Puzzling Passages

Why did God seek to kill Moses?

Exodus 24

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.

Why did God seek to kill His servant Moses? The answer from the passage is clear - that it was to punish Moses for neglecting to circumcise his son.

Why would circumcision be so important to God? Today circumcision is performed primarily for health purposes, and therefore the significance of circumcision in the Old Testament is unknown to most people. In Genesis 17 the LORD appeared to Abram, and gave unto Abram a new name, Abraham. Abram's new name meant "father of a great multitude" or a "father of many nations". And promises were given unto Abraham, specifically that God would give all the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed after him, for an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:4-8). God thus made a covenant with Abraham, and circumcision was the visible seal and sign of participation in this covenant. The failure of a father to circumcise his sons was therefore a statement of his faith, revealing that he did not believe in the promises of God to Abraham. Such rebellion and disbelief were to be punished, for God states, "And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant" (Genesis 17:14).

So we see that Moses' failure to circumcise his son was not a small matter in the eyes of the LORD. At this point in time Moses was headed back to Egypt for the purpose of leading the children of Israel out from bondage. In order for God's promises to Abraham to be fulfilled, the Israelites had to return to Canaan, for God said, "I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land...all the land of Canaan" (Genesis 17:8). Therefore in keeping with His covenant, God would deliver Israel out of Egypt. Yet Moses had failed to show his faith in God's covenant to Abraham, the very covenant that necessitated that the children of Israel leave Egypt, for which cause Moses was being called into service in the first place!

So Moses' neglect to obey the command to circumcise his son was of utmost importance. The one who God would use in the process of keeping His covenant with Abraham must himself obey that covenant! No wonder God was angry, and sought to harm Moses. Moses hypocrisy would not be tolerated. If Moses was to participate in the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham, Moses would have to obey. Since the record has Zipporah performing the act of circumcision on her son, it would indicate that Moses had indeed been smitten of the LORD with some illness or affliction, and he was therefore physically unable to perform the rite of circumcision. Zipporah, his wife, was either told by Moses or she already knew what needed to be done. She circumcises the boy and associates Moses with the act by touching him with the blood from the circumcision wound. The phrase "cast it at his feet" (AV) is misleading and causes some writers and readers to wrongly assume that Zipporah was either angry at Moses or disgusted with the rite. The following translations give a more accurate wording: "made it touch his feet" (RSV); or "touched him" (NEB). Thus once the circumcision had been accomplished, the wrath of the LORD was removed from Moses.

This seemingly little event should not be lost on us. This event in the life of Moses should teach us to pay careful attention to God's Word, the need to obey His commands, and the importance of teaching our children the promises of God.