Moses Returns to Egypt (Exodus 4:18-31)
Last week, we learned that Moses made excuse after excuse to God about why he wasn’t fit to go to Egypt and be God’s instrument so the Israelites could worship Him. After God reassured Moses, and even became angry, God answered all of Moses objections.
We now see what Moses does next.
Read Exodus 4:18-20
– What is Moses now going to do?
– What does Moses going “with the staff of God in his hand” tell us?
God will harden Pharaoh’s heart
Read Exodus 4:21-23
We will see the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart mentioned many times later in Exodus. When Egypt suffers from the first five plagues to come, Pharaoh will harden his own heart by refusing the demands of the Lord (Exodus 7:14, 22; 8:15, 32; and 9:34). But starting with the sixth plague, God then hardens Pharaoh’s heart and makes him unresponsive to Moses’ warnings (Exodus 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8).
As much as Pharaoh will harden his own heart before God will intervene, we learn:
- Pharaoh is no innocent victim or someone whom God will manipulate like some pawn. Instead, we will find that he is someone who will defiantly oppose God’s plan from the start. Because of that, he will not be any less responsible for his actions (Exodus 9:34).
- God’s hardening of someone’s heart is a response to human stubbornness, not the cause of it. This “hardening of the heart” is a metaphor that describes God withdrawing His mercy and grace from the sinner after he has already hardened his heart beyond return. Scripture sometimes describes this as God “giving up” or “handing over” the sinner to follow the godless yearnings of his heart (Acts 7:42; Romans 1:24, 26, 28).
- The opposite of a hardened heart is one that is open (soft) and repentant. “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, you do not despise a broken and humbled heart” (Psalm 51:17). “The High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: ‘I live in a high and holy place. But I am with oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed’” (Isaiah 57:15).
Israel is God’s firstborn son
God told Moses to tell pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son.” They were God’s chosen. Yet, the term “firstborn” doesn’t mean that a second has to follow. Israel was God’s firstborn, of which there was no second. Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Firstborn, of which there was no second.
In his hardness of heart, Pharaoh refused to let God’s firstborn people go. As a result, he would suffer the death of his own firstborn son. Through these historical events, God foretells the grim events that would happen in the days ahead, as well as the victorious result for Israel when He delivers them. But God does more than that when He calls Israel His firstborn son.
In the end, that expression points forward to God’s Firstborn, Jesus, of which there is also no “second born.” St. Luke brings out that point when Jesus was born: “And [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son.” A more-literal translation reads, “And [Mary] gave birth to her son, the Firstborn [one]” (Luke 2:7)!
Jesus, the Firstborn, is the sinless fulfillment of God’s people, Israel, His firstborn. Jesus sums up and fulfills Israel’s history. Like Israel, He was called out of Egypt. Like Israel, He was tested in the wilderness. Unlike Israel, Jesus was faithful and without sin. Only Jesus fulfills the promises given by God to ancient Israel: God longed for a faithful Israel and Jesus was that faithful Israel!
In Egypt, we see the firstborn die, so the Israelites could be rescued. That points forward to the Firstborn, Jesus, who would die, so we could be eternally rescued.
Read Exodus 4:24-26
Excursus: The Circumcision of Moses’ Son
This text is hard to understand because it is hard to figure out who “him” references: Moses or Moses’ son, Gershom. To help the reader, many translations try to clarify the text by adding a name not in the original. We see the ESV do a double clarification by changing a “his” to “Moses” and to narrow the meaning of “relative” or “kinsman” to “bridegroom.” In these cases, however, such clarifications only make the text harder to understand.
First, let’s look at these verses realizing that Gershom grew up among the Midianites. We know almost nothing about their religious practices. Perhaps, it could have been a corruption of the worship of the true God. After all, Abraham was their ancestor through Keturah, his second wife after Sarah died.
Reading between the lines, however, we can surmise that the Midianites did not practice circumcision, for Gershom was not yet circumcised. That Zipporah, instead of Moses, circumcised their son may attest to that, as well. For we can infer that Zipporah objected to Gershom’s circumcision and that is why she circumcised her son instead of Moses.
But why does God say that He would put him (most likely Gershom) to death? Because he, that is Gershom, was not within the covenant He made with Abraham. For failure to be circumcised meant being “cut off” from the covenant people (Genesis 17:14).
So, Zipporah then circumcised Gershom. After the deed was done, she then referred to “him” (most likely Gershom) as a “relative of blood.” This would mean that although Zipporah considered herself in the Covenant with God, she still didn’t like circumcision and didn’t want her son circumcised. But after he was circumcised, she recognized that he was now in the Covenant with her.
Yet, why would Moses include this incident, since it shows his negligence in having his son circumcised? It’s because it foreshadows the events of Passover night. In other words, God is doing more than making sure that Gershom is in the Covenant He made with His people, He is also preparing Moses for the events to come.
Moses and Aaron arrive on Egyptian soil
Read Exodus 4:27-31
– How does God prepare Aaron for the tasks that lay ahead?
– With whom do Moses and Aaron meet? How do they respond?
Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh (Exodus 5:1-21)
Read Exodus 5:1-5
– What is Pharaoh’s main interest with the people of Israel?
The irony of Pharaoh’s words, “Who is Yahweh,” will continue to echo throughout Israel’s wilderness wanderings. For although Pharaoh asks such words to mock the true God, Israel’s entire journey in the wilderness will be one of learning who He is.
Read Exodus 5:6-9
– How does Pharaoh respond to Moses’ request?
– Reading “between the lines,” what would Pharaoh like to happen about how the Israelites now view Moses?
Read Exodus 5:10-14
– Does Pharaoh’s plan go into effect?
– Whom do the Egyptians put in immediate charge over the Israelites?
– What happens to them?
Read Exodus 5:15-21
– With whom do the foremen meet?
– What do they say?
– Is Pharaoh’s plan working?
Moses complains to the LORD
Read Exodus 5:22-23
– What does Moses ask God?
James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
– How are we to view our troubles?
