OPEN: Jeffrey Sackett once observed:
Think of how often in scripture it is the woman who is the vehicle for ministry.
· Who prompted Jesus to perform His first miracle? A Woman! (His mother)
· Who ministered to Christ during His public ministry? The women!
· Who anointed Jesus’ feet? The women! (One a prostitute/ another Mary/sister of Martha)
· Who stayed with Jesus throughout his trial and crucifixion? The women!
· Who were the first witnesses to the resurrected Savior? The women!
· Who makes up the majority of the population of most churches today? The women!
One person has observed that women are more naturally religious than men. They tend to understand the need for God more readily. And they are often touched by the emotional appeal of Jesus easier than men are.
Because of their potential for faith, women often serve as the backbone of many churches and ministries. And they have the potential to develop their husbands and sons into great leaders.
Men may be called to positions of leadership in the church but without Godly women beside them… they’re not going to get much done.
This morning we’re being introduced to a woman named Zipporah, the wife of Moses.
And from I’ve read out of Scripture, I believe that Zipporah deeply loved her husband
And deeply loved her children
She’d been married to Moses for about 40 years
And she’s born him two sons – Gershom and Eliezer
In fact - Exodus 2:22 tells us that not long after their marriage “Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom (Gershom mean “alien”), saying, ‘I have become an alien in a foreign land.’”
But now, their 2nd son - Eliezer seems to be a different story.
He seems to have been born around the time when God met Moses on the Mountain, because his name doesn’t reflect Moses’ isolation in exile but rather his new found encouragement in God.
Eliezer means “God is my helper”
Zipporah and Moses have herded her father’s sheep for about 40 years, and they’ve had a fairly peaceful, uneventful existence all that time. But then Moses comes home and tells her that he’s just talked to God at a burning bush. God has told him that he is to go down into Egypt and tell Pharaoh – “Let my people go!”
And all of a sudden - life becomes dramatically different.
Now, Zipporah believes in God.
Her father – Jethro – is a priest of God in Midian (the same God that just talked to Moses)
And I’m suspecting that she’s a pleased as punch that her husband has received a promotion. He is now going to work for this great and powerful God her father serves.
I think she excited!!
I can see her pack up their belongings, get the boys ready to travel…and get the family on the road.
But they don’t get too far down the road when this event we read about in Exodus 4 takes place. And this is perhaps one of the most confusing stories in all Scripture.
Let’s revue the story as it’s found in Scripture:
1. God sends Moses down to Egypt to free Israel
2. He’s on his way with his wife and kids when God tries to kill him
3. Zipporah pulls out a knife and circumcises her boy
4. Then she puts the foreskin on Moses’ feet and declares: “You are a bridegroom of blood to me”
5. At which point God leaves Moses alone
And that’s it!
The Bible doesn’t tell anything else.
There’s no explanation, no other insights. That’s it.
Now does that make ANY sense?
No, it doesn’t… until you read a little between the lines.
You see, circumcision was the mark of the Covenant God had with Israel. It started all the way back with Abraham. In Genesis 17:10-12 God says to Abraham:
"This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-- those who are not your offspring.”
So God had commanded that every Israelite had to circumcise their boys.
But obviously - one of Zipporah’s boys has not circumcised
Most likely – it’s Eliezer.
Now, why hasn’t he been circumcised?
Well, I can guess. Now understand, I’m speculating here, but from what I know of people this scenario makes sense.
· I believe Gershom had already been circumcised when he was born.
· Gershom’s circumcision would probably have been a new experience for Zipporah. She’s been raised in an different culture than the one God established for Israel.
· And I can imagine that when Zipporah saw Gershom’s circumcision she was appalled and disgusted - too much blood and screaming from her baby.
I can visualize her saying:
"Moses, I love you, but you are NOT going to do this to any of our other children."
Thus, later when Eliezer is born, mamma puts her foot down. No blade of flint would perform that ceremony on this child!
Now, we have a conflict!
God has a law that He expects His people to obey, but Zipporah has basically said:
“I don’t care!
I don’t care what God said, this isn’t going to happen!”
Why isn’t it going to happen?
Well, she doesn’t like it – it offends her
This wasn’t how she was raised
This wasn’t how she was taught
Her theology will not allow for it.
And so she basically tells God to take a hike (not a healthy thing to do)
As I said before, women have a great potential for faith. And because of that potential of faith they often serve as the backbone of many churches/ministries.
And they have the potential to develop their sons and their husbands into great leaders.
Men may be called to positions of leadership in the church but without Godly women beside them… men are not going to get much done.
That’s what’s happened here.
Zipporah has become an obstacle to Moses’ ministry.
She’s found herself in opposition to God.
Now Zipporah has been raised in a Godly home
Her father Jethro is a priest of the most high God.
And she’s married to Moses - a man has personally commissioned to ministry by God. BUT she is now opposing God. She will not allow Moses to obey God with respect to their children.
God has one agenda… and Zipporah has another.
And because she had a different agenda, she created an obstacle to Moses’ ministry. She’s determined that she is going have things HER way.
ILLUS: I once read the true story about a family gathering where the women were being teased by their husbands about how they always seemed get their way. Of course, the women weren’t going to take that laying down.
One woman said to her husband "Honey, when I get my way, that’s a compromise."
"What is it when I get my way?" he asked.
She smiled and replied, "That’s a miracle!"
It’s natural, in a healthy marriage, for a husband to listen to his wife.
Ephesians 5 tells us that a husband should be the head of his house, but this leadership in the home includes treating his wife with respect. And listening to her opinions is a vital part of showing her proper respect.
A Godly man wants his wife’s input, her insights, her agreement on what is to be decided.
However, there are times when a husband is trying to follow God’s will that he finds his wife doesn’t like the direction he’s going.
ILLUS: The Old Testament story of Rebekah is an excellent example of this. Isaac wanted to bless Esau, but that didn’t appeal to Rebekah. So she conspired with Jacob to deceive Isaac and steal the blessing.
While that ultimately fulfilled God’s plan for Jacob - HER plan of action got her son a one way ticket out of town. Esau sought to kill Jacob. And Rebekah never saw her son again. And her deception created problems for her son that lasted for years.
Proverbs tells us "There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death" (Proverbs 14:12).
That’s true both of husbands AND wives.
That’s why Elder’s wives are advised (in I Timothy 3:11) "In the same (Elders’) wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything."
In other words, these women should be examples to the rest of the congregation.
They should not be bossy troublemakers.
ILLUS: An older preacher told me of a time he was opposed by the wife of one of the elders. She apparently wanted him to retire so the church could hire a younger man for the pulpit. She caused a great deal of trouble in the church thru gossip and back biting.
She was a bossy troublemaker.
The preacher finally said to her husband: “You’re supposed to be a leader in this congregation, but you can’t even control your wife? You’ve got to deal with this!”
This shamed the Elder and it eventually turned the situation around.
Wives, do you remember the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah? How many of you wives could do what Sarah did Abraham when he told her God wanted him to sacrifice their only son?
I Peter 3:4ff tells women "(your beauty) should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
Now in our feminist oriented society that isn’t smiled on.
There are women in this world that basically tell God:
“I don’t care!
I don’t care what You said, that’s not going to happen!”
And they’re welcome to do that.
Women don’t have to obey if they don’t want to.
But there is a price to be paid.
When we ignore God’s guidance there is a price to be paid.
A disobedient heart can hurt your children, your husbands, your entire family.
Because God doesn’t lay down His commands just to be mean.
He doesn’t sit up there in heaven thinking: “Gee, I think I’ll say something today to make somebody mad!”
No, He asks the things he does of us because He knows what works.
He created marriage. He created us. He knows what is best for us.
He’s not asking women to roll over and play dead.
He’s asking you to have a gentle submissive heart. To let your men lead.
And then to trust Him for the outcome.
Even when men make bad decisions, it’s important to be gentle with your men and allow God to do His thing in your life.
The last thing I want you to see out of this passage is this:
One of Zipporah’s problems here was that when faced with God’s requirement for belonging to His covenant, she refused to do it God’s way. She refused to “sign God’s contract” in God’s way.
In Genesis 17 we’re told that Circumcision was sign of the Old Covenant.
Those who were not circumcised under that covenant were to be cut off from fellowship.
In refusing to have her child circumcised, Zipporah was basically telling God
“I know this is what Moses has said You wanted, but it doesn’t appeal to my religious background. I’m not going to do it Your way. I want to do it mine.”
But God doesn’t take rejection of His commands lightly.
If circumcision was required as part of the Old Testament Covenant then circumcision was what you had better do.
But now, in the New Testament that changed.
In the book of Acts we’re told that God no longer had the intention of using circumcision as the sign of the covenant for Christians. In fact He replaced it with an entirely new sign. Do you know what that was?
In Colossians 2:9-12 we’re told:
"… in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. IN HIM YOU WERE ALSO CIRCUMCISED, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead."
In other words, according to Colossians, the mark of the New Covenant was to be baptism. It was to replace physical circumcision because it better symbolized what God wanted His people to remember. He wanted us to remember that when we became Christians,
· we died,
· we were buried
· and we rose again from a watery grave - resurrected to live a new life
That’s why Romans 6:3-5 tells us
“…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
There’s a death
A burial
And a resurrection
There are all kinds of religious traditions that don’t include baptism.
Some try to use baptism without faith or repentance – as in infant baptism.
Others try to replace baptism with a man-made creation like the “sinner’s prayer” or “asking Jesus into their heart.”
But the wise wife and mother (and father/ grandparent/ uncle or aunt) realizes that if you want God’s blessings… you do things God’s way.
CLOSE: Dave Thomas (the founder of Wendy’s Restaurants) was a staunch advocate of family values and faith. He once wrote in his book “Well Done!” and in it he made this comment:
"When I was 11 years old, my adoptive grandmother took me to Michigan’s Gull Lake to be baptized by immersion. I really felt that I was accepted by God when I was baptized. But what I remember most about my baptism was that my Grandma Minnie made it happen. For her, Christianity meant more than doctrine you talked about on Sundays. It meant teaching her grandson about faith."
