Once upon a time in the land of Egypt, a child was born.
A special child.
He was born a deliverer.
With a special assignment.
He was born to set God’s people free.
The people of God had been in captivity for almost 400 years when he was born.
Their father Abraham had prophesied long ago, that they would be put in captivity and then be set free.
This prophesy had come long before their existence.
When it was time for the deliverer to come forth.
The Pharaoh of Egypt and his wise men got wind of his birth.
They tried to extinguish the deliverer before he could grow up.
Many babies were killed just in pursuit of the idea that they could kill a deliverer that the Lord had ordained to come to the earth.
At his birth, his mother, Jochebed hid him for three months. The bible says that when she could hide him no more, she put him in a basket and set him in the River Nile.
River NIle was famous for alligators and yet no alligators ate baby Moses.
His basket sailed safely until it came to the home of Pharoah’s sister.
His sister, Miriam, a maiden of twelve follwoed the basket as it sailed from a safe distance.
When Pharoah’s sister asked for a wet nurse, Miriam ran to call her mother to nurse her own baby for a fee.
Jochebed was paid to nurse her son, the deliverer of Israel.
Meanwhile in Goshen, babies were paying the ultimate price for being born at the same time as baby Moses.
Pharoah instructed his soldiers to put to death every male child belonging to the Israelites.
They were fed to the alligators in the River Nile.
Yet the one they sought was safe in Pharoah’s palace nursing at his mother’s breast and preparing for the mission for which he was birthed.
He grew up, a prince of Egypt.
When he turned 40, his heart began to go after the Israelite people, he saw an Egyptian task master bullying an Israelite and killed him.
Some time after he saw two Israelite men fighting with themselves.
When he tried to make peace between them, one of them said, do you want to kill us as you killed the Egyptian?
He fled Egypt into the desert, afraid.
The Israel he had come to deliver could not recognize him.
In the wilderness, he soon made a family. He met a girl, married her and bore two sons. Her father Jethro loved him. He loved Zipporah and their sons. All was well, it seemed.
He was content to live in that place until 120 years.
But one day in search of missing sheep, he stumbled on a burning bush that was not consumed.
A burning bush is not a mystery. But a burning bush that is not consumed is a thing that raises questions.
It points at the supernatural.
It points at the presence of divinity.
As he stepped aside to ponder the mystery, he heard the voice of God:
“Moses, take off your sandals, for the ground on which you stand is holy”
Holy
Hallowed.
Moses quickly took off his sandals and bowed before the Lord.
Long story short, God was back for Moses.
It was finally time to go and deliver the people of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh.
After much deliberation and negotiation and questions raised that God had answers for. Every single one. Moses agreed to go and deliver the people of Israel.
Armed with a rod, a shepherd’s rod, and a promise that God would go with him, Moses agreed to go back to Egypt.
He informed Zipporah of his new mission and she wholeheartedly agreed to go with him back to Egypt.
Moses was bound to obey the Lord.
As they went, the Lord broke out against Moses.
The bible does not go into details but it seemed God was angry with Moses, he had done something wrong.
Zipporah quickly runs into the tent, gets a knife hot, and circumcises her two boys, brings out their freshly cut foreskins and tosses them at Moses feet saying, “What a bloody God you are”
The bible then records that the anger of the Lord was stayed
Moses had forgotten something vital.
Israelites circumcise their sons as a sign that they are in covenant with God. They and their household. Moses had been living like a heathen. He had forgotten God.
Starting from Abraham who was the first one to follow God out of Haran, all Israelites or Hebrews circumcised their sons. Every Israelite still recognizes circumcision till date.
Moses had forgotten the covenant.
Today, we are the seed of Abraham. (Galatians 3:29)
The way that we recognize our covenant with God is a circumcision of the heart. God still requires the circumcision of the heart for the believer.
God still expects the believer to live separate from the world and its customs. A sign that we belong to almighty God.
We are to live to honor the One true God.
Circumcision of the heart:
Separation from the world and its systems.
A sign that says that this One belongs to Yahweh and lives in His honor. They belong to God.
Consecration, if you will.
2 Peter 2:9
2 Peter 1:2
Separation from the world and its systems.
Romans 12:1
Romans 12:2
Do not forget God’s covenant with you. You are His, and He is yours. An unbreakable covenant of God’s faithfulness.
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