What is the meaning of Exodus 4:26? So the LORD • The subject of the action is the covenant God who had just appeared in judgment (Exodus 4:24: “the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him”). • His character is consistent: holy, just, yet merciful when the required obedience is met (cf. Psalm 103:8; Exodus 34:6–7). • The phrase signals a decisive shift from impending wrath to withheld judgment, paralleling moments like Genesis 22:12 where God stays Abraham’s hand once obedience is shown. Let him alone • “Him” points to Moses, the chosen deliverer. God’s mission for Moses (Exodus 3:10) could not proceed while Moses neglected the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10–14). • Divine forbearance comes only after the necessary covenant sign is fulfilled. Compare Joshua 5:2–9, where Israel could not advance into promise without circumcision. • Practical takeaway: God’s servants cannot bypass even “small” commands; obedience maintains fellowship and fitness for service (John 14:15). When she said • Zipporah’s voice is recorded to highlight both her pivotal action and her emotional response. Her words echo in Exodus 4:25 yet are purposely repeated here for clarity. • The repetition shows that personal involvement in covenant matters affects the whole household (cf. Genesis 18:19 and 1 Corinthians 7:14). "Bridegroom of blood" • A near-term, literal expression of Zipporah’s shock at circumcision’s blood and pain, yet also a recognition that blood had spared Moses. • Blood-based covenant ties the family to God, foreshadowing the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:13) and ultimately Christ’s redemptive blood (1 Peter 1:18–19). • The marital term “bridegroom” underscores relational covenant: Moses is bound to Zipporah through marriage and to God through blood, prefiguring the church’s union with Christ (Ephesians 5:25–27). She was referring to the circumcision • Scripture itself clarifies the meaning; no symbolic stretch is left to speculation. • Circumcision stands as the outward mark of belonging to the people of promise (Genesis 17:13; Acts 7:8). • By performing it on their son and touching Moses, Zipporah identified the whole family with God’s covenant, satisfying divine justice. • The New Testament reveals the spiritual fulfillment in the “circumcision of Christ,” a heart change accomplished at salvation (Colossians 2:11), but the physical act here was still mandatory under the Abrahamic covenant. summary Exodus 4:26 records the moment God suspended imminent judgment once covenant obedience—circumcision—was completed. The LORD’s wrath gave way to mercy, preserving Moses for his mission. Zipporah’s phrase “bridegroom of blood” captures both the costliness and the protective power of covenant blood, linking Moses, his family, and ultimately all God’s people to the promise first given to Abraham. The verse reminds believers that God’s holy demands are non-negotiable, yet His mercy swiftly follows genuine obedience, pointing forward to the greater blood of Christ that secures everlasting deliverance. |
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