What is the meaning of Exodus 4:24?

Now at a lodging place along the way

• Moses has finally left Midian, obeying God’s call to confront Pharaoh (Exodus 4:19–20).

• The phrase signals an ordinary overnight stop, echoing earlier journey scenes where God intervenes unexpectedly—think Jacob at the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22–24).

• God’s timing underscores that obedience is not merely about starting the mission; faithfulness must continue “along the way.”

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the LORD met Moses

• Scripture often shows the LORD taking the initiative to “meet” His servants at critical moments: Abraham in Mamre (Genesis 18:1), Joshua near Jericho (Joshua 5:13–15).

• This meeting is personal and intense. Moses, who has just received signs and reassurances (Exodus 4:1–17), now experiences God’s holiness in a sobering form.

• The encounter reminds us that divine calling carries divine scrutiny; serving God publicly requires covenant faithfulness privately (compare 1 Timothy 3:5).

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and was about to kill him

• The severity points to a covenant violation. God had commanded circumcision as the sign of belonging (Genesis 17:10–14). Moses had neglected to circumcise at least one son (Exodus 4:25).

• By withholding the sign, Moses stood outside full covenant obedience, making him unfit to represent God’s covenant demands to Pharaoh.

• Zipporah’s swift action—“Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me” (Exodus 4:25)—halts the judgment, paralleling later substitutions where blood averts wrath: the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:13) and ultimately Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19).

• The episode teaches that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6) and that partial obedience can place even a chosen servant under lethal peril (Acts 5:1–5).

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summary

• God’s unexpected confrontation at the lodging place highlights that covenant faithfulness matters as much as public mission.

• The near-death experience stresses the seriousness of neglecting God’s clear commands, especially the covenant sign of circumcision.

• Zipporah’s intervention with blood not only rescues Moses but foreshadows God’s pattern of salvation through substitutionary sacrifice.

• Exodus 4:24 reminds believers that holiness and obedience remain non-negotiable for those who bear God’s name, and that His grace, though freely given, never cancels His righteous standards.