Exodus 4:24-26

24 On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. 25 But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet[a] with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.

After having a supernatural burning bush encounter with God, Moses packed up his family and possessions into the minivan (aka: donkey) and headed back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. But on the way to fulfill this HUGE call on his life, the Lord confronted him- and was about to kill him.

What!?!

All of us want to be significant. We want to leave a lasting mark on this earth before we enter into eternal worship of the Father. But sometimes, when we’re flying down the interstate in our minivan or SUV to go fulfill the HUGE call on our life, we fail to obey God in our life, our marriage, and our parenting. Let’s be honest: keeping our covenant with God and our spouse and our children is an unending, self-sacrificing, non-glamorous act of daily obedience. Entire nations aren’t watching us, cheering us on to do what is required. Yet, regardless of the size of the call (btw: every call from God is HUGE and designed for His purposes alone), we must be willing to obey His commands completely in every area of our lives …first. Otherwise, our mind, soul or body may die on the way to that HUGE call.

Growing up sheltered in the palace, then living in Midian, Moses may not have been aware of the covenant God made several hundred years prior with Abraham:

Genesis 17:9-14

9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

Still, regardless of his ignorance, or whether or not his wife, Zipporah was opposed to circumcision, God had required it as an outward symbol of His promise to His people. Failure to do so would have literally cut Moses and his family off from Gods power and protection.

On the way to fulfilling the HUGE exodus of God’s people out of slavery, Moses chose to obey God in his life, his marriage and his parenting. I pray that I will do the same.