I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 4-6.

There are two main points in this passage which I want to highlight today.  First, Moses did not want to go back to Egypt.  He was content with his life as a shepherd of Midian.  Each of his objections was just an excuse.  He raised issues which had validity, but once God had addressed them, Moses begged God to send someone else.  Yet, when God insisted, Moses went.  Second, when Moses confronted Pharaoh, things got worse for the Israelites, not better.  We need to remember that this is often the case when God begins to act.  Generally, God does not begin to make things better until the situation is such that no one can take credit for the change.  So that we know things got better through God’s action, not because of ours.  Really, these two points are related.  God chose Moses to rescue the Israelites because Moses knew that he did not have the skills to accomplish it on his own.  And God allowed Pharaoh to make things worse so that everyone would see that the Israelites were released through God’s power, not Pharaoh’s good will.

I initially said there were only two points I wanted to touch on.  However, as I re-read to write the above I was struck by the fact that Moses had not circumcised his sons until he was returning to Egypt.  Further, it is interesting that it was his Midianite wife who did so when she perceived that God was angry with Moses.  The reason this is significant is that the Midianites were also descended from Abraham (by way of Midian, who was born to Keturah who Abraham married after the death of Sarah).  Further, Moses’ father-in-law was a priest of God.  Did Moses not circumcise his sons because the Midianites did not circumcise their sons?  But if that was the reason, how did his wife know to do so in this situation?  Just some food for thought.