Simply the Bible Blog

“On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the LORD confronted him and was about to kill him.”

Exodus 4:24 (NLT)

God had called Moses to go back to Egypt, and Moses had reluctantly agreed. Now Moses took his family and began the journey. In his hand was the rod of God by which He would perform signs before Pharaoh and the elders of Israel.

But as they came to the encampment, the LORD sought to kill Moses! The problem was that he had never circumcised their youngest son Eliezer. How could God spend 80 years preparing Moses to be the deliverer and then nearly take his life? Clearly this was an important matter to God. To whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). And those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). Moses would be leading the nation in keeping the covenant of the Law and yet he had not kept the covenant of circumcision.

It is likely that there had been a disagreement between Moses and his wife Zipporah over circumcising Eliezer. Seeing that Moses was about to die, Zipporah took a sharp stone and performed the operation on their son. But she was not happy about it! Zipporah was a Midianite, and she probably didn’t understand why this was necessary. But the bigger issue was that Moses disobeyed God.

There is a lesson here for us all. Faith must first be practiced in the home. Husbands must love their wives as Christ loves the church, and wives must respect their husbands as they do the Lord. Parents must train their children in the way of the Lord. And children must obey their parents. Men must be the spiritual leaders in their homes, and their wives must let them do it. It’s been said that if your faith isn’t working at home then don’t export it. Is Christ in the center of your home?

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