Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 105

Day 105 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Exodus 4:18-26 and reflect on Moses and Zipporah as they face a serious spiritual crisis on the road. Through this difficult and sobering passage, this devotional helps women consider the relationship between marriage, family, calling, and covenant: a family’s mission must not neglect God’s covenant.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 105 of our reading journey. 

Sometimes we assume that if the direction is right, everything will naturally go smoothly. We may think that if the calling comes from God, then the details within the home can be handled later. But Exodus Chapter 4 reminds us that walking in God’s calling does not mean we can ignore what God has already clearly revealed. Carrying an outward mission does not excuse neglecting spiritual responsibility within the family.

Moses had just been called by God in the wilderness. He was to return to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out of bondage. This was a great mission, and it was a path commanded by God Himself. Yet after Moses set out with his wife Zipporah and his sons, Scripture suddenly records a shocking crisis: the Lord met Moses on the way and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah circumcised her son, and the crisis passed.

This passage is brief, but very serious. It reminds us that marriage and family are not side matters outside of mission. Spiritual obedience within the home is not a small thing to be delayed carelessly. God called Moses to lead the whole house of Israel, but Moses also had to face God’s covenant seriously within his own household.

A Minute of Grace

Exodus 4:18-26 records Moses obeying God’s call, saying farewell to his father-in-law Jethro, and taking his wife and sons back toward Egypt. God had already told Moses that he was to say to Pharaoh, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” Moses was going to confront Pharaoh, proclaim God’s claim over His people, and lead Israel back into their covenant identity.

Yet just as Moses begins the road of mission, the passage suddenly turns to a spiritual matter within his own family. The Lord meets Moses at the lodging place and seeks to kill him. Zipporah immediately takes a sharp stone, circumcises her son, and says, “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.” After this, the Lord lets Moses go.

This passage is not easy to understand, and Scripture does not explain every detail. But from the context, the crisis is connected to the fact that Moses’ son had not been circumcised. Circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Moses was going to lead Israel out of Egypt and back into their identity as God’s covenant people, yet within his own family this covenant sign had been neglected. God’s call upon Moses was real, and God’s requirement for obedience in Moses’ household was also real.

Zipporah’s role here is crucial. She may not have fully understood the covenant meaning behind circumcision, and she may have felt shock, heaviness, or pain in that moment. Yet in the crisis, she did not remain a bystander. She acted, and the spiritual crisis was stopped. Her action shows us that in marriage and family, a wife is not merely someone who travels beside her husband. At a critical moment, she may become one who reminds, bears responsibility, and helps guard the spiritual direction of the household.

Today’s theme, “Moses and Zipporah: A Crisis on the Road,” invites us to reflect: When a husband and wife walk the road of calling together, are they also willing to face the spiritual responsibilities within their home together? Are there things we know God values, yet have delayed, avoided, or left unaddressed? A family may have great plans, service, goals, and direction, but if it neglects God’s covenant, God’s Word, and the holiness He values, crisis may appear on the road in ways we did not expect.

This passage is not meant to make us afraid of drawing near to God. Rather, it reminds us that God is holy, and His covenant is not to be treated lightly. A truly called family does not only carry a mission outside the home; it also learns within the home to fear God, obey God, and honor His Word.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Moses had already responded to God’s call and started back toward Egypt, yet he faced a spiritual crisis within his family on the way. Have you ever been busy with ministry, work, parenting, or future plans while neglecting a spiritual responsibility at home that God had already brought to your attention? How does this passage help you reorder the relationship between mission and obedience within the family?

2 Circumcision was the covenant sign God gave to Abraham’s descendants. Today, we no longer use Old Testament circumcision as the sign of God’s people, but we are still called to take God’s Word, God’s covenant, and spiritual nurture in the family seriously. Are there places in your household that need to return to the Lord—such as prayer, forgiveness, worship, honesty, raising children in faith, marital unity, or reverence for God’s Word?

3 Zipporah acted in the crisis and prevented more serious consequences for the family. In your marriage or family, has God ever prompted you to face something difficult with courage? How can you watch over your home with wisdom, prayer, and obedience without becoming accusatory or controlling?

As you read Exodus 4:18-26 today, do not only notice Moses’ great mission. Also notice Zipporah’s action in the family crisis. May this passage remind us that walking God’s road as husband and wife is not only moving forward together; it also means returning together to God’s covenant and taking seriously what He values.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your marriage, family, ministry, responsibilities, and delayed spiritual lessons before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

🎞️ Today's Youtube Video 

🪕 Response Hymn: 

Exodus 4:18-26 (KJV)

18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21 And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought · Mission Begins with Obedience at Home

After reading Exodus 4:18-26, we see that Moses had already set out on the road God had sent him to walk, yet on that road he faced a serious family crisis. God did not overlook an unaddressed spiritual responsibility in Moses’ household simply because Moses had a great mission. Zipporah’s action at the critical moment also reminds us that family is not on the edge of mission; family is part of mission.

As we close this page and return to our own marriages and homes, perhaps we have many plans, responsibilities, and areas of service. But God also cares about prayer, communication, forgiveness, nurture, holiness, and obedience within our families. Remember this: a mission that belongs to God does not bypass the home in order to accomplish things outside. It honors the Lord within the home and lets God’s Word become the foundation of the family’s path.

May today’s Scripture remind you not to neglect what God has already brought to your attention. May your family not only move forward busily on the road of mission, but also pause and return before the Lord; not only seek visible results, but learn reverence; not only carry responsibility, but treasure the covenant of God. May God make our homes places corrected by His Word, covered by His grace, and used by His hand.

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