Exodus 4:18

The Bible says in Exodus 4:18-20, “And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” It was time for Moses to return to Egypt. That was God’s will. God has both a plan and a time for that plan to go into effect. Many Christians make mistakes because they do not wait for God’s time. But when it is God’s time, nothing can stop it. Everything falls into place perfectly. All doors open just like they should. God called Moses, and Jethro said, “Go in peace.” God called Moses to return to Egypt, and God said, “all the men are dead which sought thy life.”

Even though the doors of opportunity were now open, there would still be opposition to Moses. There is always opposition to those who walk with Christ. The Bible says in Exodus 4:21-23, “And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” God would eventually bring ten plagues upon Egypt to show forth His power and to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The worst of the ten plagues would be the last one in which the first-born son would die. The fact that God warns Pharaoh about the death of the first-born even at the very beginning of Moses’ entrance into Egypt shows that God does not want to bring judgment to sinners. Jesus wants to save sinners. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The Bible says in Ezekiel 18:32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” God gave Pharaoh every opportunity to turn, and avoid the plagues, and to not lose his first-born son. But Pharaoh would not turn.

At this point in the history of Pharaoh and the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, there is one very important truth that needs to be disclosed. God did not have the children of Israel leave Egypt until Pharaoh allowed them to leave. That is very interesting. Pharaoh was the leader of Egypt. He was the leader in Egypt because God put him in power. When Pharaoh was the leader, God wanted the people to obey Pharaoh’s commands. That is the way that God has set this world up. God has created authorities, and then God wants the populace to show respect, honor, and obedience to those authorities. Every Christian should be an ideal citizen no matter who are the leaders of their country. Every Christian should be an ideal employee no matter who is their manager where they work. Of course, Christians have every right to use legal and peaceful means to change the leaders through the voting booth or other legally constituted means. The same thing is true concerning employment. A Christian should show honor and respect to his or her supervisor. Do not resort to the methods of the world or the methods of the flesh if things do not work out for you. You are free to update your resume and look for a better position, but if you do, make sure that it is in a respectful and polite manner. And make sure that you pray about it and seek God’s will on what decision to make.

Christians in the first century lived in the Roman Empire and lived under the authority of Caesar. But notice what the Bible says to them and to us in Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings. That means that Jesus is the final authority, and all other authorities report to him. Jesus will change who is in power when He wants to do so. Jesus will also change the heart of whoever is in power when Jesus wants to do so. That is what we should be praying about and what we should be confident about. God wanted the children of Israel to leave Egypt, but He did not want them to leave Egypt until Pharaoh agreed to let them go. Doing things in the right order keeps Christians from living in rebellion and from losing their influence and testimony.

As Moses traveled back to Egypt, the Bible records the following event in Exodus 4:24-26, “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, 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 his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” Of course, these verses tell us about the circumcision of the sons of Moses. In the Old Testament circumcision was not optional. It was an absolute requirement for two reasons. For one reason, circumcision was established by God with Abraham as part of the covenant that God made with Abraham. For the great covenant of promises from God to be in effect, circumcision of the adult males was required. If there was no circumcision, then there was no covenant. And if there was no covenant, then there was no Promised Land for the children of Israel. God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:4-14, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”

The second reason that circumcision was so important was the spiritual meaning behind circumcision. Circumcision was the cutting away of flesh, and flesh is symbolic of man’s sinful human nature. In order to be rightly related to the Lord Jesus Christ we must set aside our sins, and turn to Christ for cleansing. Without repentance there is no forgiveness and the promises for the future do not apply to us. In the New Testament the physical act of circumcision is done away with, but the spiritual truth remains. It says in Galatians 5:6, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” And it says in Philippians 3:3, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Have you cut the sins from your life in turning to Christ? If not, then you need spiritual circumcision.

The Bible says in Exodus 4:27-31, “And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.”

Notice what happened when Aaron and Moses obeyed God and went and spoke to the children of Israel. It says in Exodus 4:31, “And the people believed.” Do you remember what Moses said would happen back when God first called Moses to go help lead the children of Israel out of Egypt? Moses said to God in Exodus 4:1, “But, behold, they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice.” Who was right? Was Moses right or was God right? Of course, God was right. What God said would happen is exactly what did happen. God knows, but man does not know. Compared to God, we are all in the dark. Sometimes we think we know, but we do not know. God knows. Trust God, and go God’s way because Jesus knows. We do not know. Go with God. Trust in Jesus today, and put your hand in the hand of Almighty God. He knows the future, and He knows what is best for you.

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