There are many strange passages of Scripture in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. And if you decide, "Hey, I want to read through the Bible," you won't get far until you have questions about some of those bizarre Bible stories. One of those stories is found in Exodus 4:24-26.
A Mysterious Moment in Moses' Journey
Moses grew up in Egypt. His life was spared because his mother gave him up, and the Pharaoh's daughter found him in a basket in the river and took him to be her own. His biological mother, by the hand of God, was then chosen to be his "wetnurse."
Sadly, Moses found himself one day in a predicament where an Egyptian was mistreating his people, "the Israelites." In a moment of rage, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. However, later, when two Israelites were fighting, and he attempted to stop them, they retorted, "Are you going to kill us too like you did the Egyptians?"
Moses, in a moment of fear, realized he had to flee from Egypt, or the Pharaoh would have his life, too. He fled.
He found himself on the backside of the desert in Midian. He married, tended his father-in-law's sheep, and lived a quiet life for roughly 40 years. At the age of 80, God visited him in a burning bush and called him back to Egypt to free his people, the Israelites, God's people.
Moses eventually reluctantly agreed after offering a series of excuses. We pick up the story in Exodus 4:24-26: “At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, "A bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.”
Unpacking Scripture
What in the world is going on here in this passage?
Here is what we know. Before these passages, Moses agreed to return to Egypt and be God's mouthpiece to free the people of God. So, he leaves everything he knows and heads out in Exodus 4 to return to Egypt and do what God has asked him to do. The Lord tells him in verse 23, "Tell Pharaoh that if he doesn't let my people go, I will kill his firstborn."
What an explosive statement. What a difficult message to deliver to Pharaoh. I am sure this message must have weighed heavily upon Moses and then verse 24 occurs.
Why Was God Angry With Moses?
God meets him and seeks to put Moses to death. But why?
The text doesn't tell us outright why God was going to kill Moses, so the reader must piece together the reason. Pharaoh's sin is what would cause God to put his firstborn son to death in Exodus 4:23, so it stands to reason that sin was the reason why God was going to put Moses to death in Exodus 4:24.
We don't yet have an indication of what the sin was, so it is important to keep reading, yet it is also equally important to establish the fact that when God sends you to confront sin in another, He expects you also to anticipate the same standard He has for others to be your standard as well.
God takes our obedience to Him seriously, especially when we are sent on a mission to represent Him to others.
Zipporah's Bold and Bizarre Intervention
Something unique about this story is the entrance of Moses' wife into the narrative. Now, when God was going to kill Moses, Zipporah, his wife, took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and placed it on Moses' feet. How bizarre, but why?
She then says, "But you are surely a bridegroom of blood to me."
It seems that the sin Moses had committed pertained to the circumcision of his son. Circumcision was the symbol of the covenant God shared with his people and was the unique symbol that set the people of Israel apart from God's people. For some reason, Moses had not circumcised his son. This seems to indicate a drift from his covenant with God and the symbol that he more than likely bore upon his own body.
This mark was a consecration of his life being set apart by God, but he had not done this for his son. There were likely a myriad of reasons. To some degree, he might have thought God had forgotten him, and he had chosen to forget his covenant relationship with God until God reintroduced himself at the burning bush in the middle of the desert in Midian.
But why didn't Moses perform this procedure instead of Zipporah? The assumption is that the penalty God had exacted upon him had rendered him incapacitated. Some believe he may have been bedridden and dying from this judgment. The moment was severe, and possibly he indicated to Zipporah that God had brought this to his remembrance. Unfortunately, the text does not tell us the back story.
Nonetheless, Zipporah moves quickly and circumcises her son. She places her son's foreskin on Moses' feet, which brings the necessary forgiveness and healing that Moses needs. This re-establishes the covenant God shared not only with Moses but now with Moses' descendants, and it gives Zipporah an awareness and a commitment to this covenant as well.
Moses was stubborn, but God's power was greater. Zipporah's obedience exceeded Moses' stubborn nature, and God spared Moses because of Zipporah's obedience to a covenant she was newly aware of and obedient to it out of necessity to save Moses' life.
What does it mean for Zipporah to say to Moses, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me"?
This phrase can also mean, "A husband of misery to me." She was forced to perform an act her husband was responsible for fulfilling.
Zipporah is the only woman in the Bible who performed this act because her husband was disobedient to fulfill it. Her response seems to indicate she had to do his job.
What We Learn From Zipporah's Obedience
Ladies, sometimes, God calls your husband to a holy task, but his actions and his heart with the Lord are lacking. God punishes him.
Like Moses, he lies sick, possibly to the point of death. Zipporah, assuming from interaction with Moses, figures out the issue and goes into action. She performs a task that, more than likely, Moses, at this point, could not perform due to his illness. She then places the foreskin on his feet, assuming he is bedridden. This heals him from his incapacitation.
Yet, this action left a residual for Zipporah. It appears her comment to Moses left her somewhat resentful that she had to do for Moses what he should have done and go on a mission that God Himself required him to go on. But she did it anyway for her husband.
Wives, when you find yourself drawn into a mission by God for your husband that he is ill-prepared to fulfill, do your husband a favor. Cut off the foreskin of your son, so to speak, and place it on your husband's feet so the Lord may use your husband to fulfill the purpose for which He called him.
Without Zipporah, there is no Moses. Without Moses, no nation of Israel would have been saved from the hand of Pharaoh.
Thank you, Zipporah! Generations of people, thank you!
Ladies, the same is true for you when you step in the gap for your man to fulfill his faith mission from God. Thank you as well!
So why was God going to kill Moses in Exodus 4:24-26? Because Moses had failed to obey a foundational command—to circumcise his son and uphold the covenant God had made with His people. God was sending Moses to confront sin and lead a nation, yet Moses himself had neglected the very sign of God's covenant.
The Lord wasn't being harsh; He was being holy. He was reminding Moses—and all of us—that before we can carry His message to others, we must first submit fully to His authority ourselves.
Zipporah's bold obedience filled the gap Moses left, and her quick action not only saved her husband's life but also set the stage for the deliverance of a nation. God's standards are not suggestions—they're expectations for those who represent Him. Obedience matters.
As this strange passage shows us, sometimes the unexpected hero secures the future of God's people.
