Delayed Obedience

I have been trying to make it a practice to go through the Bible every year and as I started going through Genesis and Exodus, I asked the Lord to bring to light the things I have missed in the past and honestly, I am sure my world is going to be overflowing with new things to dive into.

For example, did you know that in Exodus 4:24-25 the Lord was going to kill Moses? I had to stop and reread it. Moses...the Moses. A central figure in Scripture. Yes, all humans fail, but Moses ranks high among the prophets the Lord used in extraordinary ways. And yet, there it was:

On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me” - because of the circumcision (Exodus 4:24-25). After that, the Lord left him alone.

As you recall, in the story, Moses was on his way to confront Pharaoh to let His people go. He had been commissioned to carry God’s authority for this assignment, but God’s commissioning of Moses did not override His covenant with Abraham, and command for all males within the covenant to be circumcised. In this moment, the Lord appears more concerned with Moses’ obedience than his usefulness. Moses had delayed the circumcision of his son, and that delay nearly cost him his life. Scripture does not tell us why the circumcision was postponed, but it does show us how God used Zipporah to intervene. Through her obedience, Moses was brought back into alignment with the Lord.

Obedience Before Influence

I can’t imagine the Bible without Moses, or the future stories and accounts that changed the trajectory of history. And yet, this moment reminds us that no calling, no matter how significant, excuses unfinished obedience. For me personally, two things jumped out:

1. What have I delayed in my own obedience to the Lord?

2. Look at how the Lord used Moses’ wife to help keep her husband in obedience, reminding me that God often uses those closest to us as instruments of His correction and mercy.

Is there something God asked of you earlier that you have postponed? I’m not referring to outright rejection, but delay. Sometimes we say, I’ll do it later, when things settle down, when it’s more convenient, or when I understand it better. When I sit with that question, it doesn’t lead me to answers as much as it leads me to prayer, so let’s pray:

Lord, search my heart for unfinished obedience. I ask you Lord to give me courage to obey promptly and fully, trusting You completely. Remove any fear and please align my private life with the public calling You have placed on my life. I love and honor You, Heavenly Father. Amen and amen.

Sister in Christ,

Amy