Mensa Otabil - Disobedience Is Costly
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We’re still in Exodus chapter 4 and we’re looking at Moses’s response to God’s call. Now he’s about to go into Egypt to pursue God’s purpose for his life. So let’s look at Exodus chapter 4, verses 24 and 25: «And it came to pass on the way at the encampment 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 Moses’s feet and said, 'Surely you are a husband of blood to me.'» That’s a very dramatic verse, and it shows how important it is for us to be right when God calls us. Moses has just had a life-changing encounter with God; he’s met God at the burning bush, God has commissioned him, and he is holding the rod of God in his hand. To all intents and purposes, we can say Moses is in God’s good books; he’s God’s man, God loves him, and God is going to use him.
But then the scene changes, and there is a significant shift in mood because just at this point when Moses thinks everything is going well, the passage says that God wanted to kill him or sought to kill him. God wants to kill Moses, the same Moses he is talking to, the same Moses he has commissioned, the same Moses he is sending out as a liberator. Why would God do that?
The passage does not tell us what «God sought to kill him» means; it just states that God sought to kill him. However, by reading the passage, we can arrive at a few conclusions: whatever happened to Moses was such that he couldn’t act again. He was probably struck by sickness or paralyzed or in a state that showed he was about to die. In that state, when he felt he was about to die, he probably recognized why he was feeling that way, but he couldn’t do anything about it. So he indicates to his wife Zipporah to do something, and she does. The wife circumcises their son, so the state of Moses was related to the uncircumcision of his son. Why would that be important to God? Because as a child of Israel, the son had to be circumcised. Moses had to be circumcised, and the son had to be circumcised.
Moses is being sent by God on a mission that God takes very seriously, but his own righteousness and obedience are limited. I can almost feel that this is not the first time God had asked Moses to take this step. He may have been in disobedience for a long time, and at this momentous time in history, when he’s supposed to be a liberator, he’s just about to die. Obedience to God is so important, especially when God calls you on a mission. When God tells you He wants to use you, He doesn’t give you a free pass. God does not have special favors for men and women of God; God does not grant special favors to popes, bishops, cardinals, prophets, apostles, pastors, or reverends. Our titles do not grant us immunity before God because obedience is required from those with high titles and those with low titles.
What God demands from all His children is that we obey Him, especially when His hand is upon us and He has called us to use us. We can’t become high-minded and think we can break God’s rules and go scot-free, and that is what is just about to happen to Moses. His wife took the step to circumcise the boy, Moses was okay, but the incident so scared Moses’s wife that she decided not to go any further into Egypt.
The lesson is clear: when God calls us and wants to use us, He demands total obedience. You can’t be an instrument of God and disobey Him at the same time. Very sobering thoughts for all of us, and may the Lord help each one of us not to take His calling for granted.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I desire to obey You in all areas of my life. Help me to always be mindful of the demands of Your high calling. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.