Exodus 4: 1 – 31
Let someone else do it?
4 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’” 2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” 18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.” 20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’” 24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26 So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision. 27 And the LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
In a recent staff meeting it was announced that a certain Senior Pastor who is at a local associate church was taking a leave of absence. His statement was that after serving as the head Pastor for 20 years he was taking a break for at least 6 months? Say what?
This announcement had a not so friendly or kind peer say to me, ‘what about you? You have been serving for over 35 years. How come you haven’t taken a break?’ I smiled and said, ‘It is because I have someone else do it for me.’ This remark generated others to join in the discussion. “What do you mean; you have someone else do it for you?’
Having everyone’s attention I added, “From time to time we run across some people who just want a job. They somehow think the ministry is like the business world. I guess for some dead churches it is. So, for some I say to them, ‘Well I been thinking about a current position. How would a 6 figure job sound like to you for starters? [This grabs the groups attention]. And how about the use of a new church car of your choice to get around with? And how would a budget for your ministry without any limit inspire you for the position I have in mind?’
One of my listeners spoke up, that sounds awesome, what kind of job did you offer the guy?’ “Oh, I said that job is called ‘You do it for me’. Of course this remark generated more confusion. Another spoke up, ‘what the heck do you mean by that?’ I nodded my head and told them that they all would like to have someone fill this same position for them. You see you just get some go getters and give them all the things that you do not want to do? In other words ‘let someone else do it for you.’ So, when all the problems come your way you pass them out to others to do for you. The wisdom is that you delegate out all the responsibility. Shift the blame on the novice employees and take all the credit if things go well.
‘Wow’ was the consensus opinion. ‘So, let me ask you this, “How can you give someone that salary and benefits?’”I have just been giving you the business, I said. In reality I tell the want to be employee that I wish I could give that kind of salary and benefit. In fact I wish I had those things given to me. But that is not the way things work. In all truth, as I think about the Pastor wanting a break. I do not know what has transpired in his life, but for me I wish I could do more for my Lord Jesus Christ. So, in all truth, my position is not let others do it for me but let me do more for the One Who gave everything for me.
Today we are going to see Moses’ attempt to not accept the call of God. He keeps telling God to get someone else to do it for Him. I was going to name this chapter ‘I can’t, yes you can, and yes you will’ for we will see that his attempt to convince God to get someone else to do it, wouldn’t work.
Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
Moses now comes up with his third objection. He had pleaded inability (3.11) and that the people would want to know by Whose power he came (3.13), and now he simply states that they will not believe that Yahweh has appeared to him. After all, why should they? And given their situation, and the continual unbelief they would reveal, his objection certainly had substance.
2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
Moses staff was something with which he was familiar, an old friend, and he knew how to defend himself with it. It would also be a symbol of his authority. So God uses something familiar and important with which to do something unfamiliar. He tells him to throw it in the ground, and when he does so it becomes a snake. This first sign would be reproduced by the Egyptian magicians by trickery for they were famous with what they could do with snakes. But there was no trickery here. For when Moses saw the snake he ‘fled from it’, that is backed away to a safe distance. He knew what some snakes could do.
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),
Yahweh then told Moses to take the snake by the tail. This required great faith and courage, for the tail is the last part of a snake that you would take hold of, for it enables it to turn and bite. But, after his initial fear, he recognized that this was no ordinary snake, and was all Yahweh’s doing, and that he could therefore safely do what He said. If Yahweh told him to do it, Yahweh could render the snake powerless. So he did what he was told. He did not seek to bruise its head he took it by the tail. And as soon as he did the snake once more became a staff in his hand. I think from that point on Moses held on to the top of his staff just in case it decided to turn back into a snake.
So our Great and Mighty God helped Moses learn not to fear ‘the snake’ and all that it symbolized of Pharaoh and of other-world powers, for he now knew that God controlled the snake. This was his first practical step in trusting God. And he had learned by it not to be afraid of the Serpent who lay behind it all, or of the Pharaoh whose head bore the snake. And he could demonstrate to Israel that they need not be afraid either.
5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
The second sign was the leprous hand. It was with his hand that Moses had smitten the taskmaster whom he had murdered. Now he was to be made to recognize that it was defiled, and needed purifying by Yahweh. But to Israel it would signify that although they were defiled in God’s eyes through idolatry and sin, he was now seeking to cleanse them and deliver them.
