Shemot (Exodus)
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Meaning
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Day Five
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Haftara
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B'rit Hadashah
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1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5
Exodus 3:18-4:17 (NASB)1
18 Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand. 21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, "Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 "So I said to you, 'Let My son go that he may serve Me'; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.""' 24 Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet, and she said, "You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me." 26 So He let him alone. At that time she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood "-because of the circumcision. 27 Now the LORD said to Aaron, "Go to meet Moses in the wilderness." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.
We're back to no sun and heavy, all surrounding cloud cover. With the snow comes milder temperatures. I was able to get more clutter and organization done in this little home office I call ferretcentral. If I learn to love winter, it will be because it does afford a wee bit more time in the first months to “get my act together!” And... those three denim queen size rag quilts are still waiting for me in storage in one of the closets of my ferretcentral/playroom. These extra hours free of personal commitment are cherished. Today celebrates Mamaw Burlock's ninety-second trip around the sun! Later this afternoon, we'll continue our reading of The Best of James Herriot. She has been my 'spiritual mother' for over fifty years, and also, cherished. Even though she's unable to read this, due to her deteriorating eyesight, I pay her tribute here and celebrate that my world has been a better place because she's here! There have been many in my life that have this distinction and it occurs to me that I'd better let them know. But before I set about to make that list, we could beaver on in our Torah project.
Moses was preparing for a family reunion and was packing with his family after he got the green light from God. The phrase, “And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian” means a lot. It's reminiscent of the patriarchs, who would hear from God just prior to the momentous moves in their lives.
19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. Exodus 4:19.
Yes! Moses had to leave Egypt for at least a generation! The Pharaoh wanted him dead but also, it just occurred to me, the family members of the Egyptian that he'd killed.
20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. Exodus 4:20.
Albert Barnes mentioned that up until this time in The Word, there's only mention of one son, Gershom. Immediately I thought, “No... two sons were mentioned...”, but after doubling back and checking, I was corrected! I realized that I must be transposing Joseph over Moses, where Joseph's two sons were mentioned. Here is a tiny insight into how my memory fails to work sometimes! But now that this business of the sons of Moses has been cleared up, it sheds a whole new impression of this part of the record, like a door opening.
John Gill comments that Moses may have been intending to stay in Egypt and so he was taking his wife and children with him. That would make sense. All the men that wanted him dead are themselves, dead, and so he can have a bit of a family reunion and besides that his wife and sons would be safe. Charles Ellicott added that (again for my benefit, only one son had been previously mentioned) “another had been recently born to him”. That, for me, begged the question, “HOW recently?” Could he have been a babe in arms? Another door was then opened and I wondered if this may have some bearing on the event that subsequently occurred on their journey. Moses was struck down and bedridden by a mysterious and serious illness!
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. Exodus 4:24-26.
The Annotated Bible by Arno Clement Gaebelein (1861-1942) Published in 1919, tells us that:
“Circumcision, which stands for the sentence of death, had not been executed in the case of one of Moses' sons. No doubt Zipporah made objections to this rite and kept her husband back from doing what he Knew was imperative. This failure of Moses stood in his way to carry out the divine commission. The hand of the Lord was upon Moses, and he was in danger of being cut off for his sin, for he had been disobedient and yielded to his wife. Then Zipporah is forced to do herself what she hated and the reproach was removed. The words "surely a bloody husband art thou to me," were addressed to Moses. She had been forced, as it were, to purchase him again by the shedding of the blood of her beloved son. She received him back as one who had been in the realm of death and was joined to him anew. It must have been there that Moses brought the sacrifice of separation by sending Zipporah and the sons back to Jethro (chapter 18:2).”
How old was this son that wasn't circumcised? We know so little of Zipporah. She engages this disaster and quickly covers the possible 'neglect' of circumcision for Moses, and he recovers from his near-death illness. It was a 'divine commission' and I'm wondering if this second child was a relative newborn or at least not yet weaned and a babe in arms. The commentators are of the mind that it was neglect on the part of Moshe. It couldn't have been oversight or a forgotten little duty that was overlooked in the importance of his recent calling. Surely Moses knew how important it was to do this as it was of great importance to the child that he be included in Israel and not be “cut off”. Yet it was needful to be done if they were going to settle and reunite with Israel in Egypt. It may have been a very dramatic but needful illness that Moses experienced and God told him as he lay on that bed of illness. After all, how could it be that the future 'law-giver' had not fulfilled the law of circumcision?
