Sin Destroys Destinies

Here is no doubt one of the more confusing passages of Scripture:

Exodus 4:24-26, At a lodging place on the way [to Egypt from Midian], the Lord met [or confronted] Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah [Moses' wife] took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

Don't worry if you were uncomfortable reading that! I was uncomfortable writing it! It's so bizarre! But while this passage may initially strike us as peculiar, it becomes profound as we unveil the meaning behind it. 

In this passage God confronts Moses over a private area of sin Moses hadn't yet dealt with. This secret sin threatened to destroy his destiny and his very life (for sin always leads to death, Romans 6:23). You see, in Genesis 17:14 God instructed the descendants of Abraham, “Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Circumcision was that external symbol that the Israelites were set apart for God's purposes, and though failure to obey was punishable by death, Moses disobeyed God in this area of his life. So God steps in and confronts Moses. It's as if God said to Moses, "Moses, you won't advance any further in My will until you deal with this. Get right or get left. Turn from your sin or miss out on My destiny for your life." 

Now look what happens when Moses finally obeys...when through Zipporah he fulfills the Abrahamic covenant requirement of circumcision. The Bible records "So the Lord let him alone." You see, when Zipporah touched Moses' feet with her son's foreskin, God counted it as a symbolic act of substitution, in which obedience was seen as replacing disobedience. As a result, God stepped off the path that prevented Moses from traveling any further in God's will. God hit the pause button on Moses' destiny but when Moses righted his wrong, God hit play once again. 

Do you feel like God has pressed the pause button on his plans for your life? Is there anything in your life that God calls sinful that you're trying to hide, ignore or justify? God doesn't want us to do any of those things. God wants us to deal with our sin, as Moses did, replacing disobedience with obedience. 

When we do, we invite God to un-pause his plans for our lives!