Missionary Baptists strongly insist on a "thus saith the Lord," but unless we have studied the Scriptures we may not be sure as to just what the Lord has said.

So maybe we should review the story from the beginning, and then we may safely judge whether the remark Zipporah made (Exodus 4:24-26) is meaningful:

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."

Behind this comment comes the story which began when Moses who had been reared as the son of Pharaoh's daughter in Egypt had begun to learn that he was not an Egyptian prince who could assume the throne of the Pharaoh in time. No, we are not told that, but as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, a man who apparently had no son, this would have been the case. In this state of mind, Moses, knowing that the people of Israel were his people, allowed his emotions to rule when he saw the slavery his people had been forced into, so he slew an Egyptian (Exodus 2:12), a man in authority, who mistreated an Israelite. The land was pagan, but they had laws against murder and Moses knew he was in trouble, so he fled from Egypt. He was forty years old, yet unmarried, when he left to save his life.

His exact age I do not know for sure, nor whether he had a wife left in Egypt, but there is no record that he did, so we assume that, and he married one of the seven daughters of Jethro. In course of time Gershom is born. We are not told that Moses circumcised him, but we know that God had ordained he should be at eight days of age

Remember that the Bible is a large book, but if we require that every word mark ever circumstance, we will find it more difficult than it is. Some things we accept in life when they have become customary, or when required by law. When a new baby is born we expect him to be given a name, but this normal step may not be included in every record of a family. God's Word is like this, but the record before any incident should certainly comply with the routine steps.

The routine procedure depends on the circumstances of our lives. If we grow up in a Christian home we expect a son to be given a name in harmony with that fact. We may call him Jake or Red, at home or to friends, but he has a name. Though the story does not relate the naming we expect the name as usual.

In the same way we expect a Jewish boy to be circumcised. We are not told what discussion may have gone into the reality, but when Zipporah shows objections because it is "bloody." We know she was not in harmony. God made a move to kill Moses? Was it for the neglect? We dare not add to the story, but we see in his wife's objection a pattern seen many times over against God's requirement as a mark for His covenant people. Circumcision was such a mark for a Jew to have and hold covenant position. Circumcision is that mark for every generation of Jews. The Lord's covenant people today have a similar requirement. In the same way that requirement is attained in a proper relationship to God in Christ.

The Bible Carefully Designates And Identifies what It Means
Perhaps the only confusion is that Covenant people could be confused. But this is unlikely because of the distinctions between the Chosen Nation in the Old Covenant and The New Covenant Church in the New. A few times we see another distinction. The word Saint is used corporately, seldom in the singular (only as Ps. 106:16; Dan. 8:13 in the Old Testament, and once in the New Testament (Philippians 4:21): "Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.")

In the plural it occurs 34 times in the O. T. and 61 times in the New. It always means holy, being a noun form of the word used as an adjective. The verb form is sanctify. It is interesting to note that it is never used to differentiate between those who are saved as against the lost. It was not used before the fourth century A. D, to include all the saved. Thus the word saint only refers to those who are separated to the Lord, possibly including angels (See Jude 14). Among men it either means the national Jews, but is limited to the actual separation of the lives. In the New Testament it also applies to those who have taken a separated stand from the world. More on this further on.

Back To Zipporah's Story
The account in Exodus 4:24-26 begins with a stop at an Inn, a place to rest or recuperate from the rigors of a journey. There God sought to kill Moses. What can this mean? As God He can do whatever He pleases. It is an evidence of His grace that His anger may be withheld long enough that the individual is made to see that repentance on his own part is necessary to escape this wrath of God. Again, it is not necessary for every word descriptive of the offense be spoken in the record. He causes the individual to know where he has sinned. If we remember back to Genesis 17:10-14 we find the reason that Moses would know what God required of every descendant of Jacob.

At the burning bush Moses had met the test of worship and respect, and had heard the detailed instructions as to what God would have him do. He must return and tell Pharaoh that he and his people should go three days into the wilderness to worship, and then return. Moses knew this would be a revelation of the people whom Pharaoh was at the moment shaming and persecuting with heavy duties.

Moses had lived in Pharaoh's household for some forty years, so undoubtedly knew the attitude he would find in him when he returned. He had murdered a Hebrew and Pharaoh would kill him as soon as he could find him.

Moses had not been a mere child when given to this Egyptian woman. He must have been four or five years old at least. He knew about the Hebrews' beliefs, as they were zealous to keep the ways of their heritage. He also knew of the law of circumcision, that which had been given to Abraham and then to his descendants. Yes, we are assuming, but we know the record of God's will for His chosen people. May we assume that in so many years in Pharaoh's house he could have become less controlled by the ways taught him by his mother as a small child? I am sure this could be true.

