Moses returns to Egypt (Part 1)
Charles E.
Wigg
Moses though
still unwilling, set out to return to Egypt. First he returned to his father in
law, and told him of what had transpired that day, and he asked permission to
return to Egypt to see whether his brethren were still alive. It had been forty
years since he had left that land, and God had told him that the King that
sought his life was now dead. This meant that Moses’ adopted cousin would be the
reigning Pharaoh, he would be occupying the throne where Moses should have sat,
and this would have been a further thorn in the side of Moses.
Perhaps Moses was
clinging to the hope that Jethro would not be willing to release him, and if so
this would provide an excuse for his not responding in obedience to the call of
God. But it was not to be so. Because Jethro was quite willing to part with his
son in law, and shepherd of forty years. So it was that Moses put his wife and
two sons on a donkey, and set off. However there was another crisis that night
in the inn where they slept. The Lord came upon Moses and sought to slay him, we
might have wondered why, after all the trouble and the arguments that God had
with Moses before he would obey. However Moses knew why it was. It was because
he had been careless in obeying what he knew to be the will of God. He knew what
God had said to Abraham about circumcision. He knew that it was the sign of the
covenant between God and His people. But his wife was the daughter of the Priest
of Midian, and it is evident that she had no thought of obeying the word of God
in this matter. They must have agreed that though the eldest son was
circumcised, yet she would have the second son to bring up in their religion, so
they had agreed to compromise.
This points out the
dangers involved in entering into a marriage relationship with another who does
not enjoy the same devotion, and is not willing to obey the word of God. The
Midianites were the descendants of Abraham OK, but they were not of the same
stock as Isaac. They were born to Abraham after the death of Sarah, and their
mother was that woman named Keturah, (Genesis 25:1-6). However Moses paid
a great price for accepting Zipporah as his wife, because his sons are never
mentioned as being anything in the testimony of God, and his grandson, though
obviously a gifted person, was willing to accept the hire that Micah offered
him, and has the great dishonour of leading a whole tribe into idolatry, and
thus into apostasy. (Judges 17 & 18). Let us heed the warning!
The descendants of
Midian (whose name means strife, brawling or contention), obviously did not have
the same light from God, neither did they enjoy the same sweet communion with
God, as Abraham enjoyed. Thus it would seem that they had agreed to differ,
however Moses’ conscience was not at rest, and thus when the Lord came upon him
and sought to slay him, he knew what had to be done. However when his wife
circumcised their son and cast what she had cut off at Moses’ feet, she also
poured out bitter criticism upon Moses, and accused him of being a bloody
husband to her. Her words are mentioned twice, showing that she must have kept
up her criticism of Moses for some time.
Thus Moses was
convinced that she would be of no help to him in doing the will of God. Neither
could he count on the support of his two sons, who had grown up under their
mother’s care and thus her influence. So he sent them back to Zipporah’s father
and the boy’s grandfather. Moses learned from this experience, that even though
God had showed him such favour, yet he could not trifle with what God had
commanded him. He must obey the light that God had given him. God would not
tolerate carelessness, compromise, or disobedience to His commands from His
servants. Those who would serve Him, must put Him and His word first in the
whole of their lives. I they are to expect others to be obedient, they must be
obedient to the word of God
themselves. [To be
concluded]
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[Reproduced by permission of the Author]