Actually, some commentators say it refers to one of Moses’ sons. In any case, the reason why is because the child had not be circumcised as God has commanded him to be. For Christians this speaks of the importance of having children baptized, which is the fulfillment of circumcision in Christ. It shows how seriously God takes his commands.
Moses, instructed by G-d, is on a mission. In this passage from Exodus, G-d reminds Moses of the power of circumcision–which represents the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish people–to withstand his enemies, including the Pharaoh, whom he will no doubt find in Egypt. The language G-d uses may seem threatening but it is really meant as an aid to Moses so that he take the time to understand that G-d is always with him and that the bond, or binding contract, between G-d and the Jewish people is unshakable and eternal. But, as in any contact, both participants must do their share. G-d is doing His, and He reminds, in no uncertain terms, Moses of his responsibility to do his share as well.
I asked this question before but did not get a decent response. The thing puzzling is that God wanted Moses to go and free his people and Moses was really reluctant, coming up with excuses such as those people won’t listen to him and that he is not eloquent and request someone else take his place. Eventually he acquiesced and had more chitchat with God. Then suddenly in Ex 4:24, God tried to kill him. God could have killed Moses at any time before Moses agreed to take up this job. So my question is why at this time when he is on the way to Egypt to do this job that God wanted to kill him abruptly? Was there some missing information which could have explained this? As far as I can make out, his status remained the same before he took up the job and when he was on his way to Egypt. He was uncircumcised before he took this job and there was nothing to suggest that God required that he must be circumcised for the job which can be punished by death by not complying.
But Moses’ status DOES change. This is due to the fact that Moses accepts of his own free will the responsibility of being G-d’s prophet and freeing his brethren from bondage. This is why G-d makes it clear to Moses that if the latter consents to such a daunting task, there is no turning back now and no middle ground. IOW, such a task requires the responsibility, as well as privilege, of sacramental fulfillment, which means that he must be circumcised and that his sons must be circumcised. This is the contractual agreement that G-d and man enter into. G-d will help Moses on his journey to Egypt but Moses must also demonstrate that he is worthy of G-d’s help by entering into the Covenant.I asked this question before but did not get a decent response. The thing puzzling is that God wanted Moses to go and free his people and Moses was really reluctant, coming up with excuses such as those people won’t listen to him and that he is not eloquent and request someone else take his place. Eventually he acquiesced and had more chitchat with God. Then suddenly in Ex 4:24, God tried to kill him. God could have killed Moses at any time before Moses agreed to take up this job. So my question is why at this time when he is on the way to Egypt to do this job that God wanted to kill him abruptly? Was there some missing information which could have explained this? As far as I can make out, his status remained the same before he took up the job and when he was on his way to Egypt. He was uncircumcised before he took this job and there was nothing to suggest that God required that he must be circumcised for the job which can be punished by death by not complying.
I can understand that, but ‘sought to kill him’, wouldnt that be infringing upon our free will?
He had been disobedient in not circumcising his son.
Moses had given himself to God to go to the Israelites in Egypt. Being God’s servant Moses was bound to obey him. Moses had disobeyed by not having his youngest son circumcised. So, apart from the fact that all of us are created by God, which gives God the right to take our lives whenever he pleases, Moses have violated God’s command. At that time, before the Age of Grace brought about by Jesus’ Incarnation, judgment was immediate and final, if not repented of, which is why Moses’ wife did the circumcision immediately.
Very true. Moses knew that his son had to be circumcised due to the eternal covenant between God and the “His Chosen People” and Moses had ignored this law probbaly becuase Moses wife at the time was not happy that child should be circumcised. It seems that they Moses and his wife had different opinions about circumcision. As we know the wife wins to keep peace many times. When God tells Moses He will kill him, notice that wife knows right away what the issue is and cuts off the foreskin, throws it at Moses, and says “you bloody husband” so the wife does this but is still bitter that she has to do this. God is serious about his laws and the Abrahamic covenant with His people and, as God, knows the end from the begining and knew how that issue would get resolved and resolving this issue is according to God’s clock, not man’s, and it was resolved, but no way would God allow Moses to lead His people if the leader did not comply with rules of the covenant. The wife had free choice to decide what to do, but God knew ahead of time what choice she would make and it did not matter how bitter she was about it. Actually, later on Moses had a second wife …
I re-read Exodus 2 several times and till Ex 3:1 there is nothing to suggest that Moses knew he was a Hebrew. He was brought up as an Egyptian and after he was discovered for committing murder, he fled. He got married and was tending his in-laws sheep at around the age of 80 before God appeared to him.
Sorry, you’re wrong about that. Moses fled Egypt because he’d killed an Egyptian who he saw striking a fellow Hebrew. Moses was weaned by his own mother and knew his family. You’ve watched Cecil B. DeMille’s “Ten Commandments” one too many times.
I agree that is not exactly spelled out in the Bible, but if you look, there are some Bible verses that support the notion that Moses knew he was Jewish. Maybe his mother / sister who was his nurse revealed it to him as he seem to know he was a Hebrew when he got so angry when the Hebrews were being beaten and he killed the Egyptian and then fled. At the burning bush, God calls out to Him about his people who were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were in bondage and God was choosing Moses to deliver him. His wife knew why God wanted to kill because she immediately cut off the foreskin, threw it at him and said you bloody husband. it seems to me that this was a point of contention between them as Jewish should be circumcised on the 8th day. Does God really have to spell everything out or should there be some logical reasoning or inference? this is all minor stuff as if it were important, God would have spelled it out more clearly.
Moses killed an Egyptian and the fled …you really need to read Exodus from 2-11 to 2-15 as Moses went out to his brethen and saw the Egyptian smiting the Hebrew…Sorry, you’re wrong about that. Moses fled Egypt because he’d killed an Egyptian who he saw striking a fellow Hebrew. Moses was weaned by his own mother and knew his family. You’ve watched Cecil B. DeMille’s “Ten Commandments” one too many times.
There is a lot of missing information in Scripture because it wasn’t written like a modern news story. Nevertheless, Bible scholars agree why God threatened Moses with death–it was for the reasons we gave.
I have read it. I believe I said pretty much the same thing.
But it remain unexplained why didn’t God kill him on the mountain but rather after he started his journey to Egypt if it were for his failure to circumcise his son.
Bear in mind Moses married a couple of Midianite women who were not Jewish. They’d probably drawn the line at Moses’ demand that their infant sons should be circumcised, and Moses, after having looked after a bunch of sheep for forty years, his once princely confidence shattered, all washed up, not very eloquent, and now being told by a burning bush to go and confront Pharaoh.
In other words, if God was going to make Moses the leader and founder of the Jewish nation, he needed to make a visible start by getting his own kids circumcised.