“And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.” Exodus 4:24
Dear Ones:
How important is the covenant which God makes with man? It is so very important that God deals with man, irrespective of his status or stature. He makes no exception. When David did not respect God’s way of transporting the Ark of the Covenant, a man died, and David became very afraid of God. Why? Because the holiness of God is something that is not only independent of sinful man, but something that is not to be belittled, or disrespected. To do so is to court disaster, not because God is a God of wrath, but because of the worth, power, and dominance of His holiness, which exceeds all that man is, can conceive, or ever could be. It is by His holiness that God, through His covenants, meets lost, sinful man, in a perfect way and forever.
After Moses had been called of God to return to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel, he took his wife and sons, and began the trip there. On the way, while in an inn, we read where “…the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.” (Ex. 4:24) Now, we might find it strange that God would seek to kill one of Moses’ sons, probably the oldest. Why? In God’s dealings with Abraham, He made a covenant with him, saying: “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” (Gen. 17:10) God went on to tell Abraham that the circumcision was to be a token, or sign, of a spiritual covenant which existed between Him and Abraham. He also said that, “…My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.” (v.13) And lastly, He said, “…the uncircumcised man child, whose flesh is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.” (v.14) The point is that God gave to Abraham, and to his descendants, a covenant, a resolved, perfect commitment of blessing on His part, established between them forever. The physical sign of that “inward” covenant was to be circumcision. The refusal, for whatever reason, to be circumcised was the refusal by the individual to accept God’s covenant. We do not know why Moses’ son was not circumcised. Perhaps it was out of negligence. What we do know is that Moses realized, as well as his wife Zipporah, that it had to be done. To refuse to do so was to choose to deny the covenant to Abraham, and this God would not tolerate. God, in His holiness, is not a respecter of persons. Moses, even though he be called of God to deliver His people, could go no further unless all of his sons were circumcised, and the covenant established with Abraham, was embraced fully.
In the letter to the Hebrews, the author mentions the phrase, “…the blood of the covenant, wherewith He was sanctified.” (10:29) In the gospel according to Luke, the Lord Jesus spoke these words to the disciples at the last supper: “This cup is the new testament, or covenant, in My blood, which is shed for you.” (22:20) In both books we find the same usage and application of the precious blood of Christ. It speaks of an immutable, perfect covenant that God has made with sinful man, so that he can live and not die. The worth of that covenant in the precious blood of Christ is such that God can forgive man of all of his sin, wash his sins away, and make him clean and presentable in the perfection of Christ’s righteousness. It is a very serious thing to count such a covenant, given and established by God, to be anything less than holy, blessed, and the very means by which man can live eternally.
Dear Father, Thou God of Abraham, open our eyes to see the unchanging quality and commitment of Your covenant with man, so that he can be saved, and truly know Thee. Strengthen us to live this covenant in fullest measure, by the Spirit, for Thy glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad