Exodus 4:18-31 "Not Cheap" Scott Hoezee

Sometimes there are few things funnier than understatement. And so I nearly laughed out loud some while back when reading a commentary on Exodus 4 when the commentary's author dryly wrote, "The reader is unprepared for verse 24." That is putting the matter very, very mildly! I would rather say the reader is floored by verse 24, shocked, almost scared out of his or her wits by this intrusive verse! The story in Exodus has thus far chugged along pretty well. God has now called Moses, as we saw two weeks ago, and despite initial hesitancy and resistance, Moses is now cooperating quite nicely. Without further ado or hesitation, Moses swiftly takes leave of his father-in-law, packs up the family, and leaves Midian behind en route to meet his destiny as Israel's heroic leader.

You would think Yahweh would be highly pleased at how things are moving along. In fact, by the time you get to verses 21-23, the text has become almost casual in relaying to us the fact that God now chats with Moses on a pretty regular basis and without a lot of fanfare. So in verses 21-23 God and Moses communicate so that God can reiterate some salient details of their larger game plan for getting Israel out from under the Pharaoh's cruel thumb. Yes, as readers we have every reason to believe that things are going along swimmingly at this point in Exodus 4.

And so verse 24's out-of-the-blue revelation that Yahweh is out to kill someone in this family comes as nothing less than a jolt! What follows swiftly in verses 25 and 26 don't help matters much as we find ourselves thrown right into the middle of what almost everyone agrees is the oddest portion of Exodus if not one of the most bizarre incidents in the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments alike. What could this possibly mean?

Actually, the confusion and uncertainty surrounding this incident is more acute than you know. If you were to take a peek at the Hebrew version of these three verses, you would discover that literally translated this text must say, "At a lodging place, Yahweh met him and was about to kill him, but Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched his feet with it." The pronouns in these sentences have no clear antecedents. We don't know to whom the "him" and "his" refer. As you can see, the NIV has opted for Moses, though if you look closely, you'll see some messy bracketing going on there along with a footnote down at the bottom of the page that admits it is possible this should say "Moses' son" instead of just "Moses." Maybe the one who is nearly killed is Moses' son, Gershom, and so maybe it is Gershom's feet, not Moses' own, that gets swiped with the foreskin.

The text doesn't tell us, so I think we need to let the context tell us and if we do that, then I think it's clear the NIV goofed. This should all refer to Gershom alone. Why? Because this entire section of Exodus 4 is about the theme of the firstborn son. Verse 22 is the first time ever in the Bible that Israel is referred to as God's firstborn son. And this is also the only part of the entire Book of Exodus that explains to us readers the inner logic of that terrible tenth plague when the angel of death wipes out the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Grim though it is--and scandalous though that tenth plague must remain for us--we are told here that this will be an example of like punishing like. Israel is as precious and highly prized to God as any firstborn son could ever be to any father. The Pharaoh is a child abuser. He has been beating up the apple of God's eye for years, and eventually despite signs, wonders, and nine dreadful plagues, Pharaoh will not stop beating up on this beloved son of God until God at long last gets the Pharaoh's attention in the exact same way Pharaoh had gotten God's attention in the first place: namely, by touching his firstborn son.

Again, the mention of the "firstborn" in verses 22 and 23 is vital and striking. It sets the stage for the weird incident that follows while also hinting to us more than just a little that this incident at the lodging place will also be about a firstborn son: Moses' firstborn Gershom who, for some unstated reason, had never been circumcised as God's covenant commanded. Moses surely knew this key part of God's covenant. So why had he disobeyed? We don't know. But it seems likely that it was out of deference to the ways of Midian. Perhaps Jethro, Zipporah, and others in that land regarded circumcision as wrong, as mutilation, as a dreadful thing to do to a child. And so perhaps Moses yielded to this in-law pressure and so just ignored that part of God's covenant. Whatever the precise reason, however, Exodus 4:25 tells us that Gershom had never received the sign of the covenant.

Perhaps it was something that Moses and Zipporah had once discussed, even argued about. Perhaps that explains why Zipporah seemed to know so quickly what needed to be done once Gershom's life was in danger. It may even be significant that Zipporah, and not Moses, performed this sacramental rite on her son, demonstrating her own solidarity now with the ways of Israel's God.

