Zipporah Circumcises Her Son. Part 1

by John Thomas Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

Zipporah Circumcises Her Son.
Exodus 4:24-26
"On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met Moses and tried to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it, and said, 'Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!' So he let him alone. It was then she said, 'A bridegroom of blood by circumcision.'”
Who Was Zipporah in the Bible?
Zipporah the Midianite was a descendant of Midian, Abraham’s son by his third wife, Keturah. In Hebrew, her name means “bird” or “little bird.” We first meet Zipporah—who later became Moses’s wife—at a well in her hometown of Midian. At the well, she met Moses, fleeing from Egypt and Pharaoh’s judgment after he murdered an Egyptian (Exodus 2:15-22).
Zipporah and her six sisters attended to their daily chores of drawing water and watering their father’s flock. Moses was seated at the well nearby, undoubtedly dressed, painted, and speaking like an Egyptian dignitary. When local shepherds drove the sisters away from the well in the act of gender-based violence, Moses rose to their defense, and he watered their father’s flocks. Upon returning to their father's home, the sisters reported the incident of the “Egyptian” stranger who had come to their aid. In gratitude, the father urged them to go back and bring the kind “Egyptian” Moses to their village, and soon after, Zipporah would become Moses’s wife.
Zipporah only appears three times in Scripture: the first time at the well (Exodus 2), the second time while on the journey to Egypt (Exodus 4), and finally in the wilderness when Moses met her father Jethro, who was accompanied by Zipporah and her sons (Exodus 18). Of her three appearances in the text, she only speaks one time, in Exodus 4. Ultimately, Zipporah is replaced by Moses’s second wife, a Cushite woman.
She Is Called, and We Are Called
The church is married to a bridegroom of blood. Christmas warns us that flesh and blood matter to God. Holy Week drags us reluctantly down the bloody path to Golgotha. Maundy Thursday leads us to a bloody table and to a garden where Judas Iscariot has blood on his hands. Blood and water flow from the Bridegroom's side in those last moments on the cross. After the resurrection, Jesus invited Thomas to touch him in the bloody parts, his hand and his side. We who are in Christ cannot deny the sacrifice, the pain, the very life that runs through our souls in the blood of Christ, our resurrected Lord.
We must remember who we are—the bride of Christ, circumcised in our hearts, dead to sin, our flesh perpetually cast at the feet of Jesus in confession and repentance. We are dead because of our sins and alive because of Christ, through his life and blood.
Zipporah reaches across centuries to point to the Lord’s Table, the flesh and blood of the new covenant. Every time we gather for communion, her words should be told alongside Moses’s, “Yes, Jesus, you are a Bridegroom of blood.”
At first glance, the relationship between Zipporah and Moses looks like the familiar boy-rescues-girl tale. Zipporah and her sisters appear too weak to defend themselves from the threat of local shepherds at the well. Moreover, here comes Moses to the rescue. Naturally, this man who rescued these vulnerable young women was a likely suitor for one of the daughters of the Priest of Midian, and they lived happily ever after.
This is no patriarchal fairy tale, and Zipporah is no damsel in distress. Where once she was the beneficiary of male benevolence, she then stepped in to save the life of the patriarch. Zipporah’s story should always be told alongside Moses’s, for without her, he would indeed have died before returning to Egypt, still unclear about his true identity.
Our identity is hidden in Christ. There are things in the culture, society, and this world that naturally attach themselves to us and disguise our true identity. Sometimes, our careers, family name, or traditions are such a part of us that we forget Paul’s reminder that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).
As we reflect on Zipporah’s witness, let us consider this: The Hebrew word for “remember” invites us to focus on a thing until it leads us to repentance. Ask God to help you remember the places and things in your life that you have attached to your identity. How might these things have been allowed to trump your identity in Christ? Ask God to reveal these places and things. Confess and repent.
Zipporah urges us to remember who we are in Christ. We are urged to die to all our false identities and to remember our true identity as siblings of flesh and blood of the Bridegroom
If you are a mom or have taken care of children, you have probably discovered how quick your reflexes can be. You can imagine babies rolling off the couch and toddlers jumping off steps from the top.
This quick-acting, quick-thinking quality is highlighted several times in Scripture. Zipporah is one.
Zipporah was Moses’ wife. When Moses came to Midian to get away from the Egyptians who sought to kill him, he got to know the priest Reuel and his seven daughters (Ex. 2:16-20).
Reuel, also known as Jethro, invited Moses to live with them, and he gave his daughter, Zipporah, to Moses as his wife (Ex. 2:21).
We do not know much about Zipporah. We know she gave Moses two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Ex. 18:3-4).
After Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex. 3-4:17), he took Zipporah and their sons back to Egypt (Ex. 4:19-20).
Somewhere on this trip, they stopped for lodging, and God met them there, intending to kill Moses (Ex. 4:24). While we are uncertain about the reason for this, Zipporah is the one who saves Moses’ life.
When she realized Moses’ life was in danger, she somehow processed that the needed response was to circumcise their son (Ex. 4:25). She took the flintstone, performed the procedure herself, and threw the remnant of skin at Moses’ feet.
After doing this, the Bible reads, “So He let him alone” (Ex. 4:26).
Zipporah’s quick action saved Moses’ life that day.
There is no reason why this event happened in the first place. Considering that the child was not circumcised and Moses’ was rejoining the people of Israel, I can only believe that a failure to obey the law regarding this was at issue.
In Genesis 17:9-14, we find God making circumcision a sign of the covenant between He, Abraham, and his descendants (v.11). God clearly says that any male who is not circumcised “shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant” (Gen. 17:14).
Moses’ son could not be a part of Israel unless he took part in the sign of the covenant – circumcision. As this was something to be done when the child was eight days old (Gen. 17:12), it was the parents' fault for its not being done.
Zipporah knew enough of God’s law from being married to Moses that she recognized this correction that needed to be made.
Should either one of them have thought of it long before now? Probably. However, they did not. When it was brought to their attention, Zipporah quickly acted to rectify the problem.
That is all we know about her. This is all God chose to share. However, even this tiny blip in the larger Exodus story tells us two things, to my mind: Obedience to God’s law is essential.
Do not wait when you learn you are not in fellowship with God. Act quickly to remove the sin and restore your relationship with the Lord.
God uses this quick-thinking woman to show that He keeps His promises, even when the promise is destruction for disobedience.
His forgiveness was immediate. As soon as she had corrected the problem, God no longer sought to kill Moses. He uses her to show that repentance can be speedy when you recognize your wrongdoings.
Forgiveness from God is that quick for us as well. We have to take the necessary steps to access it!
If we have never buried our sins in baptism to put on Christ, we have to do so to be in a right relationship with God (Rom. 6:1-7; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:34-39; Gal. 3:26-29).