Moses in Exodus 4:24

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Prax, Thanks for the commentary. So, it is Moses, as God's son (of Israel), who is stricken ill or is it Moses son, Gershom? I still am not clear on that point.

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, 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 his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
(Exodus 4:21-26)

To me it sure seems like the one in danger of dying was Moses. God gave Moses a message for Pharaoh, to take 'And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn,' and split it in half so as to make God saying to Moses 'let my son go, and if not I will kill your son' speaking about Moses' son seems quite a stretch. I simply see no reason to assume such a thing.

God said "Go perform signs and wonders in Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh, but he will not let my people go. So tell him 'YHVH says Israel is my son, even my firstborn. And I say to thee, let my son go that he may serve me, and if you will not, then I will kill YOUR son, even your firstborn.'"

Which is EXACTLY what happened.

The incident at the inn was due to Moses having failed to circumcise his son. The Lord sought to kill 'him' - that is, Moses. So his wife does the deed and throws it at his feet and says 'you are a bloody husband to me' and Moses' life is spared. Moses, who will institute the Law, cannot be running around with an uncircumcised son. That just will not do.

[Pressing-On]

Originally Posted by Esaias

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, 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 his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
(Exodus 4:21-26)

To me it sure seems like the one in danger of dying was Moses. God gave Moses a message for Pharaoh, to take 'And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn,' and split it in half so as to make God saying to Moses 'let my son go, and if not I will kill your son' speaking about Moses' son seems quite a stretch. I simply see no reason to assume such a thing.

Yes, I agree. It didn't make sense, but I thought I may have missed something.

God said "Go perform signs and wonders in Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh, but he will not let my people go. So tell him 'YHVH says Israel is my son, even my firstborn. And I say to thee, let my son go that he may serve me, and if you will not, then I will kill YOUR son, even your firstborn.'"

Which is EXACTLY what happened.

The incident at the inn was due to Moses having failed to circumcise his son. The Lord sought to kill 'him' - that is, Moses. So his wife does the deed and throws it at his feet and says 'you are a bloody husband to me' and Moses' life is spared. Moses, who will institute the Law, cannot be running around with an uncircumcised son. That just will not do.

Thanks, I believe we all agree that is what the text is saying.

So, my speculation is that this is Moses not following through, as was the reason he was kept from the Promised land. I hadn't paid much attention to this part as much as him hitting the rock for water and not speaking to it.