But why was all of this so important as to justify the startling horror of verse 24's declaration that Yahweh himself was out to kill someone? It seems a tad severe! But we need to remember how much is on the line when it comes to Moses and his family. Because of what God has called Moses to do for God's firstborn son, Israel, Moses and his family can no longer be regarded as some private little group of folks whose business is their own. Moses and company need themselves to be completely dedicated to God if there is to be any hope of their creating within Israel a similar level of dedication. After all, Moses had only recently been at the burning bush. As we noted two weeks ago, that was a metaphor, a symbol of what would one day be true for all Israel. God was to burn like a holy fire in the midst of his people yet without consuming them. God's goal was to live with and in and among his people.

But before that could happen the people needed to be holy as God is holy. That's why by the time you get to the Book of Leviticus, you find all of that outrageously detailed legislation. Leviticus makes clear the scope of God's presence and influence among Israel. Are you eating breakfast? It has something to do with God. Are you a woman having her monthly period? It has something to do with God. Are you mending an old garment, patching a hole in your robe? It has something to do with God. Are you a farmer harvesting grain? It has something to do with God. Are you a married couple making love? It has something to do with God.

The dedication of Israel to God needed to be total eventually. But it had to begin with Moses or else the entire project would be wrong from the get-go. One key sign of this dedication will ultimately be blood--that life-bearing substance that ancient peoples revered. Spilled blood would finally remind the people that salvation does not come cheaply. If we have any kind of relationship with Almighty God--much less if it is a solid, good, loving relationship of shalom--then it was purchased in blood somewhere along the line. So before Israel leaves Egypt, the blood of the lambs will flow and will also be splattered onto doorposts so that the angel of death may pass over those households. Indeed, the verb used in verse 25 when Zipporah swipes Gershom's feet with blood is the exact same word that will be used in Exodus 12 when the people swipe their doorposts with the blood of the lamb.

Strange and creepy an incident as we may find Exodus 4:24-26 to be, it previews for us so much of what is vital to all things related to salvation. Exodus 4 reminds us of the very same thing that this holy table tells us once more tonight: we are saved by grace but grace always comes to us with blood on it. And if it's not our shed blood that saves, then the saving blood belongs to someone else, and in this case that Someone is no less than the final Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; even Jesus Christ our Lord. Because of what he has done, then no less for us than for the ancient Israelites, we are called to be devoted to this Savior in every detail of our lives.

Before he could lead God's people, Moses needed to leave Midian behind him. He had left Midian physically and geographically, but his uncircumcised son bore witness to the fact that until verses 24-26, he and Zipporah had not yet left Midian behind spiritually. So for us: we need to leave our Midians behind us if we are to be a people wholly dedicated to the God who gave up his only begotten Son for us. We cannot be Christians . . . kind of, sort of, most of the time.

If we are to be children of the Lamb, then we need to leave our own Midians behind, whatever that may be for you or for me. Perhaps for you "Midian" is that part of your work that you try to hide from God lest he tell you it's wrong and you have to change it. Perhaps for you "Midian" is that part of your marriage you keep sequestered from what you know is taught in the Bible and preached in the church. Perhaps "Midian" is that dirty little secret you have--that habit of pornography or drugs or gossip, that tendency you have to be mean-spirited and to sow seeds of dissension whenever and wherever you can--that part of your character you know is not quite right but you frankly like it. You like being that way and acting that way and so you don't want to change.

Whatever "Midian" is for you, you need to leave it behind. Because the Holy One of Israel cannot dwell in the midst of your heart through the Spirit of Pentecost if you keep trying to check God's Spirit at the door every time you go into the corporate board room, step into the mall, select a movie at Blockbuster. Only when we are determined to give God our all, and to let God be our all in all, do we demonstrate that we understand the sacrament we are about to celebrate once again. Yes, even the most determined and devout of us routinely lapse back into the habits of the old country, those "Midianite" ways that still tug at us and exercise a perverse appeal over us. The blood of the Lamb covers those lapses by grace, of course.

Still, there is a vast difference between repenting of our lapses and allowing them to become just an accepted part of everyday life. As we journey toward God's far country, we need to make sure that we are indeed heading the right direction, with Midian becoming ever fainter in the rearview mirror of our lives. The grace we proclaim at Calvin Church is a most wonderful thing, but it did not come cheap--as at this table, so in the run of even the most average day of our lives, that grace drips with the blood of the Lamb and of his sacred sacrifice for us. "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Amen.