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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:19-29
My times are in Thy hand. Moses thought himself fit for his work at forty-eager to undertake it before the years increased; God waits until his self-confidence has abated, and then, at eighty, gives him his commission.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:19-23
Obedience brings a blessing. There must have been something in the hesitation of Moses which caused it not to be wholly displeasing to God. Once he was "angered" (Exodus 3:14), but even then not greatly offended—content…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:19
The unsolicited removal of a source of great anxiety. God assures Moses that he has no longer any cause to fear on account of the Egyptian slain forty years before. This last piece of information casts a flood of light…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:20
His sons. Gershom, already mentioned (Exodus 2:22), and Eliezer (Exodus 18:4), who was probably an infant. Set them upon an ass. Literally, "the ass," i.e. the one ass that belonged to him. The word might best be transl…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:21
All those wonders. The miracles wrought in Egypt are called nipheloth, "marvels," mophethim, "portents," and 'othoth, "signs." Mophethim, the word here used signifies something out of the ordinary course of nature, and…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:21-23
And the Lord said, etc. Now that Moses had at last given up his own will and entered on the path of obedience, God comforted him with a fresh revelation,, and gave him fresh instructions as to what exactly he was to say…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:21
Hardening. God communicates anew with Moses, fortifying his resolution to appear before Pharaoh, putting words into his mouth, and warning him of the effect his message would produce. He was not to fail to do all his wo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:22
Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Israel is my son. This would be addressing Pharaoh in language familiar to him. Each Egyptian monarch of this period was accustomed to style himself, "son of the Sun," and to claim and expec…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:23
I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. For the fulfilment of the threat, see Exodus 12:29. Moses did not utter it till all other arguments were exhausted, and he knew that he was having his last interview with the mon…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-26
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-26
The transition is abrupt from the promise of triumph over Pharaoh to the threat of instant death. But we must bear in mind that some days may have elapsed between the two, and that the sin which provoked the menace was…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24
It came to pass by the way in the inn. "Inns," in our sense of the word, were unknown in the East for many ages after the time of Moses, and are still of very rare occurrence. Khans or caravanserais take their place. Th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-27
Interpretation of providence. This mysterious passage in the life of Moses suggests various reflections. The facts are few. Moses, probably in deference to Zipporah's abhorrence of the rite, had neglected the circumcisi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-26
Neglect of the covenant on its human side. In Genesis 17:1-27. we find the covenant between God and Abram stated with great particularity and emphasis. On God's side there were large promises to Abram of an' abundant po…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-26
One small duty neglected may frustrate the whole purpose of a life. To an Israelite the circumcision of his male children on the eighth day was a plain practical duty, resting upon a positive precept, which was unambigu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:24-31
The three meetings. I. THE LORD'S MEETING WITH MOSES (Exodus 4:24-26). 1. Moses' sin. 2. The reason of the omission, weak yielding to the prejudices of his Midianitish wife. 3. His guilt. God looked beyond the sign to t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:25
Zipporah took a sharp stone. Literally "a stone." Stone knives were commonly used in Egypt for making the incisions necessary when bodies were embalmed, and were regarded as purer than iron or bronze ones. Joshua ordere…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:26
So he let him go. i.e. "God let Moses go"—allowed him to escape death, accepted Zipporah's tardy act as a removal of the cause of offence, and gave her husband back to her. Then she said, etc. This is not a second addre…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:27
God does not stint his help when he visits man. It might have seemed that God had now done enough to set on foot the deliverance of his people. He had appeared to Moses, overcome his reluctance to be leader, given him t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:27-28
EXPOSITION Exodus 4:27, Exodus 4:28 The scene suddenly shifts. Moses is left in the wilderness to recover his strength and make such arrangements with respect to his wife and children as he thinks best under the circums…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:27
Go into the wilderness. It is scarcely possible that this can have been the whole of the direction given, since the wilderness extended from the shores of the Mediterranean to the extreme point of the Sinaitic peninsula…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:28
Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord. Perfect confidence between the two brothers was absolutely necessary for the success of their enterprise; and Moses wisely, at their very first interview, made Aaron acquainte…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:28
Full confidence necessary between fellow-workers. Moses told Aaron "all the words of the Lord"—made "a clean breast" to him, kept back none of the counsel of God, so far as he had been made acquainted with it. A kind, a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:29-31
EXPOSITION