Episode 353 - "The LORD is just and merciful" - Exodus 4:18-31
Ex. 4:18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
Ex. 4:21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Ex. 4:24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
Ex. 4:27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
At a cursory glance, this may seem like an odd section of Scripture. Why does the LORD give Moses such great responsibility and then, from one moment to the next, seem as though he is going to put Moses to death?
What do these paragraphs in this section have to do with each other? Spoiler alert: I would suggest that the thematic “thread” through this text is that obedience to God’s word brings blessing, and disobedience brings judgment.
What do we know about this? Moses had given the LORD excuses for why he thought he was the wrong person to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and finally he just told the LORD to find someone else. It didn’t work.
Now, beginning in verse 18, we see that Moses appears to give in. But maybe not. Maybe Moses hoped that his father-in-law would not want his shepherd son-in-law to leave. The text doesn’t tell us. It does tell us that Moses requests of his father-in-law to let him return to Egypt to check up on his family. His request was reasonable since his absence would create a burden upon the family that remained. Yet, Jethro gave him his blessing, “Go in peace.” I cannot help but suspect that the reader is to understand that the LORD put that willingness in Jethro’s heart and mind. The LORD was taking care of the details. Verses 19-20 reveal that Moses is obeying the LORD’s command and not only going to Egypt, but taking his family with him.
The LORD continued to direct Moses by telling him to perform all the signs the LORD had given him. However, the LORD continued to explain, “But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.” (Exo. 4:21) This is the kind of thing that trips up a lot of people. People might wonder whether the LORD was being unfair or unjust. Those are good questions, and I’m not sure I can answer them satisfactorily. But as we consider what is happening, let’s remind ourselves of what we already know. We know that the Pharaoh in power when Joseph was first brought to Egypt understood that Jacob’s family brought a blessing upon his kingdom because the LORD used Joseph to interpret his dreams and had the wisdom to prepare in advance, sparing the people from starvation. He treated Jacob and his family well. But after that Pharaoh died, a new Pharaoh rose up and began oppressing and enslaving the Israelites. Then, he decreed genocide against the Israelites' male babies. It seems to me like Pharaoh’s heart is already prone to hardness.
It would appear that the LORD is going to work the signs in front of Pharaoh, but not allow Pharaoh to be affected by the signs other than recognizing the power of the LORD. Then afterward, Moses was to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son.” Ah! Does this catch your attention? Egypt, under the leadership of a new Pharaoh, decreed that male Hebrew babies were to be killed. The LORD’s message to Pharaoh that Israel is the LORD’s firstborn son should get his attention. Maybe the signs worked by Moses first reveal the identity and power of the God of the Israelites. Then, this first message to Pharaoh is to remind him what Egypt has done to the LORD’s firstborn son. Verse 23 then adds the next part of the message to Pharaoh. “Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.” Think about this. Is the LORD being mean or is he being merciful? Given what Egypt has done, it would seem perfectly just for the LORD to bring immediate judgment. But it seems like the LORD is giving Pharaoh a chance to obey his command along with a clear explanation of the justice he would bring upon him if he didn’t.
What comes next is even more strange. Moses had just received his marching orders and the dire warning he was to give Pharaoh that if he didn’t release Israel, his firstborn son, he would kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son. But who looks like they are going to get killed by the LORD soon after the LORD sent him to Egypt? The answer is Moses. Why? The answer is that Moses had not obeyed the LORD’s command to circumcise his son according to the Abrahamic Covenant. The reader is left to assume that Moses’ parents had Moses circumcised on the eighth day. But he had not circumcised his own sons. It appears that he knew about this command. Otherwise, why would his non-Hebrew wife have thought to perform this act? The LORD was not going to allow him to act as a leader of his covenant people if he was not going to obey the LORD’s command himself. This might cause one to wonder why the LORD hadn’t acted as though he would kill Moses before this, or mentioned that he must do so before returning to Egypt. I believe the timing of this is to point out to the reader that no one gets a pass for disobeying the LORD’s commands. If God would discipline Pharaoh and Egypt for their sin, he will also discipline Moses and the Israelites, his covenant people, as well if they did not obey his commands. It highlights the LORD’s perfect justice upon all. We cannot say that God is unfair.
Verses 27-31 can be summarized as follows: Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD’s instructions, and the response to their first interaction with the Israelites was belief and worship.
The simple but important lessons from this are:
God is just.
God is patient and merciful.
People must obey the LORD’s word.