6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow.
The second thing that Moses was to do as a sign was to put his hand within his cloak ‘into his bosom’. Then, when he withdrew it, it would be seen by all to be leprous. They would see in the leprosy the mark of God and of what He could do in smiting men, and restoring them. Their position had no doubt made them feel that they were cursed by God, and there was reason for them to do so for many of them were dallying with the gods of Egypt (Joshua 24.15). Here was open evidence that that curse could be removed.
But why should his hand placed in his bosom say this to them? We should note that the hand that he was to put into his bosom would just earlier have taken the snake by the tail and turned it into a staff. Thus while he might see it as branding him as a murderer they would see it as the prophet’s hand of power by which the one whom the snake represented could be defeated. (Later he will raise his hand in order to do wonders). Thus when he pointedly put it in his bosom He was thereby indicating to them his own history, that because of the attitude of his heart the hand of God in him had previously been made useless and ‘unclean’ by God, but that now it had been restored and God was with him. Its becoming leprous and being restored again may well have been seen by them as an indication that Moses, God’s hand, whom they had believed as lost, was now restored by God to fulfill His purposes.
It may well too have been a sign that God saw their hearts as sinful so that on recognizing that God was coming to them as they were, they gained in confidence that He would save them.
7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.
First the giving and then the healing of this severe skin disease would be a clear indication to all that it was God Who was at work, for such severe skin diseases were uniquely seen as within the prerogative of God. They learned by this the important lesson, that God could make something loathsome, but that He could also make it clean. God could smite and He could heal. He had done it for Moses. He could do it for them. And just as the snake had symbolized hidden powers of evil, so we may see the healing of the leprosy as indicating God’s power to control and deal with all that was loathsome so that he could attack men and their ability to act, and then restore them as he would. And if they did see it as representing the mark of Cain on the man in the wilderness they would recognize by this that that mark had in Moses’ case been removed. Although they might have thought he was marked by his Midianite background, this would demonstrate that he was not marked by God as separated from the people of God or as a murderer. For whatever he was God had made him whole. Thus his God-empowered hand was there to deliver.
Furthermore if the snake represented the powers against which they were arrayed, the hand represented Moses’ own power and ability as bestowed by God. By himself he was weak and diseased, but let his hand be conjoined with a heart that was right and all would be well. Then God would use his hand.
8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.
The third sign has water from the Nile river turn to blood. This sign could not be enacted immediately as Moses was not near the Nile. It is, however, an indication by Yahweh that He will demonstrate His power over the gods of Egypt as soon as Moses arrives there. The Nile god was seen as one of Egypt’s greatest gods, responsible for much of its prosperity. If Yahweh could make him bleed He could do anything..
9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”
But what of those who will believe neither sign? God is aware of the deep unbelief of men and He was willing to make allowances for it. So He provided Moses with a third sign. Some will, of course, believe after the first sign by the controlling of the snake, others will believe after the second sign when the power of God to smite and heal has been revealed, but the third sign was for the severe doubters. Two signs confirm the certainty that God is at work (two is the number of witness). The third demonstrates a complete revelation (three is the number of completeness).
Moses was not called on to test this sign out there and then. There was no river available. But its significance was clear. Yahweh could make the powerful Nile god bleed. The water of the mighty Nile god, that water which was the very life of the people, could be turned by Him into blood. It was a symbol of what Yahweh could do to the Nile and to Egypt. It warned that if the Egyptians would not do what God demanded their future would be saturated in blood, for the Nile symbolized. He would ‘slay’ the Nile and with it many of the people of the Nile god who had claimed so many Israelite victims at their hands.
The three ‘signs’ given to Moses possibly connect with the snake, the ‘sign’ of Cain, and the river which fed a fruitful land, all connected with their first traditions, while as we have seen earlier there has been an emphasis on the laborious toil of the people of Israel, the sad pain on their childbearing, their building of cities, deliverance of one through an ark, and the fleeing of a murderer into the wilderness. It is difficult in view of this to avoid the thought that the writer has the traditions behind Genesis 1-11 in his mind, forced on him by the remarkable parallels (history continually repeats itself through the ages).
