Why did God want to kill Moses?

[SND411]

Can someone explain to me these verses:

24 It happened on the way at a lodging place, that the LORD met him and wanted to kill him.
25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said,
"Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me."
26 So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.
Shemot / Exodus 4:24-26

 

[lacreolegurl]

Hi - this is what i found on a website when i googled:

www.enduringword.com

3. (24-26) Moses' life is spared on the way.



And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"; because of the circumcision.



a. The Lord met him and sought to kill him: This is a mysterious event; but it seems that God is confronting Moses - in the strongest possible way - because Moses had not circumcised his son. God demands that this be set right before Moses enter Egypt and begin to fulfill the call of God.



i. There is often a point of confrontation in the life of the leader where God demands that they lay aside some area of compromise, and will not allow them to progress further until they do.



b. Surely you are a husband of blood to me! Perhaps Zipporah objected to the rite of circumcision. She was not an Israelite and may have thought it a barbaric custom. Perhaps this was why God held Moses accountable (for not doing what was right, even though his wife didn't like it), but disabled Moses so that Zipporah had to perform the circumcision itself.



i. Some wonder why Moses' wife seems so bitter here. Perhaps for the first time she recognizes the serious nature of her husband's call and how important it is for their whole family to walk in the ways of the Lord.

Thanks for posting the question. Interesting! Now I have to read more for myself - what i found was that author's interpretation....

 

[blazingthru]

Moses by not believing in himself and not believing that God could fix all the issues he had within himself was actually telling God he was wrong and chosed the wrong man for the Job. Who can stand before God and say he is wrong? He was sinning by not believing in the words of God that came directly from God.

 

[blazingthru]

The thing about Moses is that once he accepted the job he put his entire heart and soul in it. Putting all of is trust in God. God blessed him fully for his obedience and totally strengthen his character as he would do for us if we put our whole trust in him. Also he did not perform circumcision on his son. His wife felt that he would be slain perform the procedure and saved Moses life.

 

[sidney]

In a word, disobedience! God told him to circumsize the child and he did not do it. That's why I am really trying to get to a place where i obey God the the first time! Not on the 2nd, 3rd time and after 50-11 confirmations.

 

[SND411]

Did Zipporah "see" or "sense" God coming to kill Moses? Was God in spirit or some other form when He approached Moses?

 

[BeautifulFlower]

In Abraham days, it was a requirement that ALL men be circumsized. This could be a reason.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Did Zipporah "see" or "sense" God coming to kill Moses? Was God in spirit or some other form when He approached Moses?

I don't know the answer, but this is a great question and I feel like Zipporah deserves some reading. You know oftentimes it's people like Zipporah who appear to just be background characters, until you actually read more specifically on them. . . .Off to study Zipporah and hopefully God will reveal something.



ETA: researching still, but came up with this so far. http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol10/J5/ot.html scroll down near the end for study on this meeting between God, Zipporah, and Moses.

Now, In this study it talks about how "maybe" Zipporah had not wanted this particular son to be circumcised and Moses didn't do it, although God told him to do it. I noticed that God was going to kill Moses for his disobedience which was a direct result of his wife's interjection. So Moses was held accountable for Zipporah's interference(sin) just like Adam was held accountable for Eve's sin.