When I was younger, I made the mistake of assuming that church leaders had everything in their life under control. If you’re a member of the Bible’s Hall of Faith, your body of work over the course of your life would reflect this accomplishment. Yet, in an obscure passage at the end of Exodus 4, Moses’ marital problems comes to the surface. When their son reached the age to be circumcised, Zipporah refused to let this happen. Subsequently, Moses nearly dies due to his disobedience.
[Aroused] by faith Moses, when he had grown to maturity and [f]become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life. 26 He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense). 27 [Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible, Hebrews 11:24-27.
As a former high school teacher, my students experienced way too many divorces and separations. Just because you claim to be a Christian doesn’t exempt you from marital issues. One of the initial signs of marital problems is heated arguments in public. As roots of bitterness stored up within souls come to the surface, emotional blow ups often follow. This is what happened to Zipporah who was vehemently against the practice of circumcision.
Along the way at a [resting-] place, the Lord met [Moses] and sought to kill him [made him acutely and almost fatally ill]. 25 [Now apparently he had [b]failed to circumcise one of his sons, his wife being opposed to it; but seeing his life in such danger] Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it to touch [Moses’] feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me! 26 When He let [Moses] alone [to recover], Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision, Exodus 4:24-26.
Unfortunately, Moses decided to please his wife rather than the Lord, Galatians 1:10. Apparently, this decision made God jealous and upset. God was so disappointed by Moses’ lack of spiritual leadership that He sought to take Moses’ life. Based upon the subtle hints in the passage above, God appeared to Zipporah with only one option to save Moses’ life. While she eventually went through with this circumcision, Zipporah was afflicted with a deep soul spirit wound. May this passage inspire couples to work on their differences in private so that public scenes are limited in the future.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 