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The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:18-31
Facing Egypt. "And the people believed, and when," etc. (Exodus 4:31). This section of the history may be homiletically treated under three geographical headings, which will keep the historical development prominent, wi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:18-23
True faith and its joy. I. THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH. 1. Note Moses' swift compliance with God's command. He tarried no longer: "He went and returned, and said, let me go." He does not seek advice. He does not even wait fo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:18-21
The return. Weeks, perhaps months, intervened between the revelation at the bush and Moses' actual departure from Midian. Time was given for allowing the first agitation of his spirit to subside, for enabling him to tak…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:18
My brethren probably means here "my relations" (compare Genesis 13:8; Genesis 29:12). Moses could scarcely doubt but that some of his countrymen were still living. It would not have been for the interest of the Egyptian…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:18-25
If Moses had, as we have supposed, been accepted into the Midianitish nation, he would need permission to withdraw himself from the tribal head. This head was now Jether, or Jethro, Moses' connexion by marriage, perhaps…
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 4:19-29
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
And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return. It would seem that Moses was still reluctant, and was delaying his departure, even after he had obtained Jethro's leave to go. Perhaps he was making it an excuse to hi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 4:19
The fact of having a mission does not release a man from social obligations. Direct communications with Jehovah, appointment to a great and glorious mission, with the power of working miracles, might have rendered many…
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 4:20
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 4:21-23
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
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
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…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 4:24-31
God met Moses in anger. The Lord threatened him with death or sent sickness upon him, as the punishment of his having neglected to circumcise his son. When God discovers to us what is amiss in our lives, we must give al…
The Circumcision of the Son of Moses. (b. c. 1491.)
THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE SON OF MOSES. (B. C. 1491.) Moses is here going to Egypt, and we are told, I. How God met him in anger, Exodus 4:24-26. This is a very difficult passage of story; much has been written, and excel…
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 4:24-31
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 4:24-26
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 4:24-27
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
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…