It’s Not What It Seems

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Opening Prayer

Loving Father, You are my Counselor, my Friend, and the source of my strength. I bless Your holy name.

Read Exodus 4:18-31

^[18] Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.” ^[19] Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” ^[20] So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. ^[21] The LORD said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ^[22] Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, ^[23] and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'” ^[24] At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. ^[25] But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. ^[26] So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.) ^[27] The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. ^[28] Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. ^[29] Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, ^[30] and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, ^[31] and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Meditate

“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psa. 25:8,9). We need to listen to the One who pays attention to us and calls us to attention!

Think Further

I begin my meditation today by facing the things this chapter tells me about God: his anger (14); God seeking to kill Moses (24); the apparent tit-for-tat in the warning to Pharaoh (22,23); the first occurrence of the ominous threat that God will harden Pharaoh’s heart (21), which we shall meet again and again in the next week. I rack my brains for possible interpretations of these words, which can’t be elaborated here. I go to God with my disquiet and say, “Father, I do not understand you, but I trust you.” We do not continue to trust God because we have answers to all our questions, but because of Christ.

The critical issue in this puzzling story is Moses’ failure to circumcise his son. We know God had commanded this as a sign of his covenant grace (Gen. 17), but we do not know why Moses had failed to do it. I thank God for the prompt and vigorous action of his wife (another resourceful woman in our story), which saved his life; her words probably reflect her disquiet at his disobedience and her anxiety about his endangered state (25).

Benedict ends the prologue to his rule: “Strip yourself of self-will in order to fight for the true King, Christ our Lord, and take up the keen and glittering weapons of obedience.” For what purpose? “So we shall run with an inexpressible sweetness of love along the way of God’s commandments.” How significant are the words “obey” and “obedience” in my discipleship? Am I fully convinced that my true and full freedom lies in following the will of God as an expression of his love? I offer to my loving Lord my delighted, diligent, patient obedience.

Apply

From the example of Moses, what will you apply today to help ensure that God’s future plans for you are not frustrated?

Closing prayer

Lord, I commit myself anew to listening to Your voice and being obedient to Your call. I pray for a humble heart.

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