God Almost Killed Moses

For some reason last night when I went to bed I didn't really feel like going to sleep right away. I only mention it because that almost never happens to me. Usually when I lay down its game over in minutes. I read a few pages from whatever book I'm reading, turn out the light, and when the alarm goes off in the morning I turn it back on. Last night though, I read a few chapters of City of God (they're only like 250 each), but it didn't really put me out like it normally does so I went for some OT story time. Do you ever have those times when you just want to read a story from the Old Testament? I decided to start at the beginning of Exodus. Now, I've read the calling of Moses section more than a few times. It's common to hear about how Moses was the adopted son of the Pharaoh's daughter, how he was raised by his real mom only because she was hired as the Pharaoh's daughters nursemaid, how he grew up and killed an Egyptian slave driver, how he left Egypt for Midian, how in Midian he met his wife and father-in-law, and how he was called to lead the Nation of Israel out of Egypt by the "Angel of the Lord" from a burning bush. In NLT they used to talk about looking for the burning bush, and how it's important to hear the call of God on your life before you start leading. I have heard more than a few sermons on a variety of big ideas contained in this small section of scripture because it truly is rich. For me it's one of those stories in the Bible that I can kind of read without actually reading. Like a kid that doesn't know how to really read yet can still read a book they've read a lot of times. So I'm cruising along last night and out of nowhere I read this verse I would swear I've never read it before. It happens so fast it's easy to miss I guess, but all day I have been thinking about it.

Exodus 4:24-26 ~ "Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. The Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet, and she said, "You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me." So He let him alone. At that time she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood"-because of the circumcision."

The NIV says it like this "the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him."

This occurs after the burning bush, after he performs the miracle of the staff into a snake and the leprous hand. It's on the way back to Egypt. After everything that has happened God suddenly decides to come and kill Moses? So I didn't get it...

Instead of just going to sleep I broke out the commentaries. I needed some help with the God killing Moses part of the "Let my people goooo" story. Basically the consensus is that God was upset with Moses because his wife had convinced him to not circumcise the kid. Apparently Moses was in violation of the covenant God had with Abraham blah blah blah...

My take is that God didn't care that he was the chosen guy to go liberate the people because he was disqualified by his sin. It doesn't matter what God calls us to if we take ourselves out. The more I think about it the more it fits. God calls us to do things he "has prepared in advance for us to do." I think God probably wants more for me than I could ever even think to want for myself. The thing I have to try to remember though, is that all around there are pitfalls that can take me out. Yes, it is important to remember that the grace of Christ can redeem us from any distance or depth. However, I am beginning to think that we are able to alter the trajectory of our life to something lower than what God had intended. I can live a redeemed life with Him, but the way I walk that out will determine how closely my life matches God's original intention. I think as long as we are alive we are still tied to sin and its brokenness. That's the grace of death that we can be completely restored instead of living forever in a state of brokenness.

I was thinking about this and there are some sure examples from scripture that illustrate this idea. The big one that came to mind was Moses telling God he wasn't capable of doing what God had asked him to do. He defies God and it says the "Lord's anger burned against him," but still in His grace he offered Moses the help of Arron. This, however, was not God's original hope. He never wanted arron to be Moses' orator. As a consequence Aaton leads the people into idollaty the moment Moses is away on the mountain. This is a consequence of Moses' failure to obey fully the call of God, and though in God's grace the trajectory of his life was altered. Remember that Moses never went into the promise land. Another example is the story of Abraham, Sara, Hagar, Ishmael, and Issac. God never intended for Ishmael to be born and as a consequence generations of people have been led away from the true God to something else as part of the Islam religion. It was never what God intended, but our actions have serious consequences. Maybe the most notable of all is when Adam and Eve chose their will over God's. The consequence not only altered their own lives (physical death, cast out from the garden, bad relationships, labor pains, ect...), but the trajectory of all human history. It is accurate to say that we have fallen.

The big question I am asking myself right now is what are the things I might need to circumcise in my own life before I start leading Young Life again? What sin am I carrying around that God might seek to put me to death for? What does God have for me to do?