10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
Moses continued to seek to avoid his unwelcome assignment. This time he argued that he was no good at refined conversation. In those days eloquence was looked on as vital in diplomacy, and requests, submissions and arguments were seen as needing to be couched in flowery language. Thus Moses felt that he was not suitable. Through living with the Midianites he felt that he had long since lost any ability he had to be flowery in his speech like a diplomat. He was now a rough and ready tribesman. And he knew that meeting Yahweh had not improved the situation.
Yahweh’s reply was to point to Who was behind Moses. Does he not recognize that He Is the One controls all man’s functions? He could therefore enable Moses and show him what to say. But Moses was still reluctant. He was too aware of his inability in that field, and besides, he did not like the whole idea. His next words make that clear.
13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
In view of the response this clearly indicated a polite refusal. His plea is that Yahweh must choose someone else. (Moses was eloquent enough here). He may choose whom He would, but not Moses.
14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.
This description is in human terms. God’s ‘anger’ is the divine response to disobedience, unwillingness and lack of faith, not a sign of lack of control. It depicts His condemnation of and aversion to sin. (There is no ready human word for it, for it is outside our experience). But His response was measured and compassionate. He pointed out that Aaron, Moses’ brother, was eloquent. He was already bringing him out to meet Moses and then he could act as his spokesman. But Moses must take final responsibility. It was Moses who was God’s chosen spokesman. It should be noted that God had already anticipated Moses’ reaction and had graciously made provision for it. He is not unaware of the weakness of His servants. His anger contains within it understanding.
Moses need have no fear. Their meeting would be a joyous one. They had not met for many long years, and Aaron must have wondered how his princely brother was faring. Messages communicated by others were all very well, but they did not tell the whole story. Now he would know and their meeting would make him pleased and delighted.
16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.
Literally ‘he will be to you a mouth.’ The background to these words is clearly Egyptian. There "mouth" (ra) is used metaphorically for a representative of Pharaoh. The office of a "mouth" was so important that it was held by the highest State dignitaries. The titles “mouth” and "chief mouth" were used in relation to people such as chief superintendents and overseers of public works who acted as intermediaries between the Pharaoh and the Government officials. The concept of "mouth" or "chief mouth" involved a confidential and exalted position at court, ranking immediately after the king. They were mouths to a god.
Our Holy Lord adds ‘And you will be to him as God.’ Possibly better ‘as a god’, that is, as standing in God’s place. As Pharaoh’s ‘mouths’ spoke for him as a god, so Aaron will parallel these high officials and speak in the name of Moses. As Yahweh will say to Moses later, “I will make you a god to Pharaoh (Exodus 7.1).” Pharaoh would indeed learn to fear him and his seemingly divine powers. This puts Pharaoh’s ‘divinity’ firmly on an earthen plane. The battle would be between Moses and Pharaoh, not between Pharaoh and God.
17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
This refers to the staff of Moses (verse 2). As ‘God’ he will speak by performing signs. From now on this staff, which will have delivered God’s first sign, (and is here linked also with the other signs), will be called ‘the staff of God’ (verse 20). It will be with Moses, and often used by Aaron, in all his future activities, a reminder that the power of Yahweh was with him and that his authority was derived from God, and that thereby he could control the snake, and smite and heal. It was a visible evidence of God’s presence with him, and through it he would soon perform many other signs.
We are going to see in this next section some powerful contrasts. On the one hand Jethro is Moses’ tribal leader with acknowledged rights (18a), on the other Yahweh demands lordship over Moses and his family, represented by the sign of circumcision. On the one hand Pharaoh is threatening Yahweh’s firstborn son, and in return Yahweh threatens Pharaoh’s firstborn son, meanwhile Moses is also seen as under threat because his son has not been circumcised which would be the sign that he was one of God’s chosen people. Equally powerful is the parallel contrast that while those who are in Egypt who threatened Moses’ life are dead, Yahweh will seek to slay Moses, something only averted by the blood of circumcision.
This brings out what serious issues were seen as involved here. The major questions were two, first is to whom Moses owed submission that was why the circumcision of his son was so important. This may suggest that his wife was refusing to allow her son to be circumcised out of loyalty to her own tribe, and was reminding Moses of his tribal obligations. Once she agreed to the circumcision the issue was resolved, which may have been why she was so angry at being thwarted. The second issue was the vital importance to Yahweh of the deliverance of Israel, His son, His firstborn, which not even Moses must be allowed to frustrate. When it came to sons Yahweh’s was of premier importance.
