“And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision_ .”*
Exodus 4:24-26 KJV
It is confusing to try to figure out why God would give instructions to Moses, after all the bickering back and forth, didn’t kill him or even punish him for his doubt and reluctance. Yet on his way to carry out his assignment, God struck him with the intention of death. I will like to point out two lessons from this occasion in relation to our lives as Christians today.
First, we see first-hand a high level of doubt that could be. I mean, God physically made his presence known to Moses and then spoke to him audibly, but it’s the audacity of Moses to argue for me. Not once, not twice. At first, it was the issue of “they won’t believe me” and then “I don’t talk well”.
Looking at it, we’d probably laugh or say Moses was too extreme or went a bit too far, but how many times has God outrightly told us, nudged or inspired us to do something, and the first thing we think of is all the impossibilities there are to what we are asked to work on forgetting the sovereignty of the one who’s asked us.
Second lesson, *_This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you_* .
Genesis 17:10-11 NKJV. The Israelites have Abraham as their Father and God’s covenant with Abraham was a bloody one, as Zipporah tagged her husband because God instructed that Abraham should circumcise his sons and the customary should run through his generation. This was a distinction between those under the covenant and those who weren’t. Moses was circumcized, but his son wasn’t.
Moses’ personal life had to be in order before he could properly direct the spiritual lives of the Hebrew people. The Hebrews were known to be circumcized, a sign of legitimacy to God and relation to Abraham. God would not have Moses in any way carry a situation that would cause a misconception in the heart of the Israelites. Whatever the cause of Moses’ neglect of such an important rite, his excess made him unfit to serve as God would have him.
Working for God is not all that should be, but pleasing him and alignment with him is just as important. Thank God we’re not under the law and cannot be struck dead when we make a wrong move. Grace is always available to help us stay in line, and God’s repentance and forgiveness prevail as always.
It is important to always be careful and mindful when carrying out an assignment for God. We should not be overwhelmed because we are chosen or mind-clogged with impossibilities and miss the sight of absolute alignment and trust in the one who is and sent us.
Article by: Oluwatomisin Nofiu
Image: Internet
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