Ex 2:21, 4:18-26 18:2-6
Who was Sippora?
She was the wife of a very well known and influential man, Moses. To understand who she was and what happened in her life, we are going to take a look at people around her and the decisions she made.
Moses and a bit of their history
Moses was born to a Jewish couple and because of the danger of him being killed as a baby, his mother made a plan to save his life. He was put in a woven basked and put on the Nile where his mother new the Pharaoh's daughter would find him. Moses grew up as partly Jew and partly Egyptian. When he was a man of about 40 he killed an Egyptian to help a Jew, and for that he had to leave Egypt and flee for his life.
Moses flew to Midian where he stopped to rest at a well. At this well all the shepherds of the vicinity brought their flocks to drink water. There the young men harassed the seven sisters and would not let them water their flocks. Moses still had the mind set of an Egyptian prince, and stepped forward to help the young ladies. The sisters were the daughters of a Midian Priest Jethro. It is interesting to note that even though they were the daughters of the Median Priest they still had their chores to do. These young ladies did not take Moses home because he helped them. No, they left him there at the well and went home. Their father inquired about their short trip and they told him about Moses. It was only when Jethro send for Moses that he came to their house.
More about Sippora
Sippora was the eldest and most beautiful of the sisters. She and Moses became husband and wife, after some time has lapsed, as we read that Moses first started to keep Jethro's sheep. Moses was about 80 when the Lord send him back to Egypt to fetch the Isrealites, and we read that he and Sippora had 2 young sons. Which means that it could have been years before they maried. Their 2 sons were, Gershom the eldest "for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." Ex 2:22 and Eliezer meaning "God of my father, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." Ex 18:4
We read in Ex 4 that the Lord send Moses back to fetch the Isrealites out of Egypt. In verses 18-26 we read a very interesting piece. Sippora and their sons went with Moses, as that is the way it is supposed to be. A man and woman will leave their pearents and become one, and as the husband is the head of the family, wherever he goes, his wife should follow. Scripture tells us that a wife should submit to her husband, and not the other way around. As Moses and Sippora were getting settled for the night at an Inn with their 2 sons, the Lord paid them a visit. He came to kill 'him', we suppose this him was Moses as he was the one to do the Lords work, and he was the head of the family. This was not a spiritual visit as we read that when the Lord spoke to Moses, Sippora new what was going on. She also knew that the reason why the Lord wanted to kill 'him' was because their son has not been circumcized.
How could she have known that, accept that she might have been the reason for their son not being circumcized? Moses knew that he had to circumcize his son, because he grew up with his Jewish pearents until he was old enough to go to the Egyptian palace to stay with his adoptive mother. Sippora proposedly has stopped him, as she did not believe the way of the Jews, and she did not approve of this 'vulgar' act of circumcizing their son. We read further that she took a sharp stone and circumcized their son. This shows us a couple of things.
First it prooves that their son was still very young as Sippora did the circumcition.
Second if shows us that a woman was allowed to do the circumcition, which means that a woman had value, to do such a spiritual thing.
Thirdly it also shows us that when Sippora made a wrong choice, she was to one to correct it.
Forthly her discust in the circumcision was shown in her words to Moses after wards in verse 26 "A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision".
This showed me another thing. You as a woman have power over your husband. When the two of you are one as the Lord wanted you to be, you will listen to each other and work together. Sippora might have only hinted that she did not approve of this circumcision or she might have taken a stronger stand, whatever her action might have been, Moses listened to her and honoured how she felt. This was not right, as he was supposed to take the Lords side in this and not that of his wife.
So lady... What are you doing with the influence you have over your husband? Are you helping him to be the man God wants him to be, or are you trying to make him the person you want him to be? You must be very careful as we read here that what Sippora did could have cost her husband his life.
Moses had to be in wright standing with the Lord to do His work. He had to be spotless and blameless in everything. Moses was send back to Egypt to save the lives of about thousands of people. The blood shed with the circumcision saved Moses's live but more than that, in the long run it saved all the Isrealites. This let me think of the blood of Jesus, which saved so many lives. What would have happened if Jesus did not died on the cross?
After this incident Moses decided to send Sippora and their sons back to her father Jethro as it would be much saver for them to wait there. Moses suddenly realised that to take his family with him to Egypt could be very dangerous, because he does not really know how the Egyptians are going to react towards him, neither did he know how the Isrealites would react. Further he maried a Midianite woman and not a Jew which could complicate things further with the Isrealites.