How long does it take a lad, growing into his teen years, to feel a resistance to things he was taught when small? In a house where it no longer was taught Moses could have allowed God's will to become less than it would be if it had been instilled in younger days and practiced by parents. Moses did not have that. He, now that he has a son, Gershom, did he remember to have him circumcised at 8 days? We are not told, but Moses had assumed responsibility to resist the slavery of the Egyptian taskmasters. He is among people who are not Jews, the Midianites. These people may have practiced circumcision, as they are descendants of Abraham, as are the Arabs and others, including those who dwelt in Canaan. But most of these had neglected it, or had decided it should be done at age 13, the age of Ishmael when he was circumcised (Genesis 17:25, 26). Jews today have a "coming out" service called bar mitzvah at that age. With Ishmael it is rather circumstantial, that being the age when God gave the law of circumcision to Abraham (Genesis 17:25).

Yes, I know this is not remembering the eighth day (Genesis 17:12). It is, however, like much of man's reasoning today. We see it as unnecessary to be as exacting as things are stated in the Bible. All sorts of modifications are practiced, showing that we sometimes honor our own logic more than God's Truth. God is angry over this, even angry enough to kill the disobedient. We also honor a family member more than the Lord. Paul said this happened in Corinth: (1 Corinthians 11:27-32):

27 "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."

The pictorial ordinance of the Lord's Supper, like the ordinance of baptism, are testimonials which God has set into the order for His church. Any violation of these rules, though harmless in our minds, may simply destroy the testimony enveloped in the ordinance. It was so serious in the case of circumcision until the death penalty upon the uncircumcised child was the penalty. It is also true of the Lord's Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:30). "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (have died)."

Do I hear one of my readers saying, "But this is the day of grace, and we are given certain liberties today." Are we, now? Or is this a tradition which our lack of familiarity with God's Word and God's ways has allowed us to slip into? The truth of the matter is that every day is a day of Grace, but this is not an acceptable excuse for our disobedience.

We may assume that Moses had omitted the ordinance on his younger son out of consideration for his wife's feelings. We know that when the first son, Gershom, was born, he thought about his now being "an alien in a strange land" (Exodus 18:3).

It is not said that his wife objected to circumcision, but that she did object is evident in the language she used when she told Moses what she had done. She implied that she did it out of love for him. She did it out of desperation, not wanting to lose her husband. Whatever was the reason for the neglect of God's ordinance God held Moses to blame.

We do not know the age of this second son, but when we look at the thoughts in Moses' heart when he was born and a name had to be given (read Exodus 18:2-4) we learn a bit about what he could have been thinking when Zipporah confronted him with his neglect, admitting her own wrong, but putting the blame squarely on Moses.

We saw in the account of this incident that God had sought to kill Moses. This may not seem reasonable, but it surely tells us that God is always present in our lives, seeking to get the response from us that He deserves. When had Moses been provided with escape from the sword of Pharaoh? Since Moses was reminded of it when his second son was born and a name was to be provided, he likely was thinking how this deliverance had been provided when he escaped from Egypt and fled to the land of Midian (Exodus 2:15). There he met the seven daughters of Reuel (Jethro). In time he married the one named Zipporah (bird). It was some forty years after his arrival in Midian when God sent him back to Egypt to deliver his people out.

The incident at the burning bush, at the backside of the desert may seem very ordinary, but it certainly indicates that God used it to restate His authority and call for Moses to review His vows to God and remember his failings. A lesson for us at this point, to neglect or omit what God requires is sin as brazen as positive commission of that which is carnal.

"So He let him go." (Exodus 4:26). We take this to mean that God did not kill him for his sin of omission, whatever the reason he had used. Then Moses seems to have gone back with his wife and sons to Jethro's place. It was not far from "the mountain of God," Horeb, where he shepherded the flocks "at the back side of the desert." It seems, though the story is not arranged in a proper sequence for our judgment, that God sent Aaron, Moses' brother, and Moses told him what he was charged to do and how that Aaron must go with him to accomplish this (Exodus 4:27). At that time Moses says yet again, one of his objections to having to do this himself, "And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send" (Exodus 4:13).

In many years of my reading Moses in the Pentateuch, the first five Books of the Bible I missed these references to Moses' omitting his duty and angering God to the point of His seeking to kill him (Exodus 4:14, 24). For the forty years the Hebrews were in the wilderness the law of God for circumcising every male at eight days of age was neglected, overlooked, or excused by the people. But in the days of Joshua a man with a heart to go ahead with God's instructions was allowed to go ahead and circumcise all those who had neglected it. So was the reproach of Egypt removed from the boys born in the wilderness (Joshua 5:3-5). Yes, I missed the point. My memory says I knew the time and the meaning of that ordinance from the days of Abraham, but I allowed the blindness which is so usual to prevent my taking thought to God's serious business.

Why So Much Blindness?
My learning now brings a deep conviction to the seriousness of our shallow reading of the record of the Bible. We pick up the Bible and with a sanctimonious attitude just assume that if a man wrote a part of the Holy Scriptures He certainly was a holy man and we forgive, and thus omit a consideration of the fact He was a man. Every man is carnal in large measure, but none of us should be. How long does it take for us to begin to see our own carnality in the omissions as well as in the committing of acts in our worship and in our study.

Yes, I am glad God is a God of grace. He "let Moses go," as soon as repentance was felt in His heart. That detail is not described fully, but he immediately returned to his father-in-law's place. Was he removing the instrument of God's conviction from his assigned task? I think he now realizes how much jeopardy he put his wife and sons in by His neglect. He sends them back to their original family home, not to make his going on his own conviction less restricted, but because he knows the job assigned to him and was ready to wait until the Lord dealt with his own heart thoroughly so that he could go without the errors of neglect or carelessness.

Since Moses was a man he was subject to the same weaknesses which we all have. We are not told that he was thinking of his neglect of family and obedience to God's covenant sign. He probably did think of it, hence said, "And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodos 3:11). It sounds like humility, but maybe it was excuse making. Are we not all guilty of hiding behind a false front instead of being entirely honest, even when we are dealing with our Lord?

The manner in which the Lord had approached him should have removed such dishonesty. He had told him to remove the shoes from his feet, for he was standing on holy ground. Then he told him Who was talking (Ex. 3:6). "Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." This is a degree of honesty. We all have this kind of fear of God in "holy ground" situations, but this is not enough. As a challenge for further honesty, and as an evidence of His grace, even towards one who is not quite ready to go back and face his sin and obey the Lord.

"And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sor rows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them" (Exodus 3:7-9).

This is our kind of God. It was the kind of God which Moses should have been thinking about. He is compassionate. He hears our cries when persecuted or in need. He is able, willing and ready to relieve a condition which Moses, forty years earlier, had seen and felt. That is he knew his people were being oppressed and set out in human wisdom and strength to relieve it. Surely, Moses, you, and yes, we today, can submit to the mercy and grace of such a God. Yes? "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (v. 10).

The God of all grace and every comfort was willing and able to relieve those people, but God in His wisdom saves us a place in His grace to work and accomplish His will. He could do it without us, but He prefers to do it with us. He even gave Adam a starting chance in this department when he told him to "Have dominion" over all His creation.

Can you visualize a compassionate father or mother, Christian parents, who give jobs to children and then do most of the work themselves, but they want to teach them responsibility, honesty, faith, and obedience? "Come now therefore, and I will send thee...." As a child did you not feel you actually wanted to help dad, or Mom? Was it not a favor they showed you such trust as to allow you to make the effort, maybe even destroy a portion of food or a row of garden or field crop, but, "Come now, you can do it. I will help you."

Little Moses, eighty years old, needed this child lesson. Yes, he had missed such teaching for the first years, all except the days before his being weaned. Servants did everything for him. But God loves us more than that.
Why does God keep dealing with such a lazy or uncomfortable man? As the Great Father God knows all of us better than we know ourselves. He is "longsuffering" beyond our imagination. God's seeking to kill him surely was a restricted act, but forthwith, none the less. My computer dictionary does not have the word "forthwith." It means immediately.

God is ready now. So ought we to be when He speaks. But Moses still wondered, even asked, why it should be he and not someone else. God answered and said, "I will go with you, you can do it, and the sign I will give later for your consolation, is that you will bring my people to this very mountain where you saw the bush afire and not burned up." Yes, God is willing to let you see positively that you are His choice and you will be able. No, afterward is not too late. God keeps on confirming His words to us long after we know we should have believed him from the start.

Forgive Me if You Think I am Preaching and not Teaching
Who shall I say sent me? When the people say "What is His name, what shall I say?" Can you imagine Moses asking the Lord this question? Well, remember he has been tending sheep for forty years. He has not been living in a Hebrew home for 75 years. He is as rusty as many Baptists would be in recalling the record of God's choosing Israel as His people. So if you noticed that God said that He was the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, would you ask again for the name? Well, Moses did.

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exodus 3:14, 15).

I have been young; I have been a student in a class and I owned the text book, but I think I can remember how overwhelmed I was at times when a question was directed to me. My teacher in English Grammar (Grade 9) made me feel just like I imagine Moses felt standing before the bush and listening to the voice of the God of Israel. I was taught to pay attention. Doubtless I needed that particular teacher. But now I think I know the subject she taught and after preaching for sixty-five years I think I can apply those principles without the sense of confusion and being overwhelmed. Now, please do not tell me that you did not have that teacher. Not many of my readers were even living when I had her. My "forgetter" even works better now than it did then. My point is, we must simply be honest with God. We must listen when we read His Word and/or when He speaks to us while we study, pray, or worship. Perhaps honesty is the principle feature of our neglect. That may mean it does not come to mind at the moment, a factor which time plays a large part in, or the significance of the fact has not truly registered in our consciences when we neglect or forget it. Moses' extended absence from his family doubtless played a large part in it, but God would not have sought to kill him unless he had a real, personal responsibility to remember it.

I am trying to explain how a lesson in story, unlike a lesson in formula, may not bring up every fact at a given moment. But when we read the Bible we must remember all that has gone before, and we must be conscious at all times that a saint today (a part of the Lord's church) has the promise of help from the Spirit at any given moment. That is the meaning of "another comforter" for which He would pray the Father to send to His church.

Moses was to go directly to the elders of Israel and say what God told him to say to them and then they should go to Pharaoh and ask him to let them go three days into the wilderness. Then Pharaoh would not let them go, but God showed him signs that he could use that would persuade them, and then they could go (Exodus 3:16-21). Moses realized, no doubt, how poor these Hebrews were, and possibly would have mentioned this as another excuse, but God told him how they could ask the Egyptians for jewelry and they would let them borrow from their neighbors.

Again Moses objected, saying that the Hebrews would not hear him, that his voice was not persuasive. Further, he did not believe that the Hebrews would believe that he had seen God and heard his voice. So God had him use his rod, the Shepherd Crook in his hand, and work a scary miracle. For us today such a thing would be clouded with unbelief. Are we so much better informed today? Snake handling, leprosy healing, and blood from water God said would make the Hebrews accept him. He still did not believe it (Exodus 4:1-9). Was his problem that he could not believe God could or would work a physical miracle? No, he was still scared of openly representing God to Pharaoh. When we live in a stable society, in a culture where men are blind to the hand of God, even in the physical, our problem is still one of unbelief. He was not willing because he lacked faith, but he hid this behind his own weakness or handicap. It is always this way. We do not expect anything other than the normal course of activities each day.

Moses explained that he could not speak. He was tongue tied, and could not say the words which would make sense. Is this not still the way we are. We mask the excuse: we do not have a good education; we are not familiar with the ways of men up in the world. We are hiding behind our own privacy, still looking at our own limitations. This explains why we do not witness, do not let our lives bear the witness God can bless and use. Do we not believe that Moses wrote the first five books of our Bible? Do we see any lack of words in His saying what needed to be said? But "self" was in his way. He went right on, forgetting the promises of God to make up for what might be truly lacking in him personally. Moses dared, even again, to ask God to send by someone else (v. 13). So God told him that his brother Aaron was a good talker. He could give the words to Aaron and He would say what needed to be said.

Twice in this story we have seen the anger of the Lord toward Moses (Exodus 4:15, 24). So there is no question that Moses is at fault and it is great. There is no question that Zipporah was wrong somewhere in this marriage. The record gives us no words to know just what was said, but when Zipporah found the courage to circumcise her second son, she went to Moses and said, "So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision" (Exodus 4:26). God let Moses go, releasing him from the immediate threat of death. The form that this had taken is not explained. Maybe an angel with a flaming sword confronted him. More likely he was heartsick, knowing what he did about circumcision. No illness is as dreadful as that emanating from a heart in rebellion. No words are given as to their settling this matter, How large would our Bibles be if we had all such facts written into every circumstance! As it is the area is left open so that we see the error of omission as it might apply in several errors more.

Zipporah's language lets us know that she felt circumcision was unreasonable in some way. She doubtless had an aversion to the practice, though we are not told exactly what it was. We do know that the blood of it was antipathetic to her.

Zipporah Complex
In our limited language of objection who knows how much of our unbelief comes out. We justify our failings because we do not believe God. We do not believe because we do not understand. In this we are to blame for we blame family, lack of time, and other factors, and we fail to seek discernment from God.

Circumcision is the covenant sign for Israel as God's covenant people. When the New Covenant was made with them and it included Gentiles, God replaced circumcision with baptism (Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:3). The Old Testament explains circumcision as of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6); the New Testament identifies it with the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11). Both these ordinances represent separation from the world, one by cutting off of flesh, the other by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh), that is, death and burial and resurrection. Baptism is declared to be "the faith of the operation of God" (Colossians 2:12).

When we Baptists refer to the "once in grace always in grace," or "once saved always saved," we offend those who have an aversion to a salvation which denies the merits of self so utterly. Men want to exalt flesh, whether its education, its efficient speech, its organizational ability, or its zeal. All such is carnal. The sin of omission in Moses made God angry. He could have delivered Israel from Egypt with a mighty wind, but he chose Moses to do it. His Father-heart was pleased with it that way. Our problem in accepting God's efficiency is that it degrades self and the flesh. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The Christ of the Gospel must have preeminence always. "