< Exodus 4 >

Moses’ brother was appointed his spokesman and it is instructive to observe the application of the word “God” to Moses, for he was the “mighty one” to perform YAHWEH’s powerful deeds in the land of Egypt.

The context for these verses is God sending Moses to Pharaoh to say, “Israel is my firstborn. 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”, but Moses had not circumcised his own firstborn. This was the token of God’s covenant with Abraham who had declared, “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.” Genesis 17:14.Waiting for response for Genesis 17:14 So there was the real possibility that the angel would kill Gersham before he would allow Moses to proceed and confront Pharoah.

It seems likely, from the information here, that Moses had not circumcised Gershom in Arabia because Zipporah had found it repulsive but, when she realised her son would die if he was not circumcised, she did it herself. Gershom was then released, with her declaring the marriage covenant with her husband was a bloody one.

Moses met his brother, Aaron, and they went to inform the people of Israel that, after two hundred and fifteen years in Egypt, they were about to leave for the promised land, “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”.