In Ex 18:2-6 we read that Jethro braught Sippora and their sons back to Moses. This shows us that Moses did not diverce Sippora. They were still maried. In our modern life it could be seen as though Moses went on a business trip. Sippora was faithfull to her husband and came back when the time was right for it, on the other hand Moses was also still faithful to his wife.
I saw something here that I want to show you. We all know the differences between a man and a woman. A woman is emotionally connected to everything in her life. She can think of the children, their extra mural activities, supper, work and the house almost simultaniously, where a man only concentrate on one thing at a time. When my husband is busy working and I wnat to tell him something he won't even hear me because he is concentrating on his work. I have to make certain that he hears me.
Here we see that Sippora came back to her husband, and he started talking to her father. When I was sepparated from my husband even for 1 day, I want to be with him and talk to him and tell him what I have done and what I experienced and I want him to tell me everything, but here we see that Sippora had to wait. It was as though Moses were married to his work and only wanted to talk about his work. He invited Jethro to come and sit with him and Moses told him all about the excodus from Egypt. Moses was so busy with his work in taking care of the Isrealites the next day, that Jethro told Moses to get help. He explained to Moses that he can't do everything and that he had to appoint men to help him. This would also result in Moses having more time for his own family.
In conclusion
We learnt through Sippora firstly, that she didn't bring Moses to her house right after meeting him, as it was not proper in that time. How do we behave? Are we always behaving like a lady should?
Second we learnt that we as women have power over what happens to our families. Our influence could be either good or bad, we need to make the right choice. The saying is so true "Behind a man, is a woman", it could also be swiched around to say that "In front of every woman is a man".
Third we as the woman of our family has the responsibility to keep our families together. When your husband has to leave on a business trip stay true to him, through your actions you will give him more reaseon to be faithful to you. It will also give him the strength to say no when the time comes.
Spend time with your family. Spend time with your husband, be his friend. Accept it when he has to work a lot, he is doing it for you and your children, but discuss it with him so that he know and realize that you also need him to spend time with you.
Look at Sippora if was not always easy for her, but she shows us that we can make a success of our mariage.
Remember always pray for your husband, and your children. When we stay on our knees before the Lord, He will look after us and help us when we need Him the most.
Amen
She was the wife of a very well known and influential man, Moses. To understand who she was and what happened in her life, we are going to take a look at people around her and the decisions she made.
Moses and a bit of their history
Moses was born to a Jewish couple and because of the danger of him being killed as a baby, his mother made a plan to save his life. He was put in a woven basked and put on the Nile where his mother new the Pharaoh's daughter would find him. Moses grew up as partly Jew and partly Egyptian. When he was a man of about 40 he killed an Egyptian to help a Jew, and for that he had to leave Egypt and flee for his life.
Moses flew to Midian where he stopped to rest at a well. At this well all the shepherds of the vicinity brought their flocks to drink water. There the young men harassed the seven sisters and would not let them water their flocks. Moses still had the mind set of an Egyptian prince, and stepped forward to help the young ladies. The sisters were the daughters of a Midian Priest Jethro. It is interesting to note that even though they were the daughters of the Median Priest they still had their chores to do. These young ladies did not take Moses home because he helped them. No, they left him there at the well and went home. Their father inquired about their short trip and they told him about Moses. It was only when Jethro send for Moses that he came to their house.
More about Sippora
Sippora was the eldest and most beautiful of the sisters. She and Moses became husband and wife, after some time has lapsed, as we read that Moses first started to keep Jethro's sheep. Moses was about 80 when the Lord send him back to Egypt to fetch the Isrealites, and we read that he and Sippora had 2 young sons. Which means that it could have been years before they maried. Their 2 sons were, Gershom the eldest "for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." Ex 2:22 and Eliezer meaning "God of my father, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." Ex 18:4
We read in Ex 4 that the Lord send Moses back to fetch the Isrealites out of Egypt. In verses 18-26 we read a very interesting piece. Sippora and their sons went with Moses, as that is the way it is supposed to be. A man and woman will leave their pearents and become one, and as the husband is the head of the family, wherever he goes, his wife should follow. Scripture tells us that a wife should submit to her husband, and not the other way around. As Moses and Sippora were getting settled for the night at an Inn with their 2 sons, the Lord paid them a visit. He came to kill 'him', we suppose this him was Moses as he was the one to do the Lords work, and he was the head of the family. This was not a spiritual visit as we read that when the Lord spoke to Moses, Sippora new what was going on. She also knew that the reason why the Lord wanted to kill 'him' was because their son has not been circumcized.