18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
Please notice that Moses did not tell Jethro the real reason for his wanting to leave. Had he done so his father-in-law might not have been so willing to see him go, and Moses clearly did not consider that a theophany from Yahweh God had anything to do with Jethro who was a priest of the god of Midian. Had Jethro known of Yahweh Moses would surely have told him a lot more, for then Yahweh’s command would have been significant to Jethro and of great importance. This counts against Jethro even knowing of Yahweh, except possibly as Moses’ strange personal and family God.
The fact that Moses’ son (possibly his firstborn is in mind, although we might then have expected it to be stated) had not been circumcised might suggest divided loyalties by Moses between obedience to Yahweh and response to his current circumstances, indicating resistance from his wife and possibly his family and tribe with regard to his loyalty to Yahweh and what they saw as a barbarous rite of circumcision. What follows settles once and for all where the loyalty of he and his family must lie.
Jethro acknowledged Moses’ right to visit his kinsfolk and gave consent. ‘Go in peace.’ He was assuring him that there would be no dispute or ill will in the tribe at his departure. Later when the deliverance had taken place Moses would keep Jethro informed of events and Jethro would come to visit him and acknowledge his responsibility to accompany the people he had delivered to Canaan (18.1-27). Thus Moses did what was fitting towards his tribe.
But Yahweh would only say ‘go in peace’ to Moses once the issue of his loyalties had been settled by the circumcision of his son (possibly his firstborn for each son individually spoken of in this passage is a firstborn).
19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
Some time had passed since his call, for he had had to bring the sheep back to the tribe and then seek the right time to prepare to visit Egypt, and as we know he was not at all keen on the idea. Besides, haste would not have been looked on as courteous. But then the word came from Yahweh that it was time to depart, both forcefully and yet with comfort. Initially, he is reminded, he will have nothing to fear, for those who remembered his misdeed were no more.
But in context in the background is another threat of death. Yahweh Himself will threaten him with death because of his failure in loyalty (verse 24).
20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
‘And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.’ He knew that this was the sign of his God-given authority and his one weapon against the wisdom and armies of Egypt. Now it was not just his staff, it was the staff of God.
This section coming up could be described as being at the heart of the book of Exodus, for it deals with three attitudes that lie at the heart of God’s dealings with the world: His dealings with Israel, His dealings with Pharaoh and His dealings with each individual who is to serve Him. It takes up three aspects of son ship and faces us all up with a choice, for each of us must decide whose sons we will be. And the passage centralizes on Yahweh’s attitude towards these three sons.
The first son ship relates to Yahweh Himself. In verse 22 He declares true Israel’s relationship with Him. He declares, ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn.’ What amazing words were these? They depicted God’s love for Israel as being like a father’s love for his firstborn son. He was declaring that they had become so precious to Him that He had adopted them as His firstborn. It was they who were chosen to receive His inheritance. It is this concept that lies at the root of all that will follow. In His sovereign power He has elected to make them His son.
In contrast with Yahweh’s firstborn is the firstborn of Pharaoh (verse 23). Here was one whom Pharaoh treasured, and who was paraded as a budding god, one who was the delight of Egypt. And Pharaoh was to be warned that if he did not deal rightly with Yahweh’s firstborn, his own firstborn would be slain. Behind this warning lies the very basis on which the world exists. The world as represented by Egypt is responsible for its response to God and His people. And if the world does not respond rightly then it can only come into judgment, and will be punished like for like.
But there is a third son brought into the reckoning, and that is Moses’ own son, although he is not said to be his firstborn, even if in context it might be assumed. And here was a real problem. Moses’ son had not been circumcised. He was not marked off as belonging to God, and because of this was ‘cut off’ from the people of God (Genesis 17.14). He was not a part of God’s firstborn son. This demonstrated Moses’ divided loyalty. Here was a paradox indeed. On the one hand this son was the son of God’s chosen servant, but on the other he was aligned with those who were not of God because Moses had not circumcised his son. This situation could not be allowed to continue and explains the severity of the passage. Moses had to choose to Whom his son and his family would belong. Would they belong inside the covenant or outside it? Would their future lie with Israel, or with their tribe? Behind the passage lies a message to us all. Whose son will we choose to be? And by our response will be determined our destiny.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let my son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”
Yahweh now let Moses know what was in store for him. He told him that he must begin by showing Pharaoh the wonders that he would first have shown to the elders of the children of Israel. That was why he had brought with him the rod of God. But Yahweh would give Pharaoh strength of heart to resist so that he would refuse to let them go to worship Yahweh. It will, however, be noticed later that at first Pharaoh hardened his own heart. The divine will and the human purpose went along in parallel. It was only later, once Pharaoh had proved his stubborn refusal, that God’s action was more direct.
Then he must issue him with a dire warning. He must tell him that Israel is to Yahweh like a firstborn son, beloved and treasured, and that because he has refused them permission to go to worship Him and offer sacrifices to Him in the wilderness He will slay Pharaoh’s firstborn in return. If he sought to break Yahweh’s heart, Yahweh would break his heart. This will be a direct challenge to Pharaoh’s deity. He may see himself as a god, as may his people, but the assertion is that he will not be able to protect his son, also a budding god. And he will deserve it.
The use of the term firstborn demonstrates how important Yahweh’s people are to Him. The firstborn son was always received with the greatest joy. Here was the one who would inherit and maintain the continuance of the family name. Here was the one who would receive the choice portion. He was highly prized. And this was what Israel was to God. But the idea behind the word ‘Israel’ is fluid. It was not fixed and immutable. Men could refuse to be recognized as Israelites, and God would let them go. Men could prove that they were not Israelites by their behavior and then God would cut them off. And men could become Israelites by joining permanently the households of those who were, by being circumcised into the covenant (12.48) and by committing themselves to Yahweh.
The significance of the application of this term firstborn is brought out in Deuteronomy. They are the people chosen and loved by Yahweh from their commencement, a holy people and a special treasure which was why He had bound Himself to them by an oath (Deuteronomy 7.6-8).
So in all this central to God’s actions is His love for Israel. As the descendants of Jacob they are as a firstborn son to Him. As He cherished Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so will He cherish these His people. He is their father and they are his adopted son, treated as His firstborn and therefore of great importance. This will one day be a strong weapon in the hands of the prophets as they seek to convince Israel and Judah of their sins (Malachi 1.6) and a basis on which the people will plead with God.
The wonders which I have put in your hand’ refers to his staff which was now the symbol of his authority and power from God, and was the evidence of what God would do through Moses.
A question to ask is why should God give Pharaoh the strength to resist Him? Instead of love, for Pharaoh there is to be a hardening. The answer lies partly in the way that He has made men, and is partly given in the account that follows. In one sense it was Pharaoh who strengthened his own heart against God. Literally ‘his heart was heavy’. But then God would confirm his attitude and, as it were, give him a little help through circumstances so that he kept firm. Indeed it was necessary for Him to do so, so that Pharaoh could learn his lesson. We have here the paradox of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Pharaoh would in fact have been hardhearted in this matter whatever God did.
Furthermore there would come a time, foreseen by God, when he had so hardened himself that every attempt to soften him could only result in a further hardening. Then God knew that everything He did would harden Pharaoh’s heart even more. So He could say quite truly, ‘I will harden his heart.’
As we have seen, in contrast to Yahweh’s firstborn is the firstborn of Pharaoh. He was the pride and hope of Egypt. But Pharaoh is warned that because he will not deal rightly with Yahweh’s firstborn, his own firstborn will be doomed. What a man sows he will reap.
This thought of the slaying of the firstborn now leads on to an incident in Moses’ life that followed these words, where Moses life was put in danger because his son has not been circumcised. It is not only Pharaoh who was to be judged if he failed to obey God. Here was Moses going to deliver God’s firstborn, a son ship evidenced by their having been circumcised, and yet at least one of his own sons was not circumcised. We may even surmise that God had put a strong feeling within him that he should circumcise his sons, but had been strongly resisted in the case of one by his wife.
24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26 So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.
It is clear from this passage that at least one of Moses’ sons had not been circumcised. But now that Moses was going among his own people, to whom circumcision was a sign of the covenant, this could not be allowed. It was a sign of disobedience and refusal to respond to the covenant requirements. And it may well have indicated the divided loyalties of his family. And this with Moses of all people, the one who would act in the name of the covenant! Thus God moved in to warn him.
