24
¶ And it came to pass by the way in the
inn, 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 his feet, and said, Surely a bloody
husband art thou to me. 26 So he let him
go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into
the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and
kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all
the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded
him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered
together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD
had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard
that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon
their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
The inn, a place of lodging for travelers
to Egypt, is mentioned in Genesis 42:27 and 43:21. We don’t know if this is a
reference to the same lodging place mentioned in both books but since Moses
traditionally is considered to be the main author of both books under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit one might assume it was.
Here is a scene, like many others, for
which we are given little information and our imaginations can run wild. Did
God appear as the angel of the LORD, the preincarnate Jesus Christ? This is
clearly only a threat as God has plans for Moses beyond this. But Moses must be
taught something here.
James
1:8 A double minded man is unstable in
all his ways.
Apparently, Moses is required to commit
himself completely to God and to trust and believe Him. Part of this is the
rite of circumcision of the males of one’s family.
Genesis
17:10 This is my covenant, which ye
shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among
you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye
shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the
covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he
that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your
generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any
stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must
needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man
child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut
off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
In this type of context, in Genesis, to be cut off means to be killed.
Zechariah
13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in
all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
2Kings
9:8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth
against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
Ezekiel
25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch
out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people,
and I will cause thee to perish out
of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
Moses’ wife does the job for him in her
frustration. Here is an example of a woman doing God’s will, and God accepts her
act, when a man can’t or won’t do it. I am reminded of the modern Bible
champion, Dr. Gail Riplinger. Consider this verse;
Jeremiah
31:22 How long wilt thou go about, O
thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth,
A woman shall compass a man.
Or consider the judge, Deborah, and her
commitment.
Judges
4:4 ¶ And Deborah, a prophetess, the
wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up
to her for judgment. 6 And she sent and
called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath
not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor,
and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the
children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw
unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots
and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with
me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9 And she said, I will surely go with thee:
notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for
the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and
went with Barak to Kedesh.
Or Huldah, the prophetess, preaching to
the king’s men.
2Kings
22:11 ¶ And it came to pass, when the
king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the
priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and
Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying, 13 Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for
the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found:
for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our
fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto
all that which is written concerning us. 14
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah,
went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son
of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;)
and they communed with her. 15 And she
said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you
to me,
Or consider Philip’s daughters.
Acts
21:8 ¶ And the next day we that were of
Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house
of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins,
which did prophesy.
Here, we see that Aaron had already been
sent to meet with Moses on the mount of
God. They met, talked about what God had commanded them to do, and then met
with the elders of Israel. Contrary to Moses’ prediction they were believed by
the people.
Here is an example of one posture of
worship, bowing one’s head. There are other postures of worship listed in the
Bible which were discussed in Genesis, showing reverence, awe, and submission
to the one worshipped.
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