How could she have known that, accept that she might have been the reason for their son not being circumcized? Moses knew that he had to circumcize his son, because he grew up with his Jewish pearents until he was old enough to go to the Egyptian palace to stay with his adoptive mother. Sippora proposedly has stopped him, as she did not believe the way of the Jews, and she did not approve of this 'vulgar' act of circumcizing their son. We read further that she took a sharp stone and circumcized their son. This shows us a couple of things.
First it prooves that their son was still very young as Sippora did the circumcition.
Second if shows us that a woman was allowed to do the circumcition, which means that a woman had value, to do such a spiritual thing.
Thirdly it also shows us that when Sippora made a wrong choice, she was to one to correct it.
Forthly her discust in the circumcision was shown in her words to Moses after wards in verse 26 "A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision".
This showed me another thing. You as a woman have power over your husband. When the two of you are one as the Lord wanted you to be, you will listen to each other and work together. Sippora might have only hinted that she did not approve of this circumcision or she might have taken a stronger stand, whatever her action might have been, Moses listened to her and honoured how she felt. This was not right, as he was supposed to take the Lords side in this and not that of his wife.
So lady... What are you doing with the influence you have over your husband? Are you helping him to be the man God wants him to be, or are you trying to make him the person you want him to be? You must be very careful as we read here that what Sippora did could have cost her husband his life.
Moses had to be in wright standing with the Lord to do His work. He had to be spotless and blameless in everything. Moses was send back to Egypt to save the lives of about thousands of people. The blood shed with the circumcision saved Moses's live but more than that, in the long run it saved all the Isrealites. This let me think of the blood of Jesus, which saved so many lives. What would have happened if Jesus did not died on the cross?
After this incident Moses decided to send Sippora and their sons back to her father Jethro as it would be much saver for them to wait there. Moses suddenly realised that to take his family with him to Egypt could be very dangerous, because he does not really know how the Egyptians are going to react towards him, neither did he know how the Isrealites would react. Further he maried a Midianite woman and not a Jew which could complicate things further with the Isrealites.
In Ex 18:2-6 we read that Jethro braught Sippora and their sons back to Moses. This shows us that Moses did not diverce Sippora. They were still maried. In our modern life it could be seen as though Moses went on a business trip. Sippora was faithfull to her husband and came back when the time was right for it, on the other hand Moses was also still faithful to his wife.
I saw something here that I want to show you. We all know the differences between a man and a woman. A woman is emotionally connected to everything in her life. She can think of the children, their extra mural activities, supper, work and the house almost simultaniously, where a man only concentrate on one thing at a time. When my husband is busy working and I wnat to tell him something he won't even hear me because he is concentrating on his work. I have to make certain that he hears me.
Here we see that Sippora came back to her husband, and he started talking to her father. When I was sepparated from my husband even for 1 day, I want to be with him and talk to him and tell him what I have done and what I experienced and I want him to tell me everything, but here we see that Sippora had to wait. It was as though Moses were married to his work and only wanted to talk about his work. He invited Jethro to come and sit with him and Moses told him all about the excodus from Egypt. Moses was so busy with his work in taking care of the Isrealites the next day, that Jethro told Moses to get help. He explained to Moses that he can't do everything and that he had to appoint men to help him. This would also result in Moses having more time for his own family.
In conclusion
We learnt through Sippora firstly, that she didn't bring Moses to her house right after meeting him, as it was not proper in that time. How do we behave? Are we always behaving like a lady should?
Second we learnt that we as women have power over what happens to our families. Our influence could be either good or bad, we need to make the right choice. The saying is so true "Behind a man, is a woman", it could also be swiched around to say that "In front of every woman is a man".
Third we as the woman of our family has the responsibility to keep our families together. When your husband has to leave on a business trip stay true to him, through your actions you will give him more reaseon to be faithful to you. It will also give him the strength to say no when the time comes.
Spend time with your family. Spend time with your husband, be his friend. Accept it when he has to work a lot, he is doing it for you and your children, but discuss it with him so that he know and realize that you also need him to spend time with you.
Look at Sippora if was not always easy for her, but she shows us that we can make a success of our mariage.
Remember always pray for your husband, and your children. When we stay on our knees before the Lord, He will look after us and help us when we need Him the most.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment