Every once in a while, there’s a sudden stop in the Biblical narrative that is so abrupt it almost seems out of place.
Consider what happens here in Exodus 4. As Moses and his family are traveling to Egypt, Moses is “met” by God who seeks to put him to death. The same Moses that, a few verses earlier, was commanded and commissioned by God to free the Israelites. Now, God threatens to kill him. Why?
There’s a lot to unpack here. First, the reference to circumcision is a call back to the covenant in Genesis 17:10-12. In those verses, not only was Abraham told to circumcise himself, but also everyone in his family. It was supposed to be a “sign of the covenant” for generations to come.
Apparently, it appears somewhere between four hundred years of slavery and Moses resigning himself to a shepherd’s life in Midian, that that practice had stopped. Moses’ son (thought to be Eliezer) was uncircumcised, so God “met him” and threatened to kill him. Some think this was a sudden illness, whereas others think it to be an angel sent like the one that appeared to Balaam.
Notice Zipporah’s reaction. In Exodus 4:25, she takes matters into her own hands and circumcises her son. Then, she throws the flesh at Moses’ feet and calls him a “bridegroom of blood.” Whether she was angry at Moses for putting them in this position or angry at the practice of circumcision is unknown, but either way, she’s furious. It’s possible that it’s at this point she leaves the party to be with her father, Jethro.
Regardless, this scene shows how important God saw the covenant of circumcision. If He was willing to oppose Moses while Moses was on the very mission that God sent him on, that’s something that is worth taking notice. When God tells us to do something through His Word, He means it.