The Biblical Illustrator, published by Rev. Robert S. Exell, M.A. In 1887, is an excell-ent source for believers to be spurred into the sort of realistic self-examination that reveals areas of neglect in one's life. That pun almost typed itself, but it is true. The title of this fifty-six volume work is quite long and expressive:
Anecdotes, Similes, Emblems, Illustrations;
Expository, Scientific, Geographical, Historical, and Homiletic;
Gathered from a Wide Range of Home and
Foreign Literature,
on the Verses of the Bible.
It could be a monument of the sort of work one can accomplish without the distractions of our modern world. Breaking news pops up on my monitor. The dogs want in. The dogs want out. The phone rings. The stove needs more wood. Something that has slipped my memory that needs to be noted on hard copy for later... I confess. It can sometimes be very difficult to manage attention to the work at hand. I imagine that Rev. Exell didn't have the distraction we have in our own day. Fifty-six volumes! Well, I said all that to add what he included in his work that we could learn from this incident in the life of Moses.
“Neglected duty a hindrance to the performance of religious work: —
I. MOSES HAD NEGLECTED THE DUTY OF CIRCUMCISING HIS SON.
II. THAT THIS NEGLECT OF DUTY INTRODUCED AN EXPERIENCE OF PAIN INTO HIS LIFE.
III. THAT THIS NEGLECT OF DUTY ENDANGERED THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS RELIGIOUS WORK. Many a Christian worker is rendered feeble to-day by the sin of his past life. Let us beware how we imperil the freedom of men, and the work of God, by our own neglect. Freedom from sin is the great essential to the success of Christian work.
IV. THAT THE NEGLECT OF THIS DUTY WAS MOST FOOLISH, AS IT HAD AFTER ALL TO BE PERFORMED. Men will have to face their neglected duties again, if not for performance in this world, yet for judgment in the next. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)”
Yesterday, we touched on the topic of looking at our selves with a realistic, critical and yet humble estimate of our strengths and what I call our “can do's”. Today, without any planning from me, it's a case of “it just worked out like it did”, which I consider coming from His inspiration: The practice of another critical and honest assessment of possible neglect. If a man the stature of Moses was subject to this sort of scrutiny in his own life, let's not think that it's not needed in our lives! This Biblical Illustrator pointed out “The Divine Purpose of a strange event”. A very strange event indeed!
The Divine purpose of a strange event: —
I. TAKE THE FACT JUST AS STATED (ver. 24).
1. The very terms are confessedly startling. The Lord seeking and trying to kill! But His fatherly heart withheld His arm.
2. The character of the sufferer makes it still more remarkable. To cut short such a life as that of Moses — how strange!
3. Considerations of time and circumstances only deepen the wonder. God had just spoken to Moses as a friend, and expressly engaged him for an exceptionally important work.
4. The prominence and emphasis given to the record complicates the mystery. It is God speaking to all generations on things belonging to their peace.
That last statement offered is a critical point that could stand out above all the others made already.
But let's look at one of the conclusions the Illustrator points out that:
“To those of us who call ourselves Christians, and profess to be aiming at public usefulness, its unmistakable voice is — "They should be clean that bear the vessels of the sanctuary." Sins unforsaken, however secret, or however deplored, are sins unforgiven. (H. Griffith.)”
There is that distinction of 'clean' that we will explore in detail in the next book of Leviticus. Believers today don't have much understanding of the Scriptural connotation of clean-unclean, because of the great hesitation to give the Old Testament full credibility. The other reason is that down through countless generations, believers are taught the 'party line': “that's only for the Jews”. The notion of clean-unclean is relatively and overall, pretty much discarded. It's like the “baby thrown out with the bath water” and is for Gentiles, possibly far more important than to contend over circumcision. Incidentally, the Illustrator added this to the end of a very populated and lengthy treatise on this portion of our reading today, but nevertheless adding to our knowledge.
“The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and other writers, practised circumcision. "This custom," says the former, "can be traced both in Egypt and Ethiopia to the remotest antiquity" (1. ii. c. 104). At what age it was performed by the Egyptians is uncertain; but it is worthy of remark that the Arabians circumcised their children when they were thirteen years old, because the founder of their nation, Ishmael, was circumcised at that age (Ge 17:23). The Midianites, though descended also from Abraham by Keturah, omitted it, and this explains the reluctance of Zipporah to perform the rite upon her son. To save her husband's life, however, she consented to it, and herself performed the operation, using for the purpose a sharp stone, or knife of flint, which, as Herodotus tells us, was preferred to steel for purposes connected with religion, and especially for making cuttings or incisions in the human person (Herod. 2:86)**.”
After this extraordinary journey back to Egypt and his brother, Aaron, Moses does meet with the elders of Israel and delivers the message from the God of their fathers.
Moses was preparing for a family reunion and was packing with his family after he got the green light from God. The phrase, “And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian” means a lot. It's reminiscent of the patriarchs, who would hear from God just prior to the momentous moves in their lives.
19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. Exodus 4:19.
Yes! Moses had to leave Egypt for at least a generation! The Pharaoh wanted him dead but also, it just occurred to me, the family members of the Egyptian that he'd killed.
20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. Exodus 4:20.
Albert Barnes mentioned that up until this time in The Word, there's only mention of one son, Gershom. Immediately I thought, “No... two sons were mentioned...”, but after doubling back and checking, I was corrected! I realized that I must be transposing Joseph over Moses, where Joseph's two sons were mentioned. Here is a tiny insight into how my memory fails to work sometimes! But now that this business of the sons of Moses has been cleared up, it sheds a whole new impression of this part of the record, like a door opening.
John Gill comments that Moses may have been intending to stay in Egypt and so he was taking his wife and children with him. That would make sense. All the men that wanted him dead are themselves, dead, and so he can have a bit of a family reunion and besides that his wife and sons would be safe. Charles Ellicott added that (again for my benefit, only one son had been previously mentioned) “another had been recently born to him”. That, for me, begged the question, “HOW recently?” Could he have been a babe in arms? Another door was then opened and I wondered if this may have some bearing on the event that subsequently occurred on their journey. Moses was struck down and bedridden by a mysterious and serious illness!
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. Exodus 4:24-26.
The Annotated Bible by Arno Clement Gaebelein (1861-1942) Published in 1919, tells us that:
“Circumcision, which stands for the sentence of death, had not been executed in the case of one of Moses' sons. No doubt Zipporah made objections to this rite and kept her husband back from doing what he Knew was imperative. This failure of Moses stood in his way to carry out the divine commission. The hand of the Lord was upon Moses, and he was in danger of being cut off for his sin, for he had been disobedient and yielded to his wife. Then Zipporah is forced to do herself what she hated and the reproach was removed. The words "surely a bloody husband art thou to me," were addressed to Moses. She had been forced, as it were, to purchase him again by the shedding of the blood of her beloved son. She received him back as one who had been in the realm of death and was joined to him anew. It must have been there that Moses brought the sacrifice of separation by sending Zipporah and the sons back to Jethro (chapter 18:2).”
How old was this son that wasn't circumcised? We know so little of Zipporah. She engages this disaster and quickly covers the possible 'neglect' of circumcision for Moses, and he recovers from his near-death illness. It was a 'divine commission' and I'm wondering if this second child was a relative newborn or at least not yet weaned and a babe in arms. The commentators are of the mind that it was neglect on the part of Moshe. It couldn't have been oversight or a forgotten little duty that was overlooked in the importance of his recent calling. Surely Moses knew how important it was to do this as it was of great importance to the child that he be included in Israel and not be “cut off”. Yet it was needful to be done if they were going to settle and reunite with Israel in Egypt. It may have been a very dramatic but needful illness that Moses experienced and God told him as he lay on that bed of illness. After all, how could it be that the future 'law-giver' had not fulfilled the law of circumcision?
The Biblical Illustrator, published by Rev. Robert S. Exell, M.A. In 1887, is an excell-ent source for believers to be spurred into the sort of realistic self-examination that reveals areas of neglect in one's life. That pun almost typed itself, but it is true. The title of this fifty-six volume work is quite long and expressive:
Anecdotes, Similes, Emblems, Illustrations;
Expository, Scientific, Geographical, Historical, and Homiletic;
Gathered from a Wide Range of Home and
Foreign Literature,
on the Verses of the Bible.
It could be a monument of the sort of work one can accomplish without the distractions of our modern world. Breaking news pops up on my monitor. The dogs want in. The dogs want out. The phone rings. The stove needs more wood. Something that has slipped my memory that needs to be noted on hard copy for later... I confess. It can sometimes be very difficult to manage attention to the work at hand. I imagine that Rev. Exell didn't have the distraction we have in our own day. Fifty-six volumes! Well, I said all that to add what he included in his work that we could learn from this incident in the life of Moses.
“Neglected duty a hindrance to the performance of religious work: —
I. MOSES HAD NEGLECTED THE DUTY OF CIRCUMCISING HIS SON.
II. THAT THIS NEGLECT OF DUTY INTRODUCED AN EXPERIENCE OF PAIN INTO HIS LIFE.
III. THAT THIS NEGLECT OF DUTY ENDANGERED THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS RELIGIOUS WORK. Many a Christian worker is rendered feeble to-day by the sin of his past life. Let us beware how we imperil the freedom of men, and the work of God, by our own neglect. Freedom from sin is the great essential to the success of Christian work.
IV. THAT THE NEGLECT OF THIS DUTY WAS MOST FOOLISH, AS IT HAD AFTER ALL TO BE PERFORMED. Men will have to face their neglected duties again, if not for performance in this world, yet for judgment in the next. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)”
Yesterday, we touched on the topic of looking at our selves with a realistic, critical and yet humble estimate of our strengths and what I call our “can do's”. Today, without any planning from me, it's a case of “it just worked out like it did”, which I consider coming from His inspiration: The practice of another critical and honest assessment of possible neglect. If a man the stature of Moses was subject to this sort of scrutiny in his own life, let's not think that it's not needed in our lives! This Biblical Illustrator pointed out “The Divine Purpose of a strange event”. A very strange event indeed!
The Divine purpose of a strange event: —
I. TAKE THE FACT JUST AS STATED (ver. 24).
1. The very terms are confessedly startling. The Lord seeking and trying to kill! But His fatherly heart withheld His arm.
2. The character of the sufferer makes it still more remarkable. To cut short such a life as that of Moses — how strange!
3. Considerations of time and circumstances only deepen the wonder. God had just spoken to Moses as a friend, and expressly engaged him for an exceptionally important work.
4. The prominence and emphasis given to the record complicates the mystery. It is God speaking to all generations on things belonging to their peace.
That last statement offered is a critical point that could stand out above all the others made already.
But let's look at one of the conclusions the Illustrator points out that:
“To those of us who call ourselves Christians, and profess to be aiming at public usefulness, its unmistakable voice is — "They should be clean that bear the vessels of the sanctuary." Sins unforsaken, however secret, or however deplored, are sins unforgiven. (H. Griffith.)”
There is that distinction of 'clean' that we will explore in detail in the next book of Leviticus. Believers today don't have much understanding of the Scriptural connotation of clean-unclean, because of the great hesitation to give the Old Testament full credibility. The other reason is that down through countless generations, believers are taught the 'party line': “that's only for the Jews”. The notion of clean-unclean is relatively and overall, pretty much discarded. It's like the “baby thrown out with the bath water” and is for Gentiles, possibly far more important than to contend over circumcision. Incidentally, the Illustrator added this to the end of a very populated and lengthy treatise on this portion of our reading today, but nevertheless adding to our knowledge.
“The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and other writers, practised circumcision. "This custom," says the former, "can be traced both in Egypt and Ethiopia to the remotest antiquity" (1. ii. c. 104). At what age it was performed by the Egyptians is uncertain; but it is worthy of remark that the Arabians circumcised their children when they were thirteen years old, because the founder of their nation, Ishmael, was circumcised at that age (Ge 17:23). The Midianites, though descended also from Abraham by Keturah, omitted it, and this explains the reluctance of Zipporah to perform the rite upon her son. To save her husband's life, however, she consented to it, and herself performed the operation, using for the purpose a sharp stone, or knife of flint, which, as Herodotus tells us, was preferred to steel for purposes connected with religion, and especially for making cuttings or incisions in the human person (Herod. 2:86)**.”
After this extraordinary journey back to Egypt and his brother, Aaron, Moses does meet with the elders of Israel and delivers the message from the God of their fathers.
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. Exodus 4:31.
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specified
**Herodotus , (born 484?, Helicarnassus, Asia Minor—died 430/420 BC), Greek historian. He resided in Athens and then in Thurii in southern Italy. His travels covered a large part of the Persian empire. He is the author of the first great narrative history produced in the ancient world, the History of the Persian Wars. It is a unified artistic masterpiece, with many illuminating digressions and anecdotes skillfully worked into the narrative. Despite many inaccuracies, it remains the leading source of original information about Greece between 550 and 479 BC, as well as that of much of western Asia and Egypt. (From the Encyclopedia Britannica)
**Herodotus , (born 484?, Helicarnassus, Asia Minor—died 430/420 BC), Greek historian. He resided in Athens and then in Thurii in southern Italy. His travels covered a large part of the Persian empire. He is the author of the first great narrative history produced in the ancient world, the History of the Persian Wars. It is a unified artistic masterpiece, with many illuminating digressions and anecdotes skillfully worked into the narrative. Despite many inaccuracies, it remains the leading source of original information about Greece between 550 and 479 BC, as well as that of much of western Asia and Egypt. (From the Encyclopedia Britannica)
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