The relative pronoun [‘her son’]may signify that she saw the firstborn as especially her son, or it may be that while Moses had insisted on circumcising his firstborn son, his wife had claimed the second to be more peculiarly hers, and had resisted his being circumcised.
Here is a startling announcement -‘Yahweh met him and sought to cause his death.’ (Literally ‘to kill him’). Clearly this means that in some way Moses was brought face to face with death, probably through some illness, in a way that made him and his wife conscious of their flagrant disobedience. (Had Yahweh really wanted to kill him he would have been dead). It is clear that Zipporah knew precisely where the problem lay, for she acted rapidly and circumcised her son, averting the threat of death. This suggests that she had been holding out against it and was only brought to submit by the perilous situation.
In verse 20 she we learn that she had more than one son, but it may be that it was recognized that it was the circumcision of the firstborn that was important at this point.
Moses’ wife understood what was going on and circumcised her son, yet was really angry at Moses. She cast the skin at his feet.’ Presumably as an offering to Yahweh to avert the tragedy, like the application of the blood of sacrifice, or possibly in annoyance at what was to her a distasteful rite, or because she was having to choose between loyalty to her tribe and loyalty to Moses and to Yahweh. It may have been that, having given way on the first son, she had opposed the circumcision of her second son (or vice versa). Thus one son was part of Yahweh’s ‘firstborn’ while the other paralleled Pharaoh’s firstborn.
Her words are considered important for they are repeated twice -‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.’. It would appear to be an indirect petition, a pious petition to Yahweh, signifying that the required blood had been spilt. Or it may have been a complaint suggesting that marriage to him had introduced her to this distasteful rite of blood. She may have been saying ‘It was not until I married you that I had to put up with this kind of thing.’
Blood was in fact important in all serious relationships. Covenants were sealed in blood. It may thus be that she was angry at being forced into a covenant that she did not want to partake in, and recognized that now the covenant blood was binding on her too.
Circumcision is stated in the plural. This may simply be a plural of intensity indicating the importance of circumcision, or it may be seen as confirming Zipporah’s anger that she had previously had to circumcise one son, and had now had to circumcise the other. It would seem to confirm that both sons had now been circumcised.
A vital lesson arises from this passage to which we must all take heed, and that is that it is no good our going forward to take our place in the purposes of God if there is failure with our own personal lives. Unless we are prepared to put right our personal lives and cease to have divided loyalties then seeking to serve God can only bring us into judgment. It is an insult to God. We must first make right the situation and then we can come and offer our gift (Matthew 5.23-24).
Moses now meets up with Aaron and they go to Egypt to demand the release of Israel so that they may go into the wilderness and worship Yahweh. Pharaoh refuses their request and responds viciously.
At long last Aaron and Moses meet up, and Aaron is made aware of the huge implications of their meeting. Then they return to Egypt together and commence their campaign for the deliverance of the children of Israel.
27 And the LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him.
God tells Aaron to go out to meet Moses and they meet at the very place where Moses had met with God. There they have an emotional reunion and Moses outlines all that has taken place and what they are now expected to do.
‘The mountain of God’ is Horeb where Mount Sinai was sited. It is probable that it was seen locally as a holy mountain.
29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
In a brief summary the writer tells us that Moses and Aaron now carried out God’s command with regard to the children of Israel. They gathered the elders together and outlined to them what had happened, and they called the people together, possibly for an act of worship, which would be permissible. Then Aaron performed the signs before them and the people. This produced response and worship as the people ‘believed’. Hope began to fill their hearts and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
‘And Aaron --- performed the signs.’ He was now the front man acting on behalf of Moses, and he presumably now carried, at least temporarily, ‘the staff of God’ (4.17, 20). There was wisdom in this. Moses was a stranger whereas Aaron was well known to them and trusted. And he was the mouth and had the eloquence. Moses was, of course, involved. It was presumably his hand that would become leprous. But Aaron was pressing the claim on the people. How quickly the performing of the signs is passed over. The indication is suggested that the people responded immediately. At this point their hearts were open (in contrast with Pharaoh’s). ‘The people believed.’ Faith was always central to experiencing God’s working. It was no doubt here counted to them for righteousness for all who believed.
‘That Yahweh had visited the children of Israel.’ They had begun to think that He had forgotten them but now they learned that He had been among them and had seen the dreadful conditions under which they lived. But the easy part was now over, Pharaoh would take more convincing.
