Q: About Exodus 4:24-25: Why did God want to kill Moses? And why did Zipporah cut off her son’s foreskin and cast it at Moses’ feet? Why did she say Moses is truly a “bridegroom of blood”? –Ruth C.
A: Zipporah called Moses a “bridegroom of blood” because of the circumcision of their son (Exo. 4:26). This refers to the small amount of blood produced in a circumcision. But we know little else about this incident.
It’s especially puzzling that the Lord wanted to put Moses to death, since he was in the process of going to Egypt to do exactly what the Lord had asked him to do (Exo. 4:24). But something similar happened to the prophet Balaam when he went to prophesy over Israel. He, too, was on his way in obedience to the command of God (Num. 22:20). But even though he was obeying God, God was angry with him (Num. 22:22). In the Balaam story, it’s clear that God wanted to put fear in Balaam’s heart to make sure that he only spoke the words that God wanted him to speak (“and the word that I speak to you, only that will you speak,” Num. 22:35). So perhaps this is also what God was doing with Moses. We know that people often go through a big spiritual struggle when God is calling them to do some great thing, and this seems to be what Moses was going through.
