[EGW editor’s preface: One of our readers in the Watertown, SD area asked for an explanation of Exodus 4:24 as to why God would seek to seek to kill Moses.   As with any question concerning what we hope to learn from the Bible, we must always strive to apply good hermeneutics and to let the Bible interpret itself.
     (For more tips on good Bible-reading skills, click the subjects Hermeneutics and Bible study)]

     Good question about a confusing and seemingly inconsistent situation in Exodus chapter four .   On one hand, at the beginning of the chapter, God apparently approves of Moses enough to send him on this very important dual-mission of confronting Pharaoh to release God’s people from their bondage and of leading those people out of Egypt back to their promised land.   On the other hand, here towards the end of the same chapter, while Moses seems to be obediently on his way to Egypt, God apparently disapproves of Moses enough to seek to kill him and prevent him from carrying out his mission.   Very easy to think, “What gives???  This is irreconcilably confusing.   Why is God being so inconsistent with Moses?  Something is very wrong here, either with this account or else with God!!!”
     The trick to clearing away all the confusion with this is by examining how God is actually being very consistent with Moses (and in turn, with Christ & Christians today) and is actually simply (and very firmly!) requiring / insisting / demanding that Moses be genuinely consistent with Him.

     One thing to understand is that at this point Moses does not yet see himself as leading his own household, let alone as someone leading an entire nation (v.18, asks his father-in-law for permission to leave for Egypt with his wife & children instead of simply notifying his father-in-law that they would be leaving for Egypt) and has not yet put his whole heart into this mission nor into his obedience to the Lord’s authority.   In Exodus 3:11, 3:13, 4:1, and 4:10 Moses politely raises several objections to God’s choosing Him to lead the people out of Egypt… all excuses to get out of going.   And God patiently answers each of Moses’ objections and carefully & repeatedly explains how Moses has nothing to worry about because He will be whole-heartedly helping him.   In 4:13, Moses flat out tells God, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” In other words, “send someone else because I’m not going.” God’s response?
     ‘13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
     14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother?  I know that he can speak well.  And look, he is also coming out to meet you.  When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
     15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth.  And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.
     16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people.  And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.
     17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” ’
     Notice three things here about God’s attitude towards Moses here… (1) “yes, you ARE going” and (2) “because of #1, yes, you WILL say and do ONLY what I instruct you” and (3) “because of #2, yes, you WILL communicate only My authority and therefore I REQUIRE you to be in submission to only My authority.”  You might say that for Moses’ mission to succeed in leading the people out of Egypt, the Lord requires Moses to be as trustworthy and as in harmony with the Lord’s will as the Lord Himself is.

     In Genesis 17, the Lord establishes a covenant with Abraham promising that one day his descendants would one day return and possess the land of Canaan, hence the source and reason for the phrase “the promised land”.  (See also in Gen. 15 God promising Abraham he would have many descendants and they would be captive in a foreign land for many years, but when the time was right He would eventually return them to possess Canaan.)  Circumcision of the Hebrew males was their physical proof they honored this promise & covenant with the Lord… it was a physical symbol of their spiritual faith (Rom.  4:11).  If a male descendant wasn’t circumcised, then he wasn’t part of the covenant… he wasn’t part of the promise to return & possess the promised land of Canaan.
     You probably figured out from 4:25 that Moses had not yet circumcised his son(s) like he was supposed to do way back when they were just eight days old.  In short, for whatever reason, Moses had not honored the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and therefore neither he nor his son(s) were entitled to benefit from God’s promise to Abraham… they were credited by God as being unfaithful to the Lord (Gen. 17:14).  God simply could not have this man… nor any other unfaithful person… on this critical mission leading people to salvation in His name who was not himself fully honoring & obeying that that name and therefore who was not eligible for that salvation.  Zipporah, Moses’ wife, clearly understood the situation — Moses needed to either get right with God & live or else stay wrong with God & die.

     Why did God pick such a bloody symbol like circumcision to represent the faithful Jew’s trust & hope in His covenant with Abraham?  I’m not exactly sure, but I have some ideas about it.
     In his letter to the Romans Paul spends a great deal of time explaining how God’s promises through Abraham were fulfilled by Christ at the cross.  Circumcision was an Old Testament type or precursor of an New Testament anti-type looking forward to Christ’s crucifixion.  The OT “promised land of salvation” (Canaan) symbolically looks forward to the NT “promised land of salvation” (Christ’s church).  The OT Jew’s faith & hope in God’s promises through Abraham look forward to the Christian’s faith & hope in God’s promises through Christ.
     For example, in Romans 4:9-12 he tells us, “9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also?  For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.  10 How then was it accounted?  While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?  Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.  11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.”
     In Romans 15:4-13 Paul also explains, “4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.  5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.  8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” 10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11 And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles!  Laud Him, all you peoples!” 12 And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

     I hope this provides you with some clarity about this particular incident.  Took me years to piece this much together so I can’t really blame you if you find it somewhat head-spinning.
     The main thing I hope you gather from this incident is this.  At the time God first approached Moses on Mt. Sinai, Moses had been living in disobedience to God’s instruction and outside the salvation of God’s promise through Abraham.  God’s plan to forgive and use Moses in His service of saving others was contingent upon Moses repenting and entering into God’s promise himself.
     The same is true today.  God uses repentant faithful Christians to approach those who are living in disobedience to God’s instructions and outside the salvation of His promise through Christ.  God’s plan of using people to teach lost souls how to repent & be forgiven is contingent upon their own repenting & entering into His forgiveness.