Zipporah’s Secret

Exodus 4 AMP

²⁰ So Moses took his wife [Zipporah] and his sons [Gershom and Eliezer] and seated them on donkeys, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand. ²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders (miracles) which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³ So I say to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ²⁴ Now it happened at the lodging place, that the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him [making him deathly ill because he had not circumcised one of his sons]. ^25 [d]Then Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Indeed you are a husband of blood to me!” ²⁶ So He let Moses alone [to recover]. At that time Zipporah said, “You are a husband of blood”—because of the circumcision.

This scripture has been a bafflement for many believers and to be honest I only got some clarity from Rick Joyner’s book The Call and then I understood some more.  The lesson that Rick Joyner shared from this story was the value God placed on circumcision. Circumcision in the Old Testament was instituted as a covenant sign between Abraham and his descendants. In the New Testament, which represents the original in contrast to the Old Testament, which was the shadow, circumcision is not made with hands. Colossians 2:11 in the AMPC explains clearly: “In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts).” So, the circumcision that Zipporah performed in the physical is the circumcision we are expected to perform when we kill our old nature and become truly dead to sin when we chose to walk according to the Spirit of God, in full submission to Christ.

Moses was on his way in obedience to God’s instruction to deliver God’s children from out of Egyptian bondage. He was on his way to a people that knew the laws and who knew symbolically what the mark of covenant was. Moses did not ensure his house was set in order before embarking on the journey. He was sent, but sent people also must submit to the principles and covenants outlined by God. There are many people that are sent, but have not taken the time to properly prepare themselves or their families.

Interestingly, Zipporah’s name means “bird”. Ecclessiastes 10:20 says, “²⁰ Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” Zipporah the Bird picked up the message of impending death for her husband clearly. Zipporah though a Midianite, knew sufficiently about the covenant-keeping God to be able to intervene with the right action so that her husband’s life could have been spared.

Some commentors say that by Zipporah shedding the blood of her son, she bought back her husband’s life and so there was a renewal of their marriage. The original Hebrew stated that Moses was called a “bridegroom of blood”. There are several interpretations of this scripture throughout history. I choose however to focus on the fact that God was upset enough at His chosen to meet him to kill him. In this, I saw and was reminded that God is no respecter of persons and that there are consequences to breaking His Word or violating His principles or not honoring the covenant. Some say Zipporah was resentful of the fact that she had to shed her son’s blood. Some say she was joyful that her husband’s life was spared. I simply see Zipporah’s action as God’s mercy to Moses, to those he was to deliver and the generations even up to today that are beneficiaries of the rest of Moses’ life. Whether Zipporah was angry or sad, she acted appropriately. I am so glad that she never overprocessed and considered her gender, but simply did what was right! Hats off to Zipporah for the timely intervention. I am grateful that she humbled herself to perform such a task that had multi-generational impact. Zipporah’s secret to being a heroine in her own right is that she appropriately discerned the moment and responded with the appropriate action!