, a symbol of surrender to God, allowing Him to cut sin away from the heart (see Deut.10:16; 30:6; Jer.4:3,4; Rom.2:29). If this leader of the nation of Israel didn’t obey this important rite, how could he expect those he would soon be leading, to obey God? After Moses’ wife performed the rite, “He let him go”(v.26). There were other times, too, when God removed a plague or punishment as soon as wrongs were made right (i.e. Numbers 25; 2 Sam.24:25). This should be a lesson to those who feel they can trifle with God. Sin, the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and not doing what we know we should do (James 4:17), is very serious, and brings death (Rom.6:23a). God certainly loves human beings, but that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care if we obey Him or not! Adam and Eve’s experience made this clear. All His commands are given from the standpoint of love for us, knowing what’s best for us, and with the desire for our response of loving obedience. Whenever things seem to go wrong, it’s a good idea to do some heartfelt praying and soul-searching to see if there may be something that we need to make right with God. And especially if we want to serve God, it’s essential to make sure there is nothing in the way of a good working relationship with Him. The counsel is, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. (James 4:10). This experience also reveals how important it is for people considering marriage to make sure they are on the same wavelength before “tying the knot.” One’s commitment to follow God can be greatly hampered, or even neutralized, if the other partner isn’t on board, creating great tension in the relationship, and greatly dishonoring God. After this experience, Moses sent Zipporah and the two boys back to Midian to be with the in-laws until after the Hebrew slaves were rescued from Egypt (see Exo.18:2).
